Ron Hutton's landmark book "Triumph of the Moon" is on the bookshelf of many Wiccans and Pagans. In it, Hutton asserts there is little connection between modern Paganism and the Paganism of old. For years, Hutton's pronouncements about the history of our religion have influenced many of the movers and shakers of modern Paganism and Wicca. A number of popular Pagan authors rely heavily on Hutton and basically treat it as 'gospel'. Currently there's a budding controversy concerning Hutton's book and the conclusions he reached. For some time, there's been occasional objections raised to Hutton's conclusions. Frequently, these objections have been rapidly silenced by those same movers and shakers. Finally, someone has come forward to more fully flesh-out those criticisms and provide something of a 'take down' of Hutton.
I first read of this at Wildhunt, down in a longer post:
But the discussion really heats up at Fr. Barrabas blog, here:
The comments sections includes posts by some of those directly involved in the recent analysis.
2 comments:
I can't decide how I feel about this "debate". While some wonderful and informative points have been raised, a lot of awesome dialog has been cut short by a few loud and asinine voices. I'm glad Fr. Barrabas wrote his article when he did, it was a wonderful read.
I know what you mean about dialog being cut short. There's more than a few out there who seem to have a vested interest in Hutton being correct. Over the years, when discussing Hutton privately, a few individuals have expressed skepticism of his views. That's one reason I think there is something of a 'pressure cooker' effect right now, as those who have held their tongues for so long now feel empowered.
I have to admit I feel somewhat the same about the "Burning Times" controversy, where a number of scholars have low-balled the totals of those killed. I have serious reservations. Yet, I know what it's like to be 'shut down' or clobbered by a bunch of posts--asking you to defend yourself--on about half a dozen points.
Thanx for your comment.
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