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The Isles of the Many Gods: An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses worshipped in Ancient Britain during the First Millennium CE through to the Middle Ages
The British Isles have long been seen as a place of mystery & magic. For many thousands of years successive waves of invaders each brought their own gods & goddesses with them, often assimilating the beliefs of the tribes they conquered. The Celtic races merged with the indigenous people, they were conquered by the Romans, who brought with them deities from all over the Roman Empire (including Greece & Egypt). After them came the Saxons & other Germanic tribes, further adding to the rich tapestry that forms part of our spiritual heritage today. The Isles of the Many Gods brings together, for the first time, information on the worship of these deities in Britain, in an easy to use A-Z. It includes both the native & immigrant gods & goddesses, from well-known gods like Apollo, Brigit, Freya, Herne, Isis, Mars & Woden to lesser-known ones like Abandinus, Arianrhod, Genii Cucullati, Midir, Vitiris & the Wheel God. There are more than 240 entries providing information regarding the evidence of their worship in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland & the Isle of Man. The book draws from archaeology, architecture, art, artefacts, currency, place-names & literature, thereby providing an excellent reference work for those interested in the spiritual beliefs of our ancestors.
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 8, 2010
This is far more of a superb reference book than it is an easy, cover-to-cover read. Having said that the introduction and appendices are superbly written and informative. The real meat of the book is in its contents though.
You will find books covering the Gods of the Celts, or the Irish or the Welsh and even a few covering the Germanic and Saxon Gods, or the Vikings, or the Romans/Greeks but rarely will you find a book covering many of the deities associated with a given area over a course of history. That area is the British Isles which may be seen as somewhat unique in that it has had so many invaders and settlers that there is evidence of many Gods living here (hence the title).
David and Sorita, the authors, state that the period they are looking at covers the 1st Millenium to the Middle Ages and this is a good basis for understanding what you will find in this book. I think if you look a little further, some of the Gods they discuss actually predate this period and they even give some clues in the text as to the possible origin of some of the original god-names. The Name Gobannon, from Gaul, for example, seemingly predates the Govannon of the Welsh and the Goibhniu of the Irish.
They have attempted to provide deity genealogical trees in an appendix - which is an incredibly difficult task, as many texts and much evidence provides contradictory evidence. Good to be aware of though.
In later episodes of the Celtic Myth Podshow, you should be able to hear sample excerpts from this wonderful reference book, but I cannot ocmmend it highly enopugh to you nor thank David and Sorita enough for writing it nor giving us permission to quote from it!
You will find books covering the Gods of the Celts, or the Irish or the Welsh and even a few covering the Germanic and Saxon Gods, or the Vikings, or the Romans/Greeks but rarely will you find a book covering many of the deities associated with a given area over a course of history. That area is the British Isles which may be seen as somewhat unique in that it has had so many invaders and settlers that there is evidence of many Gods living here (hence the title).
David and Sorita, the authors, state that the period they are looking at covers the 1st Millenium to the Middle Ages and this is a good basis for understanding what you will find in this book. I think if you look a little further, some of the Gods they discuss actually predate this period and they even give some clues in the text as to the possible origin of some of the original god-names. The Name Gobannon, from Gaul, for example, seemingly predates the Govannon of the Welsh and the Goibhniu of the Irish.
They have attempted to provide deity genealogical trees in an appendix - which is an incredibly difficult task, as many texts and much evidence provides contradictory evidence. Good to be aware of though.
In later episodes of the Celtic Myth Podshow, you should be able to hear sample excerpts from this wonderful reference book, but I cannot ocmmend it highly enopugh to you nor thank David and Sorita enough for writing it nor giving us permission to quote from it!
April 5, 2023
A great reference book that was easy to read and navigate. I wish that it were a little longer (especially for certain gods) and that some of the information wasn't presented as pure 'fact' when much of it is subject to interpretation. Overall, an enjoyable and informative read.
March 4, 2010
This is far more of a superb reference book than it is an easy, cover-to-cover read. Having said that the introduction and appendices are superbly written and informative. The real meat of the book is in its contents though.
