The Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends

by Miranda Aldhouse-Green, Miranda J. Green

From gods, heroes, and monsters to Druids, sorcerers, and talking animals, The Celtic Myths explores every aspect of Irish and Welsh myths in this appealing and authoritative guide. Besides vividly retelling the tales, Miranda Aldhouse-Green brings her expertise in the archaeology of the Iron Age and particularly shamanism to bear on the mythical world she describes, with evidence as diverse as the Gundestrup Cauldron and the famous bog bodies.

Starting with a discussion of how myths are transmitted and by whom, Aldhouse-Green continues with an account of Irish and Welsh myths, their key actors and motifs, and themes such as heroes, animals, women, environment, and the Otherworld. The book concludes with a look at the influence of monastic chroniclers on the tales, which they preserved and adapted.

Boxed features, quotes from primary texts and contemporary sources, two-color illustrations, photographs, and drawings all come together to create a comprehensive guide for anyone interested in Celtic history or the history of myth as well as anyone who simply loves a good story.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, History, Folklore, Ireland, Religion, Historical

208 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2015

About the author

Miranda Green was born in London and educated at Greycoat Hospital, Westminster. She took an Honours degree at University College, Cardiff and an M. Litt. at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She gained a research scholarship at the Open University and was awarded a doctorate in 1981 for her thesis on Romano-Celtic sun-symbolism. She has received research awards from the Society of Antiquities of London and from the British Academy, and was awarded the Leverhulme Research Fellowship at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. After holding posts at Worthing and Peterborough Museums, she took up posts as Tutor in Roman Studies and full-time administrator at the Open University in Wales.

Until recently professor of archaeology at Newport University, Miranda's teaching experience ranges from leading undergraduate courses on Roman Britain and Iron Age Europe to managing and contributing to Newport's MA in Celto-Roman Studies. She has supervised more than twenty PhD and MPhil students to successful completion.

Miranda Aldhouse-Green is Tutor for the MA Archaeology programme, and is module leader for three of the MA skills modules (Research Methods, Writing Archaeology/Writing the Past and Speaking Archaeology). She lectures on Early Celtic Studies and contributes to the third-year undergraduate Theory course.

External responsibilities include membership of the Ancient Monuments Advisory Board for Wales, presidency of the Prehistoric Society (2004-6) and membership of the management board of the University of Wales Press.

Reviews

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Информативная книга, читается легко, очень много интересных подробностей. Теперь для меня Кухулин - не только любимый персонаж отца Фрэнка Маккорта, а голова, витающая в воздухе - не просто ниоткуда взявшееся видение немолодой героини "Зимы" Али Смит.
В "Кельтских мифах" невероятное количество подробностей, которые помогут лучше понимать и классику, и современную литературу. Немного сложно воспринимать из-за непривычных имён, но этот дискомфорт быстро проходит. Тем более, что многие мифологические сюжеты нам хорошо известны. Например, параллель мифа о Кухулине с мифом об Ахилле, когда герой может выбрать либо долгую и незаметную жизнь, либо героически умереть молодым.
Я только закончила слушать, но мне уже хочется книгу перечитать, чтобы сделать много заметок, которые, я уверена, мне очень пригодятся.

[Stefanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt like the first draft of a master's thesis. And not a very good one at that. Aldhouse-Green weakly tries to tie together archaeological evidence and Celtic myths, without doing a very good job of describing either. The book is touted as a great introduction for those unfamiliar with Celtic myths, and yet every increasingly aggravating section begins with a quote that makes absolutely zero sense until you have read the entire following section. It is possible this is full of good information, but I can't think of anyone I could conscientiously recommend it to.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book easy to follow and some of the drawing of coins and figures were interesting. A lot of limestone figures are photographed here and show a good age, a wonder in itself.
I found some of the stories were new in Irish sections and enjoyed learning of otherworldliness and the mix between worlds. Aldhouse- Green writes convincingly of the crossing over between worlds and explains the Deity and hero connections really well. I particularly enjoyed the part about pathways over obstacles such as bogs and I liked hearing about Ettain.

