Signals of Belief in Early England: Anglo-Saxon Paganism Revisited

Latest ideas on the beliefs and practices of the pagan ancestors of the English

This multi-author book edited by Martin with Sarah Semple and Alex Sanmark throws new light on the intellect of the earliest English - the way they thought, the way they viewed the world, and the way they viewed worlds other than this. A range of material culture and locations across Northern Europe are explored, looking at signals of belief from the landscape, water cults, burial rites, the hall and animals in life and art. Each author looks across the sea to Scandinavia, as well as to the woods and fields, mires and mounds of Old England, resulting in a new perspective on the intellectual preoccupations and anxieties of a crucial age.

Contents:
Forward: Heathen songs and Devil's games (Neil Price)
1. Agency, intellect and the archaeologicl agenda (Martin Carver)
2. In the open air (Sarah Semple)
3. At the water's edge (Julie Lund)
4. At the funeral (Howard Williams)
5. In the hall (Jenny Walker)
6. Animal magic (Aleks Pluskowski)
7. Horses in mind (Chris Fern)
8. Living on: ancestors and the soul (Alex Sanmark)
9. Creating the pagan English (Sue Content and Howard Williams)
Afterword: Caveats and futures (Ronald Hutton)

Published by Oxbow Books, Oxford, UK in 2010
ISBN 978-1-84217-395-4