Celtic Mythology - Nature And Influence Of Celtic Myth - From Druidism To Arthurian Legend

by Ward Rutherford

Uncover the origins and traditions of this ancient mythology with this new information about pagan Celtic society, the Druids and other mythologies. "A good source book, filled with lots of interesting insights, information."—Transformation Times. 160 pages, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, History, Religion, Research, Paganism, Ireland

160 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Mesoscope · Rating 3 out of 5]

The difficulties of reconstructing the Celtic religions are well-known. Once you move past the elementary features of the landscape, the nature of the source materials is exceedingly problematic everywhere you look.

Generally speaking, we have three sources of information: 1) descriptions by classical authors such as Julius Caesar, which are few in number and very brief; 2) literary remnants of Celtic oral material, set down in the High and Late Middle Ages in Ireland and Wales, of which our sources are fragmentary, contradictory, and riddled with interpolations and lacunae; and 3) archaeological evidence, which sheds precious little light on the whole affair.

To take one simple example, we possess very little clarity regarding the Celtic pantheon. Over three hundred deities are attested in various inscriptions and sources, the vast majority of them only once. Many of these could very well be epithets for a much smaller number of deities; we simply don't know. Caesar spoke of six chief deities among the Celts of Gaul, and referred to them by Roman names - not much help there.

Sifting through the fragments requires the ability to reasonably extrapolate from the available material while keeping an eye on the limitations each step of the way.

Rutherford, in this short treatment of the Celtic mythology, does a passing good job at dealing with the material and presenting it in a more or less coherent fashion, orienting the general reader to the basic terrain. But on the whole I was unsatisfied, and sometimes impatient, with his attempt to weave a larger picture of the Celts out of the available threads.

Rutherford fancies himself something of a comparativist and takes that vantage point throughout, contextualizing Celtic myths in the light of Shamanism or Proto-Indo-European beliefs. Unforunately, he shows himself to be a jack of all trades and master of none. I was concerned by some of the elementary errors that he made, such as confusing the Hindu God Brahma with Brahman, his error-ridden speculations about the use of psychoactive plants by shamans, or his occasional confusion of the Norse material.

I was further alarmed when I attempted to follow up on two of the most striking statements he made in the book, and failed to corroborate either of them. The first is his assertion that the often-quoted description of the Druids and Celtic religion in Caesar's "The Conquest of Gaul" was not original to Caesar, but was written by his friend Hirtius. I would think one of the several sources I consulted on the Celts and the Romans should have confirmed this? The second was his account of Ethne of the Tuatha de Danaan, which, I believe, he created by combining several stories from different sources, and possibly about different people with a similar name.

I am no specialist, so he could certainly be right about these things, but in the light of my overall impression of his fuzzy mastery of the material, it gives me pause. If I were starting from scratch I'd probably read something else.

Also, it was first amusing, then distracting, then irritating to see him deferentially and somewhat obsequiously refer to the work "The Quest for Merlin" by Nikolai Tolstoy again and again - more often, I believe, than his combined references to any other author. I'm sure there's a personal story there, but I do not want to know it.

[Tawney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book compliments of RedWheel/Weiser Books through the Goodreads First Reads program.

This book is subtitled "The Nature and Influence of Celtic Myth from Druidism to Arthurian Legend". Rutherford packs this subject matter into fewer than two hundred pages crammed with detail to support his viewpoints. The first parts of the book describe the Celts, their origins and social structure followed by what we know of the myths of Ireland and Britain. Descriptions of Druidism and it's place in Celtic life are followed by very detailed commentary on Rutherford's beliefs on there origins (and ultimate connections to other Indo-European cultures). Finally he examines Arthur and the Arthurian legends as built upon, or embellished by, the earlier Celtic mythology.

The book seems well researched, but I've not found any information on Rutherford's credentials or biography other than the books he has written.
His writing style is not easy for me to follow. Rather than enlightening me, his way of following detail with branching detail was often confusing.

