The Book of Celtic Myths: From the Mystic Might of the Celtic Warriors to the Magic of the Fey Folk, the Storied History and Folklore of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Wales

by Jennifer Emick

Hear the tales of Gods, monsters, magic, and more!

Warriors, poets, scholars, and visionaries--from the depths of time the ancient Celts have fascinated us. Their rich heritage lives on today. But who were they?

From the Druids and fairies to King Arthur and Celtic Christianity, there is much to be learned about these natives of the British and Irish islands. Their stories are fantastic and stirring, and through them, you'll gain a glimpse into what life was like during the Iron Age.

These legends, first told through song as people gathered around the fire more than 2,000 years ago, are now here for you to explore. Experience the wonder and wisdom of these mysterious people with The Book of Celtic Myths .

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, History, Historical, Ireland, Research, Irish Literature

256 pages, Hardcover

Published December 2, 2016

Reviews

[Michael McGrath · Rating 2 out of 5]

As charming as the volume appears to be in it's hand sized green binding, I'm afraid I cannot recommend this volume not even as an introduction to Celtic mythology. The reason is simple. While I am no expert on all things Celtic, I have dedicated most of my life to reading countless iterations of the Arthurian Legends from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, Layamon, Chretien de Troyes, the French Vulgate in a Spanish translation, the medieval sources of Gawain stories, Malory, upward into the Victorians and even many contemporary versions. Hence, I knew the Arthurian chapter in this book would be short, given the scope of the material covered here. What I did not expect was outright lazy research that seems to owe more to Marion Zimmer Bradley's take on the legend than the actual legend from its source materials.

Once, I found glaring errors in this section, the rest of the book was ruined for me, as I don't know what to think of the rest of material. Was the research on Ulster cycles, or the gods, or the druids just as prone to such errors as well? I do not have anything against New Age or feminist takes on the material, as long as they are presented as such. The earlier parts of the book captivated me with the expected cursory overviews I would be getting in a tome this small, but I am afraid that there is a wee bit too much of conjectural musings for my tastes and am open to any suggestions of where to find a good overview of Celtic mythology, as this is not it.

This book includes overviews or summas of the Ulster and Fennian cycles, the Mabinogion, the Arthurian legends, aspects bearing on religion, the druids, gods, sacred places and beasts, and even the Christian mythology that developed with Celtic infusion. There are parts that are very entertaining, but in the end after reading the Arthurian chapter, I still wonder how much of this was truly researched.

As much as I hate to say this, because I wanted to love this book, you would be probably better off checking out wiki's on the subject than this tome.

Once again, if anyone knows of a good Celtic compendium of this nature, please recommend it to me here. I feel like a need a bit of mouthwash after finishing this. Maybe I'll read some work by Loomis on Celtic myth instead.

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting content, but not the best book. Clearly not intent to be read cover to cover, maybe more as a reference book. There is a lot of repetition from one part to another, like the author assume that you didn’t read what was written in the previous chapter. Still, lot of information on the Celtic myths (gods, creatures, legends, etc.). I love to read about those and compare with myth from other culture or religion and also see where some stories come from, how they evolve and how they inspire cotemporary author. Maybe not the best book of all, but very decent and as a first read about this topic for me, it did a good introduction!

[Brena Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here for the faeries 🧚 and mermaids 🧜🏾‍♀️

[yasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

honestly? this book feels like the author got tasked with doing a presentation on Celtic mythology, googled random things to do with Celtic mythology, ripped the first few sentences off Wikipedia, and bound them together.
Combined with the misinformation in some of the chapters, it's a no from me, dawg.

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a book with myths in it, or going over the evolution of different myths. It's more an encyclopedia about Celtic myths and mythic figures. It's still an interesting and informative read, but most entries are about a page each, so you don't really get alot of either myth or history for each figure.

[Lucee Nicole 🧚 · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting book but a lot of conjecture, very little sources/references.

[Joey Mitchell · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s a lazy and reductionist take on a fabulous and extensive topic. This reads like Jennifer Emick was a middle school girl who had to binge write a history essay to pass 7th grade. It’s probably only useful for someone who wants to go around claiming they read a book on Celtic myths.

She cannot even introduce the topic without contradicting herself:
“Unfortunately, the majority of this ancient wisdom was lost forever with the coming of Christianity to the Celtic Isles. Ironically, the task of recording the remnants of Celtic Mythology fell to the Christian Monasteries, and the remnant of Celtic wisdom was preserved by those who destroyed it.”

Ok Jennifer, did the Christians destroy it, or did they preserve it? Pick one, you silly, hateful girl. Also, if much of this “wisdom” was destroyed, how does she know about it? It is erroneously foolish of Jennifer to write about the Christian monastics this way in a book claiming to cover topics that would no longer exist without the Christians.

If you want to learn “history” from someone who is so arrogant and spiteful of historical scholars that she uses “B.C.E.” Instead of B.C. Then I suppose this elementary work is what you are looking for. But I find it hilarious that she scolds the Christians in a book whose only primary sources are written by Christians. Maybe I’m confused because I did not find this book in the comedy section.

