The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain by Ronald Hutton (PDF)

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From the twelve days of Christmas to the Spring traditions of Valentine, Shrovetide, and Easter eggs, through May Day revels and Midsummer fires, and on to the waning of the year, Harvest Home, and Hallowe’en; Ronald Hutton takes us on a fascinating journey through the ritual year in Britain. His comprehensive study covers all the British Isles and the whole sweep of history from the earliest written records to the present day. Great and lesser, ancient and modern, Christian and pagan, all rituals are treated with the same attention. The result is a colorful and absorbing history in which Ronald Hutton challenges many common assumptions about the customs of the past and the festivals of the present debunking many myths and illuminates the history of the calendar we live by. Stations of the Sun is the first complete scholarly work to cover the full span of British rituals, challenging the work of specialists from the late Victorian period onwards, reworking our picture of the field thoroughly, and raising issues for historians of every period.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review `absorbing study’ Lorn Macintyre, Glasgow Herald`a scholarly work meticulously detailing the origins of every traditional holiday or ritual day in Britain’s history … As a historical document, the breadth of detail is gripping, but as an exploration of British beliefs over the millenium about to go forever, it’s unmissable.’ Flic Everett, Manchester Evening News`an exhaustive account of the traditions and rituals practised in the British Isles from time immemorial to the present’ Sybil Owen, Oxford Times`Hutton’s work is not dry as dust but of a piece with the ever-expanding purlieux of social history. He does not string out paragraphs upon a modicum of fact. Each is fertile with detail … this elegantly produced and remarkably cheap volume will find an honoured place in the library of every self-respecting New Age caravan that is Glastonbury-bound, and, elsewhere, it will command a sale well beyond the run-up to Christmas once known as Advent.’ Christopher Hawtree, The Independent`The Stations of the Sun is a dedicated, meticulous piece of research.’ David Woodthorpe, Plymouth Evening Herald`scholarly, readable history of British seasonal rituals … Hutton takes us informatively through “the ritual year”, from Christmas to Bonfire Night’ Paul Barker, The Times`he seeks … to put the record straight rather than stir up controversy for the sake of it, and has prduced a work that will be respected for its temperate argument and its prodigious research. From Christmas to Hallowe’en, there is barely a ritual or a custom that escapes his eye in the most detailed book of its kind ever written.’ Henry Hardcastle, Evergeen, Autumn 1996`he seeks … to put the record straight rather than stir up controversy for the sake of it, and has prduced a work that will be respected for its temperate argument and its prodigious research. From Christmas to Hallowe’en, there is barely a ritual or a custom that escapes his eye in the most detailed book of its kind ever written.’ Henry Hardcastle, Evergreen, Autumn 1996`Ronald Hutton’s splendid new book is a comprehensive history of the customs and beliefs whch constitute the ritual year in Britain … it is a tour de force, from one of the livelist and most wide-ranging of practising English historians … this is a historical encyclopaedia, unfailingly informative and stimulating; but a connecting thread does run through the book … This is a welcome work of demystification, bringing the cold light of historical inquiry to bear on an area which has been surrounded with a good deal of pseudo-science and sheer gobbledegook … this is a marvellously detailed exploration of a now familiar historical pheomenon, the invention of “tradition” … unfailingly stimulating, learned and engaging book, which places a relatively neglected aspect of English social history firmly on the map.’ Times Literary Supplement`uncovers a mass of fascinating material about rites and festivals, showing how irrepressible such inventiveness remains in spite of globalised entertainment’ Marina Warner, Independent on Sunday`He has made an immense, unequalled trawl of documentary records throughout the island. Supported by this and by his previous books on pagan religion and the ritual year, he expounds the subject with greater authority and evidence than anyone before. He presents us with important, even startling, new facts. This is a rich, delightful and stimulating book for browsing, study or reference.’ Nicholas Orme, Church Times`this meticulously argued, painstakingly documented and often fascinating book provides a rich historical analysis of the development of the non-Christian (but also non-pagan) aspects of contemporary festivals’ London Review of Books`He achieves a great deal as each section, treated in turn with a major calendar festival, ritual or customary period, is a mini-history complete in itself. … Hutton’s studies are well-integrated and produce a coherent whole. … The Stations of the Sun provides the fullest and most important study yet of British calendar customs. … Thanks to his work, we are able to recover the full significance of this particular customary period in the British calendar – the ripening of the corn.’ The Times Higher Education Supplement, 19 September 1997`Hutton attempts in a highly readable text that will serve the scholar and general reader alike to provide the first truly complete survey of the history of communal, seasonal rites and customs. To do this he pieced together vast quantities of raw material … In this engaging exploration his work will be useful to students of popular culture and literature, folklorists, historians, and even the old-fashioned enthusiast.’ Royal W Rhodes, Journal of Ritual Studies 12.2 Winter 1998`a fascinating volume, which any future study of calendar rituals – or of ‘pagan residues’ in popular culture – will have to take into account.’ Margaret Cormack, Speculum – A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000.`Students of religion will be impressed by the ample evidence the book provides, not for the survival of pagan religious practices in a Christian era, but for the survival of Catholic practices in a Protestant one.’ Margaret Cormack, Speculum – A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000.`Well produced and written in a pleasing style, it is a rich source of information about late-medieval calendar customs whose scope extends far beyond the Middle Ages. Stations of the Sun belongs in the reference collection of any college library.’ Margaret Cormack, Speculum – A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000. From the Back Cover From the twelve days of Christmas to the spring traditions of Valentine, Shrovetide, and Easter eggs, through May Day revels and Midsummer fires, and on to the waning of the year, Harvest Home and Hallowe’en, Ronald Hutton takes us on a fascinating journey through the ritual year in Britain. His comprehensive study covers all the British Isles and the whole sweep of history from the earliest written records to the present day. Great and lesser, ancient and modern, Christian and pagan, all rituals are treated with the same attention. The result is a colourful and absorbing history in which Ronald Hutton challenges many common assumptions about the customs of the past and the festivals of the present, debunking many myths, and illuminates the history of the calendar we live by. About the Author Ronald Hutton is Reader in British History at the University of Bristol. He is the author of The Rise and Fall of Merry England (OUP 1994) and Charles II: King of England, Scotland, and Ireland (OUP, 1989; OPB,1991). Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐The most exciting insight I received from this book is just how quickly traditions change from generation to generation. This insight has been helpful to me in reading primary documents in other areas of research.I am a Neopagan, and I’m always interested to know where the sources of commonly held beliefs really lie. What I find is that a large percentage of the practices and meanings associated with the Neopagan holiday cycle are Medieval in origin, or later, and changed rapidly thenceforward.I’m okay with this knowledge. Wicca, my religion, definitely evolved in an Abrahamic environment and is compatible with Medieval material. I can understand why some modern Pagans would be frustrated to learn how little can really be discerned about their parent cultures, though.The most useful element to this work is the fact that Hutton details the source material available to readers, AND provides his assessment of their reliability. He gives good reasons for these assessments. The reader isn’t obligated to accept his line of reasoning, and the great thing is that one can go back and read those other sources and get a more detailed picture.I think the Pagan community needs to remember that secondary and tertiary sources are not acceptable as “proof” of anything. Secondary source material is helpful to suggest lines of interpretation. Tertiary source material, like histories written for general readership, can only summarize the opinions of scholars and select from among them the ones that seem most reasonable to the author at the time. In other words, just because half a dozen tertiary sources agree on an interpretation does not make that opinion more believable. It only makes it more popular.

