Is there a citable reference of druids using curved swords?
Upvote:2
No.
Druids were part of the elite but were not typically warriors. The Deal warrior mentioned above is suggested as a Druid as the crown has been posited as a Druidic headdress and has been compared to the Roman apex worn by flamens.
In the image above the apex is the disc with spike (piece of olive branch).
There is a partial crown of similar type from Roseldorf in Austria which was found in a sanctuary along with cult items like antlers that had been modified to fit into a cult statue. Sword fittings and horse bits were also found so it can't be ruled out that the crown had no religious significance.
The Deal crown was worn bare, at least for burial, as traces of hair were found on the inside of the metal bands so it had no defensive purpose. As druids were from the noble class it makes sense they were buried with status symbols like swords, we can't know for sure. The Cavenham crowns which date to the middle of the Roman occupation are thought to be Romano-British religious headdresses.
The one of the left is similar to the "Druid" crowns and appears to incorporate an apex on top lending credence to the idea that the crown of the Deal Warrior is religious in nature.
But the question was whether Druids would have used curved swords. The standard la tene blades were straight, curved swords did exist in the Celtic world. There is the falcata from Spain and the Sica/Machaira type swords (which the falcata likely share ancestry with) from the Balkans, neither place which has furnished much if any evidence for Druids.
If the Deal Warrior is actually a Druid then it's possible evidence that they wore swords. If there was a prohibition of them having weapons then nobility aside I find it doubtful that such an anathema object would be included in the grave. So if we allow for druids and swords and assume that druids existed in all parts of the Celtic realm (something which is not certain) then eastern Celts could have had druids with curved swords like this:
Upvote:3
A contemporary reference is Pliny the Elder's account of the ritual of the oak and the mistletoe, wherein a ritual sacrifice of cattle and vegetation is conducted with a sickle.
Historically, farm implements have been a first go-to weapon option for the common folk of every continent. The sickle is no exception.
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