Twilight of the Godlings : The Shadowy Beginnings of Britain's Supernatural Beings

A game-changing exploration of the 'small gods' of nature and everyday life in Britain from the Iron Age to the late Middle Ages. It addresses fauns and satyrs, fairies and elves, nymphs and forest sprites – shadowy deities of fate and chance – who dance their elusive way through Britain's history.

Throughout the recorded history of Britain, belief in earthbound spirits presiding over nature, the home and human destiny has been a feature of successive cultures. From the localised deities of Britannia to the Anglo-Saxons' elves and the fairies of late medieval England, Britain's godlings have populated a shadowy, secretive realm of ritual and belief running parallel to authorised religion. Twilight of the Godlings delves deep into the elusive history of these supernatural beings, tracing their evolution from the pre-Roman Iron Age to the end of the Middle Ages. Arguing that accreted cultural assumptions must be cast aside in order to understand the godlings – including the cherished idea that these folkloric creatures are the decayed remnants of pagan gods and goddesses – this bold, revisionist book traces Britain's 'small gods' to a popular religiosity influenced by classical learning. It offers an exciting new way of grasping the island's most mysterious mythical inhabitants.