9780300265279

0300265271

9780300261011

0300261012

A concise history of the goddess-like figures who evade both Christian and pagan traditions, from the medieval period to the present day.

"In this riveting account, renowned scholar Ronald Hutton explores the history of deity-like figures in Christian Europe. Drawing on anthropology, archaeology, literature, and history, Hutton shows how hags, witches, the fairy queen, and the Green Man all came to be, and how they changed over the centuries. Looking closely at four main figures - Mother Earth, the Fairy Queen, the Mistress of the Night, and the Old Woman of Gaelic tradition - Hutton challenges decades of debate around the female figures who have long been thought versions of pre-Christian goddesses. He makes the compelling case that these goddess figures found in the European imagination did not descend from the pre-Christian ancient world, yet have nothing Christian about them. It was in fact nineteenth-century scholars who attempted to establish the narrative of pagan survival that persists today."-Back cover.

Frontmatter

Contents

List of plates

Preface and acknowledgements

CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS A PAGAN SURVIVAL?

CHAPTER 2 MOTHER EARTH

CHAPTER 3 THE FAIRY QUEEN

CHAPTER 4 THE LADY OF THE NIGHT

CHAPTER 5 THE CAILLEACH

EPILOGUE The Green Man

CONCLUSION

NOTES

INDEX

Goddesses > History.

Goddesses > Historiography.

Europe > Religious life and customs.