Ronald Hutton
Ronald Hutton Ootacamund, India | |
---|---|
Occupation(s) | Historian, author |
Known for | The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles (1991), The Rise and Fall of Merry England (1994), The Stations of the Sun (1996), The Triumph of the Moon (1999), Shamans (2001) |
Title | Professor of History |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Pembroke College, Cambridge (BA) Magdalen College, Oxford (DPhil) |
Thesis | The Royalist war effort in Wales and the West Midlands, 1642–1646 (1980) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | History |
Sub-discipline | English folklore, pre-Christian religion, contemporary Paganism |
Institutions | University of Bristol |
Ronald Edmund Hutton
Born in
He followed these with books about historical paganism, folklore, and modern paganism in Britain:
Elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales in 2011,[1] then a Fellow of the British Academy in 2013,[2] Hutton was appointed Gresham Professor of Divinity in 2022.[3]
Biography
Early life: 1953–1980
"I had begun in the 1960s by believing completely in the concept of early modern witchcraft as a Pagan religion of feminism, liberation, and affirmation of life. In 1973 I debated against the historian Norman Cohn at Cambridge University, defending the historical legitimacy of Charles Godfrey Leland's "witches' gospel" Aradia, and was floored by him. During the rest of the decade my belief in the old orthodoxy concerning the witch trials slipped away, as I read more and more of the new research and checked the original records (for England and Scotland) myself."
Hutton on his views of European witchcraft, 2010[4]
Hutton was born on 19 December 1953 in
Despite his love of archaeology, he instead decided to study history at university, believing that he had "probably more aptitude" for it. He won a scholarship to study at
Bristol University and first publications: 1981–1990
In 1981, Hutton moved to the University of Bristol where he took up the position of reader of History. In that year he also published his first book, The Royalist War Effort 1642–1646, and followed it with three more books on 17th century British history by 1990.
The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: 1991–1993
Hutton followed his studies on the Early Modern period with a book on a very different subject, The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy (1991), in which he attempted to "set out what is at present known about the religious beliefs and practices of the British Isles before their conversion to Christianity. The term 'pagan' is used as a convenient shorthand for those beliefs and practices, and is employed in the title merely to absolve the book from any need to discuss
The book proved controversial amongst some contemporary Pagans and feminists involved in the
Meanwhile, whilst he faced criticism from some sectors of the Pagan community in Britain, others came to embrace him; during the late 1980s and 1990s, Hutton befriended a number of practising British Pagans, including "leading Druids" such as Tim Sebastion, who was then Chief of the Secular Order of Druids. On the basis of The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles (which he himself had not actually read), Sebastion invited Hutton to speak at a conference in Avebury where he befriended a number of members of the Pagan Druidic movement, including Philip Carr-Gomm, Emma Restall Orr and John Michell.[14]
Studies of British folklore: 1994–1996
In the following years, Hutton released two books on British folklore, both of which were published by Oxford University Press: The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year 1400–1700 (1994) and The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (1996). In these works he criticised commonly held attitudes, such as the idea of Merry England and the idea that folk customs were static and unchanging over the centuries.[15][16] Once again, he was following prevailing expert opinion in doing so.
The Triumph of the Moon: 1997–1999
In 1999, his first work fully focusing on Paganism was published by Oxford University Press; The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. The book dealt with the history of the Pagan religion of Wicca, and in the preface Hutton stated that:
- the subtitle of this book should really be 'a history of modern pagan witchcraft in South Britain (England, Wales, Cornwall and Man), with some reference to it in the rest of the British Isles, Continental Europe and North America'. The fact that it claims to be a history and not the history is in itself significant, for this book represents the first systematic attempt by a professional historian to characterise and account for this aspect of modern Western culture."[17]
Hutton questioned many assumptions about Wicca's development and argued that many of the claimed connections to longstanding hidden pagan traditions are questionable at best. However, he also argued for its importance as a genuine new religious movement.
