a fascinating volume, which any future study of calendar rituals - or of 'pagan residues' in popular culture - will have to take into account.

Margaret Cormack, Speculum - A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000.

Students of religion will be impressed by the ample evidence the book provides, not for the survival of pagan religious practices in a Christian era, but for the survival of Catholic practices in a Protestant one.

Margaret Cormack, Speculum - A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000.

Well produced and written in a pleasing style, it is a rich source of information about late-medieval calendar customs whose scope extends far beyond the Middle Ages. Stations of the Sun belongs in the reference collection of any college library.

Margaret Cormack, Speculum - A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000.

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a tour de force from one of the liveliest and most wide-ranging of practising English historians this unfailingly stimulating, learned and engaging book places a relatively neglected aspect of English social history firmly on the map.

Eamon Duffy, TLS

Comprehensive and engaging, this colourful study covers the whole sweep of ritual history from the earliest written records to the present day. From May Day revels and Midsummer fires, to Harvest Home and Hallowe'en, to the twelve days of Christmas, Ronald Hutton takes us on a fascinating journey through the ritual year in Britain. He challenges many common assumptions about the customs of the past, and debunks many myths surrounding festivals of the present, to illuminate the history of the calendar year we live by today.
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From May Day revels and Midsummer fires, to Harvest Home, and Hallowe'en, to the twelve days of Christmas, Ronald Hutton takes us on a fascinating journey through the ritual year in Britain. This comprehensive and engaging study covers the whole sweep of history from the earliest written records to the present day.
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1. The Origins of Christmas ; 2. The Twelve Days ; 3. The Trials of Christmas ; 4. Rites of Celebration and Reassurance ; 5. Rites of Purification and Blessing ; 6. Rites of Hospitality and Charity ; 7. Mummers' Play and Sword Dance ; 8. Hobby-Horse and Hord Dance ; 9. Misrul ; 10. The Reinvention of Christmas ; 11. Speeding the Plough ; 12. Brigid's Night ; 13. Candlemas ; 14. Valentines ; 15. Shrovetide ; 16. Lent ; 17. The Origins of Easter ; 18. Holy Week ; 19. An Egg ad Easter ; 20. The Easter Holidays ; 21. England and St George ; 22. Beltane ; 23. The May ; 24. May Games and Whitsun Ales ; 25. Morris and Marian ; 26. Rogatide and Pentecost ; 27. Royal Oak ; 28. A Merrie May ; 29. Corpus Christi ; 30. The Midsummer Fires ; 31. Sheep, Hay, and Rushes ; 32. First Fruits ; 33. Harvest Home ; 34. Wakes, Revels, and Hoppings ; 35. Samhain ; 36. Saints and Souls ; 37. The Modern Hallowe'en ; 38. Blood Month and Virgin Queen ; 39. Gunpowder Treason ; 40. Conclusion
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`a fascinating volume, which any future study of calendar rituals - or of 'pagan residues' in popular culture - will have to take into account.' Margaret Cormack, Speculum - A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000. `Students of religion will be impressed by the ample evidence the book provides, not for the survival of pagan religious practices in a Christian era, but for the survival of Catholic practices in a Protestant one.' Margaret Cormack, Speculum - A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000. `Well produced and written in a pleasing style, it is a rich source of information about late-medieval calendar customs whose scope extends far beyond the Middle Ages. Stations of the Sun belongs in the reference collection of any college library.' Margaret Cormack, Speculum - A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000. `a tour de force from one of the liveliest and most wide-ranging of practising English historians this unfailingly stimulating, learned and engaging book places a relatively neglected aspect of English social history firmly on the map. ' Eamon Duffy, TLS
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Ideal reading for anyone fascinated by British folklore and customs Since publication in 1996, hardback has sold over 10k in hardback and over 5k in paperback Ronald Hutton is a distinguished and well-known historian
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Ronald Hutton is Reader in History at the University of Bristol.
Ideal reading for anyone fascinated by British folklore and customs Since publication in 1996, hardback has sold over 10k in hardback and over 5k in paperback Ronald Hutton is a distinguished and well-known historian
Read more

Product details

ISBN
9780192854483
Published
2001
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Weight
409 gr
Height
198 mm
Width
128 mm
Thickness
32 mm
Age
G, 01
Language
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Number of pages
560

Biographical note

Ronald Hutton is Reader in History at the University of Bristol.