Some of the Welsh names were very strange sounding, both in my head and when I tried saying them aloud, not too sure they were supposed to be pronounced like that- I did learn that w are oo in Welsh, but i obviously didn't do it justice. I haven't found any other books about Wales Celtic connection yet.

I don't know that I was fully expecting as much explanation of the Celtic tales. I can understand that expressing Celtic and Deity themes can be a wordy and expansive experience, the author does this really well and I could place myself in the shoes of the characters. Also I found Aldhouse- Green described burials in an intriguing way, I would have felt put off by burials had it not been described in such a way as to feel part of a legend rather than a biological and almost terrestrial/ grotesque.

[ArwendeLuhtiene · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5-3/5

In my opinion, this book works as a basic introduction to Celtic culture and Irish and Welsh myths, and I found it easy to read. The structure is a little bit chaotic at times, though, and there are a smallish handful of potential typos/dubious claims in it as well, especially in the introduction (such as equating 'the people of Gaul' with the whole of Celtic Europe).

Regarding one of my favourite themes -feminism and the treatment of female characters -, the author uses 'men and women' and 'he and/or she' in her writing and tackles the issue of the women in Irish and Welsh myths: She has a whole chapter dedicated to the women in the myths and also makes references to the treatment of the female characters more than once throughout the book (apart from the existing inherent Patriarchy of Celtic culture, she makes emphasis on the way Christianity viewed the original Celtic female characters in a negative way because they did not conform to their set gender roles: "powerful women are not treated with any great sympathy and over-enthusiastic sexual behaviour is frowned upon").

I appreciated the fact that she discusses women quite often, and in general I agree with her interpretation and views on the matter, but there are a couple of cases where she suddenly seems to uphold deeply problematic sexist views (especially about Blodeuwedd and, to a lesser extent, the battle goddesses and the 'virginity test/virgin footholder' issue of the Mabinogion with Goewin and Arianrhod), and that's where the 2.5 came from. It also made little sense that someone who comments quite a lot of times about Medieval Christianity's sexist warped views on Celtic women (about Queen Medbh, for example) should be upholding the exact same views on some specific characters. Sometimes it seemed to me like the author switched mentalities, feminist-wise, depending on the character she was discussing (she definitely seems to have some kind of problem with Blodeuwedd), and I found it both grating and confusing.

A couple of examples:
-"A strong mythic tradition in the Ulster Cycle is the association of goddesses with warfare (...) they were (...) promiscuous, sexually insatiable and intent on seducing young heroes"
It's pretty incoherent to comment on the way Medieval Christians critisized Celtic goddesses for their freer sexuality (and kudos for that, don't get me wrong), and then write something with this kind of wording (apart from the fact that women are entitled to their sexuality - as if 99.9% of the males in these myths were not as - or more - sexually active! But they're not called promiscuous for it, are they?! About the Daghda, for example, the wording is 'his sexual appetite was prodigious' He, or other men like Cúchulainn, are never called 'promiscuous', and the men who assault women (like Gilfaethwy) or take them as wives in arranged marriages (like Conchobar, Fionn or Lleu) aren't exactly critisized either!)

And the most problematic case, Blodeuwedd. The author seems to really hate this character and bashes her like three or four times throughout the book. Pretty hypocritical (and very confusing) to be that level of sexist and, like I said, uphold the exact same views Medieval Christians did, after seemingly critisizing that issue more than once! It's also particularly grating when other authors, such as Jean Markale (who happens to be male!), includes such a feminist take on the matter (in his book about Celtic women).