Response from the Neopagan community
The response from the Neopagan community was somewhat mixed. Many Pagans embraced his work, with the prominent Wiccan Elder
Shamans and Witches, Druids and King Arthur: 2000–2006
Hutton next turned his attention to Siberian
In his review for the academic Folklore journal, Jonathan Roper of the University of Sheffield noted that the work "could profitably have been twice as long and have provided a more extended treatment of the issues involved" and that it suffered from a lack of images. On the whole however he thought it "certainly [should] be recommended to readers as an important work" on the subject of shamanism, and he hoped that Hutton would "return to treat this fascinating topic in even greater depth in future."[20]
In 2003, Hambledon & London also published Witches, Druids and King Arthur, a collection of various articles by Hutton, including on topics such as the nature of myth and the pagan themes found within the works of
The Druids and Blood and Mistletoe: 2007–2009
"Predictably, Hutton finds himself defending his position on two fronts. Neo-pagans, clinging to the notion that their beliefs are part of an ancient nature religion, and radical feminists upholding the idea of a primeval matriarchal society (which Hutton finds "rather delightful"), scorn Hutton's refreshingly cheerful acceptance that there seems little evidence for either of these. And his less unbuttoned colleagues shake their heads at his optimism about Druidry and other 'alternative spiritualities' as valid contemporary religions."
Gary Lachman, 2007[21]
After studying the history of Wicca, Hutton went on to look at the history of
In a review by David V. Barrett in The Independent, Blood and Mistletoe was described as being more "academic and more than three times the length" of The Druids, although Barrett argued that despite this it was still "very readable", even going so far as to call it a "tour de force".[23] The review by Noel Malcolm in The Daily Telegraph was a little more critical, claiming that whilst Hutton was "non-sensationalist and scrupulously polite" about the various Druidic eccentrics, "occasionally, even-handedness tips over towards relativism – as if there are just different ways of looking at reality, each as good as the other. And that cannot be right."[24]
Personal life
"My colleagues would kill me for saying this, but historians are increasingly conscious of the fact that we can't write history. What we can write about is the way in which people see history and think history happens."
Hutton on history, 2007[21]
Hutton was married to Lisa Radulovic from August 1988 to March 2003, when they divorced.[5] Although he has written much on the subject of Paganism, Hutton insists that his own religious beliefs are a private matter. He has instead stated that "to some extent history occupies the space in my life filled in that of others by religion or spirituality. It defines much of the way I come to terms with the cosmos, and with past, present and future."[8] He was raised Pagan, and was personally acquainted with Wiccans from youth.[25] He has become a "well-known and much loved figure" in the British Pagan community.[26]
Interviewing Hutton for The Independent, the journalist Gary Lachman commented that he had "a very pragmatic, creative attitude, recognising that factual error can still produce beneficial results", for instance noting that even though their theories about the Early Modern witch-cult were erroneous, Margaret Murray and Gerald Gardner would help lay the foundations for the creation of the new religious movement of Wicca.[21]
Hutton was appointed
Works
Hutton's books can be divided into those about seventeenth-century Britain and those about paganism and folk customs in Britain.
