The Naked Hermit: A Journey to the Heart of Celtic Britain

by Nick Mayhew-Smith

Descending into the darkness of a long-abandoned hermit's cave, wading naked into an icy sea to pray, spending the night on a sacred mountain, Nick Mayhew-Smith recounts an extraordinary one-man mission to revive the ancient devotions of Britain's most enigmatic holy places.

Based on ground-breaking research into the transition from Paganism to Christianity, this book invites the reader on a journey into the heart of the Celtic wilderness, exploring the deep-seated impulse to mark natural places as holy. It ends with a vision of how we can recover our harmony with the rest of creation: with the landscape, the weather and the wildlife, and ultimately with the body itself.

Follow the footsteps of holy men and women such as Columba, Patrick, Cuthbert, Gildas, Aidan, Bede, Ninian, Etheldreda, Samson and others into enchanting Celtic landscapes, and learn the unvarnished truth behind the stories that shape our spiritual and natural heritage.

Genres: Nonfiction, Ireland, Christianity

288 pages, Hardcover

Published May 16, 2019

Reviews

[Joshua Serrano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. If you have an interest in Celtic Christianity and its practices you will enjoy reading this author's deep naked dive into them.

[Jonathan Puddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suppose the Venn diagram of those who love Jesus, enjoy being naked in the outdoors and have a theological-historical interest in Celtic spirituality is somewhat narrow but this book spoke to me on so many levels. Nick's prose is accessible, informative and humourous and the content strikes a rich balance of academic rigour, travel guide and spiritual memoire. I enjoyed it immensely, finding beautiful spiritual insights and making many highlights.

[liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the theology, though I wouldn't engage in the religious practices described in the book! I find the transaction period of Paganism to Celtic Christianity a really interesting part of Britain history and maybe I'm biased because I know the author but I'm really interested in spirituality and the natural world.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice account of the author's practical engagement with the spiritual practices of "Celtic" monasticism. There are a number of good insights, but I found the prose to be stodgy and so ended up skimming the second half of the book.