⭐This book is not for a casual reader. It is, instead, a compendium of primary source information for those curious about the calendar year in Britain. It’s fascinating scholarship and absolutely authoratative in its research, but not for “just reading”! At some points, the paragraphs are so thick with citations and details that my eyes began to gloss. In general, though, the prose remains readable, even when detailing minutia.I do want to address one criticism from an earlier reviewer, who said this about the book:”Hutton debunks everything he presents; after a while it kind of got on my nerves. Virtually every description and explanation is followed by some sort of ‘but this probably didn’t happen’ or ‘this probably wasn’t really the way it was’ disclaimer. fter reading several chapters, my attitude morphed into ‘why are you wasting my time telling me about stuff that didn’t happen? Can’t you tell me about anything that probably DID happen?'”I’m not sure if this reviewer and I were reading the same book. Yes, Hutton debunks many myths surrounding these customs, but to say that he provides no information on what DID happen, or how it happened, is bunk. The book is thick with information, a real brick of scholarship. There are ten chapters alone on the evidence of various Christmas and New years traditions!Those with a serious interest in the development of many Western calendar customs in Britain (many of which are also the ultimate root of our American traditions) should definitely add this boo to their collections.

⭐This is a very interesting and well researched book, if a bit dry at times. Even so, I’m really enjoying it. Definitely offers a window into times gone by

⭐Unless you enjoy eye strain this is not the book for you.

⭐I was really excited about this book because I love Ronald Hutton. He’s so engaging. I found it just a little bit dense for my taste. I guess I’m not as interested in all the regional variations of customs as I thought. However it is easy to read and has tons of interesting things to learn.

⭐Hutton is both rich with professional detail and yet easily reachable by the lay person. The book is a compendium and therefore it is full of details and alternative interpretations – but this is as designed. I bought it for historical research – not entertainment. I have never known Hutton to disappoint and he certainly did not with this book. Exactly what I have been searching for.

⭐Sooo much info here! Not an easy read. Nevertheless, informative and welcoming if read in small tasteful increments. A must have book for all those hungry to know the true history of Americanized pagan festivals.

⭐This is really dry, dense and hard to get through. It contains some interesting information, but wading through it is just too much of a slog. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re really studying the subject.

⭐I really love this book. I bought it in the hopes that it would cover pagan and pre-Christian religious rituals, but was sadly disappointed. However, what I found instead was a well-written, excellently researched treasure trove of information about the social festivals of Britain (mainly England, but there are some Scottish and Welsh celebrations too) dating from around the thirteenth century right into the twentieth.Largely using parish records, Hutton does an excellent job of dating and locating the many feasts and festivals that used to fill up the British year. Starting with Christmas, the first eleven chapters alone deal with the many ways in which people celebrated over Christmas Week and into early January, from there the rest of the book moves through the year, taking a chapter for each major festival or manner of celebration, through Easter and May Day, on to Midsummer and the harvest, passing through Samhain to end with Bonfire Night in November, but stopping off along the way to explore lesser defined traditions such as mummer’s plays, hobby-horses, morris dancing and revels.At times it can become a bit dry with the straightforward recounting of which festivities were held in which parishes and when and where, but for the most part it’s an enjoyable book. For those looking for pre-Christian rituals Hutton tries never to speculate without evidence, but he makes a good case for Beltane in particular, while casting doubt over the many “fertility rites” interpretations many twentieth century folklorists became slight obsessed with regarding traditional celebrations. There’s also an exploration of several “revived” traditions and whether or not they are truly authentic – and also whether or not that really matters, when it succeeds in maintaining a sense of identity in rural communities. His description of the hobby-horse dances, particularly the surviving one in Padstow, Cornwall, is as fascinating as it is creepy.Filled with intriguing details about ritual life throughout the Middle Ages, and providing interesting evidence about the upheaval throughout the Tudor religious reformations and the puritan Protectorship in particular, this book is full of meticulous research and informed insight. It can be read cover-to-cover, or dipped into as necessary, but it’s perfect research material for anyone interested in this historical age. It’s definitely one to keep on the shelf and return to again and again.

