A History of Pagan Europe

I had been previously accustomed to reading Pagan history from the viewpoint of Christian literature and writers, who unfortunately portray this faith as cruelly despotic, ignorant, irrational, filled with hatred and prone to bouts of fiery persecution. In choosing this book I was seeking a balanced, informative and historically accurate account of Pagan culture from an objective perspective. I began to read with some trepidation as to whether the book could fulfill my criteria, knowing that Prudence Jones is a respected Pagan academic. However, she clearly remained within the stringent ethics of scientific research and enquiry, carefully laying out her extensive 20 year period of dedicated study into this subject. The first amazing revelation for me was the authors etymological elucidation of the term `Pagan' and its origins, misuse, and applications throughout history. She forwards a correct working definition in combination with the principal characteristics of its use within an animistic religion. As a modern spiritual movement Paganism is a holistic, earth-centered, Goddess orientated, polytheistic, theophanic religion, having as its foundation the values, ethics, culture, reasoning and rituals of ancient, pre-monotheistic societies. My understanding is that the core principals of Paganism are its capacity for inclusivity and pluralism: essentially possessing the capacity to hold or incorporate almost any philosophy, notion or spiritual concept. Jones manages to assess the entirety of European Paganism, from the pre-classical civilization in Crete (circa 2800 BCE), through to the Greeks, Etruscans, and the Romans up to the fall of the empire; the incorporation of foreign cults from the east such as the worship of the Egyptian Isis, Mithraism and Christianity. She also considers Islam, the Irish and Celtic world, the Germanic peoples, the Baltic, Russia, and the Balkans to Byzantium. From the high Medieval period (950-1350) her story takes the reader through to the renaissance and the reformation, the great witch hunts (1480-1650), the age of reason and science to the principle romantic revival movements of the 19th century; the Druidic revival at Primrose Hill in London in 1792, the romantic notions of Edward Carpenter (1844-1929) and Neo-Paganism in the 20th century typified by the Order of the Golden Dawn, Theosophy, Wicca and Celtic Druidism. Several observations and accounts of the author improved and enlightened me. The appraisal of the ancient and classical Greek and Roman pagan faiths were contrary to my previously held understandings and gave a more realistic and accurate picture. My perceptions of ancient Greece and Rome were colored by ideas of empirical, domineering and arrogant cultures. I was surprised to learn of their day to day faith, hearth cultures, belief in spirits, numerous deities and complex organization. I found myself truly inspired by Jones account of the actual mechanics of ancient pagan spiritual practice, this

this is a factual history of the roots, battles and civilizations of pagan europe... a must read for anyone wanting to learn about Paganism before it's modern rebirth. It is well written and easy to read. It is one of my history refrence books for Pagan Homeschooling.

This ADF approved text proved to be very enjoyable. Not only was it more educational than it's slim 220 pages would lead you to believe, it was also well written and not at all dry. This book is perfect for anyone wanting a broad spectrum treatment of pagan europe as well as having descriptive chapters on the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Germanic, Baltic, Russian and Baltic. There was a certain sort of comfort reading this book as well. For one, we are shown how much paganism persisted even into modern times. As a modern day pagan, I often feel like a salmon swimming upstream against the current, but the book shows how paganism didn't just fall over like a leaf to the wind to the forces of Christianity. It fought back, persisted and even resurged over and over again. The current resurgance of paganism in modern times then seems like it is just part of the wave, rather than an isolated uprising. Also, I found curious to note that much of ADF's focus on the Kindred would seem to be found here. The authors note again and again the pagan worship of ancestors, spirits and gods, just as we modern Druids in the order do. Additional mentions of the World Tree as well as a plethora of cauldrons and wells, further illustrates the firm grounding of our path in the past, not made up in its entirety. All in all, this was a very enjoyable book, actually, proving that history does not have to be boring. It's presented in an interesting fashion and it's (deceptively) short length hides the wealth of knowledge to be gained here.

This is hands down the best book on paganism that I've ever seen! -The first thing that drew me to it was the fact that it had information about pagan cultures from ALL of europe, not just the Celtic lands. (I like the Celts alot, but those of us who want look into our Germanic or Slavic ancestry get the short end of the stick most of the time.) -Second, it presents a view that is very balanced: this is not one of those books about the mean 'ol Christians bullying peaceful fluffy pagans any more than it is about peaceful fluffy Christians converting barbaric pagans.-It is also very well researched. It was in agreement with most of what I've studied in college courses and other academic works and as an archaeology buff, this impressed me greatly. Others have mentioned this book's lack of revisionist history or conspiracy theory b.s. that make up alot of pagan histories. This gives us much more mainstream credibility.-Finally, this book has alot of useful, authentic(!!) stuff, such as photos, firsthand accounts, and folk prayers that will enrich your knowledge and worship (if you're a Pagan.)I also reccomend this book to Christians interested in history and learning "the rest of the story" about medieval Europe.

I was afraid this book would be dogmatic and slanted towards New Age Paganism and Mother Goddess mumbo jumbo, but it turned out to be a solid, scholarly book. At points, it is difficult to follow the scores of references to different times and places, but working through the details is worth the effort. If you're interested in pre-Christian European history, this is an excellent piece of research. A good historiographic source, too.