Ronald Hutton

Crushed by the Romans in the first century A.D., the ancient Druids of Britain left almost no reliable evidence behind. Because of this, historian Ronald Hutton shows, succeeding British generations have been free 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...

The second volume in an acclaimed biography of Oliver Cromwell, from the capture of Charles I to the expulsion of the Long Parliament. In 1647, the Parliamentarians were divided. They had won the first civil war and the king was in custody, but disagreements over the way forward had led to a stalemate. As the leader of one party, Oliver...

Britain's pagan past, with its mysterious monuments, atmospheric sites, enigmatic artefacts, bloodthirsty legends, and cryptic inscriptions, is both enthralling and perplexing to a resident of the twenty-first century. In this ambitious and thoroughly up-to-date book, Pagan Britain, Ronald Hutton reveals the long development, rapid suppression, and enduring cultural significance of paganism, from the Paleolithic era to the coming of Christianity....

The first volume in a pioneering account of Oliver Cromwell—providing a major new interpretation of one of the greatest figures in history “Hutton’s book is intelligent, well documented, and stylish.”—Keith Thomas, New York Review of Books The Making of Oliver Cromwell by Ronald Hutton explores the life of Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), the only English commoner to become the overall head...

Why have societies all across the world feared witchcraft? This book delves deeply into its context, beliefs, and origins in Europe’s history. "Traces the idea of witches far beyond the Salem witch trials to beliefs and attitudes about witches around the world throughout history.”—Los Angeles Times The Witch came to prominence—and often a painful death—in early modern Europe, yet her...

A concise history of the goddess-like figures who evade both Christian and pagan traditions, from the medieval period to the present day. In this riveting account, renowned scholar Ronald Hutton explores the history of deity-like figures in Christian Europe. Drawing on anthropology, archaeology, literature, and history, Hutton shows how hags, witches, the Fairy Queen, and the Green Man all came...

The second volume in an acclaimed biography of Oliver Cromwell, from the capture of Charles I to the expulsion of the Long Parliament In 1647, the Parliamentarians were divided. They had won the first civil war and the king was in custody, but disagreements over the way forward had led to a stalemate. As the leader of one party, Oliver...

This is the first survey of religious beliefs in the British Isles from the Old Stone Age to the coming of Christianity, one of the least familiar periods in Britain's history. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Ronald Hutton draws upon a wealth of new data, much of it archaeological, that has transformed interpretation over the past...

The English Civil War remains the most prolonged and traumatic example of internal violence in the history of the state. This book shows how such war was achieved and sustained, and how ultimately it was won and lost. In a new introduction to this second edition, the author places his vivid account of the royalist war effort into modern historical...