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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture >From: Bernadette Filotas Could some learned listmember tell me what the >opinion is of P. W. Joyce, A Social History of Ancient Ireland? I've come across a description of Druidic practices drawn from it. It is very interesting and I'd like to use it, but I am not sure how reliable it is. I don't have a copy of Joyce handy, but in my memory of it, there was not much in the way of references to sources. P.W. Joyce, like many of his contemporaries, is best handled with a large dose of caution. I haven't read Joyce cover-to-cover, nor do I own a copy, but I've been party to discussions where we tried to figure out what sources he was using for his statements and descriptions. Most people I know wouldn't disregard his statements outright because there's reason to believe that he had access to written and oral sources that have been lost. However, one of his sources definitely was his own imagination, hence the need for caution, especially for something like descriptions of "druids." After all, almost every description of "druids" written in Ireland dates from long after the last druid died (a couple of seventh-century references may date to a period when a few die-hards were still drawing breath and some of their teachings almost certainly survived in adapted form). His descriptions of customs of his time are valuable. His descriptions of customs from earlier times (including druids) are useful primarily for historiographers and those interested in what nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Irish people believed about their origins. Hope that helps. Francine Nicholson _________________________________________________________________ Surf the Web without missing calls! Get MSN Broadband. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html