Paganism in Arthurian Romance
'Darrah makes the valid point that episodes in the Arthurian romances read like motifs from the ancient mythologies...(he) reconstructs a lost British paganism, grounded in the rivers, hills and woods, and especially those grey monoliths...reminders of a cosmology vanished from this island.' NIKOLAI TOLSTOY, DAILY TELEGRAPH Contends, with a good deal of evidence, that the impact of pre-Christian Welsh, Irish, Scottish, Cornish and Breton religion is greater than has been previously thought......
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Investigation of literary and archaeological evidence in search of pagan sources for the Arthurian legend.
ForewordIntroduction1Pt. 1An Arthurian Adventure AnalysedThe Calendar of Arthurian Romance19The Challenge38Tournaments and the Spring Marriage63Fire from Heaven71Severed Heads and Sacred Waters83Healing Blood and the Dolorous Stroke99Pt. 2Further Aspects of Paganism in the RomancesBirths, Lives and Deaths of Heroes and Heroines107The Nature of Paganism in Britain137Ceremonial and Ritual153Pt. 3The Physical Background to the RomancesConstructions165The Geography of Arthurian Romance186Time and Place209The Once and Future King213Gazetteer I. Places whose Location can be Roughly Established215Gazetteer II. Unidentified Places251Appendix: Who's Who in the Romances?259Bibliography282Index287
