Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain [Paperback]

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.

The definitive history of the druids in Britain, from their ancient origins to the present day“Written with great verve, this is a sparkling account of how the Druids were reinvented over the last four centuries.”— Jeremy Black, BBC History Magazine

“Blood and Mistletoeis undoubtedly the most extensive and systematic account of its subject ever written . . . essential for any scholar interested in the way ideas about Druids have developed over the past 300 years.”—William Whyte,Times Literary Supplement

“This is an ably researched and well-written book . . .Blood and Mistletoeis the saga of a miraculous transformation.”—Peter Ackroyd,The Times

“All the difficult and contentious answers are now assembled in Ronald Hutton’s erul³