What roles did druids have in ancient Celtic societies?

In ancient Celtic societies, druids functioned as a learned class of religious and community leaders, though much of our understanding is derived from potentially biased Greek and Roman accounts. Their primary roles included:12

• Religious and Ritual Leadership: Druids were responsible for overseeing sacrifices and performing divination, such as interpreting the flight of birds or examining sacrificial remains. They are famously associated with rituals involving oak groves and the ceremonial cutting of mistletoe with a golden sickle.132
• Judicial and Administrative Duties: They acted as judges who arbitrated disputes, decreed penalties, and managed various administrative functions within their communities.12
• Education: Druids served as teachers, instructing young men and maintaining training schools for new members of their order.123
• Intellectual Pursuits: They studied natural philosophy, astronomy, and religious lore, and they were keepers of ancient verse.1

While some classical sources claim they were exempt from military service and did not engage in warfare, modern historians view these descriptions with skepticism, noting that writers like Julius Caesar may have projected Roman societal structures onto the Celts.123