You will find books covering the Gods of the Celts, or the Irish or the Welsh and even a few covering the Germanic and Saxon Gods, or the Vikings, or the Romans/Greeks but rarely will you find a book covering many of the deities associated with a given area over a course of history. That area is the British Isles which may be seen as somewhat unique in that it has had so many invaders and settlers that there is evidence of many Gods living here (hence the title).
David and Sorita, the authors, state that the period they are looking at covers the 1st Millenium to the Middle Ages and this is a good basis for understanding what you will find in this book. I think if you look a little further, some of the Gods they discuss actually predate this period and they even give some clues in the text as to the possible origin of some of the original god-names. The Name Gobannon, from Gaul, for example, seemingly predates the Govannon of the Welsh and the Goibhniu of the Irish.
They have attempted to provide deity genealogical trees in an appendix - which is an incredibly difficult task, as many texts and much evidence provides contradictory evidence. Good to be aware of though.
In later episodes of the Celtic Myth Podshow, you should be able to hear sample excerpts from this wonderful reference book, but I cannot ocmmend it highly enopugh to you nor thank David and Sorita enough for writing it nor giving us permission to quote from it!
You will find books covering the Gods of the Celts, or the Irish or the Welsh and even a few covering the Germanic and Saxon Gods, or the Vikings, or the Romans/Greeks but rarely will you find a book covering many of the deities associated with a given area over a course of history. That area is the British Isles which may be seen as somewhat unique in that it has had so many invaders and settlers that there is evidence of many Gods living here (hence the title).
David and Sorita, the authors, state that the period they are looking at covers the 1st Millenium to the Middle Ages and this is a good basis for understanding what you will find in this book. I think if you look a little further, some of the Gods they discuss actually predate this period and they even give some clues in the text as to the possible origin of some of the original god-names. The Name Gobannon, from Gaul, for example, seemingly predates the Govannon of the Welsh and the Goibhniu of the Irish.
They have attempted to provide deity genealogical trees in an appendix - which is an incredibly difficult task, as many texts and much evidence provides contradictory evidence. Good to be aware of though.
In later episodes of the Celtic Myth Podshow, you should be able to hear sample excerpts from this wonderful reference book, but I cannot ocmmend it highly enopugh to you nor thank David and Sorita enough for writing it nor giving us permission to quote from it!
May 19, 2020
Excellent historical resource
This book has an answer to every question about the Celtic and British pantheon you have probably ever had. The charts of family trees in the back, the commentary on modern pagan revival were great. The intro chapters building context were really helpful. And each entry, alphabetical with God's and goddesses mixed, was clear and easy to read with charts for worship locations and details about how documentation is known, in other words , I loved the way this book divided fact from fiction logically and without sentimentality or embellishment. It's a book I'll be happy to have on hand. Highly recommend this to historians and practicing pagans alike.
This book has an answer to every question about the Celtic and British pantheon you have probably ever had. The charts of family trees in the back, the commentary on modern pagan revival were great. The intro chapters building context were really helpful. And each entry, alphabetical with God's and goddesses mixed, was clear and easy to read with charts for worship locations and details about how documentation is known, in other words , I loved the way this book divided fact from fiction logically and without sentimentality or embellishment. It's a book I'll be happy to have on hand. Highly recommend this to historians and practicing pagans alike.
January 3, 2023
Has some shortcomings - in particular, I don't think it has a coherent philosophical reason for listing all of these deities but excluding deities who were historical persons elevated to godhood. (If you're going to do this sort of project, it really makes no sense to start getting snotty about what is or isn't a "real" god.) Still, a useful reference work. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...
December 5, 2022
Great reference book, Some of the entries were a little oversimplified and misleading at times I recommend using it as a way to spark further study of particular gods or to just increase general awareness of the deities worshipped in Britain, anyone is sure to learn a lot from it but I would recommend using it as a jumping off point.
August 10, 2024
Cornwall is mostly ignored
May 13, 2025
It is a good resource for dipping one's toes into research, but it does not provide enough detail to form a bigger picture.
