Ronald Hutton, Reader in British History, University of Bristol
"a fascinating volume, which any future study of calendar rituals - or of 'pagan residues' in popular culture - will have to take into account." - Margaret Cormack, Speculum - A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000.
"Students of religion will be impressed by the ample evidence the book provides, not for the survival of pagan religious practices in a Christian era, but for the survival of Catholic practices in a Protestant one." - Margaret Cormack, Speculum - A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000.
"Well produced and written in a pleasing style, it is a rich source of information about late-medieval calendar customs whose scope extends far beyond the Middle Ages. Stations of the Sun belongs in the reference collection of any college library." - Margaret Cormack, Speculum - A Jnl of Medieval Studies, 2000.
"a tour de force from one of the liveliest and most wide-ranging of practising English historians this unfailingly stimulating, learned and engaging book places a relatively neglected aspect of English social history firmly on the map. " - Eamon Duffy, TLS
1: The Origins of Christmas 2: The Twelve Days 3: The Trials of Christmas 4: Rites of Celebration and Reassurance 5: Rites of Purification and Blessing 6: Rites of Hospitality and Charity 7: Mummers' Play and Sword Dance 8: Hobby-Horse and Hord Dance 9: Misrul 10: The Reinvention of Christmas 11: Speeding the Plough 12: Brigid's Night 13: Candlemas 14: Valentines 15: Shrovetide 16: Lent 17: The Origins of Easter 18: Holy Week 19: An Egg ad Easter 20: The Easter Holidays 21: England and St George 22: Beltane 23: The May 24: May Games and Whitsun Ales 25: Morris and Marian 26: Rogatide and Pentecost 27: Royal Oak 28: A Merrie May 29: Corpus Christi 30: The Midsummer Fires 31: Sheep, Hay, and Rushes 32: First Fruits 33: Harvest Home 34: Wakes, Revels, and Hoppings 35: Samhain 36: Saints and Souls 37: The Modern Hallowe'en 38: Blood Month and Virgin Queen 39: Gunpowder Treason 40: Conclusion
