A dreaming for the witches
Subtitle: the recreation of the Dobunni primal myth / Stephen J. Yeates.
Publisher: Oxbow Books; David Brown Book Co. [distributor]
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Oxford, UK; Oakville, CT, USA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 244
ISBN-13: 9781842173589
Subjects: Dobunni -- Religion; Hwicce -- Religion; Mythology, Celtic -- Severn River Region (Wales and England); Archaeology and religion -- Severn River Region (Wales and England); Cosmology, Ancient; Religion and geography; Severn River Region (Wales and England) -- Religion; Severn River Region (Wales and England) -- Antiquities
Other titles: Recreation of the Dobunni primal myth
Description: In The Tribe of Witches a wide-ranging theoretical framework for understanding the major cults worshipped amongst the Iron-Age tribal group called the Dobunni, later known as the Hwicce, was put forward. Towards the end of the tribe's lifespan the mother goddess of the Dobunni was introduced. In A Dreaming for the Witches the cults which worshipped the tribal deities are explored more fully. The surviving textual data and archaeological material are reviewed, and what we know of the Dobunni pantheon, using predominantly Welsh sources placed in a wider European context, is discussed. The Roman period process of interpretatio is explored, along with European traditions of mythical animals and plants which created our underlying cultural tales and traditions. The Tribe introduced the Matrona of the Dobunni; this work gets to grips with the tribal father. The sacred landscapes accounted for by Nennius are investigated, and the mythical landscape around Gloucester revealed. Finally, a discussion is put forward which places the cults of the Dobunni at the heart of the Christian grail myths.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [211]-225) and index.
Table of contents: title: In the beginning there was anthropology; title: Pantheons; title: Interpretatio; title: The flora and fauna of the earth; title: The divine couple from the Shakespeare Inn; title: Sacred places; title: Tribal legends and the Holy Grail; title: Appendix: Potential periods of river-name changes (for chapter 4).