The Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends

A concise and thorough grounding in Celtic mythology which I will return to as inspirational reference points to my own practice as a visual artist.

Book delivered as expected and very interesting

An absorbing, detailed and very well-illustrated guide to Irish and Welsh Celtic myths and beliefs. I thoroughly recommend this short book as a readable introduction (if slightly repetitive). There are many useful 'inserts' or short paragraphs on particular aspects, and the author appears to be widely conversant with the latest archaeological and scholarly findings. It is fascinating to read summaries of the main myths and to learn about how animals played a pivotal role in mediating between the material and the spirit world, amidst a dazzling array of Celtic Gods, with spirits lurking in every corner of an unstable landscape. The versions of ancient Welsh stories which we have are far more Christianised than Irish ones, which burst with pagan life, though they both have much common: talking heads, human animal transformations, magical cauldrons and an earth-like 'Otherworld'. One small caveat is that Aldhouse-Green - like many other writers - seems to think it strange (or somehow invalid) that early Christians took over various pre-Christian religious markers and holy people (such as Brigit) - but surely it is natural that the new religion should have built to some extent on the old (not least in its art, the closeness of the 'otherworld' and a sense of the sacredness of certain places). The author also says that it is difficult to see links between pre-Christian religion and medieval Celtic myths (page 50), which might be true in the academic sense that the exact progression of the one to the other over a period of a thousand years lacks continuous textual evidence, but she seems to have over-looked one major connection: the extraordinary early Christian hagiographies of saints, not least Ireland's rich hagiographical tradition (especially the lives of Saints Patrick, Columba and Bridget), appear to me to be poised half-way between pre-Christian heroic myths and medieval morality tales.

Excellent.

Recipient delighted.

This is a wonderful, scholarly guide to the topic, with plenty of tales to spark one's interest. The author's discussion of shaminism and its impact on these myths is particularly revealing. An excellent purchase, which clearly reflects the quality of the other books in the series.

This book is not a retelling of the stories, nor is it much of an analytical or historical text. It is a bit of both, repetitive, mixing Irish and Welsh tales, and much smaller and shorter than I had hoped. You are better off with an edition of the Mabinogion. Despite being Scottish I am more interested in the Welsh/Brythonic side of things. You would think there must be a proper text on the Welsh mythology, with evidence to date the tales and redactions to specific centuries, and place them in historical context, as well as analyse them in terms of tropes and archetypes, and relate their origins to historical events, older shared Celtic or even Indo-European concepts, and psychology. This is not it.

Text is inaccurate Make sure you have significant prior knowledge before reading. Or better yet, don't read at all. Being Irish, I'd grown up with these stories, living near several of the associated places. So I noticed several inconsistencies, and inaccuracies. Important stories are ignored, never mentioned, or glossed over. You would not think they are important based on this book. These are stories every kid grows up hearing, and many Irish kids get their names based on these characters. Yet, the book does not do these stories justice. For example, the salmon of knowledge (a story known to every Irish child), was called the salmon of "wisdom." I'm not sure which is the more literal translation, but wisdom does not make sense, does not flow, and is not familiar. At the very least, it should be mentioned that there's a difference of opinion. The Children of Lir are barely mentioned, not by name, and the most important half the story is omitted, the children or places are never named. Tir ná nóg is never mentioned, and when the characters are briefly mentioned, the spellings are grossly innaccurate eg. Niamh is spelt as "Niav," yet anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of the Irish language knows the letter v does not exist in Irish. This is such an important story, and it's not covered. Queen Maeve's story is missing crucial info. The high kings and other things that link to real history are never mentioned. Alba is listed as "probably" Scotland, but it's never mentioned this is literally the word for Scotland in both Irish, and Scottish Gaelic. This is a vital thing to omit. I have no idea how to pronounce any of the Welsh words, despite being a native Irish speaker. This is not included. I'm also concerned given the inconsistencies in the Irish ones, that there may be more in the Welsh ones, just I have no idea about it. The other books in this series seem to follow a better narrative flow, but here, the stories feel too analytical, and jump about a lot. The same story can be brought up in four different places.

This book is great for beginners just dipping their toes in Celtic Mythology. I found it very useful and inspirational for creating lore for my novel.

It was a fast shipping and in perfect condition!! Love this book, I can't wait to purchase the other ones of the collection 😊 It is pleasurable to read such an amazing edition, perfectly designed, lovely typographic composition and style!

Enjoyed this.

fascinating read