Blodeuwedd is a woman created, very much like Eve (and Lilith) were, with the sole intention of being a male protagonist's wife - she's considered as an object who is entitled to 0% consent about the issue. Like Lilith, Blodeuwedd is not exactly happy about the arrangement (and can you blame her?), and so she takes a lover (and apparently women being able to choose a sexual partner is a criminal offense but men are entitled to own them in any way?) and conspires with him to kill the forced husband (not enforcing killing in any way but again, can you exactly blame her? It was like the only way to try to break free). But while Markale sympathises with the character and critisizes the extreme misogyny and objectification of women oozing from the story, the author here views Blodeuwedd as an 'amoral', 'evil' character who 'betrays' and 'tricks' her 'poor' 'wronged' husband:
Vs Markale's "the woman is [in this tale] a manufactured object which men can own and use as they wish (...) Rejecting her alienation, Blodeuwedd vindicates her right to freedom (...) the rebellion of the Flower Daughter constantly threatens the basis of patriarchal society (...) Like Blodeuwedd, Lilith (...) is handed over to Adan, like an object. She rebels and refuses to obey Jehovah, the Father (...)" (Celtic Women, 'The Rebellion of the Flower Daughter')
in this book we have
"the wicked adulteress (...) Her powerful amorality is explained in terms of her not being truly human (...) Lleu obtained a magical wife, conjured from flowers (...) But she was faithless (...) she was fundamentally flawed, untrustworthy and ultimately too dangerous to be among humans. (...) she is a wayward, amoral spirit-being"
Way to go, Ms Aldhouse-Green!

[SA · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second of the contemporary works on mythology commissioned by Thames & Hudson I've read, the first being The Norse Myths: A Guide to the Gods and Heroes which I enjoyed a great deal.

Similarly, I enjoyed this; Aldhouse-Green is a particular author I like to read and follow, and I appreciate that she took on this project. I would and will recommend this to anyone looking for an accessible introduction to Celtic myth and legend from a more academic lens.

I was faintly disappointed that the author restricted herself only to the mythology captured in the written record of Christian monks between the 8th-14th centuries. I certainly understand why, and the author's preface lays out her perfectly reasonable motivations for doing so. And Aldhouse-Green's scholarship is a fine guide through this. My disappointment stems more, I suppose, from a reading of Larrington's Norse Myths, which acknowledges the written record but doesn't limit interpretation there. Of course, Larrington's specialization is folklore, where Aldhouse-Green is an archaeologist, so that's all understandable and well and good.

I just wanted Aldhouse-Green to push more towards interpretation, I suppose. She does so, but only briefly, all the more tantalizing because I just want to know everything she thinks about these myths, not just the way to make them accessible. I don't want only a side, wry line that the 10th-century monks charting the Branches of the Mabinogion were not given to according female characters any real characterization or action, and a glimmer of the feminist interpretations therein. I want Aldhouse-Green to spend luscious paragraphs interrogating and speculating from her position as a scholar about these legendary women and goddesses.

But it's so good anyway, which is why I rate it so highly, and in being so good it makes me hunger for more of Aldhouse-Green's perspective, contemporary to today.

[Yuliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

На протяжении всей книги у меня было ощущение, что где-то я уже все это видела.
И только к концу я поняла, что это чувство возникло из-за того, что автор повторял одно и то же на протяжении всей книги. Как будто автор знает только пять мифов, и мы все время топчемся на них.

Мифов тут как таковых нет, но есть анализ (не на высоком уровне, но все же), и именно мифов-то и не хватает в книге, которая называется "Кельтские мифы". С одной стороны, автор как будто ожидает, что мы уже знакомы с этими историями, поэтому не вдается в подробности. Но с другой стороны, она слишком часто обращается к поверхностному пересказу для читателя разбирающегося. Так что целевая аудитория книги не совсем ясна.

Анализ тут сам по себе на троечку, автор позволяет себе много фантазировать и делать ни на чём не основанные выводы. Она об этом говорит прямо, но тем не менее эта ее трактовка финальная, и она не даёт никакой альтернативы.

Хочется отдельно поблагодарить МиФ за то, что они наняли толкового научного редактора. Очень стрёмно, что у автора было довольно много ошибок, мне кажется, что исследовательская работа требует очень тщательной проверки фактов, но почему-то автор об этом не позаботился.

В общем, разочаровало.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Human beings like explaining things, and they love to tell stories. Who are we, where did we come from, where are we going, all universal questions for the human condition.

The Celtic Mythos is fascinating. However, I am not well-versed in its intricacies. I heard of Cu Chulainn, the legendary hero with his magical items and weapons, and I heard of Dagda. Beyond that, I don't follow Celtic Myths too much. I picked up various bits and pieces from different forms of media, but I don't remember how I first heard about it.

