Celtic
Myths (The Legendary Past) by Miranda Jane Green
Book Description: Celtic Myths explores the mythology and beliefs of the pagan Celts
between about 600 B.C. and A.D. 400. At their peak, the Celtic peoples
inhabited a vast area of Europe, Great Britain, and Ireland. As non-literates,
they have left no written record of their lives, their beliefs, and the
stories which were such an important part of their culture; however, contemporary
commentators from the Classical world, later Christian scribes recording
oral traditions, and the archaeological evidence can give us fascinating,
though fragmented, glimpses. Dr. Green draws on all these sources to discuss
the myths and the religious beliefs and ritual which she believes inform
them. The heroic and magical tales of the Book of Invasions, the Fionn
stories, the Ulster Cycle, and the Mabinogi are the subject of the first
chapters. These stirring stories, though recorded in medieval times by
Christian writers, preserve fascinating evidence of their pagan origins.
Dr. Green then goes on to look at the evidence for Celtic religious beliefs
and raises some interesting questions as to how far we can establish links
and recognize common features between the story material and the archaeological
record.
Paperback: 80 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.32 x
9.46 x 6.76
Publisher: Univ of Texas Press; (1993)
ISBN: 0292727542
Dictionary
of Celtic Mythology by James MacKillop
Paperback: 432 pages
Oxford University Press; ISBN: 0192801201; (November
2000)
Fairy-Faith
in Celtic Countries (Library of the Mystic Arts) by Walter Y. Evans-Wentz
Book Description: What are fairies, those romantic and sometimes mischievous
little people-- pixies, nixies, elves, fauns, brownies, dwarfs, leprechauns,
and all the other forms of the daoine sidhe (fairy people)? Are they real?
Folklorists say they are fragments of ancient religious beliefs; occultists
call them nature spirits; the peasant tradition says they are fallen angels
who were not good enough to be saved or bad enough to be lost.
Dr. Evans-Wentz is best known as the author-translator of "The Tibetan
Book of the Dead", but his first love was this book, which presents a body
of tradition and testimony about an elusive order of life that survives
in the natural setting of wild and lonely places. He was not satisfied
with merely formal study, but collected first-hand reports of fairies in
Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Brittany, and faced up to the key questions
avoided by other folklorists. Dr. Evans-Wentz, whose journeys led him from
the haunts of fairyland to the wilderness of Tibet, opens a path for us
to the luminous reality behind the traditions of folklore.
Paperback from Citadel Trade
Book Published: May, 1990
At
Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien, William H. Gass
Paperback from Dalkey Archive Pr
Book Published: August, 1998
Celtic
Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala
Paperback from Llewellyn Publications
Book Published: September, 1998
