In the Grail legends the wounding of the Fisher King in the thigh with a magical spear blasts the fertility of the land – an enchantment only to be undone by the finding of the mysterious castle where he lays and by asking him a certain question.

In this exhaustively researched work on the ancient Celtic peoples of northwest Europe, John Grigsby reveals how, behind this medieval tale, lies the dim remembrance of a cult of human - sacrifice that forms the backbone of pagan Celtic religion.

Tracing the key elements of these rites back to the time of Stonehenge, Grigsby argues that warriors met their deaths re-enacting a divine drama rooted in the Bronze Age. And - just as in the Grail legend the land could only be healed by asking the king a question - in his startling conclusion Grigsby offers convincing evidence that the victims of Celtic sacrifice were used in necromantic oracular rites aimed to bring rebirth to the land ...