Miranda Aldhouse-Green writes about the Celtic Mythos, focusing on the aspects of the myths that we know for sure. The book roots itself in anthropology and archaeology more than pure mythology. So while it does discuss the legends themselves, it goes into the cultural mores that led to these stories as well.

For example, I mentioned Cu Chulainn before, but I didn't know that the magical items he possessed were a Medieval Era invention. I assumed that he had them throughout his existence.

The book is excellent. Thank you for reading my review, and see you next time.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, sort of. I enjoyed some of the content and it gave me decent insight into Celtic mythology. It’s a good read for those interested in learning historical aspects of the Celtic myths, but not the myths themselves, to my disappointment. I disliked the structure of the book. Random “information boxes” appear throughout the book, often disjointing the chapter. The way it was written took getting used to, by the end I was reading it more easily, but I never felt the writing flowed well- often jumpy and repeating itself; along with the disruptive “information boxes”.

[Angharad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't buy a whole lot of books because of space concerns on my shelves, but I really want a copy of this one.

[Siri Olsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hm. I enjoyed The Norse Myths, The Greek and Roman Myths, and The Egyptian Myths, which meant that I had high hopes for The Celtic Myths going in, especially since I consider Celtic mythology to be an area where my current knowledge is too limited. However, I must say that the book did not fully work for me, and this was largely due to structuring. This may sound harsh, but the book simply lacks coherence. It jumps from one aspect to another, loosely ties different aspects together, and frequently mentions cosmological beliefs or mythological persons that have yet to be introduced and will only be discussed later in the book. I must say I cannot understand why the book is not structured as the other books in the series, opening with a general explanation of the basic premises and principles, then a chapter on the most important deities and characters, and then moving on to the myths themselves. Without that initial introduction, there is no foundation of knowledge on which to build anything. As a result, it becomes difficult to make sense of what one is reading, and I must say that I came away from the book without remembering more than a few key figures and some general mythological imagery. I cannot say that I recommend this one.

[Bex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have taught an undergraduate class on the Myths and Legends of Britain and Ireland for several years, and think this would make a really useful primer for students on such courses - pointing them to contemporary written evidence (e.g. Caesar's De Bello Gallico for info on the Druids), archaeological evidence, and for an introduction to the main players - gods and heroes of Celtic myth. Aldhouse-Green also usefully problematises the word 'Celt' at the outset. An interesting and informative read.

[Isa Lot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy recomendado, hace un repaso rápido y conciso por toda la mitología celta. Quizás demasiado rápido para lo compleja que es la mitología celta, pero para llegar a entenderla bien habria que leer muchos mas libros. En general me ha gustado mucho.

[Nicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never read anything so chaotic, what a hot mess #sorrynotsorry

I'm not sure what would be worse: the author not hiring an editor (for reasons we'll never know), or the editor apparently thinking that this is the best version of the book ever possible.

As someone who has never read anything about Celtic mythology and has absolutely no clue about what it entails, I hoped to at least learn a lot about the god(esse)s, what the afterlife looked like, how the Celts gave life meaning and how the gods helped with this, and the Celtic customs in worshipping them.

Instead, I got dull and uninteresting descriptions of archaeological findings that didn't always support the story the author was trying to tell. Of course, I understand that it can be exciting for someone working as an archaeologist, but not everyone is fascinated by sand, rocks and bog bodies. Do me a favour and do the title justice, next time. I feel like the author only scratched the surface of the myths, decided halfway through that she cared more about the science behind it, and dropped all intentions of teaching the reader about the actual Celtic folklore.

And it got worse, because the longer it went on, the less coherent the story was. Titles made no sense at all, tales were cut off and only summarised in 0.5-page paragraphs, and irrelevant photos disturbed the narrative more and more.

I never rate books half stars, but I'm giving this 1.5 stars anyway. The only thing this book did, is give me a starting point and some names that I can look up on Wikipedia. That's literally all it did.

If I'd known this beforehand, I would've asked some random Youtuber to hand me some names on a list and saved me 3 hours of my life.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real introduction to Celt myths. The structure is a bit confusing at times and I kind of wish there were a couple of pages as a list o characters per source (there are list of god's but in the middle of the text). Nonetheless, it does as advertised

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leans to heavily on archaeological sourses that are from rome/other unrelated cultures that may not have anything to do with the myths that the author is referring too. A good general introduction though.

