Title: Blood and mistletoe : the history of the Druids in Britain /
Authors: Hutton, Ronald.
Publisher: Yale University Press,
Year: 2009
Subjects: Druids and druidism History.; Great Britain Religion.
Abstract: 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. Huttonʹs 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. -- Publisher description.
Contents: The raw material -- The Druids take shape -- The Druids take over -- The Druids take flesh -- Iolo Morganwyg -- Interlude : a pair of Williams -- The apogee of the English Druids -- Iolo's children -- The downfall of the Druids -- Druidic afterglow -- The universal bond -- Druids and archaeologists.