Celtic Myths and Legends

Book Description

This is an enchantingly told collection of the stirring sagas of gods and goddesses, fabulous beasts, strange creatures, and such heroes as Cuchulain, Fingal, and King Arthur from the ancient Celtic world. Included are popular myths and legends from all six Celtic cultures of Western Europe—Irish, Scots, Manx, Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Here for the modern reader are the rediscovered tales of cattle raids, tribal invasions, druids, duels, and doomed love that have been incorporated into, and sometimes distorted by, European mythology and even Christian figures. For example, there is the story of Lugh of the Long Hand, one of the greatest gods in the Celtic pantheon, who was later transformed into the faerie craftsman Lugh-Chromain, and finally demoted to the lowly Leprechaun. Celtic Myths and Legends also retells the story of the classic tragic love story of Tristan and Iseult (probably of Cornish origin—there was a real King Mark and a real Tristan in Cornwall) and the original tale of King Arthur, a Welsh leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons. In the hands of Peter Berresford Ellis, the myths sung by long-dead Celtic bards come alive to enchant the modern reader. “The casual reader will be best entertained by ... the legends themselves ...colored with plenty of swordplay, ... quests, shape-shiftings, and druidic sorcery.”—Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews:

Other Books.......2007-09-03

Peter Beresford Ellis, an historian type, here takes a look at the mythology of the Celtic people. This is a pretty involved topic, as there are a lot of different tribes and groups that make up the Celts, so a lot to cover.

He takes a crack at it, with some specific focus, in this introductory sort of book.

Great starter book.......2006-08-19

I have always been interested in the stories from Greek & Roman mythology, and am just now becoming more interested in "recovering my roots" and learning more about the mythology from my own Celtic background. This book was a great way to begin learning those stories. The stories are descriptive and well-written, and come from various regions - Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall . .

I did wish that a pronunciation guide of some sort had been included. Since I am not yet very familiar with the Gaelic or Welsh languages, I wasn't sure how some of the names would be pronounced, which made it a bit difficult at times to read. But that is a minor quibble. I highly recommend this book - to beginners in the area of Celtic myhthology, and to anyone who likes to read good stories.

A must.......2005-07-19

The celtic myths and legends by P.Berresford is a must to read.It is so interesting to read legend from all the celtics nations.I highly recommend it.

Okay.......2005-05-06

I am not a fan of Ellis but when I picked this book up I was interested in the Celtic Creation myth. As I started to read it I thought that the stories were alittle off. I think Ellis takes to many liberities, and he doesn't site his work. It reads as an epic work.

I wouldn't read this as scholarly work, maybe if someone was interested in Celtic mythology and understood the myths. This is not for someone just starting out.

Great books for lovers of Myths and legends.......2005-01-09

I bought this book before i went on a trip to Europe , and i am so glad that i did. I had read a review some where that it was a great bed time story book as well for kids, and since i had my 6 year old with me on this little trip i decided it would be a great idea. Well it was a great book and all the stories were wonderful but not all stories are good for little kids.
The stories really drag you right in and make you feel like you are right there with these people. It is refreshing to have a books filled with stories that brings the magic back to life in this cold and empty life we all lead. A wonderful escape from the drab everyday stuff.
A good thing i thought is that the author seperates them by countries of origins and then gives you a little backround info on his sources and such before you move on to the stories of each section. I was upset that there was an end to the book , its one you wish would just keep going.
This is a wonderful edition to my collection and will be read more then once for sure.

Arthurian Quest: Living the Legends of Camelot (Llewellyn's Celtic Wisdom Series)

Average customer rating:

Magick not History
Magick not History
Where Joseph Campbell left off . . . Uniquely useful.
Amber Wolfe is ignorant of medieval history.
Nothing but fabrications, and innaccuracy.

Arthurian Quest: Living the Legends of Camelot (Llewellyn's Celtic Wisdom Series)
Amber Wolfe
Manufacturer: Llewellyn Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1567188060

Customer Reviews:

Magick not History.......2001-11-20

As a student of mysticism and the occult myself I am consistantly astounded by the western mind's inability to integrate the use of the creative, mythic and dynamic imagination with the intellectual capacity to reason.