[Sarah McGowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m between two and three stars on this one. There were snippets of interesting information here and there, but overall the book felt like it was jumping all over the place. It didn’t feel at all like an introduction to Celtic myths. It left me feeling confused about what I just read.

[Carol Chiovatto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um pouco repetitivo, mas talvez eu tivesse dificuldade de acompanhar os nomes se não fosse. Bem interessante como introdução do tema.

[Iva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Доволі детально розписано із вказанням та цитування джерел, описом артефактів, але... жахливо сумбурно. Хоч якого адекватнішого впорядкування книзі ой, як не вистачає

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book I have recently read as preparation for a trip to Wales. Like Mark William's The Celtic Myths that Shape the Way We Think", it covers The Mabinogion and Ulster Cycle. Celtic Myth's is compact, readable and I like the way chapters were broken down into sections to highlight the topic or myth because it made reading in short sections easier to take in. I have the hard copy edition and some love went into the design as illustrated by the use of a green font for chapters and subsections.

[TG Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

在圖書館翻閱時恰好瞄到「Tuatha Dé Danann」這個詞，想起當年黑科技始祖的《FMP》，於是便借回來好好閱讀。這算是我第一本接觸關於「凱爾特神話」的專書。但不曉得是自己的吸收新知能力變差了，這本《靈與異之凱爾特神話》讀來辛苦，在讀完之後，腦中只留下混亂的印象。

本書作者的書寫方式，可以說是偏向於「研究」與「比較」的討論，並且可以看得出她所訴求的對象屬於不列顛國家文化圈的讀者，而不是從零開始慢慢地將讀者引進入門。所以在各個章節中，有時會將話題帶到現代英國世界的比擬、有時會引述一下中世紀古典文獻、有時會拿考古出土實證加以比對、有時則會在各個章節之間跳躍同書自我參照。因此，對於完全不懂凱爾特神話的我，原本期待著好好地讀完某段神話故事，卻時常因為敘述的中斷而「無法入戲」。

無論如何，我還是從本書中獲得自己關於凱爾特神話的初步資訊。本書的主軸，應該是放在「威爾斯」和「愛爾蘭」兩個地域。在歐洲中古時代，當地的知識份子（教士）留下了幾部民俗文本；雖然已經是基督教普遍推行的年代了，但撇開了基督教信仰的正統批判，後人還是可以由當中得到「前基督教時代」的凱爾特／德魯依神話面貌。
然而我對本書某些討論主題的處理方式有些疑惑。若拿這兩處的史料與文物比對也就罷了，但作者非常喜歡拿歐陸上的「高盧」和「日耳曼」的元素來作強勢的推論——這就有些過頭了。今天的我們當然可以清楚曉得，英倫海峽兩岸的古文明，一定是有相當程度以上的起源與傳承的。然而當我們要討論主題特化為威爾斯或愛爾蘭的原住民文化時，高盧本土已經羅馬化了數個幾紀之後，此時再引用羅馬時代的材料便不是非常恰當的了——更何況在文字文明出現之前，原住民的部族共同體根本不可能有多麼龐大，總不能因為他們都是位於某個中央強勢文明（羅馬）的邊陲，便可以無論東西南北全都加以混同起來了。因此作者提到在法國境內出土的「Coligny Calendar」，是否可以套用到位於海島上的凱爾特部族，我個人是持保守態度的。不如說，我認為入侵英格蘭後的羅馬化「農民曆」，更能為威爾斯和愛爾蘭的原住民帶來文化上的影響……

無論如何，本書作為我對威爾斯和愛爾蘭原住民的古文獻，帶來了很有用的啟蒙新知，可以據此再作新的追尋。

#本書編輯方式也是我最討厭的 #正文寫到一半夾入另一段獨立專欄 #閱讀情緒硬生生被打斷

[Phoebe Holloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and informative like the others in this series. Only thing is could have done with the pronunciation of words throughout the books.

[Stacey · Rating 1 out of 5]

No words can describe how bad the book is. The eye-roll can, though

One thing you need to know: the book is not about myths, it’s about archeology and what it (probably??? maybe??? possibly???) proves.