⭐As a dozen good reviews could not begin to provide a fair account of this book, I shall offer a few key points which caught my attention as introduction only.At the outset I had hoped for a more ‘traditionally’ pagan account of the ancient seasonal festivals, their origins and meanings.I was initially surprised and eventually delighted to find however that although this work is more of an Academic compote of facts and dates and included ongoing assessment of earlier authors often unfounded but sometimes inspirational conjecture than I had anticipated (of Sir James Frazer et al) nevertheless this is a very enjoyable, remarkably researched and admirably objective book-collection of essays.That much of this morass concerns the developments and impacts of constantly changing traditions due to Christian Reformation and Counter Reformation (certainly comedic at this distance in time), the ongoing process a seminal crucible (reminding me of both grail and cauldron) proved revealing, as the general view of folk traditions and their origins seems to usually favor the more arcane sources, this book by contrast documents only definite evidence, largely that of written records, of church, kirk and council across the land.With a nod to the Scandinavian Yuil, as well as the Roman Kalendae, we embark on an exploration of the traditions of Christmastide, the Twelve Days, the Rites of Celebration, Purification and of Charity which included the remarkable Clementing, Elementing and Souling, even Thomasing, Gooding, Mumping and Corning (as well as more)regional begging customs, by which means the poor would recant rhymes for contribution of food for a feast of their own.Similar socially accepted appeals for reward included the Hocktide ‘heaving’ or ‘lifting’ at Easter, in which gangs of men assaulted women for favor and groups of women also pursue and caught men of their fancy for same, at its best a raising up on a lifted chair of a person as proxy ‘Lord’ to commemorate the Holy ascent of Easter, the chosen surrogate released upon a reward of money or a kiss, at its worst a mere grasping by hands and throwing upwards as an occasion for assault and robbery.The ongoing exposition of numerous social customs of this kind, both dazzle the mind with its quantity, as well as provides a clear insight into how poverty was communally accepted, dealt with by innovative appeals to the community at large and that these were often ‘sanctioned’ by inclusion of some short Christian phrase in the introductory verse or chant.The author traces the development of such customs and portrays their eventual descent into more high spirited, reckless and even angry demands for assistance that could be met with threats and violence if not accepted.Once national schools were established and later a more centralized protection for the poor was introduced, such earlier community traditions dissipated further, demonstrating the authors argument throughout this book of the movement from a community sharing seasonal rituals and traditions including those aspects of display that were geared to earn rewards, to the de-socialization of such community into a society characterized by its more insular and private approach to seasons and their festivals or traditions.The Christianization of earlier traditions also has its place in this book, as for example the feast marking the end of winter and start of the summer months ahead at February 1st, Imbolc (the etymology of its name relating to ewes milk and thus new life) initially dedicated to the Irish goddess Brigid, but who was later morphed into the Christian St Bride.This is an important theme of both this book and of the mythological psycho-social developments of these Isles. Most surprisingly the often claimed genesis or inception of many Christian traditions in the pre Christian, infact seems to have increasingly worked in reverse. As religious conflicts in the land over changing orthodoxies developed, the Catholic tradition with its wealth of near magical rituals was vigorously being uprooted from the public and community sphere of practice by the ascent of the puritan Protestant, the ensuing personal spiritual void resulted in many cases in the earlier magical Catholic rituals being carried on privately at home and eventually (d)evolving into allegedly ancient ‘survivalist’ ‘folk-traditions’. Conversely, some of the Christianized traditions do appear to have had earlier sources such as the Rogationtide and Pentecost processions, at which time the people marched en mass around the crop fields, singing hymns at chosen stop points as the church ministers blessed the crops.The book does feature ancient tradition where evidence has supported this, such as for example the affirmation of the Beltane as an accepted fire festival in certain regions of Northern Europe and the outlaying regions of the British Isles (unlike the later Samhain, for which evidence of a major ‘Celtic’ fire festival is less apparent). With greater detail due to the weight of evidence available however, Hutton explores the cultural progress towards our more modern current perspectives, for example plotting the development of the ‘May’ (which unsurprisingly did have ancient antecedents in the delight of Spring returned) as people initially adorned self and home with garlands