Those who have given this book a poor review, in my opinion, haven't one whit of experience in magick or pathworking. Pathworking requires trust in subjective experience while at the same time taking cues from history and "myth". It isn't one or the other. To make it only imaginal is akin to a daydream while to make one's journeys purely historic is to lose the symbolism and meaning of the "essense" of the material.

The Arthurian Quest by Amber Wolfe is quite good and is a pathworking and magickal system, NOT A HISTORICAL, ACADEMIC WORK! It contains valuable and insightful uses for the myth cycle in a shamanic and magickal manner and merely provides tools, doorways in a manner or speaking, to contacting the currents or powers behind the symbols and stories.

The power of the Arthurian tales (pre-christian celtic) is in the messages and power between the words and what is gained from the pathworking or ritual experience. Without the validation of experience and commitment to the work, the tales are just tales and useful for nothing more than a good story on a cold evening.

There are plenty of speculative "historical" works on the Legends of Arthur and Camelot, but the fact is that they are all speculative. Keep this in mind. Enjoy the tales, do the pathworkings, rituals and visualizations with the mind of a mage or even an Archmage and they won't only make sense, they will get profound results.

In Light and Love.

Magick not History.......2001-11-20

Those who have given this book a poor review, in my opinion, haven't one whit of experience in magick or pathworking. Pathworking requires trust in subjective expeirence while at the same time taking cues from history and "myth". It isn't one or the other. To make it only imaginal is akin to a daydream while to make one's journeys purely historic is to lose the symbolism and meaning of the "essense" of the material.

In Light and Love.

Where Joseph Campbell left off . . . Uniquely useful........2000-04-27

This is a very useful book. Where Campbell and others have described the factual details and mythical implications of the Celtic Arthurian traditions, "Arthurian Quest" is an organized and descriptive war chest of related tactical tools. The uses for these tools for enhancing one's traditions and psyche, as well as their derivation and historical background, are included and well written.

The book makes no pretence that it contains ancient, secret, mystical information. The historical and mythological data within is well established. The ideas put forth are based on common sense folk wisdom crafted with modern psychology and sociology. It is clearly up to the readers to apply these tools strategically and intelligently to achieve their personal or group goals.

Amber Wolfe is ignorant of medieval history........1999-06-14

Amber Wolfe is ignorant of medieval history. As an historian whose focus is the middle ages, I can state unequivocally that Amber Wolfe is completely ignorant of medieval history. She is so obsessed with discrediting the medieval church that one wonders whether her historical blunders are intentional or not. The book is a complete waste of money.

Nothing but fabrications, and innaccuracy........1999-04-11

Fiction and Fantasy Another book about so-called non-fiction researched by one of the worst writers to appear on Amazon. Don't waste your money. Nothing but fabrications, innaccuracy, fantasy, and bogus claims. If you want to know the facts, visit your library and find a book written by someone who knows what they are talking about.

Beowulf & Grendel: The Truth Behind England's Oldest Legend

Average customer rating:

This is a fascinating idea...
Interesting read
Some Interesting Insights but No Overall Unity of Vision
An awesome yet frustrating book.
Earlier roots of the English Founding Myth - in Turkey?

Beowulf & Grendel: The Truth Behind England's Oldest Legend
John Grigsby
Manufacturer: Watkins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1842931539

Book Description

The legend of Beowulf and Grendel is one of the founding works of modern Western literature. It tells the story of the monster-slaying hero, Beowulf, who frees the feasting hall of a Danish king from the 12-year tyranny of the hideous creature Grendel. For decades, scholars have assumed that the warrior Beowulf was based on an actual historic person, but that Grendel was the work of imagination. In Beowulf and Grendel, John Grigsby reveals the true basis for Grendel's battle with Beowulf. Grigsby explains how a cult migrated to England from Denmark and Germany, bringing with it a practice of human sacrifice. It is the violent suppression of this cult in the fifth century that underlies Beowulf's fantastic deeds. Fusing historical research with literary study, Grigsby presents a compelling case for the true-life roots of a classic work of art.

