Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain

Description

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. List of Illustrations vi Acknowledgements ix Introduction x 1 The Raw Material 1 2 The Druids Take Shape 49 3 The Druids Take Over 86 4 The Druids Take Flesh 125 5 Iolo Morganwg 146 6 Interlude: A Pair of Williams 183 7 The Apogee of the English Druids 210 8 Iolo’s Children 241 9 The Downfall of the Druids 287 10 Druidic Afterglow 313 11 The Universal Bond 348 12 Druids and Archaeologists 374 Conclusion 418 Notes 423 Index 473