The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy (Paperback)

by Ronald Hutton (Author) "The human record in the British Isles goes back a very long way beyond the beginning of the islands themselves..." (more)
Key Phrases: developed passage grave, simple passage graves, causewayed enclosures, Iron Age, Bronze Age, British Isles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Hutton (British history, Bristol Univ.) offers an excellent, up-to-date compendium on British pagan religions based primarily upon recent archaeological findings. Various pre-Christian religions in the British Isles throughout history are discussed beginning as far back as 30,000 B.C., when carvings on portable objects first seem to have appeared. Hutton continues coverage through the Roman influence and the eventual advance of Christianity, which coincided with the disappearance of the pagan religions from the British Isles. He closes with a discussion of the remaining influences and traces of the early pagan religions. Hutton has contributed a well-documented resource which has popular interest. Recommended for most libraries.
- Paula I. Nielson, Loyola Mary mount Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"An excellent, up-to-date compendium of British pagan religions based primarily upon recent archaeological findings. Hutton has contributed a well documented resource which has popular interest." Library Journal

"Brilliant ... Hutton's book gives us by far the best, most level-headed overview of this fascinating but contentious subject." Times Literary Supplement

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Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (December 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631189467
• ISBN-13: 978-0631189466
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #402,779 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Academic Masterpiece, October 2, 2004

By	Ogma (Canada) - See all my reviews

As a practising pagan of several years now, I'm rather disappointed by the review that dashes this work and author out of hand with a curt, "he must be a Christian" followed by a stream of rhetoric. No, this book isn't the fuzzy little love-love story that pagandom has been inundated with, and the world is the greater for it.

Ronald Hutton IS actually well versed in pagan traditions as an academic, if not a practitioner, having attended numerous pagan celebrations in the U.K. and actually pursuing pagan history as a personal interest (over what the establishment might deem as more suitable research topics). His degree of scholarship is apparent throughout this work. Archaeologically and historically (or prehistorically, if you will), this work is comprehensive and current, quite an eye-opener to those who have been bombarded with outdated archaeology/anthropology on the one hand and romantic mythology dressed as fact on the other.

Although parts of this book are dry, that is more a comment on the material than on the author himself. Containing numerous priceless diagrams and sketches, this book is a virtual treasure trove. This is the Number One book on my ample bookshelves for its history and applicability to my understanding of my own religious tradition.

I would highly recommend it to both academics and to pagans seeking a better comprehension of what has gone before (without the fluff and filler). For a more modern history of current paganism, try the author's Triumph of the Moon. For more great history/prehistory, try Ellis' The Celtic Empire, Barry Raftery's Pagan Celtic Ireland, Dillon's and Chadwick's Celtic Realms, Harding's European Societies in the Bronze Age and Whittle's Europe in the Neolithic.

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Research, a Little Depressing, December 31, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

A fantastic, well-researched guide to the pre-Christian peoples of Britain, from Stone Age to Christian times. This book is especially good for Neo-Pagans, as it addresses many of the theories popular in Neo-Paganism (e.g., that the Green Man is an old Pagan deity, that Margaret Murray's Witch-Cult really existed, etc.) It's a wonderful antidote to much of the misinformation that gets promulgated in popular writings. The only drawback is that the book gets to be a bit depressing by the end. We know very little about Celtic religion and even less about the faith(s) of their Neolithic forebears. Hutton sticks scrupulously to the evidence, so he frequently ends up saying, "X is possible, but we don't really know for sure." More speculation would have spiced the book up -- but then again, more speculation would have made it a less reliable text, so maybe it's better the way it is!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glorious History, August 18, 2000

By	Doreen Motheral (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Many people do not think this book looks favorably on the Celtic pagan community, when in fact, Hutton thinks that there is a lot of magic to be found in the old tales and in paganism itself, however, good scholarship is important, too,

Many people also think that Hutton was tedious in mentioning so many facts that are similar in the same book, but I believe that this was to prove a point. Sure, you can discuss this in one sentence - "We don't know exactly what the ancinet pagans beleived and many of the alleged information we have about them is suspect". However, if asked to give proof and discuss sources, many people would be unable to do so.

This book is a wonderful study of practices of the ancient Celts by a neo-pagan author who has a lot of regard for his subject.