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

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.

Author: Sharon Paice MacLeod
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Published: 10/17/2011
Pages: 244
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.9lbs
Size: 9.80h x 6.90w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780786464760
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Choice 04/01/2012

About the Author
Sharon Paice MacLeod is a Harvard-trained Celticist, grant-funded researcher, historical consultant and professional musician. She has taught Celtic literature, mythology and folklore at the university level and lives in New England.