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Celtic Mythology (Library of the World's Myths & Legends) by Proinsias Mac Cana
Analyzes the development of mythological traditions stemming from Ireland and various other areas of ancient Europe
Board Book
First published October 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 26, 2020
Albeit merely of 140 pages, this book is a proper prologue to Celtic mythology. For, such inextensive books might be quite uninformative and superficial. Yet, this both textbook and atlas is rather opposite: it combines archaeological and literary knowledge of Celtic mundane and otherworld rites and habits, animism and sacred places in quite versed and comprehensive manner, providing enough properly cited facts which depict and corroborate enclosed photographs of figurines, effigies, archaeological artefacts and toponyms. MacCana elucidated all four cycles of Celtic mythology, amply explaining tangled Mythological cycle and matching each Celtic deity with its Roman mate. Briefly but amply, he enlightened both Ulster and Fenian cycles, in their gist. Overall, this book (along with Celtic Gods and Heroes by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt) is an excellent starter for the reader who would like to acquaint with the Celtic mythology but in proper, literary manner and with valid scientific data.
February 20, 2017
A solid scholarly guide to what we know of, and can reasonably guess of, the Celtic gods. If there is a better introduction to the field reasonably available I am unaware of it. There are areas where I wish the author had gone more in depth but such is the way of life.
Note - definitely not a recounting of the tales themselves in case anyone is confused.
Note - definitely not a recounting of the tales themselves in case anyone is confused.
October 2, 2016
Still the best book there is on the topic, by a scholar who combined rare intelligence, familiarity with the topic, and restrained passion.
Academic fashions come and go: the great works will stand the test of time.
Academic fashions come and go: the great works will stand the test of time.
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May 11, 2018This book has aged quite well, thanks to its fluent narrative and measured opinions. It's more of an extended essay rather than a synthesis of knowledge, so probably not quite fit for the needs of a beginner. The photographs are many and beautiful.
January 6, 2019
Okay, I am slightly disappointed in this book. I was hoping for a little bit more of the legends, epics and Sagas themselves. Not a scholarly, Joseph Campbellesqe history/comparative mythology type book.
Granted, finding one of those written in Modern English is quite difficult and about half of the book that isn't spent tell what completed remnants of Irish, Welsh and Gaulish legends remain do an excellent job of explaining what that is. Few of the myths and stories were written down at the time. Many that were probably destroyed either by the Vikings or the Catholic Church. Those that weren't were co-opted to the point where the original story may have lost all meaning.
In spite of not quite being what I hoped for, I'm glad I read this book. For a learned quite a bit and that's a good thing.
Granted, finding one of those written in Modern English is quite difficult and about half of the book that isn't spent tell what completed remnants of Irish, Welsh and Gaulish legends remain do an excellent job of explaining what that is. Few of the myths and stories were written down at the time. Many that were probably destroyed either by the Vikings or the Catholic Church. Those that weren't were co-opted to the point where the original story may have lost all meaning.
In spite of not quite being what I hoped for, I'm glad I read this book. For a learned quite a bit and that's a good thing.
April 3, 2018
I quite enjoyed this book. It is a bit on the aged side, but still presents good information. Unlike some other Pagan focused historical based books it's not focused on the Romans and how the Romans affected and conquered the pagans-it doesn't include this as it is a part of the story, but you still get to see the Celts for the Celts. It includes several examples of amazing art that gives you another layer of insight into the Celts. A decent discussion on the Gods and heroes, and the culture and how culture and religion affected one another.
February 15, 2025
This is pretty much a textbook. Not much fluff at all and a lot of big words, some of which I had to look up the definition of lol. But it was extremely informative and I really felt I learned something. If you’re interested in Celtic Mythology this is definitely the book for you as it looks at not just some popular myths but the culture of the time surrounding them.
May 5, 2019
Un très bon livre pour qui veut s'introduire au sujet de la mythologie celtique (irlandaise principalement). Les sujets couverts sont variés et m'ont donné envie de pousser plus loin. Dommage que les ouvrages recommandés soient presque introuvables aujourd'hui.
March 24, 2021
It's kind of a tough read If you don't have a lot of background knowledge on Celtic mythology on an academic level. It was not the introductory text I was looking for. I also spent a lot of time googling pronunciations of names which further interrupted my comprehension.
