The ‘Celtic’ dimension of pre-first World War religious discourse in Britain: Wellesley Tudor Pole and the Glastonbury phenomenon

dc.contributor.authorMcNamara, Brendan
dc.date.accessioned2015-07-10T15:10:22Z
dc.date.available2015-07-10T15:10:22Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractThis article will explore the contribution made to the construction of discourse around religion outside of mainstream Christianity, at the turn of the twentieth century in Britain, by a Celticist movement as represented by Wellesley Tudor Pole (d.1968) and his connection to the Glastonbury phenomenon. I will detail the interconnectedness of individuals and movements occupying this discursive space and their interest in efforts to verify the authenticity of an artefact which Tudor Pole claimed was once in the possession of Jesus. Engagement with Tudor Pole’s quest to prove the provenance of the artefact, and his contention that a pre-Christian culture had existed in Ireland which had extended itself to Glastonbury and Iona creating the foundation for an authentic Western mystical tradition, is presented as one facet of a broader, contemporary discourse on alternative ideas and philosophies. In conclusion, I will juxtapose Tudor Pole’s fascination with Celtic origins and the approach of leading figures in the ‘Celtic Revival’ in Ireland, suggesting intersections and alterity in the construction of their worldview. The paper forms part of a chapter in a thesis under-preparation which examines the construction of discourse on religion outside of mainstream Christianity at the turn of the twentieth century, and in particular the role played by visiting religious reformers from Asia. The aim is to recover the (mostly forgotten) history of these engagements.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationMCNAMARA, B. 2014. The ‘Celtic’ dimension of pre-first World War religious discourse in Britain: Wellesley Tudor Pole and the Glastonbury phenomenon. Journal of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions, 1(1), 90-104.en
dc.identifier.endpage104en
dc.identifier.issn2009-7409
dc.identifier.issued1en
dc.identifier.journaltitleJournal of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religionsen
dc.identifier.startpage90en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/1867
dc.identifier.volume1en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherISASR in association with the Study of Religions, University College Cork.en
dc.relation.urihttp://jisasr.org/
dc.rights©2014, The Author(s).en
dc.subjectCelticismen
dc.subjectGlastonburyen
dc.subjectAu deláen
dc.subjectBricoleuren
dc.titleThe ‘Celtic’ dimension of pre-first World War religious discourse in Britain: Wellesley Tudor Pole and the Glastonbury phenomenonen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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