Myths and Legends of the Celts

James MacKillop

jun 2006 · Penguin UK

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Myths and Legends of the Celts is a fascinating and wide-ranging introduction to the mythology of the peoples who inhabited the northwestern fringes of Europe - from Britain and the Isle of Man to Gaul and Brittany.

Drawing on recent historical and archaeological research, as well as literary and oral sources, the guide looks at the gods and goddesses of Celtic myth; at the nature of Celtic religion, with its rituals of sun and moon worship; and at the druids who served society as judges, diviners and philosophers. It also examines the many Celtic deities who were linked with animals and such natural phenomena as rivers and caves, or who later became associated with local Christian saints. And it explores in detail the rich variety of Celtic myths: from early legends of King Arthur to the stories of the Welsh Mabinogi, and from tales of heroes including Cúchulainn, Fionn mac Cumhaill and the warrior queen Medb to tales of shadowy otherworlds - the homes of spirits and fairies.

What emerges is a wonderfully diverse and fertile tradition of myth making that has captured the imagination of countless generations, introduced and explained here with compelling insight.

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Dr James MacKillop is an eminent scholar of Celtic history and culture, having been Visiting Fellow in Celtic Languages at Harvard University, Professor of English at the State University of New York, Visiting Professor at the Université de Rennes and President of the American Conference for Irish Studies. His many publications include the Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (1998), Fionn mac Cumhaill (1986) and Irish Literature: A Reader (1987, 2005). He is based in Syracuse, New York.


Dr James MacKillop is an eminent scholar of Celtic history and culture, having been Visiting Fellow in Celtic Languages at Harvard University, Professor of English at the State University of New York, Visiting Professor at the Université de Rennes and President of the American Conference for Irish Studies. His many publications include the Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (1998), Fionn mac Cumhaill (1986) and Irish Literature: A Reader (1987, 2005). He is based in Syracuse, New York.