Customer Reviews:

This is a fascinating idea..........2007-05-14

I'm a medical researcher with special interests in neuroscience, and Grogsby's thesis is fascinating. Neuroscientists, especially the bench scientists, like to play with historical events. One example was the rise of both flagellation and tarantella, which has been linked to humid warm weather and therefore mold on the rye harvest. So, it's a believable idea.

I am less familiar with the cultures that slew the king on a yearly basis - that sounds as though it wouldn't sustain itself very well. There may be other books on that subject, whether Fraser or others, that I should look into to see how this could work.

Finally, either I missed it or Grigsby didn't mention the dragon part of the Beowulf legend in any depth. One wonders how that links up with the religious shift theme.

Interesting read.......2007-05-13

The book reads a little like a college essay. Some of the author's points are better supported than others. In several cases he assumes the reader must agree with him and no further proof is needed. In some cases no real proof is available because the lack of historical data. However, the author discusses some very interesting topics and writes in an accessible style. If you have any interest in Beowulf or Germanic, Norse, or Celtic cultural roots, this book is certainly worth a look. I enjoyed reading it and was motivated to further explore the topic when I finished the book.

Some Interesting Insights but No Overall Unity of Vision.......2007-04-18

This book makes the interesting case that the Beowulf poem is less a dim recollection of a particular historical incident or of a strictly mythological tale, than it is a veiled recounting of a religious change that overwhelmed the cultural lives of the ancestors of the English. John Grigsby brings archeological and ethnological studies to bear on this effort to reconstruct the actual circumstances and practices of the peoples who were to become the Angles, Saxons and Jutes (who in turn became the Anglo-Saxons who became today's English). In so doing he suggests that the Norse mythos and pantheon, as we have it from later times, was, in fact, relatively late on the scene and that the proto-English, whom he identifies with the Ingaevones of Roman times, were agriculturalists with a religion that reflected agriculturalist predilections long before they worshipped Woden and Thunor (Odin and Thor in later Viking times).

According to Grigsby, the Beowulf myth is a dim echo of the era in which latecomers in the area, worshippers of the sky gods identifiable with large segments of the later Norse pantheon, overthrew the old ways, ways that required the annual sacrifice of a king to a fearsome goddess and her son. Grigsby makes many connections with the triple goddess worshipping neolithic age that apparently once predominated in the Mediterranean and European areas, with the old myths of the Nile valley and with the old faiths which suffused the area in which Rome arose. But in the end his argument boils down to this: that the Beowulf story is a somewhat corrupted and confused recollection of some events which altered forever the older beliefs and practices of these peoples, traditions that the Angles, Saxons et al brought with them out of the old country (today's southern Denmark) when they conquered the British Isles. They were not yet sky god worshippers, not yet Wodenists, Grigsby maintains, but came from a backwater part of Scandia which had remained more primitive than other parts of Germania and Scandinavia in the Dark Ages that followed Rome's fall. Thus, the story of Beowulf is as native to the early Germanic English as to the land from which they hailed.

It's an interesting claim and there's a lot to chew on in the information Grigsby brings forward. But the book, itself, lacks cohesion or a clearcut thesis as to the actual events which underly the famous Old English poem set in Denmark's Heorot. The parallels he draws with other traditions (including the Hrolf Kraki saga which deals with many of the same personalities, in a roughly comparable time, albeit from the perspective of the much later Norse tradition) are intriguing. But there really isn't that much new here and the failure to offer a firm conclusion or really unravel the story behind the story mar this book. Good for scholars, I think, and for those with a strong interest in the area, but not really right for laymen and not ultimately as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.

