What do you think?
Rate this book
The Celts: History, Life, and Culture [2 volumes]
This succinct, accessible two-volume set covers all aspects of Celtic historical life, from prehistory to the present day.
The study of Celtic history has a wide international appeal, but unfortunately many of the available books on the subject are out-of-date, narrowly specialized, or contain incorrect information. Online information on the Celts is similarly unreliable. This two-volume set provides a well-written, up-to-date, and densely informative reference on Celtic history that is ideal for high school or college-aged students as well as general readers.
The History, Life, and Culture uses a cross-disciplinary approach to explore all facets of this ancient society. The book introduces the archaeology, art history, folklore, history, linguistics, literature, music, and mythology of the Celts and examines the global influence of their legacy. Written entirely by acknowledged experts, the content is accessible without being simplistic. Unlike other texts in the field, The History, Life, and Culture celebrates all of the cultures associated with Celtic languages at all periods, providing for a richer and more comprehensive examination of the topic.
The study of Celtic history has a wide international appeal, but unfortunately many of the available books on the subject are out-of-date, narrowly specialized, or contain incorrect information. Online information on the Celts is similarly unreliable. This two-volume set provides a well-written, up-to-date, and densely informative reference on Celtic history that is ideal for high school or college-aged students as well as general readers.
The History, Life, and Culture uses a cross-disciplinary approach to explore all facets of this ancient society. The book introduces the archaeology, art history, folklore, history, linguistics, literature, music, and mythology of the Celts and examines the global influence of their legacy. Written entirely by acknowledged experts, the content is accessible without being simplistic. Unlike other texts in the field, The History, Life, and Culture celebrates all of the cultures associated with Celtic languages at all periods, providing for a richer and more comprehensive examination of the topic.
- GenresHistory
992 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
1 person is currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
John T. Koch
23 books7 followersJohn T. Koch is an American academic, historian and linguist who specializes in Celtic studies, especially prehistory and the early Middle Ages.
He is a graduate of Harvard University, where he was awarded the degrees of A.M. and Ph.D. in Celtic Languages and Literatures in 1983 and 1985 respectively. In addition, he has also pursued studies at Jesus College, Oxford, and the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He has taught Celtic Studies at Harvard University and Boston College.
Since 1998, he has been senior research fellow or Reader at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, University of Wales, where he has supervised a research project focusing on Celtic Languages and Cultural Identity. Two of the offshoots of this project are the five-volume Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia and An Atlas for Celtic Studies (2007).
He has published widely on aspects of early Irish and Welsh language, literature and history. His works include The Celtic Heroic Age (first published in 1994, 4th edition in 2003), in collaboration with John Carey; The Gododdin of Aneirin (1997), an edition, translation and discussion of the early Welsh poem Y Gododdin; and numerous articles published in books and journals. A grammar of Old Welsh and a book on the historical Taliesin are in the works.
In 2007, John Koch received a personal chair at the University of Wales.
Koch supervises (as Senior Fellow and Project Leader) the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies Ancient Britain and the Atlantic Zone Project (Ireland, Armorica, and the Iberian Peninsula). In 2008, Koch gave the O'Donnell Lecture at Aberystwyth University titled People called Keltoi, the La Tène Style, and ancient Celtic languages: the threefold Celts in the light of geography. In 2009, Koch published a paper Tartessian: Celtic from the Southwest at the Dawn of History detailing how the Tartessian language may have been the earliest directly attested Celtic language with the Tartessian written script used in the inscriptions based on a version of a Phoenician script in use around 825 BC.
He is a graduate of Harvard University, where he was awarded the degrees of A.M. and Ph.D. in Celtic Languages and Literatures in 1983 and 1985 respectively. In addition, he has also pursued studies at Jesus College, Oxford, and the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He has taught Celtic Studies at Harvard University and Boston College.
Since 1998, he has been senior research fellow or Reader at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, University of Wales, where he has supervised a research project focusing on Celtic Languages and Cultural Identity. Two of the offshoots of this project are the five-volume Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia and An Atlas for Celtic Studies (2007).
He has published widely on aspects of early Irish and Welsh language, literature and history. His works include The Celtic Heroic Age (first published in 1994, 4th edition in 2003), in collaboration with John Carey; The Gododdin of Aneirin (1997), an edition, translation and discussion of the early Welsh poem Y Gododdin; and numerous articles published in books and journals. A grammar of Old Welsh and a book on the historical Taliesin are in the works.
In 2007, John Koch received a personal chair at the University of Wales.
Koch supervises (as Senior Fellow and Project Leader) the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies Ancient Britain and the Atlantic Zone Project (Ireland, Armorica, and the Iberian Peninsula). In 2008, Koch gave the O'Donnell Lecture at Aberystwyth University titled People called Keltoi, the La Tène Style, and ancient Celtic languages: the threefold Celts in the light of geography. In 2009, Koch published a paper Tartessian: Celtic from the Southwest at the Dawn of History detailing how the Tartessian language may have been the earliest directly attested Celtic language with the Tartessian written script used in the inscriptions based on a version of a Phoenician script in use around 825 BC.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 26, 2022
I haven't gone through the whole book, only the 2nd volume. Particularly, in chapters relating to poetry, literature, nationalism, independence movements, mythical creatures and legendary animal.
I found it to be quite informative, although, I would have preferred more emphasis on modern history of Celtic cultures' nationalist cause.
I found it to be quite informative, although, I would have preferred more emphasis on modern history of Celtic cultures' nationalist cause.
September 16, 2012
I decided not to review this for my site because it is an encyclopaedia. However, this is an amazing addition to the Celtic Studies field. This isn't just about the myths, which is what most of the Celtic Encyclopaedias out there are mostly about. This is about culture, about everyday life, and about cultures you don't normally see much of in Celtic Encyclopaedias which are Breton, and Gaul. The encyclopaedia talks about linguistics too, so it is pretty comprehensive.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews