Newsgroups: alt.pagan
From: nimue@cix.compulink.co.uk ("Vivienne Oregan")
Subject: Book Notice: A History of Pagan Europe
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 1995 08:26:41 GMT

'A History of Pagan Europe' by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick
Published by Routledge, Kegan Paul, London 1995 and simultaneously in USA 
an Canada by Routledge, New York. Hardbound. 262 pps/ illustrated with 
index and bibliography.

This is a notice rather than a formal review. As I am not an academic I 
cannot usefully analyse this work from that viewpoint. This is posted to 
bring the publication to the electronic pagan community's attention. 

There has been a great deal of anticipation within the UK pagan community 
for the publication of this work, which has been in preparation by its 
authors for many years. Prudence Jones is a former president of The Pagan 
Federation and co-editor of 'Voices From the Circle: the Heritage of 
Western Paganism'. She is a well established figure in the United 
Kingdom, as is her co-author Nigel Pennick who has written extensively on 
the Northern Tradition and Earth Mysteries (sacred geometry and 
alphabets).

A History of Pagan Europe is being placed under 'History/Religious 
History' section and is cited as a comprehensive study of paganism as "a 
persistent force in European history with a profound influence on modern 
thinking". 

For those who may wonder whether it may be 'sound' (not knowing the 
background of its authors) it is endorsed by Dr Miranda Green, University 
of Wales and acknowledgement is given to, among others, Dr Ronald Hutton 
for his reading of the MS and assistance in making sure the authors had 
their facts straight and keeping them up to date with current scholarship 
on the subject. They do stress that any errors in the work remain theirs 
and not those who gave assistance in their researches.

Chapter headings are as follows:  1. Introduction: Paganism Old and New.  
2. The Greeks and the Eastern Mediterranean 3. Rome and the Western 
Mediterranean  4. The Roman Empire  5. The Celtic World  6. The Later 
Celts 7 The Germanic Peoples 8. Late Germanic Religion  9. The Baltic 
Lands 10. Russia and the Balkans 11. Paganism Reaffirmed.

For myself I am extremely happy to see the title of that final chapter 
because 'paganism reaffirmed' sums up for me what is happening at the 
present time.  I am aware that this statement may stir up a certain 
degree of controversy on the newsgroup though perhaps it shall in its own 
way open up a useful discussion.       


Vivienne