Blood and Mistletoe

The History of the Druids in Britain

By: Ronald Hutton

Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon

The acclaimed author of Witches, Druids, and King Arthur presents a "lucid, open-minded" cultural history of the Druids as part of British identity (Terry Jones).

Crushed by the Romans in the first century A.D., the ancient Druids of Britain left almost no reliable evidence behind. Historian Ronald Hutton shows how this lack of definite information has allowed succeeding British generations to reimagine, reinterpret, and reinvent the Druids. Hutton's captivating book is the first to encompass two thousand years of Druid history and to explore the evolution of English, Scottish, and Welsh attitudes toward the forever ambiguous figures of the ancient Celtic world.

Druids have been remembered at different times as patriots, scientists, philosophers, or priests. Sometimes portrayed as corrupt, bloodthirsty, or ignorant, they were also seen as fomenters of rebellion. Hutton charts how the Druids have been written in and out of history, archaeology, and the public consciousness for some 500 years, with particular focus on the romantic period, when Druids completely dominated notions of British prehistory. Sparkling with legends, filled with new perspectives on ancient and modern times, this fascinating cultural study reveals Druids as catalysts in British history.

©2009 Ronald Hutton (P)2025 Tantor Media

VERY compelling read

Dry in some spots, but well worth the listen. I came to one conclusion (so did the author): Druidry is based on baldashery, BS and buffoonery of people who wanted to carve out a niche for Wales. Further, the modern mythos of the Druids very probably impacted/created the Masons and the very baseline of "the Druids," coming from period pieces by the Romans, was itself suspect.

Great history!

Gives a great history of writers throughout the ages and what they tried to explain Druidry was.

lots of information

although this book had lots of good information in it, I did find it. unfortunately kind of boring in a way to listen to for so long. I would recommend it only if you're really interested in the subject like extremely.