and greenery, which in time became a tradition of young women selling garlands, later children took over this role, and in their turn both to manage the unruly and the revenue these were eventually taken over by schools and local institutions. By contrast, the Mummers Plays with their essentially Christian derived themes of battle, death and resurrection, were more officially sanctioned groups from the outset and had less to do with earlier pre Christian traditions.Despite growing religious and institutional involvement in previously communal activities and traditions, the populace applied themselves with great enthusiasm to any occasion of social bonding, often at some cost to the societies they lived in (other than merely of money or means) such as the many community Maypoles stolen by rival villages and towns resulting in pitched battles between the two, the anarchic Saturnalia of Misrule as witnessed at the Shrovetide street ‘foot-ball’ games played across whole towns which could involve thousands of people and provided an occasion for licensed misrule resulting in damage to property and individual (although less violent than the serious riot and rebellion which was reserved for the Summer games as a time more suited for battle on the streets or field). The Church Ales or festivals also developed their Abbots of Unreason and a myriad practices of inversion and nonsense (Samuel Butler now we know where your inspiration came from).Charting how an apparently arcane ‘folk tradition’ once also considered a surviving pagan fertility rite had originated in high social circles of the Royal Courts and devolved into the rural communities, Hutton’s’ research into the Morris dancers is fascinating for its explanation of how we may manufacture new ancient traditions out of nowhere.Perhaps my favorite exposition in this work is that of the origins and evolution of The Jack in the Green, identified as a ‘survival’ of an ancient pagan fertility rite by the Frazerite Lady Raglan of the Folklore society in 1939, established on her view linking the dancing Green-Man in May day processions with the foliage faces on church walls. This was a lineage unresolved till 1979 Roy Judges study revealed the true origins to be somewhat less arcane, and linked them to a more traditional social ritual evolved as so many traditional customs of display were, to celebrate the new season with a display deigned to garner reward. To explain, during the17thC, London milkmaids danced the streets on May Day with their pails covered in flowers which symbolized the Springs new growth and so presented the promise of new grass for the cattle thus promising fresh milk, cream and butter. These displays earned them money as reward and therefore can be seen to serve a double purpose, of advertising their wares, as well a gathering much needed financial support after a lengthy winter without much income. They later left the pails for lighter wooden frames similarly covered in flowers and greenery, and later still were imitated in their greenery attired frames and street dancing display by the London Chimney sweeps whose claim for sympathy at this time was based on the end of winter cold meaning no more fires or work for them till next fall.Hutton surmises this work with a number of provocative and insightful observations, for example that the notion of a distinctive ‘Celtic’ ritual year with four festivals at the quarter days and an opening at Samhain, is a scholastic construction of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries which should now be considerably revised or even abandoned altogether.Whilst the debt to a medieval, magical Catholicism seems to be growing apparent in my reading of serious studies of the origin of neo-pagan traditions, Hutton’s final words over the changing Christian influence upon the traditional festivals of the year are revelatory.He establishes that soon as the system of salvation through ritual was scrapped at the Reformation, the merry making began to be regarded as a liability by the social and religious elites….thus the ”evolution of a religious ideology …(had) produced a society imbued with a general taste for ceremony and acted as a means to endorsement of secular festivity. In other words, Merry England was inspired by the fires of hell”Finally that ‘the rhythms of the British year are timeless and impose certain patterns on the calendar customs’, to celebrate spring, to make merry in summer and draw close at fall, despite government and mass media atomization of community, seems a fair conclusion. Overall this book suggests to me that whilst certain traditions may not have an established ancient provenance, nevertheless because people are increasingly applying such meanings to the seasons cycles as an inherent pagan response to nature itself, we may now be seeing a further reversal of the community oriented neglect of seasonal festivals and a resurgence of a more nature based community oriented society at large.Not a book for the exclusively poetic or methodologically minded, but if read in the objective manner with which it is presented, this book provides a wealth of insight and understanding into the seasonal festivities as they have evolved in these British Isles and the influence they bear on modern pagan perspectives, Recommended.

