Revisionism and Counter-Revisionism in Pagan History
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v13i2.225Keywords:
Neo-Paganism, witchcraft, magic, revisionism, researchAbstract
During the past few years, a series of heated arguments have broken out among Pagans across the Western world, but much more particularly in North America and Australia, about the historical context of modern Paganism. This has been provoked by extensive scholarly revision of the traditional portrait of that context, which has caused dismay and anger among some Pagans. Their reactions have in turn produced similar emotions among some of their co-religionists and professional scholars (the two groups often overlapping). This review essay is intended to clarify the issues that are being debated; to examine the potential for Pagans to write their own history; to look at points at which the arguments may have provided useful historical insights; and to suggest a likely outcome for the controversy.References
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———. The Gods of the Celts. Gloucester: Sutton, 1986.
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———. A People Bewitched. Privately published, 1999.
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L’Estrange Ewen, C. Witchcraft and Demonianism. London: Heath Cranton, 1933.
———. Witchcraft in the Norfolk Circuit. Privately published, 1939.
———. Witchcraft in the Star Chamber. Privately published, 1938.
———. Witch-Hunting and Witch Trials. London: Kegan Paul, 1929.
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Gifford, George. A Dialogue Concerning Witches and Witchcraft. London, 1593.
Ginzburg, Carlo. Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath. London: Penguin, 1992.
Grattan, J. H. G., and Charles Singer, Anglo-Saxon Magic and Medicine (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1952.
Haycock, Marged. Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin. Aberystwyth: CMCS, 2007.
Henningsen, Gustav. “The Ladies from Outside.” In Early Modern Witchcraft, edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Gustav Henningsen, 191–218. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
———. “The Witches’ Flying and the Spanish Inquisitors.” Folklore 120 (2009): 57–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00155870802647833.
Heselton, Philip. Witchfather. Loughborough: Thoth, 2012.
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——— Pagan Britain. New Haven: Yale University Press, forthcoming.
———. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991.
———. The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
———. Witches, Druids and King Arthur. London: Hambledon and London, 2003.
———. “Writing the History of Witchcraft.” The Pomegranate 12, no. 2 (2010): 238–62.
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Ucko, Peter. Anthropomorphic Figurines of Predynastic Egypt and Neolithic Crete. London: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1968.
Webster, Graham. The British Celts and their Gods under Rome. London: Batsford, 1986.
Whitmore, Ben. The Trials of the Moon: Reopening the Case for Historical Witchcraft. Auckland: Briar Books, 2010.
Williams, Ifor. Chwedl Taliesin. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1960
———. Lectures on Early Welsh Poetry. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1944.
Ady, Thomas. A Candle in the Dark. London, 1656.
Alhouse-Green, Miranda. Celtic Goddesses. London: British Museum, 1995.
———. The Gods of the Celts. Gloucester: Sutton, 1986.
Aloi, Peg. Review of The Trials of the Moon, by Ben Whitmore. The Pomegranate 12, no. 2 (2010): 263–68.
Beard, Mary, John North, and S. R. F. Price. Religions of Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998
Bromwich, Rachel. Trioedd Ynys Prydein. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1978
Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1985.
Clark, Stuart. Thinking with Demons. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Clifton, Chas S. Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America. Lanham, Md.: AltaMira Press, 2006.
Cohn, Norman. Europe’s Inner Demons. London: Chatto and Heinemann, 1975.
Davies, Owen. Cunning Folk. London: Hambledon and London, 2003.
———. A People Bewitched. Privately published, 1999.
———. Witchcraft, Magic and Culture 1736–1951. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999.
Duff, J. Wight, and Arnold M. Duff, eds. Minor Latin Poets. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1934.
L’Estrange Ewen, C. Witchcraft and Demonianism. London: Heath Cranton, 1933.
———. Witchcraft in the Norfolk Circuit. Privately published, 1939.
———. Witchcraft in the Star Chamber. Privately published, 1938.
———. Witch-Hunting and Witch Trials. London: Kegan Paul, 1929.
Evans, Ian. “Touching Magic.” PhD thesis, University of Newcastle, Australia, 2011.
Farnell, Lewis Richard. The Cults of the Greek States. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1907.
Ford, Patrick. Ystoria Taliesin. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1992.
Gifford, George. A Dialogue Concerning Witches and Witchcraft. London, 1593.
Ginzburg, Carlo. Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath. London: Penguin, 1992.
Grattan, J. H. G., and Charles Singer, Anglo-Saxon Magic and Medicine (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1952.
Haycock, Marged. Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin. Aberystwyth: CMCS, 2007.
Henningsen, Gustav. “The Ladies from Outside.” In Early Modern Witchcraft, edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Gustav Henningsen, 191–218. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
———. “The Witches’ Flying and the Spanish Inquisitors.” Folklore 120 (2009): 57–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00155870802647833.
Heselton, Philip. Witchfather. Loughborough: Thoth, 2012.
Hutton, Ronald. Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.
——— Pagan Britain. New Haven: Yale University Press, forthcoming.
———. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991.
———. The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
———. Witches, Druids and King Arthur. London: Hambledon and London, 2003.
———. “Writing the History of Witchcraft.” The Pomegranate 12, no. 2 (2010): 238–62.
Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness. New Haven: Yale University Press,1976.
Lawson, Jennifer. “A Land Full of Gods.” In A Companion to Greek Religion, edited by Daniel Ogden, 56–70. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
Lyly, John. Mother Bombie. London, c. 1590.
Murray, Margaret. The God of the Witches. London: Sampson Low, 1933.
———. The Witch-Cult in Western Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1921.
Nock, A. D. “Some Latin Spells.” Folklore 36 (1925): 93–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080 /0015587X.1925.9718313.
North, Richard. Heathen Gods in Old English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Perkins, William. A Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft. Cambridge, 1608.
Rider, Catherine. Magic and Religion in Medieval England. London: Reaktion, 2012
Rose, H. J. Ancient Roman Religion London: Hutchinson,1948.
Ross, Anne. Pagan Celtic Britain. London: Cardinal, 1974.
Russell, Jeffrey Burton. “Essay on the Worship of the Generative Powers during the Middle Ages of Western Europe.” Appended to the 1865 London reprint of Richard Payne Knight, A Discourse of the Worship of Priapus [1786].
———. Witchcraft in the Middle Ages. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972.
Scot, Reginald. The Discoverie of Witchcraft. London, 1584.
Tully, Caroline Jane. “Researching the Past is a Foreign Country.” The Pomegranate 13, no. 1 (2011): 98–105.
Ucko, Peter. Anthropomorphic Figurines of Predynastic Egypt and Neolithic Crete. London: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1968.
Webster, Graham. The British Celts and their Gods under Rome. London: Batsford, 1986.
Whitmore, Ben. The Trials of the Moon: Reopening the Case for Historical Witchcraft. Auckland: Briar Books, 2010.
Williams, Ifor. Chwedl Taliesin. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1960
———. Lectures on Early Welsh Poetry. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1944.
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Published
2013-01-14
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Review Articles
How to Cite
Hutton, R. (2013). Revisionism and Counter-Revisionism in Pagan History. Pomegranate, 13(2), 225-256. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v13i2.225
