Did Ronald Hutton Really “Erase” Wicca’s History? A Scholarly Answer

We examine the critical exchange between Ben Whitmore’s Trials of the Moon and Ronald Hutton’s responses to it, using the debate as a lens through which to explore contemporary tensions in the historiography of witchcraft and Pagan origins. Whitmore, writing from within the Pagan community, accuses Hutton of adopting an overly sceptical methodology and of applying uneven evidentiary standards that, in his view, systematically downplay the possibility of ritual continuities in European folk culture. Hutton’s rejoinders foreground the demands of historical method, emphasising the importance of verifiable documentation over conjectural survivalism and defending the historian’s obligation to distinguish cultural revival from demonstrable lineage. We will assess which of Whitmore’s critiques raise legitimate questions about interpretive frameworks and where his reasoning departs from accepted scholarly practice. It also considers how this debate reflects wider issues around authority, tradition, and the negotiation of identity within modern Paganism, and how different communities assign meaning to the fragmentary traces of the past. CONNECT & SUPPORT💖 MY COURSES 👩🏻‍🎓 https://drangelapuca.com/courses WEBSITE & NEWSLETTER 💌 https://www.drangelapuca.com/#newsletter BOOK A TUTORING OR A LECTURE 📖https://drangelapuca.com/services BECOME MY PATRON! 🎩   / angelapuca   SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ☕️https://ko-fi.com/drangelapuca ONE-OFF DONATIONS 💰 https://paypal.me/angelasymposium JOIN MEMBERSHIPS 👥    / @drangelapuca   MY PODCAST 🎙 https://open.spotify.com/show/2TKoWTG... MY MERCH 👕 https://drangelapuca.creator-spring.com/ FOLLOW ME👣 YouTube (@drangelapuca)🌟 Instagram (@drangelapuca) 📸 TikTok (@drangelapuca) 🎵 Twitter (@angelapuca11) 🐦 Facebook (Dr Angela Puca) 👥 RECOMMENDED READINGS 📖 https://amzn.to/3LLJ4Oy https://amzn.to/3Zog02M REFERENCES 📚 Ginzburg, C. (1989). Storia notturna: una decifrazione del sabba. G. Einaudi. Hutton, R. (1999). The triumph of the moon: A history of modern Pagan witchcraft. Oxford University Press. Hutton, R. (2010). Writing the history of witchcraft: A personal view. The Pomegranate, 12(2), 239-262. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v12i2.239 Leland, C. G. (1899). Aradia, or the gospel of the witches. David Nutt. Whitmore, B. (2010). Trials of the moon: Reopening the case for historical witchcraft. Briar Books. MY SET-UP 🛠️ Canon 90D camera 📸 https://amzn.to/3yQclh0 Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 📷 https://amzn.to/3JjU1BS Teleprompter 🗒️ https://amzn.to/3linWCB Shure SM7B Microphone 🎙️ https://amzn.to/3Jm5IYK Microphone stand 🎤 https://amzn.to/3FueJOn Lights 💡 https://amzn.to/3Zdk8k1 DJI Wireless microphones 📡 https://amzn.to/3NWAVVQ 00:00 Introduction: Did Ronald Hutton Really “Erase” Wicca’s History? 09:47 Hutton's Aims and His Relationship with British Pagan Communities 11:12 The Rehabilitation Project 12:42 Hutton’s Collaborative Research and British Reception 14:24 The Geographic Pattern 16:54 Hutton's Historical Method: The Four Lines of Continuity 18:55 Definitions and Distinctions 22:17 Whitmore's Critique: Structure and Fallacies 23:12 Straw Man Fallacy 23:55 Cherry Picking and Confirmation Bias 24:52 Possibility Treated as Probability 25:50 Category Confusion Between Morphology and Lineage 27:13 Lack of Definitional Clarity 27:48 No Alternative Historical Model 28:42 Hutton's Rebuttals: The Goddess and Pan 30:11 Cunning Folk 31:13 Leland and Aradia 34:07 The Lindow Man Victory 35:14 The Sociology of the Controversy 39:10 Conclusion 41:54 Support Angela’s Symposium ⚠️ Copyright of Dr Angela Puca, in all of its parts ⚠️ Music by Erose MusicBand. Check them out!