Journal of Social History: The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. - book reviews
Journal of Social History: The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. - book reviews
"Hutton is able to show that British calendar rites were anything but survivals. He relentlessly undermines the notion of pagan origins and pre-christian fertility worship, demonstrating that virtually no part of the annual cycle, except perhaps for mid-summer fires, can be traced with certainty back beyond the middle ages. He demonstrates that most of what pre-1970s folklorists mistook for pagan was actually Christian, and that the great proliferation of calendar rites in the period 1350-1530 took place in conjunction with the church, which had a vested interest in creating a popular culture that it could influence, if not wholly control."
"Hutton is able to show that British calendar rites were anything but survivals. He relentlessly undermines the notion of pagan origins and pre-christian fertility worship, demonstrating that virtually no part of the annual cycle, except perhaps for mid-summer fires, can be traced with certainty back beyond the middle ages. He demonstrates that most of what pre-1970s folklorists mistook for pagan was actually Christian, and that the great proliferation of calendar rites in the period 1350-1530 took place in conjunction with the church, which had a vested interest in creating a popular culture that it could influence, if not wholly control."
posted by Toby Scott at 11/09/2004 11:15:00 AM
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