Overview article in 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
Unknown (prob Hargrave Jennings) - Ophiolatreia (1889)
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Charles Frederick Oldham - The Sun and the Serpent: A Contribution to the History of Serpent-Worship (1905)
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John Bathurst Deane - The Worship of the Serpent Traced Throughout the World (1833)
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Joseph Fayrer - On Serpent-worship and on the Venomous Snakes of India (1892)
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Wilfrid Dyson Hambly - Serpent Worship in Africa (1931)
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E.G. Squier - The Serpent Symbol, and the Worship of the Reciprocal Principles of Nature in America (1851)
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John Samuel Phené - On Prehistoric Traditions and Customs in Connection with Sun and Serpent Worship (1875)
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Some anthropologists and enthusiastic travellers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were fascinated by the sheer variety of religious practices, devoting a lot of time to collecting information and hypothesizing links. The big idea, at least in my superficial understanding, was roughly that it's all of one big piece, not exactly that all religions are the same but that they're at least similar and it's worthwhile mapping a lot of links between them. The Golden Bough is the best known result of this but there are plenty of others, if not quite so massive (or so entertaining).
This week's post is a collection of books from this period about serpent worship. Some are fairly straight forward accounts while others wade right into the comparative religion aspects that I suspect don't hold up today.
The first link is to the article from the famous 1911 edition of the Britannica because it gives a good overview and is mostly contemporary with the books.
Ophiolatreia was anonymously published but is considered to be the work of Hargrave Jennings (1817-1890), an esotericist and Rosicrucian who was obsessed with the idea that religion is basically phallic worship. Or maybe sun worship too - I'll admit to not being able to get very far into his stuff.
By contrast, John Bathurst Deane (1797-1887) was a schoolmaster and Anglican clergyman. He also married the daughter of John Lemprière (of the dictionary fame). Deane ties serpent worship into Christian belief, probably not much more plausibly than Jennings.
Didn't find much about Charles Frederick Oldham except that he was a British naval surgeon serving in India during the 1870s. The book is based on some of his experiences there and due to the date I'd guess was written during retirement.
Wilfrid Dyson Hambly (1886-1962) worked at the Field Museum and published several similar works, probably the most recognizable is The History of Tattooing which has been reprinted by Dover.
E.G. Squier (1821-1888) was a New York archaeologist and journalist who worked in the Mississippi Valley and Central America. There's a 2005 biography of him by Terry A. Barnhart.
John Samuel Phené (1822-1912) was a British architect and antiquarian who published several pamphlets - this appears to be his most substantial work. There's an interesting blog post with a photo of an amazing house he designed. (Another image is here.)
