Druid charged for taking ceremonial sword on shopping trip

LONDON (AFP) - Druid was in court charged with carrying a ceremonial sword, used for casting spells, while on a shopping trip to a local hardware store.

Merlin Michael Williams appeared at a magistrates' court in the southern English coastal town of Portsmouth wearing his full druidic regalia of green robe and blue cloak, with talismans around his neck.

The 26-year-old was charged with possessing an offensive weapon after a security guard saw him with the sheathed three-foot (90-centimetre) blade draped over his shoulder as he browsed through a branch of Wilkinson Hardware.

About a dozen fellow members of the Insular Order of Druids sat in the court's public gallery, while chief druid King Arthur Pendragon, wearing white robes with a red lion emblazoned on the front, acted as Williams's legal adviser.

The sword, named Talisen, has been confiscated by police as evidence.

"It is accepted by the Crown this (sword) was sheathed and there was no offensive action by the defendant. The issue is whether this is an offensive weapon per se," prosecutor Colin Shackel told the court.

The case was later adjourned so the prosecution could examine what Williams said were case histories which set a precedent for druid ceremonial swords not being considered offensive weapons.

According to a spokesman for the Insular Order of Druids, ceremonial swords are used for casting spells and other ritualistic purposes.

Druids were the pagan priest class in early Britain, particularly for the Celtic tribes from around 600 BC, and are associated with sacred stone circles such as the famous site at Stonehenge, southwest England.

However, little is known about their activities and modern druids are sometimes dismissed as fantasists with a fondness for dressing up and no genuine link with the activities of the past.