An awesome yet frustrating book........2006-10-23

This is an inspiring work. John Grisby has brought a wide array of factors concerning early northern culture together to make his point. His understanding of culture and myth and his obvious enthusiasm for these subjects make this one of the more interesting (and fresh) books to appear on the subject in a long time. Before I go further, I would like to point out that I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Norse/Germanic Mythology. If you are not greatly interested in Germanic and Indo-European linguistics you will enjoy the book greatly, and needn't read the rest of this review. If you are interested in linguistics, please read on.

Be very careful when reading this book. As he is enthusiastic, he is also academically reckless. There are a lot of passages starting with "some have been led to believe..." or "some claim that..." that end with no citation or note - My question to these passages is always "Who believes that, and how do I know that "they" offering an opinion that can be trusted as objective?". Furthermore, he makes it obvious on several occasions that he is no linguist. He offers Indo-European etymologies that don't conform to any known transcription standard, and on several occasions he seems to have trouble discerning Indo-European forms from Proto-Germanic (there is a big difference).

My intention here is not to be harsh, disapproving, or unduly critical. The subject matter of this book resides in a field that has all too often fallen prey to misunderstanding. To exemplify the type of error I am talking about, and to add credence for my objectivity here, I would like to point out two linguistic oversights that can be illustrated without excess circumlocution.

On page 69 Grisby raises the issue of a double meaning in the phrase "beow waes breme blad wide sprang" "Beow was renowned, far and wide his glory spread", arguing that this was a metaphor for the spread of agriculture throughout the north. The indication, he claims, is that the name Beow means "barley". That's true. In Anglo-Saxon the word "beow" does in fact mean barley. But that isn't the name that appears in the manuscript. The sentence he's referring to appears on the first leaf of the manuscript, (which he included as the first photographic plate in the book, just after page 118). The original manuscript reads "Beowulf waes breme blad wide sprang" - The name Beowulf here belonging to another character by the name of Beowulf. The only place that I can recall ever seeing this name appear printed in the poem as "Beow" and not "Beowulf" is in Seamus Heany's translation where he intentionally removes the sequence "-ulf" from the name to avoid confusion between this character and the hero of the poem. Scholars have posited that "Beowulf" was written here due to scribal misunderstanding, and that the name was in fact originally "Beo", but again, that is not what appears in the manuscript, and Grisby makes no mention of the fact that this point is an educated theory and not an attested fact.

Also on p. 156 Grisby makes reference to an Indo-European root "inguz" as the source of Germanic theonym Yngvi/Ingui/Ing. "*Inguz" is a Proto-East-Germanic word not an Indo-European root. Furthermore there is no consensus as to where the early Germanic speakers got this word and what its original meaning was. The name Yngvi, Ingui, Ing, etc. has no universally agreed upon etymology and very few linguists posit an Indo-European origin for the name. Further, the meaning of the word which Grisby offers "son" is not directly attested in any of the languages. The Old Irish name, Oengus/Angus by which Grisby claims an etymological connection to "Yngvi/Ingui", is similar in appearance but it is not related etymologically. The old Irish name is compound form, from Oen-gus; literally "one-strength" the meaning being "having solitary strength" these "-strength" names are very common in Old Irish and Modern Gaelic.

Hopefully without turning this into a term paper my sources are:
Vladimir Orel "A Handbook of Germanic Etymology", Winfred P. Lehman "A Gothic Etymological Dictionary", J.P. Mallory and Douglas Adams "An Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture", and Calvert Watkins "The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots" all works that are available (to my knowledge) from Amazon.com.

There are quite a few more problems, those are just two that I found the hardest to swallow, but by now I hope I've made my point clear: be careful when reading this book and looking for solid answers. The author jumps to a lot of conclusions - linguistically and otherwise.

All that said, I still give it four stars. The book is highly readable, enjoyable and insightful. I wish the author followed through more thoroughly on many of his claims with more citation and less speculation, but it is overall a very inspired work. Despite it's weak details, I still support many of the author's overall conclusions. This could be a seminal work redefining how the general reader, rather than just the scholar, views the Old North. If the author's love of the subject were the only judgement criteria, I would give him ten stars.