That is it.

[Alex Klenin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Эта книга — краткий справочник по кельтской мифологии. Подход к изучению вопроса комплексный, данные археологии подкрепляются письменными источниками, и наоборот. Любопытно, что большинство письменных источников дошло до нас с Британских островов, а археологические свидетельства и подтверждения расположены в основном на континенте. Не смотря на это, в целом, мозаика получается довольно складная.
Ни для кого не секрет, что письменные источники были созданы не через одну сотню лет от предполагаемого расцвета кельтского язычества, да ещё и христианскими монахами, так что нужно делать на это поправку — на валийских сказаниях это отразилось очень сильно, легенды ко времени письменной фиксации превратились совсем уже в сказки.
Автор не особо делает на этом акцент, но постепенно становится понятно, что некоторые из персонажей эпоса могли быть изначально богами, а не просто "волшебниками".
В книге есть несколько доходчивых табличек, которые дают список богов и их функций, для Ирландии и Уэльса. Я прочитал уже не одну книгу про кельтов, и не одну сагу, но именно во время чтения данной книги ко мне пришло осознание, что всё, что мы знаем о кельтских божествах, почерпнуто, строго говоря, из нескольких текстов, которые, к тому же, и близко не являются религиозными, а представляют из себя героический эпос. Да, есть ещё и археологический материал (иллюстративный и почти без надписей), но он лишь может подтвердить то, о чём говорится в письменных источниках, а также дать второй слой информации событиям, которые происходят в эпосе — и экстраполировать их на общую культовую и обрядовую практику
В целом же книга — довольно поверхностная компиляция, хотя, вроде бы автор — бывший профессор археологии Университета в Уэльсе. Интересно, что не раз встречаются ошибки датировок рукописей, которые исправляет научный рецензент русского издания.
Поверхностная не означает плохая, потому как книга помогает дать общее представление и структурировать информацию для читателя, совершенно не подготовленного и знакомящегося с кельтами впервые. Однако, это сказывается на подаче самого мифологического материала: она вышла довольно скомканная, фрагментарная, пресная и совершенно неинтересная. Мифы лишены подробностей, даётся лишь их скелет, и от этого они очень сильно теряют в своей прелести. Автор пыталась, "надёргав" из разных мест, выстроить общую мифологическую картину кельтского мира, но, на мой взгляд, ей это не слишком хорошо удалось. И это при том, что, фактически единственными источниками являются всего лишь несколько произведений: это цикл об уладах, цикл о фениях, "Похищение быка из Куальнге", и валийский "Мабиноги".
Из-за попытки вместить в очень ограниченный объём книги большое количество материала, в качестве потерял и анализ — всё сделано очень кратко. Иной раз ждёшь, что мысль продолжится, но, нет — автор начинает следующую главу.
В книге немало фотографий и рисунков, но большую их часть я уже видел в "Кельтах" Т. Пауэлла, книге, к слову, гораздо более последовательной и информативной, несмотря на такой же объём. В целом же, ничего нового, по сравнению с трудом, впервые изданным в 1958 году, тут нет — а она даже не была посвящена отдельно мифологии.

P.S. из интересных фактов: именно тут я узнал, что в ирландских словах ударение всегда на первом слоге, а валийских — на предпоследнем.

[Lisa M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been intrigued by my own heritage. For many reasons, my family was never able to provide me with any specifics. I completed a DNA ancestry test to learn more. I want to acknowledge that the tests aren't perfect, but mine showed that I am almost half UK/Irish heritage. That made sense to me so I ran with it. I wanted to learn more about the history/spirituality of my ancestors so I looked at the mythology section of my local book store.

This book stood out for several reasons. First, I have the edition with the green cover -- it is beautiful! Second, I feel like my education focused on ancient Greeks/Romans/Egyptians -- we did not learn about other areas of Europe/the world at all. I liked this book because it promised to provide some context to the myths it discussed.

