The Horned God in Modern Paganism and Fantasy Fiction
From God of the Witches to Environmental Figurehead
The Horned God in Modern Paganism and Fantasy Fiction
From God of the Witches to Environmental Figurehead
Buying pre-order items
Ebook and audiobook pre-orders will be delivered on the publication date.
Payment for this pre-order will be taken when the item becomes available
Description
A look at the Horned God's role as an environmental figure in modern paganism, fantasy fiction and Live Action Role-Play, this book explores how narratives informed by pagan thought are uniquely suited to introduce environmental concerns and their possible solutions.
Tracing the development of the Horned God from the figure's coalescence in the Romantic period to the popularisation of the term by Margaret Murray in 1931, author Anna Milon considers his composite characters – Cernunnos, Pan, Sorcerer of Trois Freres, and Herne the Hunter and more – his connection to the Wild Hunt, ritual, the literary Maiden, and the trope of the Dying God. Not just alert to portrayals in a broad range of speculative and eco-fantasy fiction by writers including Susan Cooper, Lucy Holland, William Rainer, Mark Chadbourn and Terry Pratchett, the book also examines how related narratives are taken up in Live Action Role-Play games such as Curious Pastimes to show how LARPing offers a locus for consumers of narrative to respond and develop those narratives in real time.
With the Horned God revealed as a nature deity and a liminal figure between humanity, animality and divinity, the book positions him as a vehicle for considering human relationships with the environment without falling into didacticism or alienating people with traumatic depictions of ecological collapse. With readings of eco-fantastical narratives as a meaningful way of engaging with environmental activism, Anna Milon charges the Horned God with encouraging us to reconceptualise our relationship with the more-than-human world.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- PDF/UA-2, 1.4
- accessibility@bloomsbury.com
Hazards
The publication contains no hazards
Support for non-visual reading
Has alternative text descriptions for images
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
Table of Contents
Who is the Horned God?
In Search of Nature
Faith and Fantasy
Live Action Role-Play: Looking Beyond the Printed Word
Playing the Game
The Origins of Curious Pastimes
LARP and the Power of Carnival
A Pagan Reading
LARP and Immersion
A Further Note on Methodology
1. The Origins of the Horned God, from Anthropology to Modern Paganism
Pan
Cernunnos
The Sorcerer of Trois Frères
Herne the Hunter
Supernatural Deer
Elen of the Ways
The Green Man
The Horned God in Modern Paganism
The Pagan Horned God and Environmentalism
2. The Horned God in Fantasy Fiction, an Avatar of (Super)nature
Representing N/nature in Fantasy Fiction
Nature-centric Spiritualities of Fantasy
A Note on the Use of Celtica
An Overview of the Horned God in Fantasy Fiction
The Horned God in the Fantasy Landscape
The (Super)natural Landscapes of LARP
Nature-centric Religion in Curious Pastimes
Blending Imagined and Mundane Natures in Curious Pastimes
3. The Wild Hunt and the Sacrifice of the Dying God, Points of Contact between the Horned God and Human Characters
Origins of the Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt and Hunting
The Wild Hunt as Ritual
Origins of the Sacrifice of the Dying God
Sacrifice of the Dying God and the Tie to the Land in Fantasy Fiction
The Cycle of the Wild Hunt and Sacrifice of the Dying God
4. The Horned God and the Maiden, Coding Human Characters as Potential Environmental Activists
The Maiden's Encounter as Sexual Awakening
The Maiden's Encounter as Initiation
Male Characters' Encounters with the Horned God
Subverting the Maiden: Tiffany Aching and Nanny Ogg
5. The Horned God in Live Action Role-Play and Players' Response to Environmental Symbolism
The Horned God and Spiritual Experiences in Role-Play
Thinking about the Environment in LARP
Simonetta
Simonetta and the Spears
The Spears of the Hunter and Eco-fundamentalism
Simonetta and Arahath
Arahath's Conclusion
The Aftermath
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | Apr 29 2027 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 240 |
| ISBN | 9781350642485 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 12 bw illus |
| Series | Perspectives on Fantasy |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Related Titles
