Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain - Hardcover

Ronald Hutton

4.03

294 ratings by Goodreads

9780300144857: Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300144857 ISBN 13: 9780300144857

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2009

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Crushed by the Romans in the first century A.D., the ancient Druids of Britain left almost no reliable evidence behind. Because of this, historian Ronald Hutton shows, succeeding British generations have been free to reimagine, reinterpret, and reinvent the Druids. Hutton's captivating book is the first to encompass two thousand years of Druid history and to explore the evolution of English, Scottish, and Welsh attitudes toward the forever ambiguous figures of the ancient Celtic world. Druids have been remembered at different times as patriots, scientists, philosophers, or priests; sometimes portrayed as corrupt, bloodthirsty, or ignorant, they were also seen as fomenters of rebellion. Hutton charts how the Druids have been written in and out of history, archaeology, and the public consciousness for some 500 years, with particular focus on the romantic period, when Druids completely dominated notions of British prehistory. Sparkling with legends and images, filled with new perspectives on ancient and modern times, this book is a fascinating cultural study of Druids as catalysts in British history.

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Review:

"...[a] scholarly and enlightening work ... indispensable for anyone wishing to discover the origins of Druidry today." -- Geoff Ward, Western Daily Press, 20th June 2009

"...not only examines faith and superstition in Celtic society...looks closely at the many revivals...makes for an invigorating brew."
-- Good Book Guide, July 2009

"All the difficult and contentious answers are now assembled in Ronald Hutton's erudite, humane and compelling study...." -- Rosemary Hill, The Sunday Times, 21st June 2009

"Written with great verve, this is a sparkling account of how the Druids were reinvented over the last four centuries." -- Jeremy Black, BBC History Magazine, 1st June 2009

"[Hutton] takes a refreshingly even-handed view."
-- Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph, 17th May 2009

"my only regret is that...it is not a few score thousand (words) longer." -- Tom Shippey, London Review of Books, 9th July 2009

"...particularly good at those...details that stick in the mind...surely the definitive work on our perceptions of the Druids." -- David V Barrett, Independent, 15th May 2009

Book Description:

"...particularly good at those...details that stick in the mind...surely the definitive work on our perceptions of the Druids."

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