Tag Archives: Prudence Jones

A History of Pagan Europe

Julianus reviews A History of Pagan Europe by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick, in the Bkwyrm archive.

A brilliant survey that every Pagan should read, this overview is an amazing look at “forgotten” history covering the whole continent of Europe from the Bronze Age to the present. Of particular interest are the many accounts of Pagan resistance, survivals, and even reconversion thoughout the “Christian” era. Scrupulous research and documentation make these passages far more powerful than anything in Margaret Murray. After reading this book Christianity seems like the bizarre obsession of a strange minority and I won’t be surprised if it rises to the top of the “most-banned” list. The only possible complaint about this book is that it is too short: each chapter could easily be expanded into a separate volume on its own, and I sincerely hope that future researchers will do just that.

A History of Pagan Europe

A History of Pagan Europe by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick, a 2000 reprint paperback from Routledge, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Prudence Jones Nigel Pennick A History of Pagan Europe from Routledge

“The first comprehensive study of its kind, this fully illustrated book establishes Paganism as a persistent force in European history with a profound influence on modern thinking.

From the serpent goddesses of ancient Crete to modern nature-worship and the restoration of the indigenous religions of eastern Europe, this wide-ranging book offers a rewarding new perspective of European history.

In this definitive study, Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick draw together the fragmented sources of Europe’s native religions and establish the coherence and continuity of the Pagan world vision. Exploring Paganism as it developed from the ancient world through the Celtic and Germanic periods, the authors finally appraise modern Paganism and its apparent causes as well as addressing feminist spirituality, the heritage movement, nature-worship and ‘deep’ ecology.

This innovative and comprehensive history of European Paganism will provide a stimulating, reliable guide to this popular dimension of religious culture for the academic and the general reader alike.” [via]