Looking for the Lost Gods of England [Paperback]

Kathleen Herbert (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1898281041 | ISBN-13: 978-1898281047 | Publication Date: December 30, 2010

The earliest account of English heathen practices reveals that they worshipped the Earth Mother and called her Nerthus. The names Tiw, Woden, Thunor and Frig/Freo have been preserved in place names and in the days of the week. The old Gods and the festivals and rituals associated with them lived on after the 'official' conversion to Christianity. Eostre, the Goddess associated with Spring, is still with us as Easter. The Yuletide celebrations which marked the turning of the year were deep-rooted so they were Christianised to give us Christmas. Ing the god associated with regrowth and renewal was replaced with Christ. Much the same happened with rituals for bringing fertility to the earth, and with healing charms. The author sifts through royal genealogy, charms, verse and other sources to find clues to the names and attributes of the Gods and Goddesses of the early English.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Anglo-Saxon Books (December 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1898281041
• ISBN-13: 978-1898281047
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,446,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology > Folklore
  • #35 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > World > Medieval
  • #78 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Fairy Tales

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Customer Reviews

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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost Gods Of England, June 11, 2002

By 

"valeska_" (The Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking for the Lost Gods of England (Paperback)

A very interesting read from Kathleen Herbert, taken from a transcript of a talk she gave at a meeting of "The English Companions" in 1994.

With it are included 40 pages of text, an outline of the Pagan English Calender, Songs & Dances for Spring & Summer, a few maps illustrating the locations of people & places from ancient history, locations where poems and stores take place and Gods and Legends in the landscape of Great Britain, also a small index.

Herbert discusses royal genealogies (and their "divine ancestors"), charms (several for healing) verses and the beliefs associated with the pantheon of ancient Britain, a discussion of the attributes of each month (including their Old English names and by-names) the deity to whom the month was sacred and certain things and traditions that would take place in that time of year.

She writes extensively about the main Gods, their variant names, parallels to Gods of other pantheons (like Roman ones) and their many traits, culled from verses and stories.

She also discusses the many people that lived in ancient times, including the lesser known Germanic tribe the Harii. And the more well known tribes, the Goths, Vandals, Jutes, and Anglii of course! Some of their customs, including their customs of warfare, like the rituals of painting their bodies to terrify their enemies.

She attempts to sift through many sources to give us a picture of the religion of ancient Britain (plus some rudiments of the Old English language)
Sources sited Include the writings of Venerable Bede (673-735 C.E.) Tacitus' account called "Germania" which was publish in 98 C.E. And epic poems like Beowolf plus Anglo-Saxon verses and rune poems.

Despite the mere 59+ pages, "Looking for the Lost Gods of England" proves to be an enjoyable and informative source.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Small but Meaty Book on Early English Beliefs, February 7, 2001

By 

Karen M. Carlson (Los Angeles, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Looking for the Lost Gods of England (Paperback)

This short (36 pages plus notes and supplementary material) book is actually a transcript of a talk by Kathleen Herbert. A lot is packed into these pages. There are snippets from source material (with translations as needed, e.g, from Old English) as well as Herbert's observations and conclusions about the religious beliefs and practices of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors. Herbert touches on the gods, the runes, the calendar (seasons and festivals of the year), and more. Statements about what people thought during a period in which written evidence is relatively sparse are of course always somewhat tentative, but Herbert makes good cases for her conclusions.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Short, but good, March 29, 2006

By 

R. Crocker "http://ragngautr-kindred.org" (New Haven, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Looking for the Lost Gods of England (Paperback)

I just finished this book this morning and thought it was great. It's short, but very informative about early English history. It includes detailed notes for further research and a useful collection of maps as well, all this should appeal to those taking a scholarly approach. Don't assume though that the book is boring. I found the authors style engaging and once I started reading it I read it straight through. There is some very useful herbal knowledge there and I loved the description of the early english ritual to heal mother earth. The author did a very good job at removing the christian bastardization of the ritual and reconstructing it back in root form. This helps much indeed to better understand the early worldview of our folk and kin and gives us a stronger platform to rebuild upon. What I enjoyed most however was the thorough research on the domian of Frigg and Freya, how she was able to contrast them in a way that I had not thought of before.

I highly recommend this book.