Druid charged for carrying sword
From correspondents in London
July 14, 2004

A BRITISH druid was in court today 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 90cm 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.


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Talisen, you shall be missed.

-Asaroth Drystan