Book contents
- Twilight of the Godlings
- Reviews
- Frontispiece
- Twilight of the Godlings
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Plates
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 A World Full of Small Gods
- 2 Menagerie of the Divine
- 3 The Nymph and the Cross
- 4 Furies, Elves and Giants
- 5 The Fairy Synthesis
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - Menagerie of the Divine
Godlings in Roman Britain
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 March 2023
- Twilight of the Godlings
- Reviews
- Frontispiece
- Twilight of the Godlings
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Plates
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 A World Full of Small Gods
- 2 Menagerie of the Divine
- 3 The Nymph and the Cross
- 4 Furies, Elves and Giants
- 5 The Fairy Synthesis
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
There is a great deal of archaeological and epigraphic evidence for the ‘menagerie of the divine’ that was Roman Britain, yet this evidence is often accompanied with little context that helps us to understand exactly what the significance of such cults was. The chapter introduces the character of Roman popular religion and analyses the evidence for the main categories of godlings in Roman Britain, including genii, the Parcae and mother goddesses and deities of nature such as nymphs and fauns, arguing that such cults became much more significant during the fourth-century ‘pagan revival’ that followed the accession of the pagan emperor Julian in 361. In particular, the extraordinary cult of Faunus revealed by the Thetford Treasure – along with other ecstatic nature cults apparently testified by the archaeological record – suggests that the fourth century was an important time for the development of distinctive and inventive Romano-British interpretations of Roman pagan religion, which may form the cultural background to the strong traditions of otherworldly beings found in later British culture.
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- Twilight of the GodlingsThe Shadowy Beginnings of Britain's Supernatural Beings, pp. 89 - 135Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023