over the people of Gaul. Indeed, they claimed the right to determine questions of war and peace, and thereby held an "international" status. In addition, the Druids monitored the religion of ordinary Gauls and were in charge of educating the aristocracy. They also practiced a form of excommunication from the assembly of worshippers, which in ancient Gaul meant a separation from secular society as well. Thus the Druids were an important part of Gallic society. The nearly complete and mysterious disappearance of the Celtic language from most of the territorial lands of ancient Gaul, with the exception of Brittany, can be attributed to the fact that Celtic druids refused to allow the Celtic oral literature or traditional wisdom to be committed to the written letter. See also Ambiorix Asterix—a French comic about Gaul and Rome, mainly set in 50 BC Bog body Braccae—trousers, typical Gallic dress Cisalpine Gaul Galatia Lugdunum Roman Republic Roman villas in northwestern Gaul References Sources External links Historical regions