What do you think?
Rate this book
Earth Rites
Bord, Janet and Colin. Earth Fertility Practices in Pre-Industrial Britain. London / Toronto / Sydney / New York, Granada, 1982. 16 cm x 24 cm. XVI, 273 pages. Original hardcover with original dustjacket in protective Mylar. Excellent condition with only very minor signs of external wear. Includes for example the following The great Earth Mother / The archaeological evidence for fertility cults / The shapes of standing stones / Church sexual themes, green men and dragons / The ritual sacrifice of the divine victim / Traditional customs with fertility water, sun, horses, horns, she-males etc
Paperback
Published August 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
51 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 23, 2019
A somewhat interesting read: you’ll find some beautifully worded nuggets of wisdom if you can get through the repetitive, rather stretched (at least from a late 2010s perspective) connections between fertility and Christian and pre-Augustine pagan symbolism and practices. For example, the Bords describe letting blood from live animals as a ritual; however make no mention that letting blood from livestock without killing it was sometimes how peasants obtained the ingredients for blood pudding (at least, according to Ian Mortimer). The gist of this book is that if it existed in medieval England, it was linked to fertility!
Not sure if I’d describe it as enjoyable, but mostly interesting. It reminded me of attending Plough Monday services as a child, in the small village I grew up in (in the South of England. Another note about this book is that I was disappointed about how centred it was on Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall. Would have been interested to have explored more of the country in this context!)
Someone with a specific interest in paganism/folklore/nature would find this an interesting book.
Not sure if I’d describe it as enjoyable, but mostly interesting. It reminded me of attending Plough Monday services as a child, in the small village I grew up in (in the South of England. Another note about this book is that I was disappointed about how centred it was on Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall. Would have been interested to have explored more of the country in this context!)
Someone with a specific interest in paganism/folklore/nature would find this an interesting book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review