A History of Pagan Europe (1995)

I'm always a little leery of historians with an obvious axe to grind, and the authors of this book - better known for a series of New Age and Wiccan publications - definitely qualify. I think they overcompensated for their bias by being as dry and academic as humanly possible, thus rendering their legitimately interesting subject matter into a painful and tedious slog. If you can get past these two rather large hurdles, you will find a wealth of rewarding historical detail here, and a surprising look at European history for those of us who accepted without question that paganism was pretty much finished with the conversion of Constantine. Sorry, that sentence got really long. ( )

A very enlightening book and one that is relatively easy to read and comprehend as well as being very informative. The combination of historical movement, settlement and cultural morphing gives a great deal of insight as to the formation of not only languages but cultures that exist even unto this day. The influences of the various European major empires and peoples that have shaped so much of what we now recognize is exposed with both the positive and negative trends that occurred at the period and reinforced the literature theory with archeological findings.

I wish that I had read this book before Puvhel’s work because it clarified a lot of what he stated and made a more complete picture of European configuration as a whole entity. Not only does it explain how the establishment of the beliefs and deities came about it also shows the foundation of modern cultures and their development thus allowing the reader to comprehend why there are similarities and disparities within small geographic areas.

An area of particular interest to me was how the Roman Empire attempted to influence the Celtic world by adding the names of Roman deities to existing Celtic ones, as if this would bring the local populace into conformity with the will of Rome automatically. This tactic ultimately failed because the peoples overtly feigned obeisance while covertly continued with their own established religious practices, a trend that continued for several centuries. It was of further interest to me in the influence of the Germanic and Norse invaders into the British Isles and how their deities and practices became assimilated. This was perhaps because of the pan-Celtic convictions of earlier times and the recognizing of familial deities.

One area that struck me as vastly different to Puhvel’s was the space dedicated to explaining the festivals and the deities that were worshipped, the associated calendars and the customs that were practiced during these festivals. This all provides a clear and distinct insight into the peoples and their daily lives as well as their beliefs. The continuation of these practices and eventual assimilation by the Christian churches gives indication of the strength of devout belief. A fascinating corollary is the full acceptance of Pagan deities with sainthoods by the Roman church such as St. Bridgit. Jones and Pennick state on page 110 that, “…Pagan ceremonies have continued until the present time. A few of them have continued directly, and others have been amalgamated with Christianity, and yet more have turned into folklore…” which gives the reader a depth of knowledge and understanding of how lives have evolved while retention of Pagan beliefs has morphed into acceptance in one fashion of another.

It is in my nature to retain books that I find myself constantly referring to for information and using as a resource for understanding. A work such as this falls into this category and I have in my own enigmatical manner annotated this book to suit my own purposes and aid in research areas that I find fascinating. I suppose others may not be so analytical and dependent upon resources as myself but for easy to understand and clear comprehensive analysis this book is hard to beat. It has an easy flow with logical sequencing, a broad overview of both insular and continental structures, archeological and geographical references that make the reader instantly immersed in the time and place of the specific culture being examined. I can easily understand why this book is on the suggested reading list and when using it as a companion to Puhvel’s it becomes an invaluable tool for the student of Pagan European studies. ( )

Balanced and well written encompasing most of western Europe, both authors are well versed in their subject choice. ( )

good solid work, some inconsistancies and some errors. ( )