I apologise for the lack of brevity.

Earlier roots of the English Founding Myth - in Turkey?.......2006-07-31

Mr. Grigsby's book is supplemental material for me as a historian exploring genealogy. A (fee-based) genealogy website that I use has detailed entries of the "Anglo/Swedes" back to a possibly semi-mythological figure named "Yngvi King In Turkey" b. 193 in Noatun, Sweden. Going further back, his antecedants are in fact listed as originating from Turkey, Macedonia, Persia and Mesopotamia, and many of them closely related to ruling families in those nations. I have been reviewing the history of this region and period, and there certainly were some displacements of large groups of peoples, especially with the expansion of Roman hegemony. Is it possible that some of these peoples migrated north along already known trade routes to Scandinavia, to become the parent group of the Anglo-Saxons?
Mr. Grigsby makes several references to Scandinavian/Anglo-Saxon rituals, e.g. references to a barley god, which he believes shares some similarities to rituals from the Middle East. Another comparison is to the depiction of a solar disk above a boat, which is clearly reminiscent of Egyptian artwork.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the earliest known history of the English-speaking peoples, and possibly a few others as well.

Average customer rating:

Excellent
Out of date but excellent
Absolutely excellent!
A very helpful introduction to the Celtic myths
A fine fireside read

Celtic Myths and Legends
T. W. Rolleston
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486265072

Book Description

Masterful retelling of Irish and Welsh stories and tales of the Ultonian and Ossianic cycles, the voyage of Maeldun, and the myths and tales of the Cymry (Welsh). Favorite and familiar stories of Cuchulain, King Arthur, Deirdre, the Grail, many more. First paperback edition. 58 full-page illustrations. Genealogical Tables.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2007-09-09

It is difficult to write a review of this piece, without being redundant, my apoligies if I am.
It is an excellent primer in Celtic mythology, and I'd recommend it to anyone delving into such.
The Aryan undertones are not as pronounced as some other point out,they are there. I must confess being totally oblivious to them until it was pointed out in one of the other reviews. It is in the right of every author to put their own spin to their work, even one that might be used as reference. I do believe in a mythological reference one has literary license to do so, as long as the readers have the intellect to take any of it with a grain of salt, and move on with their own research for a more ecclectic view.

The back cover splash nails it with this statement, "With over forty delightful illustrations, Celtic Mtyhs and Legends provides and immensely readable introduction to Celtic Tales."

Out of date but excellent.......2007-03-27

For the holed stone Dolmens I had to give it a high rating, but
for Celtic history is seems dated from an archaeological point of view.
This book isn't the first book I've read in this area and I've done extensive web searches.
A lot was old hat but some was new.
I like the old fashioned pictures.
This book is again one of Dover books' classic revivals.
And as usual dated material is going to go out of date.
In recent times we have gotten a better idea of who the " Megalithic People" were
and they don't appear to be Aryan, but pre- Aryan , maybe more related to
the Basque. Yet the book brings a lot of the tales of these early people
into the light.

Absolutely excellent!.......2006-01-06

Despite the fact that this book is almost a century old, it is a remarkable and exhaustive collection of both Gaelic (Irish) and Cymric (Welsh) legends. I have not even read all of it yet, but I am utterly impressed with the sections that I have. An analysis of how Arthurian legend grew out of (and eventually separate from) Celtic oral tales, the only retelling of the Voyage of Maeldun that I've seen in such a volume as this, and a wide variety of tales from the Ossianic cycle are only a few of this books excellent features. Best of all is the handling of the Irish invasion myths. I had read three accounts of this cycle of Gaelic mythology, but this was the first one where I was able to keep track of who was who among the many characters and groups that walk on and off the stage. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in Celtic mythology, whether they are whetting their curiosity for the first time or are already familiar with that body of remarkable literature.

A very helpful introduction to the Celtic myths.......2005-12-22

This book is meant to give the reader a general conception of the subject of the Celtic myths. The stories are too abundant to be added in their full content in a volume of this size.

