Ronald Hutton
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| Ronald Hutton |
Ronald Hutton (born 1954) is a professor of History at the University of Bristol, author, and occasional commentator on British television and radio. His specialties are the 17th century and the history of paganism in the British Isles.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Hutton was born at Ootacamund in India to a colonial family.[1] His mother considered herself to be a "Pagan", and it is partially for this reason that he has written various books on the subject.[2]
Hutton attended Ilford County High School in the 1960s and 1970s, going on to win a scholarship to study history at Pembroke College, Cambridge. From Cambridge, he went on to study at Oxford University, where he held a fellowship at Magdalen College.[3]
[edit] Career
In 1981, Hutton moved to the University of Bristol where he became reader of History. Hutton's areas of specialization include the history of the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially on the Reformation, Civil Wars, Restoration and Charles II. He has also written on ancient and medieval paganism and magic, and on witchcraft beliefs and shamanism.
[edit] Works
Hutton's books can be divided into those about 17th century Britain, and those about paganism and folk customs in Britain.
[edit] Paganism and Folklore
His first book on paganism, The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles dealt with paganism in the prehistoric, Celtic paganism, Roman paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism, as well as looking briefly at the effect on folklore and neopaganism.
His book Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft examined the development of Wicca and the context in which it formed. He questioned many assumptions about its development and argued that many of the claimed connections to longstanding hidden pagan traditions are questionable at best. However, he also argued for its importance as a genuine new religious movement. It has been described by Wiccan Frederic Lamond as "an authority on the history of Gardnerian Wicca".[4]
After studying the history of Wicca, Hutton went on to look at the history of Druidry, both historical and neopagan. His first book on the subject, The Druids, was published in 2007. Part of this material was given as the first lecture of the Mount Haemus Award series.[5]. Hutton's latest book, which is also about Druidry, entitled Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain, was released in May 2009. Hutton has described this as the academic and heavyweight counterpart to his earlier book[1].
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] 16th & 17th Century
- Charles the Second, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, (1989), ISBN 0-19-822911-9
- The British Republic 1649-1660, (2000), ISBN 0-333-91324-8
- The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year 1400-1700, (2001), ISBN 0-19-285447-X
- Debates in Stuart History, (2004), ISBN 1-4039-3589-0
[edit] Paganism and Magic
- The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy, (1993), ISBN 0-631-18946-7, an overview of all the pagan peoples of pre-Christian Britain and Ireland.
- The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, (1996), ISBN 0-19-285448-8
- The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, (1999), ISBN 0-19-285449-6, a history of the neopagan religion of Wicca.
- Shamans: Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination, (2001), ISBN 1852853247, a look at Siberian shamanism.
- Witches, Druids and King Arthur, (2003), ISBN 1-85285-397-2, a collection of essays on various topics.
- The Druids: A History, (2007), ISBN 978-1852855338, a history of the Druids, from the historical Celtic priests to the Neo-druidry of the 20th century.
- Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain (2009), a more in-depth history of the Druids.
[edit] Articles
- Pearson, Joanne, Roberts, Richard H, Samuel, Geoffrey. (1998). "The Discovery of the Modern Goddess" in Nature Religion Today. ISBN 0-7486-1057-X.
[edit] Reviews and assessment
[edit] Academic reviews
- Barry Collett, Review of Stations of the Sun, Sixteenth Century Journal, 29/1 (1998): 241-243.
- Christopher W. Marsh, Review of Stations of the Sun, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 50 (1999): 133-135.
- Jonathan Roper, Review of Shamans, Folklore, April 2005, [6]
- Chas S. Clifton, Review of Witches, Druids and King Arthur, The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, 7/1 (2005): 101-103.
- History Today review by Christopher Chippindale of The Pagan Religions Of The Ancient British Isles (1992)
- Hill, Dr. J. D. (2004) A Reply to Ronald Hutton’s Commentary ‘What did Happen to Lindow Man?’ TLS Jan 30th. Sent to The Times Literary Supplement 2004-02-07. (Hutton's original article available here)
[edit] Other reviews
- Margaret Murray and the Distinguished Professor Hutton by Jani Farrell-Roberts: originally published as The Great Debate by Farrell-Roberts and Hutton in The Cauldron, 2003.
- Long, Asphodel P. (1992) Review of "The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles", Wood and Water 39, Summer 1992.
- Barrett, David V, 21/07/2007, The Independent. Book review: The Druids: A History [2]
- Hutton, Ronald, 01/12/1996, history.ac.uk, Review of The Witch in History: Early Modern and Twentieth-Century Representations. [3]
- A review of Ronald Hutton's The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Max Dashu, 1998 (suppressedhistories.net).
- A Review of Ronald Hutton's Blood and Mistletoe in the Independent
[edit] References
- ^ The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles, Ronald Hutton, inner dust jacket author bio
- ^ "Ronald Hutton - The Druid Network". http://druidnetwork.org/profiles/people/ronald_hutton.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-31.
- ^ The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles, Ronald Hutton, inner dust jacket author bio
- ^ Fifty Years of Wicca, Frederic Lamond, 2004, Green Magic press, page 64-65
- ^ "The First Mount Haemus Lecture - The Origins of Modern Druidry". http://druidry.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=PagEd&file=index&topic_id=1&page_id=98. Retrieved on 2008-09-18.
- ^ "Shamans. Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination". http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2386/is_1_116/ai_n13786311. Retrieved on 2008-09-18.
[edit] External links
- Webpage for Ronald Hutton
- The Origins of Modern Druidry by Ronald Hutton, Mt Haemus Award Lecture
- An Interview with Ronald Hutton in which he talks about his historical work and spiritual path.
