Similarly, successful Roman commanders were presented with crowns of oak leaves during their victory parades, and oak leaves have continued as decorative icons of military prowess to the present day. They wore crowns of oak leaves, as a symbol of the god they represented as kings on Earth. Mistletoe, probably the Druids' most potent and magical plant, frequently grows on oak trees and its presence was believed to indicate the hand of God having placed it there in a lightning strike.Īncient kings presented themselves as the personifications of these gods, taking on the responsibility not only for success in battle but also the fertility of the land, which relied on rainfall. The Druids frequently worshipped and practised their rites in oak groves (the word Druid was probably a Gaelic derivation of their word for oak, Duir, and meant men of the oaks). Each of these gods also had dominion over rain, thunder and lightning, and it is no coincidence that oak trees appear to be more prone to lightning strikes than other trees, whether because of their wood's low electrical resistance or the fact that they are frequently the largest, tallest living things in the landscape. To the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Slavs and Teutonic tribes, the oak was held in the highest regard amongst trees, and in each case associated with the supreme god in their pantheon, oak being sacred to Zeus, Jupiter, Dagda, Perun and Thor, respectively. Throughout the major cultures of Europe the oak tree has been held in high esteem.
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