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"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy."- William Blake
Al Ridenour, creator and host of the popular Bone & Sickle Podcast brings readers back to pagan Europe in A Season of Madness. The book follows the sun from the darkest winter nights to the promise of nature’s rebirth as symbolized by Spring. Ridenour explores the history and customs of the Old-World Carnival, focusing on European regions where celebrations have gone unchanged for centuries and reflect the brutal realities of the old, agricultural world.
A Season of Madness takes readers to cultural hinterlands where Carnival is more strange, more marvelous, and even a bit frightening. Where Spring is welcomed by clowns carrying inflated pig bladders and sheepskin monsters walk the land with clubs covered in hedgehog spines and plows are dragged over cobblestone streets by villagers in masks painted with blood. Folk horror fans take heart as the old world beckons with the coming of Spring!
Readers will learn about regional and local celebrations' origins, history, and quirkiness from ancient Rome to modern Bulgaria. Season of Madness explores the interconnectivity of pagan beliefs throughout Europe and how those beliefs and traditions evolved over time and through the Christian conquest.
A Season of Madness is sumptuously illustrated with over one hundred historical and modern images and illustrations in this deluxe paperback edition.
Ridenour’s first book, Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil (2018) is considered by critics the definitive authority on pagan winter celebrations. Aside from his books and podcast, Ridenour is a sought-after expert and lecturer.