Seventeenth century Britain
In his What If the Gunpowder Plot Had Succeeded?, Hutton has considered what might have happened if the
Bibliography
Books
Title | Year | Publisher | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
The Royalist War Effort 1642–1646 | 1982 | Routledge (London) | |
The Restoration: A Political and Religious History of England and Wales 1658–1667 | 1985 | Clarendon | 0-19-822698-5 |
Charles the Second, King of England, Scotland and Ireland | 1989 | Clarendon | 0-19-822911-9 |
The British Republic 1649–1660 | 1990 | Palgrave Macmillan | |
The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy | 1991 | Blackwell (Oxford and Cambridge) | 0-631-18946-7 |
The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year 1400–1700 | 1994 | Oxford University Press (Oxford and New York) | 9 780198-203636 |
The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain | 1996 | Oxford University Press (Oxford and New York) | |
The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft | 1999 | Oxford University Press (Oxford and New York) | 9 780198 207443 |
Shamans: Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination | 2001 | Hambledon and London (London and New York) | 1-85295-324-7 |
Witches, Druids and King Arthur | 2003 | Hambledon | |
Debates in Stuart History | 2004 | Palgrave Macmillan | |
The Druids: A History | 2007 | Hambledon Continuum | |
Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain | 2009 | Yale University Press (London) | 978-0-300-14485-7 |
A Brief History of Britain 1485–1660: The Tudor and Stuart Dynasties | 2011 | Robinson | 978-1845297046 |
Pagan Britain | 2013 | Oxford University Press | 978-0300197716 |
The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present | 2017 | Yale University Press | 978-0300229042 |
The Making of Oliver Cromwell | 2021 | Yale University Press | 978-0300257458 |
Queens of the Wild: Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe: An Investigation | 2022 | Yale University Press | 978-0300261011 |
Journal articles
- "Romano-British Reuse of Prehistoric Ritual Sites" in Britannia Vol. 42 (2011), pp. 1–22.
Tapes
- England's Haunted Hills the Cotswolds
1991 Educational Excursions 1-878877-06-2
Documentaries
- Britain's Wicca Man, documentary on Wicca and Gerald Gardener, 2012.[29]
- A Very British Witchcraft, documentary, 2013.[30]
- Professor Hutton's Curiosities, documentary series, 2013.[31]
Appearances
- Scariest Places on Earth[citation needed]
- Unsolved Mysteries (Episode #10.3, 1998)[32]
- Tales from the Green Valley
- Edwardian Farm
- Victorian Farm, documentary series following three historians as they live the life of Victorian farmers.
- Tudor Monastery Farm
- The Pagans
- Ancient Aliens
- Secrets of Great British Castles
- The Pendle Witch Child
- Cunk On Britain
Reviews and assessment
Academic reviews
- Donald Frew. Methodological Flaws in Recent Studies of Historical & Modern Witchcraft. Ethnologies, Vol. 20 #1, (1998): pp. 33-65.
- Barry Collett, Review of Stations of the Sun, Sixteenth Century Journal, 29/1 (1998): 241–243.
- Christopher W. Marsh, Review of Stations of the Sun, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 50 (1999): 133–135.
- Jonathan Roper, Review of Shamans, Folklore, April 2005,[20]
- Chas S. Clifton, Review of Witches, Druids and King Arthur Archived 1 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, 7/1 (2005): 101–103.
- Christopher Chippindale, Review of The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles, History Today, (1992)
- de Blécourt, Willem (2017). Review of The Witch, Reviews in History
- Hill, J. D. (2004) A Reply to Ronald Hutton's Commentary 'What did Happen to Lindow Man?' TLS 30 Jan at the Wayback Machine (archived 8 January 2006). Sent to The Times Literary Supplement 7 February 2004. (Hutton's original article available here at the Wayback Machine (archived 28 August 2005)) (A critical review)
Other reviews
- Whitmore, Ben. Trials of the Moon: Reopening the Case for Historical Witchcraft, 2010.
- Margaret Murray and the Distinguished Professor Hutton at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 April 2008) by Jani Farrell-Roberts: originally published as The Great Debate by Farrell-Roberts and Hutton in The Cauldron, 2003.
- Long, Asphodel P. (1992) Review of "The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles", Wood and Water 39, Summer 1992.
- Barrett, David V., 21 July 2007, Independent. Book review: The Druids: A History[33]
- Hutton, Ronald, 01/12/1996, history.ac.uk, Review of The Witch in History: Early Modern and Twentieth-Century Representations.[34]
- A review of Ronald Hutton's The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Max Dashu, 1998 (suppressedhistories.net).
- A Review of Ronald Hutton's Blood and Mistletoe in the Independent
- The Roots of Witchcraft: A study of the effects of hallucinogenic plants can explain much about sorcery and demonic possession through the ages by Robert Carver in The Spectator (a review of The Witch by Ronald Hutton)]
References
Footnotes
- ^ Wales, The Learned Society of. "Ronald Hutton". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Professor Ronald Hutton FBA". The British Academy. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "Ronald Hutton Appointed Gresham Professor of Divinity". gresham.ac.uk. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ Hutton 2010. p. 240.
- ^ a b International Who's Who 2003, p. 265.
- ^ a b Hutton 1991. p. dust jacket.
- ISSN 0018-2753.
- ^ a b c Hutton 2009. pp. xii–xiii.
- ^ Ronald, Hutton (1980). The Royalist war effort in Wales and the West Midlands, 1642–1646 (Thesis). Oxford University Research Archive.
- ^ Hutton 1991. p. vii.
- ^ Long 1992.
- ^ Hutton 2010. p. 257.
- ^ Dashu 1998.
- ^ Hutton 2009. p. xiv.
- JSTOR 2544475.
- ^ Robb, Graham. "Pagan Britain by Ronald Hutton – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ Hutton 1999. p. vii.
- ^ Lamond 2004. p. 64-65.
- ^ Farrell-Roberts, Jani. (May 2003). The Cauldron
- ^ JSTOR 30035256.
- ^ a b c Lachman 2007.
- ^ "The First Mount Haemus Lecture – The Origins of Modern Druidry". Retrieved 18 September 2008.
- ^ Barrett 2009.
- ^ Malcolm 2009.
- ^ Ronald Hutton, Witches, Druids and King Arthur, p. 269.
- ^ Whitlock 2011. p. 33.
- ^ "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N10.
- ^ Ronald Hutton (1 April 2001). "What If the Gunpowder Plot Had Succeeded?". BBC. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
- ^ "4Press | Channel 4".
- ^ "http: TV Show Reviews, Forum, Discussion, News, Polls, Video and more TV Guide UK TVguide.co.uk, Film, Soaps, Sports News, Freeview".
- ^ "Professor Hutton's Curiosities (TV Series)".
- ^ "imdb". IMDb. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ The Independent[dead link]
- ^ "Reviews in History". Archived from the original on 23 June 2002.
Sources
- Academic books
- Hutton, Ronald (1991). The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy. Oxford, U.K. and Cambridge, U.S.: Blackwell.
- Hutton, Ronald (1999). The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
- Hutton, Ronald (2009). Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain. London: Yale University Press.
- Hutton, Ronald (2010). "Writing the History of Witchcraft: A Personal View". The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies. 12 (2): 239–262. .
- Non-academic sources
- Barrett, David V. (15 May 2009). "Blood and Mistletoe: a history of the Druids in Britain, By Ronald Hutton". The Independent. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- Lachman, Gary (13 May 2007). "Ronald Hutton – Wicca and other invented traditions". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- Lamond, Frederic (2004). Fifty Years of Wicca. Green Magic.
- Long, Asphodel (Summer 1992). "Review of The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles". Wood and Water. 39. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- Malcolm, Noel (17 May 2009). "Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain By Ronald Hutton: review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- Whitlock, Robin (January–February 2011). "Is it time for Pagans to fight for their rights?". Kindred Spirit. 108: 32–34.
- International Who's Who (2003). "Hutton, Ronald Edmund". International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004. p. 265. ISBN 9781857431797.
External links
- University of Bristol: Department of History: Ronald Hutton
- Ronald Hutton at IMDb
- The Origins of Modern Druidry by Ronald Hutton, Mt Haemus Award Lecture
- An Interview with Ronald Hutton in which he talks about his historical work and spiritual path
- Listen to 'The Changing Face of Manx Witchcraft'. A Public lecture by Ronald Hutton at the Manx Museum, 15 January 2010