by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick
A History of Pagan Europe is an excellent book which traces the histories of Pagan religions in Europe starting Greeks and Etruscans in the Before Common Era (BCE) years up through its reaffirmation in more modern times. It breaks down into the major cultural groups of Europe and describes a history of each group’s religion (how it came to prominence, its effects on its peoples, and how it was altered over time) and then also gives a brief description or overview of the details of the religion. All of these are backed up with well researched facts and quotes from other prominent researchers as well as historic authors of the time periods in question. It also covers the rise of Christianity and its subsequent effects on the Pagan practices of Europe. It goes up through the Reformation period, discussing the resurgence and reaffirmation of Paganism, and touches briefly on the presence of Paganism in the modern day.
This book is a fantastic compiling of information. Though at many times rather dense and chock full of complex quotes and facts, it is a wonderful overview of the histories and beliefs of the peoples it covers. Great care was clearly taken in the writing of this book to ensure its accuracy, but also its objectivity so that it could considered an academic book as opposed to just another Pagan writing on his/her interpretations of Pagan history. Even in discussing the attempts by the Christians to stamp out Paganism, an even, objective tone was kept showing favoritism to either side, simply fact. I was glad of this use of the tone as it gives the book credibility and makes it a firmer piece of literature.
I found this book to be completely fascinating. Though the slim tome cannot possibly cover all of the history in the vast span of years it covers, it was full of amazing details and small facts that I had not known before that truly helped to give me a fuller understanding of Our Druidry and the ADF ritual format. One part that stands out particularly in my mind was the discussion on how Ancient Grecians always gave sacrifice or libation to the Earth prior to doing so for any other deity, showing the precident for our own invocations to the Earth Mother at the beginning of each ritual. Also the emphasis of tree reverence and worship that was practically universal across Europe was made so much more clear to me. Prior to this, though I appreciated our reverence for trees, this made the entrenchment of tree reverence in ADF more understandable for me. I was also extremely intrigued by the play between Paganism and Christianity in Ancient Rome and the play between the two; Pagans claim to have been persecuted for years by the Christian Church, however, Christians were also persecuted for quite sometime by Pagan kingdoms across Europe as well. I was not aware of how prominent Paganism remained either. School textbooks make it seem like Christianity came and all other religions disappeared, when in fact there were long wars and many, many instances where Paganism was reinstated as official religions for decades before being pushed out again. This book also helped me to appreciate the fact that the religion never truly disappeared, it was simply pushed underground and re-adapted in to something else. As I have already mentioned, this book has strengthened my understanding of the history and background of Paganism immensely and I am extremely glad to have read it. I would gladly recommend, and have already recommended, the reading of this book to friends and colleagues, regardless of their religious affiliations.
(Word Count – 606)
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