May 16, 2012
Sorita D’Este and David Rankine have put together an awesome book that discusses all the Gods and Goddesses tht were were worshipped on the British Aisles. I think there were clese to 147 of them give or take a few. The deities come frm a variety of different pantheons ranging from Welsh, Irish,Gaulic,Saxon, Norse, Roman, Greek and Egyptian. There might have been a few I missed. That’s a big infusion of Gods and Goddesses. The Britsih Aisle have been invaded by score of different people over the last millenia or so. The Roman and North European invasions have brought over the largest contribution of deities worshipped. I think the Romans brought over most of teh foreign deities save for the Norse and Saxon ones. The Romans conflated most of the deities or equated them to corresponding deities in their pantheon. The most popular was Jupiter.
Most of the entries are encylcopediac and numerous . There is a chart on the top which tells you their place of origin, where they were worshipped, what literary evidence reamin of them and their other names. The entries tell the reader what they were worshipped for and what areas of life they were in charge of. Entries also expalin what artifacts of them remain. Most deities have roughly half a page to maybe a page of information on them pending availability of knowledge available. Sometime there are scant remains or scant references to the various deities. Other deities have sometimes up to 5 pages on them and they are detailed.
For those who work magic and wish to work with British deities then this book gives a great over view. If you are using the kindle addition there is one drawback and that is not the fault of the author’s but rather the technology. The charts are not big enough to fit on the page and there are these little arrows that make the other half show up. On some of there longer charts this can get rather cumbersome. Excellent book.
Most of the entries are encylcopediac and numerous . There is a chart on the top which tells you their place of origin, where they were worshipped, what literary evidence reamin of them and their other names. The entries tell the reader what they were worshipped for and what areas of life they were in charge of. Entries also expalin what artifacts of them remain. Most deities have roughly half a page to maybe a page of information on them pending availability of knowledge available. Sometime there are scant remains or scant references to the various deities. Other deities have sometimes up to 5 pages on them and they are detailed.
For those who work magic and wish to work with British deities then this book gives a great over view. If you are using the kindle addition there is one drawback and that is not the fault of the author’s but rather the technology. The charts are not big enough to fit on the page and there are these little arrows that make the other half show up. On some of there longer charts this can get rather cumbersome. Excellent book.
June 26, 2013
This book is by far one of the best and most intensely researched that I have read. It doesn't just stick with Gods from the British Isles but also those that moved here via the Romans, Vikings etc. If they were worshipped in the UK, then there is a really good chance that they will be listed in this comprehensive book.
One thing that I loved about this book was the authors' explanation at the start of the book as to who was included and why. The table of contents and the links included in this kindle version work like a dream and I was able to find and read the deity I wanted to very simply, as well as reading through the introductions etc.
I have to add that I got this book whilst it was on promotion on Amazon for £0.00. I will definitely be keeping this book to refer back to again and again but at the price quoted above, I would still have got it and have been very happy with a quality book at an unbelievable good value for money price.
One thing that I loved about this book was the authors' explanation at the start of the book as to who was included and why. The table of contents and the links included in this kindle version work like a dream and I was able to find and read the deity I wanted to very simply, as well as reading through the introductions etc.
I have to add that I got this book whilst it was on promotion on Amazon for £0.00. I will definitely be keeping this book to refer back to again and again but at the price quoted above, I would still have got it and have been very happy with a quality book at an unbelievable good value for money price.
November 6, 2023
I find that British mythology is full of under-researched areas that don't come up at all in web searches, with dozens of deities that lack Wikipedia articles and equivalences between mythologies that can only be uncovered within books. This book is an example of just that - it's an easily digestible look into the eclectic mythology of Britain from pre-Roman times to the early medieval period, and it doesn't lack the nuance and speculation necessary to understand the Celtic mythologies.
I found the Egyptian and Persian deities that the Romans brought to Britain particularly interesting, and I had no idea that the cults of Roman gods were so big here.
I found the Egyptian and Persian deities that the Romans brought to Britain particularly interesting, and I had no idea that the cults of Roman gods were so big here.
September 5, 2012
Not bad, covered a wide-range of predominantly Irish and Welsh deities, very few Scottish deities and some of the Greek/Roman and Egyptian overlapping deities that have been mentioned in the British Isles. Very basic descriptions of the deities.
March 6, 2010
3.75 Please read my review here: The Isles of Many Gods
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews