The Pagan Revival - The Roots of Modern British Paganism, 1700-1950

This book is a unique documentary history of the religious tradition known as contemporary Paganism. It covers the period from around 1700 to 1950, with an emphasis on developments in Great Britain. Through the medium of pertinent texts accompanied by narrative and commentary, it seeks to explain and illustrate how this fascinating tradition was conceived and how it evolved over time. It takes in the various twists and turns in the story, from the first stirrings of revival in the Enlightenment years, via Romantic poets and Victorian occultists, to the Woodcraft and witchcraft movements of the twentieth century. Some of the texts that are reproduced are well-known and familiar, while others are being made widely available for the first time. The story of how Pagan religious traditions came be revived in the modern world has been told many times, but the scholarship has tended to focus disproportionately on developments in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In particular, researchers have tended to focus on the decades after 1950, when Gerald Gardner and his followers were publicizing the witch religion of Wicca and the work of Aleister Crowley underwent a rediscovery. The Pagan Revival is a valuable resource for academics and students in the fields of Pagan studies, cultural history and the history of ideas. It will also be of interest to general readers who are curious about this absorbing chapter of modern religious history.