s men.[1116] Again, the "Druidic sleep" is
suggestive of hypnotism, practised in distant ages and also by
present-day savages. When Bodb suspected his daughter of lying he cast
her into a "Druidic sleep," in which she revealed her wickedness.[1117]
In other cases spells are cast upon persons so that they are
hallucinated, or are rendered motionless, or, "by the sleight of hand of
soothsayers," maidens lose their chastity without knowing it.[1118]
These point to knowledge of hypnotic methods of suggestion. Or, again, a
spectral army is opposed to an enemy's force to whom it is an
hallucinatory appearance--perhaps an exaggeration of natural hypnotic
powers.[1119]

Druids also made a "hedge," the _airbe druad_, round an army, perhaps
circumambulating it and saying spells so that the attacking force might
not break through. If any one could leap this "hedge," the spell was
broken, but he lost his life. This was done at the battle of Cul Dremne,
at which S. Columba was present and aided the heroic leaper with his
prayers.[1120]

A primitive piece of sympathetic magic used still by savages is recorded
in the _Rennes Dindsenchas_. In this story one man says spells over his
spear and hurls it into his opponent's shadow, so that he falls
dead.[1121] Equally primitive is the Druidic "sending" a wisp of straw
over which the Druid sang spells and flung it into his victim's face, so
that he became mad. A similar method is used by the Eskimo _angekok_.
All madness was generally ascribed to such a "sending."

Several of these instances have shown the use of spells, and the Druid
was believed to possess powerful incantations to discomfit an enemy or
to produce other magical results. A special posture was
adopted--standing on one leg, with one arm outstretched and one eye
closed, perhaps to concentrate the force of the spell,[1122] but the
power lay mainly in the spoken words, as we have seen in discussing
Celtic formulae of prayer. Such spells were also used by the _Filid_, or
poets, since most primitive poetry has a magical aspect. Part of the
training of the bard consisted in learning traditional incantations,
which, used with due ritual, produced the magic result.[1123] Some of
these incantations have already come before our notice, and probably
some of the verses which Caesar says the Druids would not commit to
writing were of the nature of spells.[1124] The virtue of the spell lay
in the spoken formula, usually introducing the