I enjoyed this book overall and it lived up to its promise. As the book discusses, the term Celt is a hotly debated one. Celtic heritage/history is often romanticized. I liked that it acknowledged why there are gaps in our understanding of "Celtic" (whatever that means!) people. I also liked that it provided archeology/factual evidence for what she was stating. There are gaps in our knowledge about these people that may never be filled, but Aldhouse-Green did a good job of presenting readers with the available knowledge.

I have found Celtic mythology intimidating in the past due to the names, which I have found to be a barrier. Aldhouse-Green acknowledged this and presented the information in a way that felt easily accessible to me. I learned about various myths. Perhaps more interestingly/more importantly I learned how my ancestors may have experienced and interpreted these myths. Aldhouse-Green explained how the myths were told and how common themes acted as signals for listeners as to what would come next.

I really enjoyed this book. It gave not only a picture of the myths, but exactly what I wanted -- she gave how the Celtic people experienced them. I learned a lot and realized that these myths are not as "ancient" as I may have thought. I would love to dive deeper and learn about these cultures in the Iron Age/the shamanism they practiced -- but as this book explained, the records may not be there!

[Marko Vasić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miranda Green is genuine professional regarding Celtic mythology. Her archaeological and historical scrutinies are well organised and published in several books such are: The Celtic World and The Gods of the Celts. I daresay that pivotal screw of her professional work are female deities (Celtic Goddesses: Warriors, Virgins, and Mothers) and particularly animism in Celtic culture (Animals in Celtic Life and Myth). This very book is an certain chrestomathy of aforementioned books, which makes it highly valuated textbook, alongside with meticulously evaluated photographs, sketches, schemes, maps and tables by which Miranda enclosed and explained (in brief, yet quite satis) tangled and entwined Celtic lore, mingled with Roman and frequently compared with. Every single photo is paramount, every single scheme is important for understanding the differences between archaeological data concerning Celtic mythology, and inscribed records (which is the first step to gradually release the loop of ponderous yet formidable Irish myths, full of onomastic and topographic details).

[Inge · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded off to 3.
I had never read anything about Celtic culture, so I was interested in learning more about it. This book works well as an introduction, but I did find it overwhelming in places. I read small parts at a time but even then I couldn’t quite follow at times. It wasn’t structured as well as I would’ve liked, so Irish and Welsh Celtic myths sort of blend together, and because of the difficult to pronounce names I’m really not sure if I’ll remember that many later on.

With books on myths I usually appreciate a short historic setting to provide some context, followed by a retelling and some further explanations where possible. Here the author categorised the myths in terms of their symbolism or aspects which stand out; for instance animals in myths, nature, and women (the latter which I really enjoyed reading about). This means some parts will repeat itself, yet at the same time I struggled following where every character was within their personal lifespan and how to place everything chronologically. The myths themselves could’ve been really fun stories to read, but they were often summarised in 3 sentences so the author could elaborate on what this myth means. I understand the source material is difficult - often myths weren’t written down and definitely weren’t fully developed stories if they were. To tell these stories you’d have to improvise a lot, so I totally understand the author instead chose to give a more informative, objective approach. Part of me does wish she’d have been allowed to have more fun with it though, as reading this now was often quite dry.

I’ve picked up a few fun details and liked some of the gods in particular, but I’d have to read up on Celtic myths more to really feel like I’ve got a good idea of them.

[Anscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very sleek and well presented book, and a good introduction to the myths of ancient Ireland and Wales. The Celtic myths and gods and characters are as deep and complex a bunch as any ancient mythology - and as always I enjoy the parallels that can be drawn between these myths and gods and those of classical and Norse mythology. I do feel I have a solid jumping off point now from which to explore this mythology further.

However I do feel that this is necessary for my understanding, as the book is less a collection of stories, and more a summary of snippets of the tales, grouped into chapters by themes. The result is a in-depth discussion of the themes and concepts behind the tales, but missing the tales themselves. In certain cases, elements of a particular myth were glossed over in one section, and returned to in more detail 50 pages later, which made them a little difficult to track. So I would have preferred if the book contained the actual stories themselves, so that I could actually read them, then have them discussed thematically afterwards. Perhaps profiles of the major gods and heroes would have been helpful too.

I also would have liked more guidance on the pronunciation of the incredibly difficult (to an English speaker) Gaelic pronunciations - there was only one small box in the book giving a couple of examples, so I had to look these up independently.

