Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain

Blood and Mistletoe examines how the Druids of Britain have been described, reconstructed and reinvented across roughly 2,000 years. Because little reliable evidence survives from antiquity, Ronald Hutton follows the changing meanings attached to these elusive religious figures and the ways English, Scottish and Welsh writers have portrayed them as priests, philosophers, patriots, scientists or rebels.

Particular attention is given to the 18th and 19th centuries, when antiquaries and romantic thinkers placed Druids at the centre of British prehistory. The book discusses William Stukeley, Iolo Morganwg, later Druid organisations and the influence of archaeology, showing how claims about the ancient past became entangled with Welsh identity, British nationalism, religion and modern Druidry.