Andrea-
Celtic historians do get very annoyed by Mists of Avalon. If people realized it was fiction that would be one thing, but they don't seem to. The real problem is that people assume it applies to the entirety of the Celtic fringe (Scotland, Ireland, etc), when it does not, which is only one of the many problems with the book. The interesting thing about Christianity in Scotland and Ireland is that they pretty much did it themselves. Rome was far from both places (well, the Highlands in Scotland at least) and the Picts became Christian because of Irish teachers, who themselves became Christian through the travels of their own holy men and teachers. Ireland is often considered the 'cradle of Christianity'. Yes, I am personally Christian, but that doesn't have much to do with it. If the accurate history was something else, that's what I'd believe, because it is the history. I am very interested in historical fact as we know it. Considering that the Picts- not even the Scots as we consider them now- were Christian in the Highlands, that tells us a lot about that particular history.
I agree that the goddess worship idea does have its place in the here and now, and find it interesting that people feel the need to project it into the past. Maybe it's like A'isha said about this dance and the pyramids...
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