
Ronald Hutton recorded this lecture on 6th March 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London, looking at the role played by nudity in European religion and magic from ancient times to the present, with some reference to a global context. The lecture reveals the unexpected historical and religious pattern and explains why it has been marginal to religion, except in initiation ceremonies, but very important in magical practices.
Ronald Hutton is Gresham Professor of Divinity and also Professor of History at the University of Bristol.