THE great power which the Druids exercised over their people interfered with the Roman rule of Britain. Converts were being made at Rome when emperor Augustus forbade Romans to become initiated, Tiberius banished the priestly clan and their adherents from Gaul, and Claudius utterly stamped out the belief there and put to death a Roman knight for wearing the serpent’s-egg badge to win a lawsuit – a serpent’s-egg badge was an item of identification for an ancient Gaelic order of priests and sorcerers. Forbidden to practice their rites in Britain, the Druids fled to the isle of Mona, near the coast of Wales.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2018/10/12/a-voice-of-weeping-heard-and-loud-lament-re-branding-ancient-celebrations-and-celebrating-death/