Silence of the Gods - The Untold History of Europe's Last Pagan Peoples

The formal conversion to Christianity in 1387 of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania seemingly marked the end of Europe's last 'pagan' peoples. But the reality was different. At the margins, often under the radar, around the dusky edgelands, pre-Christian religions endured and indeed continued to flourish for an astonishing five centuries. Silence of the Gods tells, for the first time, the remarkable story of these forgotten peoples: belated adopters of Christian belief on the outer periphery of Christendom, from the Sami of the frozen north to the Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians around the Baltic, as well as the Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia's Volga-Ural Plain. These communities, Dr Young reveals, responded creatively to Christianity's challenge, but for centuries stopped short of embracing it. His book addresses why this was so, uncovering stories of fierce resistance, unlikely survival and considerable ingenuity. He revolutionises understandings of the lost religions of the last pagans.

Product details

• Authors: Francis Young, Francis (Independent Scholar) Young, Young Francis
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 01.07.2025
• EAN: 9781009586573
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0958657-3
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; History of Ideas, European History, HISTORY / Europe / General, RELIGION / History, HISTORY / Social History, RELIGION / Ancient, History of Religion, Ancient religions and Mythologies