Anglo-Saxon Paganism by David Wilson

Anglo-Saxon Paganism by David Wilson

Originally published in 1992, this scarce, long out-of-print book draws together the varied evidence for the pagan religion of the early Saxons and interprets this evidence. David Wilson’s approach is distinctive in that the evidence is in the main taken from the United Kingdom, without using later Scandinavian material and back-projecting it into early England. Much of what has been gleaned about Saxon paganism comes from the funeral rites of the people, and these are dealt with at some length, together with the sorts of evidence that tell us about gods and the places where they might have been worshipped, and the impact of the coming of Christianity. The book concentrates on factual evidence although interpretations must often be matters of conjecture or controversy, especially as this was a non-literate society and consequently there are no contemporary writings to help.

Anglo-Saxon Paganism remains a sought-after classic and should appeal to students of Anglo-Saxon history, archaeology and religion.

Original Review of Anglo-Saxon Paganism:

‘General readers may find this book useful: it is short, well-illustrated and summarizes many existing but perhaps less accessible studiesSpecialists may appreciate some of his original research, notably on the placenames and on the incidence of some burial practices…’ Tania M. Dickinson, Archaeological Journal, Volume 150, Issue 1 (1993)

Jeremy Murray-Brown (1932–2025)