From the druids to the clerks: Some 13th and 14th century French interpretations of Julius Caesar's 'De bello gallico VI,13-14'

Up to now, historiography has suggested that during the medieval period Gauls had remained alien to the French cultural consciousness, and that the image of the druids, as described by Julius Caesar in the Gallic War VI, 13-14, was not part of any historical work before the end of the 15th century. This article demonstrates that, even if Caesar's text was ambiguously perceived by medieval historians, the memory of the druids itself was still alive at the end of the Middle Ages. The study of 9 authors, mainly from the 14th century and close to the royal court, shows that the druids were referred to in texts that either attempt to define the relation between temporal and spiritual power; to defend the clerk's privileges increasingly threatened by kings of France; or else to promote the greatness of the realm and its special association with the Christian religion.