Celtic Myths and Legends breaks the myths into eight chapters starting with Celts in Ancient History, Religion of the Celts and takes the reader on a trip through the Irish Invasion Myths, Early Milesian Kings, Ultonian Cycle, Ossianic Cycle, Voyage of Maeldun and Myths and Tales of the Cymry. There is a brief, but insightful explanation of the Arthurian Myths. The numerous black and white illustrations reveal the rich clothing and armor of the ancient Celts.

I have read many books on the Celtic myths and this one was the most helpful to me. I like the way the stories are broken up into shorter paragraphs with subtitles to make them easier to read and understand. There are dates given as to when these tales may have been written and when some of the legendary characters may have lived. The dates were really helpful to me and made it easier for me to understand the stories. It is interesting to see how the stories change as Christianity takes over. I think this is a great book for students and general readers who are interested in the Celtic myths.

A fine fireside read.......2005-11-29

This is another wonderful collection of myths and legends along the lines of the Celtic Myth and Legend by Charles Squire. Published in 1911, it of course suffers from outdated scholarship, but here is the tales are the more primary focus and what tales they are. We are taken through the standard cycles of Irish myth and into Welsh stories, but these retellings are well done. The book includes long narratives on Cuchulain and Fion MacCumhal, as well as a complete itinerary for the legendary Voyage of Maelduin. Geneological tables help the often tightly woven familial relationships come alive and the Glossary and Index is notable for helpful, understandable pronunciations for some of the more difficult words and names. This is a fine fireside read.

Celtic Lore & Legend: Meet the Gods, Heroes, Kings, Fairies, Monsters And Ghosts Of Yore

Average customer rating:

Irrelevant

Celtic Lore & Legend: Meet the Gods, Heroes, Kings, Fairies, Monsters And Ghosts Of Yore

Manufacturer: New Page Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 156414786X

Book Description

Celtic Lore and Legend includes tales of the heroes and gods from the Great Myth Cycles and tales of witches, ghosts, and fairies--from Sir Walter Scott's Letters on Witchcraft and Demonology and Edmund Burt's Letters from the North of Scotland to Douglas Hyde's Tales of Saints and Sinners and Lady Gregory's Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland. It is also a treasure trove of lesser-known stories, such as Sir Walter Scott's Wandering Willie's Tale, James Hogg's The Brownie of the Black Hags and Don Byrne's A Tale of the Piper. Celtic Lore and Legend is both an examination and celebration of that tradition. It is one of the first attempts to trace the development of these stories from their earliest mythical roots, through the stores of the rural fireside to the writers of fiction who have used Celtic belief as a source for their own stories. Error! Filename not specified. Dr. Bob Curran is a resident of Ireland where he teaches history and writes books. Bob numerous works include: The Creatures of Celtic Myth and A Field Guide to Fairies.

Customer Reviews:

Irrelevant.......2006-08-09

I read his first book "Creatures of Celtic Myth," and I thought it was stretching, off, and unimpressive. Now this book is irrelevant in the most sense, becauseit's regurgitating the same information as any other neo-pagan author. If you want relevant information and folklore, there are much better authors out there. My advice is save the money.

The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore (Facts on File Library of Religion and Mythology)

Average customer rating:

The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore (Facts on File Library of Religion and Mythology)
Patricia Monaghan
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0816045240

The Celts in Myth and Legend (Myths of the World)

Average customer rating:

brilliant... a great author and a great friend, and teacher!

The Celts in Myth and Legend (Myths of the World)
Timothy R. Roberts
Manufacturer: MetroBooks (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1567990924

Customer Reviews:

brilliant... a great author and a great friend, and teacher!.......1998-06-28

Timothy Roberts is probably the most intelligent person I have ever known. I had him in my Latin class my sophomore year, and it was in that class where I learned many things that go far beyond Latin. He is wealth of information, and he has enough ability and motivation to be a prosperous author. Check him out.