[dill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up on impulse from a second-hand store in my town and I'm so glad I did- it's been a really fascinating read. I'm not super knowledgeable about Celtic mythology but this book was really good at explaining everything in a way that made sense, and it draws some really interesting connections I hadn't really considered before. It handles such a big, vague topic carefully and shows Rutherford's skill as a writer. Non-fiction can be difficult to write in a way that's compelling- especially when talking about mythic theory, and over the course of my academic studies I've read my fair share of academic books that are written with far less tact and clarity. There wasn't really any point where it felt slow or a chore to read, and I can definitely see myself coming back to this in the future and looking more into the themes and arguments it presents- especially the connections between Druidism and Scythian legend and Shamanism. It's over all a really good read, it's interesting, but it doesn't overcomplicate anything - I'd definitely recommend reading it if it's a topic you're interested in learning more on.

"Dreams contain their core of truth, too, in this case derived from events in our own individual lives, but mutated into symbols. In one way, myths could be called 'collective dreams.'" - chapter 1, page 21, line 9-11

[Juliette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible writing style, makes it hard to understand.

[Ashlei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't quite what I was looking for but it gave me great resources for other reading.

[Kit McAlear · Rating 2 out of 5]

I spent way too much time on this book than I should’ve. It left me with more questions than answers (and not in a good way).

For one thing, there were so many typos and sentences that didn’t make sense that it astounded me and I don’t think I had an ARC. The mistakes were so obviously that they should’ve been caught on a the first read through. It’s obviously there was zero editing/proofreading.

Because of that I’m hesitant to say if anything that I just read was accurate at all?

In general it was not what it expected which might’ve been my own fault. I was expecting an overview of different Celtic myths, more like summaries of different themes and characters. I got that a little bit there was less of that and more really random stuff that didn’t seem like it belonged.

Im rating 2/5 stars. I have a feeling there are much better books out there on Celtic Mythology.

[Kaitlyn Shelton · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars.
First: I won a copy of this in a Goodreads giveaway.
Now that we have that out of the way, I'd like to give my honest review of the book.
I realize that this is a pre copy, but there were problems. There was missing punctuation, clumsy wording, and some cringeworthy paragraph structure. The material was dry and not what I was expecting.
Problems aside, I was very impressed with the author's vocabulary (maybe tone that down a bit to make it more accessible, though). There were some excellent points and supportive evidence, but the points themselves were not unlike the other information I read.
While I appreciate the effort the author obviously put into it, I probably would not read it again.

[Gumbo Ya-ya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting this book to be heavier on the actual Celtic myth and lighter on the academic analysis, so it was undeniably a bit of a disappointment, though it seems a little unfair to judge it for not being something it didn't set out to be just because that's what I thought I was getting. It definitely would have been more interesting if I was reading it alongside the actual myths, as it was, much of it just kind of dissolved into a slew of references to previous analysts thoughts and the author's own reactions to them, without provision of sufficient content to judge whether any of these ideas held water or were even interesting. That said, it was a relatively easy and enjoyable read, it's just meant to be a condiment, not the actual meal.

[Roxanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this is a new edition of this book first copyrighted in 1987 but there is a 2015 new forward by John Matthews. This book is about Celtic Mythology from the Druids in in the 17th century up to King Arther. The mythology of the Celts is a jewel of the European cultural heritage. Some of the Celtic themes have influenced contemporary writers such as Dylan Thomas and JRR Tolkien. This book gives us an historical overview, and also tells us how these myths made their way into English Literature. I enjoyed the book because this a subject I have never known much about.

[Jean-Pierre Vidrine · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a thrilling volume of tales of gods and heroes, then this is not the book for you. This is, rather, an academic examination of Celtic Mythology and related or descending tales and their significance to modern culture. The gods and heroes are all there, along with a lot of real-world history, but the author is less concerned with thrilling the readers than he is with simply educating them.
The book is undeniably informative and interesting in its own right. But it is still an academic work, so it may not be the most exciting read you have ever had.

[John Kulm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars if you're into this kind if thing. Intriguing speculation about the Druids and their connection to Persian Magi and Indian Yogis. Interesting history of Arthurian myths relationship with ancient Celtic deities.

[Ellis Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read on a topic that has always interested me :)

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Factually inaccurate. Don’t waste your time.