On the whole, a solid, aesthetically sleek and professional introduction, but further independent research will be required for my full understanding.

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a gift from my parents!

So this one is part of a series on different mythologies; I read the Egyptian one back in grad school, and the Japanese one a while back from the local library. This one is on Celtic myths, that is, the mythologies of Ireland and Wales, with little touches on that of the continent. It’s not an encyclopedia, or a collection of stories (although some stories are recounted here), but rather a basic guide to the ideas and themes you’ll see in the Celtic myths.

I’m still amazed that Irish mythology has an epic war with a demigod hero, and it’s all over a cow.

I think that it tends to go on a bit more of a pop culture idea of Celtic myth (the Yeats quote at the beginning should have been a tip-off), what with its declaration that Saint Brigit MUST be a transferred goddess–though the evidence presented makes me think otherwise–and Lugh being the god of light. Reading Williams’s “Ireland’s Immortals” makes me very skeptical of a lot of claims on Irish myth. Luckily that doesn’t take up a lot of the book–more of it is pointing out common themes and what they may mean.

I’m also not very versed in Welsh mythology at all! Seeing what’s presented here, and how it might connect to Irish myth, is very cool and helpful, and it makes me want to dig up more books about Welsh mythology. Other than “Chronicles of Prydain”--which is maybe overdue for a re-read?

I learned a lot! I didn’t realize pigs come up so often in Celtic myth, for instance. Those guys liked their pork, it seems.

Like I said, it’s a good primer. Not a deep dive, but it wasn’t trying to be, and it makes me want to look more into the subject.

[Claire-Montana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This bugged me a lot. The fact Scotland was majorly missed out (I understand why for the most part, there is no surviving written evidence) throughout the book was baffling. Even in references to things that happened in Scotland (Beltane - which is STILL celebrated in Scotland and Up Helly Ha which is STILL celebrated in Scotland) they were only given one line then moved on.


Scàthach who is known as a Scottish warrior woman, who claims her home is in Alba (gaelic for Scotland) in the Aldhouse-Green’s own text is brushed off with ‘might have been Scotland.’

I’m starting to sound like a Scot Nat but the erasure was weird and jarring and it left a big gap in the mythology she was painting. What about Sheela Na Gigs that are found carved in stone around the Celtic world including Scotland (Iona Nunnery and Kirkwall as examples)

I know the lines blur between mythology and folklore but a lot, imo, was missed out or hinted at and not fully explored. Mòrrigan was discussed in the text a lot and at one point compared to a washerwoman who in (Scottish folklore) are banshees that signified death. It just seems like there was some missed opportunities and I’m now searching for something to rectify that.

All in all it was a good insight to Welsh and Irish mythology/legends if a bit repetitive.

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Всегда любила мифологию. Мифы объединяют, мифы таят в себе ключ к пониманию народа, потому как общий миф — это общий культурный код. Мифы — хранилище мудрости, объяснение необъяснимого. Сказители сплетали повествование вокруг ядра реальности, создавая дивные истории, сохранившие для нас дух эпохи.

Книга Олдхаус-Грин (фамилия-то какая подходящая) не претендует на то, чтобы быть супер-пупер-научным трудом, но в ней достаточно знаний, подробно пересказанных и проанализированных ирландских и валлийских мифов.

Если вам хотелось узнать побольше о том, почему котел — это столь важный элемент в сказаниях, откуда такая тяга к триединству еще до Троицы, почему лебеди — это про one love, чем отличается Лир от Ллира, кто волшебнее — быки или свиньи, откуда растут ноги и куда дотягиваются руки легенд о короле Артуре — вперед, читайте. Потому что в мифах — мудрость, в мифах знание, как жить и как умирать.

Из моих любимых легенд, упомянутых в этой книге, отмечу историю об Энгусе мак Оке, боге любви и заботы о влюбленных, и тисовой деве. Ну еще, пожалуй, легенду, как король Мат Гвинедский проклял двух братьев Гвидиона и Гилвэтви — так проклял, что они троих детей родили (не спрашивайте, просто прочитайте).

Рекомендую.