The Chronicles of the Celts: New Tellings of Their Myths and Legends

Average customer rating:

Ellis scores well again!
A well-presented piece of Celtic Reconstructionism!

The Chronicles of the Celts: New Tellings of Their Myths and Legends
Peter Berrisford Ellis
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0786706066

Book Description

The stirring sagas of gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, enchanted weapons and fantastic beasts from all six Celtic cultures -- Irish, Scots, Welsh, Cornish, Manx, and Breton -- are retold from ancient times in a major new collection for a modern readership.

Customer Reviews:

Ellis scores well again!.......2000-06-10

Peter Beresford Ellis is obviously a scholar, as he collects together many stories and histories and presents them in a very readable style (though, as another reviewer has said, if you intend to read this aloud you should practice the names a few times in advance).

This text is quite different that Lady Gregory's _Of Gods and Fighting Men_, as it is less a retelling of ancient myths than an attempt to show the historical sides of the various families. Still, it is quite filled with legend, and a good read.

Share it with your children at bedtime!

A well-presented piece of Celtic Reconstructionism!.......1999-09-01

Peter Beresford Ellis has taken several Christianized sources for various Celtic myths and retold them as they might have sounded before the Christian influence appeared. If you're looking for translations of Celtic stories, this isn't the book for you; it is decidedly Reconstructionist in nature and not a historical retelling. The author's approach, however, is quite scholarly, and he makes a concerted effort to seperate the different Celtic cultures, each one represented by six distinct myths, which makes it easy to focus on your own family heritage. His writing has a biblical feel, a bit like a formal storyteller. For this reason, I believe The Chronicles of the Celts would be a good addition to the library of parents who are attempting to raise their children with a respect for their ancestry and their ancestor's gods. They are good stories, some of which contain references to sex and violence, but in the same inexplicit way the Bible does. (Remember "And Adam knew Eve..." And "David slew Goliath" ?) Each contains several life lessons. The women are strong and respected, the men are honorable yet with emotion, and the gods aren't petty and cruel. Their formal nature makes them good to read aloud at family celebrations of Celtic Holidays.

Book Description

This splendid compilation of tales offers a perfect introduction to the colorful pageant of Celtic myth. Its wondrous stories range from the oft-told deeds of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to the less-familiar adventures of mighty Finn and his Fenians, and Ulster's Champions of the Red Branch.

Customer Reviews:

wonderful collection despite its age.......2005-11-26

We Druids do not have a "Bible" as such but good mythology collections are a good source of similar reference detailing the various gods and semi-god/heroes of our pantheon. Squire's book is possible the oldest of these collections currently in print, dating to 1905.

It's a wonderful collection covering the gamut of the Celtic experience from Irish to British and is well organized and planned. It's only faults lie in some of the suppositions of the author, but these are understandle considering he is working from scholarly sources which would now be over 100 years old. As such, skipping the first four chapters covering history and scholarly opinion of the time is advisable to the "novice" reader, so as not to get confused with the now dated opinions. But the rest of the book is a treasure and a worthy addition to anyone's mythology collection.

Classic Book Teaches Classic Lesson.......2004-12-10

CHARLES SQUIRES' CELTIC MYTH AND LEGEND reminds us of a classic truth: the more we think we're dfferent from each other, the more we are the same. The book also reminds us that certain things about human nature don't change. Using a mix of scholarly research and the retelling of ancient Celtic myths, SQUIRE examines how ancient Celtic gods and magical beings expanded, contraced, grew, disappeared, and reappeared in popular culture from the time people arrived in the British Isles and France to the present. He suggests that with each wave of immigrents, Celts, Vikings, Germans, Romans, Christians, new beliefs mingled with old. New gods replaced old, but ancient ideas lingered. Looking at story themes, plots, characters, and icons, Squire shows how these thoughts have come down to us today. I liked this book for that reason. When I finished reading it, I felt connected to ancient people. I also felt connected to modern people because the stories embodied in myth are universal. CELTIC MYTH AND LEGEND is also a book I can read on several levels. If I want to read some neat stories, I can pul it off the shelf. If I want a good of example of how scholars compare and contrast legends and draw conclusions about their origins, I can grab this volume. If I would like to simply be reminded of my humanity, I can thumb CHARLES SQUIRES' pages. My only complaint about CELTIC MYTH AND LEGEND is that SQUIRE'S language can get heavy. He often goes on for pages describing comparisons and characters in minute detail. This is not an easy read. Still, CELTIC MYTH AND LEGEND is a good reference book for the scholar, storyteller, or person who has more than idle curiosity about old tales.