[Kayleigh Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book, along with the other reviewers, would be about Celtic myths and their warriors as the title says. This book is more like a summary of what is left of the culture. Most of the history the author gives is Christian and romanized versions of the stories.
One thing that really made me face palm was when the author first introduces Brigid to the reader, she explains how Brigid and The Dagda are movers… when it is widely known that Brigid is The Dagda’s daughter. She does correct this in later chapters saying that in “some versions” Brigid is his daughter but when I do a quick google search, there is no source that tells otherwise. So, all of The Tuatha Dé Danann origins and who they come from is all jumbled up.
The author also continuously brings up King Arthur when this book has absolutely nothing to do with those tales. What hit the nail in the coffin for me was when the author mixes up both Celtic and Arthurian versions of one myth and uses the characters names in said myth interchangeably. That was very confusing and makes me not what to continue reading this book anymore.

[Frank Feldmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as background for running a role playing game. At first, I was confused. This is because the books organization wasn't clear to me as I went through the chapters on the various historical sources and the gods they describe. However, that's how real-life mythologies are; they are far less defined than a game requires.
Once past that, the book does an excellent job with the traditions that were followed, including what the Celts considered sacred. There was good background on sacred trees, water, and the religious calendar. There was also a very good explanation of the role of druids and their various types. This was particularly important, since most games get the tone of druids and bards completely wrong.

[Aisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because of the pretty cover. I do not specialize in Celtic mythology so I have no way of telling what’s accurate and what’s not. I agree with other reviewers that is nit meant to be read front to back. When she writes things like “Epona may have had early connections to the Ancient Greek goddess Demeter.”, I wish that she would expound on those comparisons instead of just stating it without evidence, and just saying that “there is evidence.” There are nice illustrations inside of the book, but only the illustrator for the cover of the book is credited, so I do not know if Jennifer Erick drew these herself or not.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was persuaded by how this book, not retelling the mythology, analyzed the evolution of it to argue for the deep influence this stuff had on Christian culture, even on the Norse mythology that seems to have been better preserved. And the stuff that George R.R. Martin used for Game of Thrones (Bran the Raven, the dark god Balor, the importance of trees, the warrior who loses his hand before gaining a silver one, the holiness of trees, the symbolism of the hound) is remarkable.

[Justin Wiggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book by Jennifer Emick gives a very rich historical context on the Celts, Celtic mythology, the druids, the ogham alphabet, Celtic art, and when Christianity came to the British Isles. My favorite parts of the book was reading about the ancient Irish myth of Tir Na Nog, the Celtic Goddess Brigid, and The Book of Kells. I highly recommend it.

[Kambrie Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to introduce people into Celtic mythology. Full of information and interesting facts, this book is an interesting read to anyone interested in mythology. It has a ton of information and switches between ideas quickly without going into too much depth in anything.

[K Ascalon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Media gives an excellent spread and explanation of celtic mythology without getting too in depth nor being too shallow. An excellent read, not only for the myths themselves but for a view of the culture they arose from.

[Jeremy Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book had some interesting parts, but was a little difficult to follow. It sort of combined myth with history of celtic folks. I listened to it via audio, and possibly this is one that needs to be engaged in print.

[Varadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent overview, very light in a lot of places. Also I added several grains of salt when the book referenced the barbarism of deaths on gladiatorial combat. Which. Is not factually accurate. So. What other facts are more 'everybody knows' mistakes?

[Casper · Rating 1 out of 5]

did not finish. Not worth the read as a story. Not researched enough as a reference book. Honestly, I cannot find a single reason to pick up this book other than 'I got it for free and the cover is pretty.' I regret having given it a second and third chance after the first chapter...

[Brenna Witek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was good for cultural reference of religion. Only summarized the myths.

[Etain Arishat · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable read, excellent as an introduction to Celtic mythology. I was a little disappointed by the lack of sources, however.

[Sarah Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this.

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but basic explanation of Celtic myths, especially for a beginner.

[Lio Leeuwerink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview and a delight to read as an introduction to the subject. Lacks depth or sources.

[LotusBlade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Scottish witch gave me this, and it's been the most extensive and detailed account if Celtic history, mythology, and stories I've ever read. A real treasure.

[Nick Heim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really meant to be read cover to cover

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love studying about Celtic culture. This is a great book from what I've read so far.

[Rhianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

The mispronunciations of the audiobook drove me batty.

[Lukas Sarnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing how much our understanding of day-to-day life and Christianity are informed by the people who built Stonehenge!

[Aparna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having no idea about Celtic Mythology except what I got from watching Secret of the Kells and Song of the Sea (both films from Cartoon Saloon), I found this book a good introduction to Celtic myths. The language and organization of contents flows nicely. However, the glaring flaw in the book, at least as far as I am concerned, is the lack of an author AND any references. Especially since the book has many lines which speculates about 'what actually would have happened', 'what it could be symbolizing', etc. If I'm reading a book with speculations, I need to know whose opinions it is (it need not be a person, at least cite some specific works of historians!). Considering the content and the nature of writing in this book, and my own ignorance on the subject, the publishers could have written utter rubbish and I wouldn't know without going to look in other sources (which I intend to do, asap).

[DarkStar's Book Cavern · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNF'd this one. The title is incredibly misleading. This is N0T a book of Celtic Myths. This is more of an encyclopedia of celtic myths and even then its wishy washy at best. There are much, much better deep dives into celtic myths etc. my recommendation is do not even waste your time with this one. Straight to the charity shop it goes!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book as a gift due to my love for Celtic lore. While this book isn't an end-all, be-all resource, it is a really decent introduction to the mythology and history of the Celtic pantheon and different aspects of their culture. I really enjoyed how the author made sure to separate where the information we have has been filtered through the eyes of Christians and Romans. The quick and easy to understand breakdown of the many tales were nice and I think for someone who wants a quick and dirty rundown- this has a lot of information in it and would be a decent starting point.