October 4, 2021
the comparative mythology bits were the most interesting, but i can’t lie i skimmed the heroes’ tales just because i find hero legends extremely boring. but other than that this was a decent introduction to celtic mythology
August 22, 2025
It was an ok introduction to some of the important pieces of Celtic mythology and has good archeological evidence, but unfortunately it is a bit confusing and the tales are not told in any sort of particular order… it’s interwoven in passing after introducing different themes.
October 13, 2019
I can see why this book, though out of print and difficult to find, is such a seminal text on the topic of Celtic mythology. Proinsias does a really good job of starting with the facts (such and such ancient artifact has such and such image on it) and then layering in knowledge of the ways various people writing about the culture of the Celts might be biased, and ultimately drawing some very realistic conclusions based on what we might be able to deduce without diverging too far from the evidence.
I especially appreciated the way he draws connections between the Roman gods and the Celtic ones, to illustrate how the Romans and Christian monks might have colored/influenced their accounts of Celtic culture and worship. And then he goes on to compare the tales of Ireland and Great Britain to those of the Welsh, drawing connections between them that I hadn’t seen previously, and ultimately crafting what feels like a cohesive narrative, despite the actual disjointed, imperfect evidence.
I suppose it’s only to be expected, when you’re studying a culture with an oral tradition. But perhaps there’s more wisdom in oral traditions than written ones. I look at how the texts for major religions were written so long ago, and how they are interpreted and often *mis*-interpreted today, and I have to respect the Celts for their wisdom in allowing a living, evolving culture that leaves room for progress. I can be sad at the dearth of factual information we have about how they lived and worshipped, but that doesn’t detract from my respect for oral traditions and for what we can somewhat reasonably deduce about them.
This is an informative, detailed book to read for anyone interested in Celtic mythology, and definitely a must-read for those studying with a coven that worships the Celtic gods. It will give you a better understanding of the myths that introduce these gods to us, and you’ll be more prepared to understand the push and pull of modern reconstructionist traditions and mystery traditions.
I especially appreciated the way he draws connections between the Roman gods and the Celtic ones, to illustrate how the Romans and Christian monks might have colored/influenced their accounts of Celtic culture and worship. And then he goes on to compare the tales of Ireland and Great Britain to those of the Welsh, drawing connections between them that I hadn’t seen previously, and ultimately crafting what feels like a cohesive narrative, despite the actual disjointed, imperfect evidence.
I suppose it’s only to be expected, when you’re studying a culture with an oral tradition. But perhaps there’s more wisdom in oral traditions than written ones. I look at how the texts for major religions were written so long ago, and how they are interpreted and often *mis*-interpreted today, and I have to respect the Celts for their wisdom in allowing a living, evolving culture that leaves room for progress. I can be sad at the dearth of factual information we have about how they lived and worshipped, but that doesn’t detract from my respect for oral traditions and for what we can somewhat reasonably deduce about them.
This is an informative, detailed book to read for anyone interested in Celtic mythology, and definitely a must-read for those studying with a coven that worships the Celtic gods. It will give you a better understanding of the myths that introduce these gods to us, and you’ll be more prepared to understand the push and pull of modern reconstructionist traditions and mystery traditions.
July 28, 2011
Mac Cana is like a 1960s Rhys with a bit more learning. My dissertation adviser suggested him to me as a scholar equally at home in the Welsh and Gaelic traditions, and this is, in some ways, true and quite impressive. With Celtic studies going the way it is, I suppose he and I are dying breeds. He doesn’t do much evaluation of his evidence, but he does present more evidence for various monomythaisms than any other scholar. I get the impression he doesn’t draw any strong conclusions from them at all though, which is interesting. Is the presentation of his evidence biased by itself? Unfortunately this is another rubbish paper book, so I can only quote the boring balanced bits which i decided to copy out instead of summarise or comment on:
(The aristocratic bias of celtic literature, amazing argument!)