Great as a text.......2003-10-06

If you're looking for an 'accounting' of Celtic Myths and Legends this is a great book with with a table of pronunciation, a great index for quick reference and an appendix of other recommended books. It is,however, very dry reading.

If you judge the book by the description on the back of the book:

"The romance of Celtic legend is unsurpassed, but many people have only a vague knowledge of the myths and legends of Britain's inhabitants. In this fascinating book, Charles Squire gives an astonishing account of the colourful Celtic characters who are part of the heritage of Great Britain."

The words fascinating, astonishing and colourful all make promises that the book can't keep.

I think that Myths and Legends would be much more accesible to the common man if told by a master storyteller that can grab and hold your attention, this book comes across as an academic study.

If you want entertainment... buy a different book.......2002-09-15

Celtic Myth and Legend
Revised Edition
by Charles Squire

I'm not sure why, but as of late I've begun to feel "culture envy". Since Canada is such a young country it has very little history and even less in the way of traditions, that it hasn't borrowed from other cultures and countries.

It's kind of sad, too, that the best definitions of Canada actually come from beer commercials! My family, third or fourth generation Canadian, didn't talk about our roots - our ancestors at all, but I'm pretty sure that we came from the British Isles at one point. So I decided that a study of Celtic culture would be a good place to start in my "culture quest".

Unfortunately, I picked this book... This book was written almost a hundred years ago but that was not the problem. I found I had to struggle to finish it. The writing was very disjointed and cumbersome. It wasn't at all entertaining, as I think myths and legends should be. In fact, if myths weren't entertaining why would they be re-told and re-counted over the centuries?

The book boasts that it is "revised" with a forward by Sirona Knight. Unfortunately, the forward turned out to be the best part of the book! She claims here that Celts weren't actually blood thirsty people who made human sacrifices as is indicated in the body of the book. My personal opinion, however, is that we don't actually have a lot of hard facts about the Celts and it could have been either way.

I would not recommend this book.

Collection of Celtic Stories.......2001-12-24

Many of our roots run deep into Celtic Myth and Legend. The Tuatha de Dannan, their cycle of the Year and many of our holiday names are derived from the Celtic.

But how much does the average pagan know about the stories from whence these things came? How many know the story of Lugh, or the men of Ulster, or even who the Gods of the Britain's were? We may know a fragment here or a passage there, but many of the really good stories go untold.

Mr. Charles Squire has collected some of these stories from the old texts and put them in one place for us to read, without us having to sort through a myriad of books to get just the right ones.

I found his selection to be very deliberate in choosing the stories that epitomize Celtic Mythology. The stories of the Tuatha de Dannan are the foundation of the Celtic Traditions, and from these sprout the Fairy Trads as well. The story of the Kings of Tara are also a good choice for it is part of Gaelic/Irish traditions.

I have always liked the stories of King Cormac and Finn mac Coul. Balor and his daughter, Gwen and Gwyddneu, Manawyddan and the early stories of King Arthur all evoke pictures of heroes and heroines.

If you do not have a collection of Celtic Myths and Legends, then pick this one up. The selection of stories is excellent and gives a good overall picture of the wonderful stories from the Celts. If you already have a book or two, as I do, then supplement your collection with this one. Each of the books I have contain stories that are similar, but there are always the different ones that can not be found elsewhere.

Average customer rating:
Lost Legend of Finn
Mary Tannen
Manufacturer: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0394952111
Release Date: 1982-02-12

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