紀元前2世紀頃のガリア、イギリス、アイルランドなどヨーロッパ西部で初めて注目を集めて以来、2000年以上も語られてきたドルイドは、その長い歴史にもかかわらず、つかみどころのない存在です。ドルイドは得体が知れず不可解であるとしさまざまに解釈されてきました。本書では、ドルイドの起源をたどり、彼らの信条と慣習を示す痕跡を検証し、三種類に分かれていたとされるドルイドのカースト制度がどのような変貌を遂げ、今日、どのように解釈されているのかを明らかにします。
    

• Examines the origins of the Druids and the evidence for their beliefs and practices, in particular asking what can and can't be known about them
• Explains how the nature of the Druid caste changed quite dramatically over time
• Considers current revivals of Druidism and analyzes different attitudes towards them

 
Who were the Druids? What do we know about them? Do they still exist today? 

The Druids first came into focus in Western Europe - Gaul, Britain, and Ireland - in the second century BC. They are a popular subject; they have been known and discussed for over 2,000 years and few figures flit so elusively through history. They are enigmatic and puzzling, partly because of the lack of knowledge about them has resulted in a wide spectrum of interpretations. 

Barry Cunliffe takes the reader through the evidence relating to the Druids, trying to decide what can be said and what can't be said about them. He examines why the nature of the druid caste changed quite dramatically over time, and how successive generations have interpreted the phenomenon in very different ways.