“It has sometimes been pointed out that those whom Irish (and indeed Welsh) literature records as visiting the other-world are either heroes or kings, and the conclusion is drawn that the people at large must have shared a less distinguished afterlife – in the land of the dead. The flaw in this argument is its disregard for the fact that the earl Celtic literatures are preponderantly aristocratic with an infinite capacity for ignoring the fortunes of the masses”
(Reasons for Cernunnos being presented as the devil)
“… if however, as Anne Ross has argued cogently, a cult of horned deities of the Cernunnos type once existed among the insular Celts, then one cannot be sure that it petered out in such idyllic innocence. The deity’s evident concern with fecundity may have influenced the form of his cult and the content of his myth, and this in turn may explain why artists of the early Christian period tended to assimilate him to Satan and why only residual elements of his myth survive”
(interesting perspective of the brown bull)
“The brown bull of Cuailnge can scarcely be dissociated from the Tarvos Trigaranus, the three-horned bull whose images are found both in Gaul and in Britain.”
(The aristocratic bias of celtic literature, amazing argument!)
“It has sometimes been pointed out that those whom Irish (and indeed Welsh) literature records as visiting the other-world are either heroes or kings, and the conclusion is drawn that the people at large must have shared a less distinguished afterlife – in the land of the dead. The flaw in this argument is its disregard for the fact that the earl Celtic literatures are preponderantly aristocratic with an infinite capacity for ignoring the fortunes of the masses”
(Reasons for Cernunnos being presented as the devil)
“… if however, as Anne Ross has argued cogently, a cult of horned deities of the Cernunnos type once existed among the insular Celts, then one cannot be sure that it petered out in such idyllic innocence. The deity’s evident concern with fecundity may have influenced the form of his cult and the content of his myth, and this in turn may explain why artists of the early Christian period tended to assimilate him to Satan and why only residual elements of his myth survive”
(interesting perspective of the brown bull)
“The brown bull of Cuailnge can scarcely be dissociated from the Tarvos Trigaranus, the three-horned bull whose images are found both in Gaul and in Britain.”
July 6, 2008
For a scholarly book published in the 70's, it's not to eggregious. There are a lot of fallacies and asumptions in the writing and the research, but there's also some great information in there. And even in black and white, the pictures of the ancient arceological finds are gorgeous.
However, it's less a relating of Celtic Mythology and more an attempt to trace the "veracity" of the various Celtic myths and theology from a basis of archeology, Ceaser's observations and folklore. If you're just looking for the myths themselves, go straight to the Cattle Raid of Cooley, The Book of Invasions, The Mabinogi and the like.
However, it's less a relating of Celtic Mythology and more an attempt to trace the "veracity" of the various Celtic myths and theology from a basis of archeology, Ceaser's observations and folklore. If you're just looking for the myths themselves, go straight to the Cattle Raid of Cooley, The Book of Invasions, The Mabinogi and the like.
March 11, 2016
Sadly, this book disappointed me a bit. Maybe it is because the Celts left little written history, maybe the writer thought you have a basic knowledge of Celts, but this book often confused me. I expected a book with explanations of the gods/goddesses of the Celts, rituals and stories. I got this, but the writing is all over the place. The writer easily mixes names, events and the geographical differences, but there is no simple summery or a table to help you keep track of all the information. Also, it bothered me that in descriptions of artefact pictures, the goddess Epona was mentioned, but in the text there is not even a single reference. Not recommended for beginners of Celtic culture.
February 11, 2008
A good first edition with a nice dust jacket is on ebay for another day http://www.wagglepop.com/bin/auction/...
February 28, 2009
This is an excellent book full of great references and pictures of archeological finds backing up the information presented. I highly recommend it!
August 14, 2009
Please check out my review on my Blog
Celtic Mythology by Proinsias MacCana
Celtic Mythology by Proinsias MacCana
March 2, 2010
This seemed to be a well written overview of Celtic Mythology. My only complaint is that there is no guide regarding any of the Irish words so one is left guessing how to properly pronounce them.
February 2, 2013
Pretty neat book! I never knew that there was a such thing as Celtic Mythology!!!
September 20, 2014
A very old fashioned scholarly author by modern standards.
May 7, 2018
I really enjoyed this. I was concerned with it's coffee-table size that it might be lightweight, but it has a ton of really good information and interesting insights. The large format made it easier to see the fine detail in some of the artworks, so I was glad for that.
On account of the strength of this book, I have purchased the Chinese, Egyptian, and North American Indian titles of the same series.
On account of the strength of this book, I have purchased the Chinese, Egyptian, and North American Indian titles of the same series.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews