Taliesin: Shamanism and the Bardic Mysteries in Britain and Ireland

by John Matthews

Book by Matthews, John

Genres: Poetry, Mythology, Nonfiction, History, Folklore, Paganism, Spirituality

368 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 1997

About the author

John Matthews is an historian, folklorist and author. He has been a full time writer since 1980 and has produced over ninety books on the Arthurian Legends and Grail Studies, as well as short stories and a volume of poetry. He has devoted much of the past thirty years to the study of Arthurian Traditions and myth in general. His best known and most widely read works are ‘Pirates’ (Carlton/Atheneum), No 1 children’s book on the New York Times Review best-seller list for 22 weeks in 2006, ‘The Grail, Quest for Eternal Life’ (Thames & Hudson, 1981) ‘The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom’ (Element, 1994) and ‘The Winter Solstice’ (Quest Books, 1999) which won the Benjamin Franklin Award for that year. His book ‘Celtic Warrior Chiefs’ was a New York Public Library recommended title for young people.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taliesin: The Last Celtic Shaman is a full-length study of the life and work of the sixth century Welsh poet. Included at the end of the book are the writings attributed to him--around sixty pages of his poems.

The book was quite informative on the subject of Taliesin and his writings, and I would definitely read it again. However, after reading it this first time, I found that the expectations I had formed about the book were in error, although they were based on its title. I thought there might be discussion of Celtic shamanism, as contrasted with other forms of shamanism, for instance the Altaic or the Uralic, and of Taliesin's place within that tradition--the assertion that Taliesin was the "last Celtic shaman" implies that there were other Celtic shamans before him. In fact, I did not see any of this kind of commentary. Nor did there seem to be much discussion of what, specifically, was shamanic about Taliesin. Matthews does discuss shamanism here, but it seemed to me that he was repeating ideas already familiar from studies like Mircea Eliade's Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, and I did not find that he was integrating these ideas into his main discussion of the poet.

I would be interested in reading about how Taliesin, a thirteenth century Welsh poet, could be understood as a shaman, as well as about the Celtic tradition in which he worked--and how in relation to this latter he was the "last" Celtic shaman--but despite the suggestions made in its title, I did not find those discussions in this book.

Tl;dr: An informative study of sixth-century Welsh poet Taliesin that includes the writings attributed to him, but I would take the title of the book with a grain of salt.

[Annie Dieu-Le-Veut · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this book a long time ago - and then I picked it up again at the beginning of the year to dive into, here and there, like a reference book, to help me with my research on Taliesin who is one of the characters in my upcoming book The Grail Mysteries.

I find that John Matthews has provided the best of the both worlds with this scholarly seminal work on Celtic shamanism. He is a thorough, clear-minded scholar who is guided solely by the evidence and not just some kind of rainbows-'n-unicorns New Age thinking. At the same time, he perceives the ancient works of the poet Taliesin through a shamanic mind-set - which is not New Age and is, in fact, quite Old Age - and he manages to transmit those concepts to the reader in an easy-to-understand form.

I would go further - I think, in this book, Matthews has done more to resurrect Celtic shamanism than any one writer and then to show others the way. I expect to be picking up Taliesin: The Last Celtic Shaman again one day; it's just that sort of book!

[Pogue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I borrowed from the library and that was a mistake. I should have bought it and added it to my shelves, this is one book that is going to be a great reference book in the future. It did take me longer to get through than I thought it would but I loved it.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

By relating content of bardic poems, mythology and cultural practices, the author makes a case for Druids being the Celtic shamanic sect. A lot of ideas I've had around Druid spirituality have started falling into place because of this book. An added bonus is that it includes a number of Taliesin's poems with annotations and commentary.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but it is probably a little too niche for most people. However, Poetry, Celtic Lore, and Spirituality makes for a fun and interesting string of thoughts that is unlike any book I have read on the topics.

[Ivan Granger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the poetry and tales associated with the semi-mythic figure of Taliesin. Bard, seer. Often also tied in the popular imagination with Merlin (Myrddin). Not the best place to start if you're not already somewhat familiar with Welsh or Celtic traditions, but this book is a good window into the shamanic worldview -- and poetry -- of the pre-Christian and proto-Christian British Isles.

[Andrine Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this resource. John Matthews is to be applauded for compilation of this work and his tireless dedication to circulating the near lost fragments of our people's traditions, poetry and philosophies. However, as a 30 year, traditionally trained, fire keeper and lodge woman, I take issue with some parts on shamanism.

[Jo Blakely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this covered a lot of ground. Much of it was very interesting but the delivery of the information was disordered and as a result, somewhat repetitive. Overall a decent book for research into Celtic poetry and the Taliesin cycle in particular.

[Cicely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring

[Cicely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[F.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hardcore. Outstanding.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't particularly light-reading, but it is incredibly well-researched and enlightening. Addendum on May 30, 2017: I will be reading it again. I continue to think about it.

[Chris Bullock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavy going, but with a few interesting observations