Ronald Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol and is an occasional commentator on British television and radio on the history of paganism in the British Isles. The University of Bristol is a university in Bristol in the United Kingdom. ...

Hutton's areas of specialisation include the history of the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially on the Reformation, Civil Wars, Restoration and Charles II. He has also written on ancient and medieval paganism and magic, and on witchcraft beliefs and shamanism. The British Isles consist of Great Britain, Ireland and a number of much smaller surrounding islands. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... King Charles II The English Restoration or simply Restoration was an episode in the history of Great Britain beginning in 1660 when the monarchy was restored under King Charles II after the English Civil War. ... Charles II or The Merry Monarch (29 May 1630–6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus) and heathenry are blanket terms used primarily by Christians which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions, as opposed to the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. ... Magic or sorcery are terms referring to the alleged influencing of events and physical phenomena by supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. ... Witchcraft, in various historical, religious and mythical contexts, is the use of certain kinds of alleged supernatural or magical powers. ... The shaman is an intellectual and spiritual figure who is regarded as possessing power and influence on other peoples in the tribe and performs several functions, primarily that of a healer ( medicine man). The shaman provides medical care, and serves other community needs during crisis times, via supernatural means (means...

In three books, he studied the development of the ritual year in Britain, exploring many myths about the antiquity of festivals and practices. His book Triumph of the Moon: A history of Modern Pagan Witchcraft examined the development of Wicca and the context in which it formed. He questioned many assumptions about its 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. The word mythology (Greek: μυθολογία, from μυθος mythos, a story or legend, and λογος logos, an account or speech) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A new religious movement or NRM is a religious, ethical, or spiritual grouping of fairly recent origin which is not part of an established religion and has not yet become recognised as a standard denomination, church, or religious body. ...

Rumours that he is working on a history of homosexuality in paganism are, according to Ronald Hutton, unfounded.

Publications

• Charles the Second, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, 1989 - ISBN 0198229119
• The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy, 1993 - ISBN 0631189467
• "The Discovery of the Modern Goddess" in Nature Religion Today, (Joanne Pearson,Richard H. Roberts, Geoffrey Samuel, eds) 1998 - ISBN 074861057X
• The British Republic 1649-1660, 2000 - ISBN 0333913248
• The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year, 1400-1700, 2001 - ISBN 019285447X
• The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, 2001 - ISBN 0192854488
• The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, 2001 - ISBN 0192854496
• Shamans: Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination, 2001 - ISBN 1852953247
• Witches, Druids and King Arthur, 2003 - ISBN 1852853972
• Debates in Stuart History, 2004 - ISBN 1403935890

External links

• Webpage for Ronald Hutton

Reviews and Assessment

• 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, [1]
• Chas S. Clifton, Review of Witches, Druids and King Arthur, The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, 7/1 (2005): 101-103.
• A review of Ronald Hutton's The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Max Dashu, 1998. Last accessed 27 April 2006.
• Margaret Murray and the Distinguished Professor Hutton by Jani Farrell-Roberts: originally published as The Great Debate by Farrell-Roberts and Hutton in The Cauldron, 2003.