Kazakevich G. The Celtic priesthood and its evolution (II century BC - I century AD).

The thesis deals with the Celtic priesthood as a social institute and a part of Celtic social structure. Its purpose is to show the place of the druids in Celtic society of the ancient Gaul and Britain. The text considers the problems of the social functions and evolution of priesthood. It is pointed out that the organization of druids was the organic part of Celtic society, appearance of which had been caused by the increasing social role of administrating and regulation. Although the Celtic priesthood was typologically close to the same structures of another Indo-European peoples, the author emphasizes the complex character of the object, which formed under the influence of many external and internal factors. The study reveals a function of the druids to control the handicraft industry and the farm production. The traditional view on priesthood as a centralized corporation, which kept the unity of Celtic society had been disproved. The last chapter of the thesis touches upon the evolution of Celtic priesthood. It is accentuated that the internal structure and social role of the priesthood transformed itself in late II-I century BC as a result of great political, social and economical changes which had took place mainly in Gaul and in I century AD in consequence of Roman conquest.