The Druid Source Book: From Earliest Times to the Present Day [Hardcover]

John Matthews (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1996

There have been many questions surrounding druidism, yet no one place to look for answers-- until now! Journey through a world of sacred springs and holy wells, stone circles and majestic mountains; the beauty of the natural world was the inspiration for the druids. Read classical accounts from Julius Caesar, then examine the druidic revival in the 18th and 19th centuries, with its essays on everything from moral doctrines to charts and magic. Learn what the sacred geometry of megalithic sights has to do with cosmology. Unveil the secrets of druidic initiation ceremonies and priesthood. These historical stories and essays will dispel some of the wilder theories still circulating, but also prove fertile soil upon which a fascination with the mystical world of druidism will grow and flourish.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Blandford Pr (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0713725729
• ISBN-13: 978-0713725728
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,117,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informative study, June 22, 2005

By 

Hakuyu "Ikeda" (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Druid Source Book: From Earliest Times to the Present Day (Hardcover)

Much work has gone into this study and it deserves to be read. Some reviewers have faulted this book because it draws on 'dated' sources - but, the author explains why he has chosen those sources. They may be 'dated' but that could be seen as a virtue, rather than a drawback. Quite rightly, one reviewer has noted that - traditionally, the key elements of Druidic teaching have been transmitted orally. Thus, whatever may be found in written sources, needs to be fleshed out with reference to the oral tradition. The sources Matthews has drawn on were put together by people able to assess that side of the tradition, far more accurately than than we are today. Druidic Studies suffer from a twofold bane - the speculations of Neo-Druids - who, for want of an informed background, have almost been forced to re-invent the tradition, introducing arbitrary notions of their own. Then we have the sceptical voice of modern scholarship (e.g. Stuart Piggot, who devotes his time and energy to de-bunking Druidism). For the most part, the material Matthews has put together avoids these extremes.Hence the interest of this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well presented book, April 7, 2003

By 

"peloen" (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Druid Source Book: From Earliest Times to the Present Day (Hardcover)

I believe the previous review is somewhat "misguided" in representing this interesting book. Yes, it does contain "outdated" and "antiquarian" sources, but the author/editor clearly states why he is using these sources and leaves it up to the reader to dwell on what is said but more importantly what is NOT being said to draw their own conclusions if there are to be any. Since there is no written source(s) from the actual time of the Druids (as far as we "know" it was all oral, passed from teacher to student), all we have to go by is what has been written or passed down, but this information and more is already in all of us if we wish to see. No book can really tell you anything absolute about any subject matter, but it can be a guide.
I would recommend this as well as any book by the author of the Foreward, Philip Carr-Gomm, and his late mentor, Ross Nichols.

4.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly work without druid-wannabe's biases, August 31, 2010

By 

Michigan Jon (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Druid Source Book: From Earliest Times To The Present Day. (Paperback)

John Matthews is a highly respected scholar who dedicated a significant portion of his life researching obscure Arthurian legends that have pretty much been lost in the mists of time. During the course of his career, he also wrote this book on the Druids, based upon both scant dark age sources and 'new' 17th-19th century historians' work. If you wish to learn about the Druids and their practices, without all the new age hallucinations and the 'I'm secretly a powerful witch' gibberish, this is the book for you. Some people look down upon this book as it does not form a 'how-to' manual, nor does it pander to the (inaccurate) romantic notions of what the original tree huggers were like. If you want sourced information without the nonsense, you will find this volume useful. But as Mr Matthews make clear, this is a review of actual research, not a manual that so many people seek.