Rethinking the Ancient Druids (eBook)

An Archaeological Perspective

Miranda Aldhouse-Green (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2021
224 Seiten
University of Wales Press (Verlag)
978-1-78683-799-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Ancient Classical authors have painted the Druids in a bad light, defining them as a barbaric priesthood, who 2,000 years ago perpetrated savage and blood rites in ancient Britain and Gaul in the name of their gods. Archaeology tells a different and more complicated story of this enigmatic priesthood, a theocracy with immense political and sacred power. This book explores the tangible 'footprint' the Druids have left behind: in sacred spaces, art, ritual equipment, images of the gods, strange burial rites and human sacrifice. Their material culture indicates how close was the relationship between Druids and the spirit-world, which evidence suggests they accessed through drug-induced trance.

Autor

The book is aimed primarily at a scholarly audience but is written so as to be accessible to all, including readers who are new to the subject.

Inhalt

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Preface
PROLOGUE: The untouched Cave
CH. 1: Time and Space: contextualizing Druids in the ancient world
CH. 2: Barbarians and Wise Men: rethinking Classical texts
CH. 3: Spiritual Spaces: rites and beliefs in Iron Age Britain and Gaul
CH. 4: Images and Symbols: sacred art and the Druids
CH. 5: Welsh Connections: spotlight on Druidic Wales
CH. 6: A Holy War: Boudica and the Druids against Rome
CH. 7: Reading Runes and Telling Spoons: divining the divine
CH. 8: Druids and Deities: changing spirits in Roman Gaul and Britain
CH. 9: Ideas of Afterlife: death, burial and reincarnation
EPILOGUE: The Untouched Cave Revisited
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 15.9.2021
• Reihe/Serie: New Approaches to Celtic Religion and Mythology
• Reihe/Serie: New Approaches to Celtic Religion and Mythology
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik ► Vor- und Frühgeschichte / Antike
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Archäologie
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Vor- und Frühgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Schlagworte: An • Ancient • archaeological • Druids • Perspective • Rethinking
• ISBN-10: 1-78683-799-4 / 1786837994
• ISBN-13: 978-1-78683-799-8 / 9781786837998