Realm of the Ring Lords

[JWREmmett]

The Elfs (Albi-gens), Fairies (Tuadhe-d'Anu), Pixies (Picts), and Dragons
(Pendragons), are historical groups of people.

I refer you to the book 'Realm of the Ring Lords' by Laurence Gardner.

In summary it's a history about the people above, whose kings were usurped by the Church.

...

I was particularly interested in this:

Believing the Library of Alexandria was heretical, a Christian mob burned
about 1,000,000 manuscripts, and killed every scholar by torture.
The Roman-appointed bishop Theophilus led this mob.

This I knew about. At last it was put into context.

The last scholar to die was a woman, whose flesh was scooped out by
oyester shells.

Until that point, and because of such events at that point in time, we have
the Church's rewritten version of history. That was the intended outcome.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Moved to the history section.

 

[Esioul]

How sure are you that this is true? I've certainly never heard of the Picts being Pixies.

 

[Gope]

The Elfs (Albi-gens), Fairies (Tuadhe-d'Anu), Pixies (Picts), and Dragons
(Pendragons), are historical groups of people.

I refer you to the book 'Realm of the Ring Lords' by Laurence Gardner.

In summary it's a history about the people above, whose kings were usurped by the Church.

...

I was particularly interested in this:

Believing the Library of Alexandria was heretical, a Christian mob burned
about 1,000,000 manuscripts, and killed every scholar by torture.
The Roman-appointed bishop Theophilus led this mob.

This I knew about. At last it was put into context.

The last scholar to die was a woman, whose flesh was scooped out by
oyester shells.

Until that point, and because of such events at that point in time, we have
the Church's rewritten version of history. That was the intended outcome.

What about dwarfs and giants?...What about Unicorns and Pegasus?...But what about Santa Claus?

 

[Foxbat]

The problem with myths and legends is that we can all interpret them to fit into our own rosy little picture of the world. Sounds to me like this author has just developed an angle to cash in on the LOTR craze.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Laurence Gardner is a fiction writer who dresses up pulp sensationalism as "fact". This is plainly seen in his fiction novel "Bloodline of the Grail", where he completely rewrites the entire history of Jesus using just two references - and then writes a detailed account of the European "Dark Ages" which claims almost no references at all - just a sensationalist whitewashing of history without any basis in recorded history.

The Picts are certainly an historical people, but it would be interesting to see how they are equivalent to "Pixies".

Also - pre-Christian Irish literature as I've read it certainly doesn't suggest that "Faeries" are an historical people - for further reading on the folklore of early Ireland, check out this book, now available for free online:
http://www.comparative-religion.com/ancient/celtic/myths_and_legends_of_the_celtic_race/

 

[Esioul]

Perhaps visiting a few real sites might be itnerestign to you, JWR Emmett? Check out Brian's link above.

If you want to read about early British people at the time of the early Christian Church, why not try Bede?

For interesting articles: http://www.britarch.ac.uk/index.html

 

[Foxbat]

The Picts are certainly an historical people, but it would be interesting to see how they are equivalent to "Pixies".

The Picts were not the type of folk to take kindly to being called Pixies and would most likely reply with an early version of the 'Glasgow Kiss'

 

[JWREmmett]

Laurence Gardner is a fiction writer who dresses up pulp sensationalism as "fact". This is plainly seen in his fiction novel "Bloodline of the Grail", where he completely rewrites the entire history of Jesus using just two references - and then writes a detailed account of the European "Dark Ages" which claims almost no references at all - just a sensationalist whitewashing of history without any basis in recorded history.

He's also a non-fiction writer. I counted about 182 references to other books in the bibliography of Realm of the Ring Lords.

Regarding "Bloodline of the Grail"... do novels list references? He may have singled out two references to highlight their pivotal importance. What appears to be wild deviations from the established "truth" may lead you to think it came from those two references, when it in fact is all the other references he doesn't list.

You see the material as sensational because of its strangeness, and strange because it's not the established history. History was erased 2,000 years ago. Everything before that point was rewritten by the Church... making the Picts into Pixies.
(There are no such thing as Pixies, and they didn't exist in fictional form before the Picts and all the others lost influence... and their power replaced by what we have today.)

 

[JWREmmett]

Also - pre-Christian Irish literature as I've read it certainly doesn't suggest that "Faeries" are an historical people

There were an en-light-ened people who were diminished, resulting in the age of darkness...

Here's an excerpt:

"...they are particularly associated with Ireland, where they are epitomized by the ancient people of the Tuatha De Danann. This formidable king tribe was, nevertheless, mythologized by the Christian monks, who rewrote the majority of Irish history to suit their own Church's vested interest...

It is often said that, in strategically mythologizing the heritage of this noble BC race, the Christian Church was responsible for dubbing them 'fairies', but this is not strictly true. The Tuadhe d'Anu were always fairies in the Ring Lord tradition, but what the Church did was to redefine the meaning of the word 'fairy'.

In life, when confronted with a seemingly insurmountable problem, one can either submit to the stress and pressure that it causes or, alternatively, one can mentally diminish the problem. This does not mean that the problem goes away, but it can appear less harassing and more controllable. This was precisely what the Church did with the Tuadhe d'Anu; they reduced the problem by diminishing the nominal significance of this ancient king tribe and, in so doing, portrayed them as minute little figures who were moved into the realm of mythology. Because of this, the miniaturizing of their figures caused a parallel diminution of their history, and their proud legacy was lost from the stage of Western education."

 

[Foxbat]

Well, coming as I do, from the land of The Picts, I can assure you that they were never erased from history. They did not have the written accounts of other civilisations but that does not mean they were forgotten or erased.

Most Scots know of them and their place in our history. I have never ever heard of them referred to as Pixies before.

 

[JWREmmett]

Now you have.

But something extra happened. Those who held to the old ways adapted, as it were. Old fairy tales became deeply allegorical. They basically adapted the myth to keep their values, like Tarot cards.

If these people were totally erased, there wouldn't be a book. I think what Gardner is saying is that much of their influence was erased... a history of them was there, but purposely biased to get such an effect. Now I refer to the initial act of diminishing into myth as an example.

The intent as I see it, was to include but reduce their inclusion. It had to be taken in many steps. A large part of changing the old ways was the inquisition and witch hunts. The old ways being removed is the idea behind this... part of this was mythologizing its people, values, and meaning. It has little resemblance today to what it was.

Groups of people had always practiced the old ways. Do you see more clearly what happened? It's a complex subject I'm unable to give a full picture of... and I've edited this message a dozen times trying.