⭐An intriguing look at a wide range of old and sometimes not so very old traditions in the British isles. The author provides us with the fruits of his thorough and extensive research. His findings sometimes challenge widely held beliefs, making this an especially important contribution to the field: such a closer scrutiny was long overdue. The writing style is pleasant and highly readable, yet sufficiently scientific, and there are many references to good quality source material that will help the interested reader to delve a little deeper.

⭐This book was definitely an eye opener, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in celebrating the seasons in Britain. I was hoping for more information about pre-Christian practices, but he explains that there is very little evidence of what people did back then, but the practices of the Middle Ages give some hints as to how the seasons may have been celebrated before Christianity. Most of all this book helps us understand modern holidays and how they developed. He explains that Midsummer was the biggest festival of the year, that Christmas was at one time banned and reinvented, and that Samhain was never a “Celtic New Year”. Most importantly, he explains that the neopagan “Wheel of the Year” is a modern invention and does not accurately reflect the practices of pre-Christian people in Britain. This book takes you through the year, from Christmas to Halloween, and is jam packed with interesting traditions. Well worth a read, and I shall be going back to it to read again and again!

⭐A fascinating and scholarly review of up to date research, by a distinguished historian. Clearly written. Shows how the ritual and celebratory events of the year have changed radically over the centuries, and debunks many long-held beliefs about them. I am no expert but he seems to have covered all the bases, with perhaps one small exception – there is very little material from folksongs. These too have changed and cannot be taken at face value as evidence for customs, on the other hand they do illustrate how many customs were thought of at particular times (see for example songs recorded by the Copper Family and the Watersons).

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