Until now the old religions of Britain have only been looked at in
a piecemeal way. This book presents a detailed and focused
investigation of the religion of the Dobunni and the Hwicce peoples
who occupied the Severn valley and the Cotswolds immediately before
and after the Roman occupation. It uncovers some secrets of the old
religion of Britain that have lain hidden in reams of unconnected
and largely forgotten information, from a variety of sources. The
first part of the book concerns the deification of the natural
world; the second, the deities of the tribal groups. It explores
the deities of the different areas of the Dobunnic/Hwiccan
territory; identifying the goddess of the Cotswolds, and describes
how the worship manifested itself. Yeates demonstrates how the
deification of rivers was important and how this has led to the
location of a number of ancient river shrines as well as the
identification of a number of monumental arrangements used by the
peoples in their religious activities and folk-group identity;
numerous recognisably pre-Old English folk-names are also shown to
relate specifically to river-names, town-names, and
folk-group-names. The religious use of the hill-forts, of which
there are so many dotted over the landscape, and their shrines is
discussed. These are connected with mineral extraction, warfare,
nemetons, and sacred groves. The use for standing totems and burial
practices is also covered. Once the associations are made between
deity, river, and folk-group, and all other aspects of religion
have been discussed the deity who resided over the Dobunni is
revealed. Her cult, which was evident in the major Roman towns, can
be traced back into the Iron Age, and can be identified as the
inspiration for the tribal name Hwicce . This shows an element of
continuity in British culture, not recognised previously because of
the assumed obliteration of British culture due to the extent,
success, and longevity of the Roman occupation and Anglo-Saxon
migration. Understanding the tribal goddess also explains why this
people were "the tribe of witches." Finally, it is recognised that
these gods did not perish but persisted in medieval legends,
traditions and place-names. Although at its core this is a study of
two British tribes, the work will have a major impact on the
understanding of pre-Christian religion not only in Britain but
also in Western Europe generally.
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