Celtic Myth and Religion : A Study of Traditional Belief, with Newly Translated Prayers, Poems and Songs

MacLeod, Sharon Paice

McFarland & Co Inc（2011/10発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 244 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780786464760
• DDC分類 299.16

Full Description

This book provides a comprehensive overview of Celtic mythology and religion, encompassing numerous aspects of ritual and belief. Topics include the presence of the Celtic Otherworld and its inhabitants, cosmology and sacred cycles, wisdom texts, mythological symbolism, folklore and legends, and an appreciation of the natural world. Evidence is drawn from the archaeology of sacred sites, ethnographic accounts of the ancient Celts and their beliefs, medieval manuscripts, poetic and visionary literature, and early modern accounts of folk healers and seers. New translations of poems, prayers, inscriptions and songs from the early period (Gaulish, Old Irish and Middle Welsh) as well as the folklore tradition (Modern Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish, Breton and Manx) complement the text. Information of this kind has never before been collected as a compendium of the indigenous wisdom of the Celtic-speaking peoples, whose traditions have endured in various forms for almost three thousand years.

Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     

Introduction: Journeying to the Well of Wisdom     

Part One: Celtic Religion and Mythology

1. The Sacred Elements of the Tradition     

2. Sources of Knowledge     

3. Druids, Seers, Poets and Priestesses     

4. The Celtic Otherworld     

5. The Gods of Britain and Gaul     

6. Irish Gods and Goddesses     

7. The Ritual Year     

Part Two: Celtic Shamanism and Wisdom Traditions

8. Elements of Celtic Shamanism     

9. The Feathered Cloak     

10. The Song of the Shaman     

11. Celtic Cosmology     

12. Celtic Wisdom Traditions     

13. The Knowledge of Trees     

14. Symbolism of Animals and Birds     

Part Three: Celtic Legends and Folklore

15. The Wisdom of the Ancestors     

16. The Legend of Arthur     

17. The Mabinogi     

18. Fairies, Healers and Seers     

19. Folklore of Spring and Summer     

20. Folklore of Autumn and Winter     

21. The Path of the Old Ways     

Appendix A: The Rights of Women in Early Celtic Culture     

Appendix B: The Celtic Folksong Tradition     

Appendix C: Suggested Reading and Further Study     

Chapter Notes     

Bibliography     

Index