Celtic Gods and Heroes

by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt

Noted French scholar and linguist discusses the gods of the continental Celts, the beginnings of mythology in Ireland, heroes, and the two main categories of Irish deities: mother-goddesses — local, rural spirits of fertility or of war — and chieftain-gods: national deities who are magicians, nurturers, craftsmen, and protectors of the people.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, History, Religion, Paganism, Research, Folklore

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

Reviews

[P.K. Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before discovering Celtic Gods and Heroes by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, I read book after book on the subject, never satisfied with the "angle" or "peek" provided by other authors on the subject. Yet this book, despite its slim size, opened wide the subject for me and now I've the context necessary to read the others with better appreciation.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a surprising amount of information packed into this tiny book about Celtic culture and myth. It's dense reading, and I read each chapter through multiple times and took notes in order to really absorb the information. What I appreciated most about this work is how Sjoestedt highlights the ways Celtic myth differs from that of many other cultures, and how it must be read as a completely different type of system from more commonly studied and understood mythological systems like those of classical cultures.

I don't read in any language besides English, either, and I appreciated what a flowing, accessible translation this is. Richly illuminating.

[Bad Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

a nice introduction to celtic mythologies with an emphasis on how it differs from classical, but not a good source for hard information on any specific gods and heroes.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please see my review here: Celtic Gods and Heroes

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recensione sul blog : https://thereadingpal.blogspot.com/20...

Non ho nessun tipo di esperienza con gli dèi celtici: non ricordo di aver mai letto romanzi con questi dèi, né non-fiction. Però volevo farlo, e così ho letto Celtic Gods and Heroes. La Sjoestedt esplora la religione celtica, non raccontando ogni singolo mito ma esaminando le caratteristiche generali degli dèi, che sono diverse a seconda del fatto che siano divinità femminili o maschili, e degli eroi, fornendo degli esempi provenienti dai miti quando necessario.
Ora, come vedete è molto breve, quindi non si è andati molto nel dettaglio, ma personalmente l'ho trovato conciso e facile da seguire.
È un testo piuttosto accademico, sia nel linguaggio che nella suddivisione degli argomenti. Sono fornite delle note per esplorare di più alcune questioni ed è presente una bibliografia che provvederò, prima o poi, a recuperare.
Per quanto mi riguada non ho affatto trovato noioso il tipo di linguaggio che comunque necessita di una buona conoscenza dell'inglese (e del linguaggio accademico), ma so che non è una cosa per tutti. Non conoscendo l'argomento, ho trovato comunque sorprendentemente facile seguire il discorso dell'autrice mentre si addentrava nei vari discorsi. La parte che ho trovato più interessante in assoluto è stata The Feast of the First of November, ma anche le due parti riguardanti gli eroi mi hanno attratta. La religione celtica è completamente diversa da quella greco-romana, sia nella visione degli dèi, sia nelle caratteristiche che distinguono un eroe dalle persone comuni. È una cosa che mi è risultata davvero strana, ma che ha un senso se lo si inserisce nella cultura dei popoli celtici. Per non parlare poi degli dèi: cercare di paragonarli e dei greci o romani è rischioso e neanche tanto sensato, per quanto mi riguarda. Sono troppo distanti.
Ho trovato sicuramente un po' difficile leggere i nomi degli eroi e degli dèi, a me così poco familiari, ma l'autrice a volte fornisce la radice da cui provengono e quindi parole latine e greche simili che secondo me possono aiutare.
Essendo così corto (95 pagine, più la bibliografia e gli indici, non so bene cos'altro dire. È una specie di mini recensione, ecco. Però mi sento di consigliarvelo, in quanto è una lettura interessante e ben scritta che mi ha portato a conoscere un po' meglio un ambito sconosciuto.

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 2 out of 5]

My head hurts after this nearly impenetrable attempt to distill the Irish origin myths into prototypes: male “gods” dealt w/ society or tribal history; female gods represented topographical features of Ireland. They also represented fertility of the land and it’s animals and often had animal forms. And all the immortals had triple aspects in one way or another.
Later chapters looked at the “hero” in Irish myths as exemplified by Cù Chulainn. Cú Chulainn’s opposite was Finn, the leader of the fíana, raiders outside of the tribes, although not pariahs to the tribes. Huh?
The chapters in this mercifully-short book read like Master’s Theses, and expect one to have an understanding of Irish foundation myths versus Gaulish Celtic or Scandinavian foundation myths. Do not pick up this book as an introduction to the immortals of Ireland! Reluctantly rounded up to two stars as I did learn a few things.

[LP Kaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A priceless revelation of the Celtic tribal imagination. One wonders what could similarly be done to reveal the Anasazi or more recent Desert Southwest tribal stories if we could travel back in time. What is left of pre-Buddhist Ttbet? I only wish someone had done as well for them, too.

[Bryan Sebesta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always known, at least if you had asked me, that I have Irish heritage. But I'd never given it thought until watching the Tomm Moore movies, The Secret of Kells and The Song of the Sea. The latter especially awoke my interest in learning more about Celtic myth‚one part of a largely unknown ancestral heritage‚and this is how I came to this tiny book. It's a slim volume, as others have noted, but dense. Its' seven chapters center on the mythological prehistory of Ireland; the gods of the Celts; the different mother-goddesses and chieftan gods; the feast "of the first of November," or Samhain, the day when the doors between the supernatural and natural worlds become thin; the heroes of the tribe; and the heroes outside the tribe.

Where she excels is in showing the differences between other pantheons. I took a break reading (for the first time) The Iliad to read through this book; the contrast was especially stark. This quote, found in the conclusion, sums up how it must have felt to be a Celt:

Other people raised temples to their gods, and their very mythologies are temples whose architecture reproduces the symmetry of a cosmic or social order‚ an order both cosmic and social. It is in the wild solitude of the ŒΩŒµŒºŒ∑œÑŒøŒΩ, the sacred woodland, that the Celtic tribe meets its gods, and its mythical world is a sacred forest, pathless and unbounded, which is inhabited by mysterious powers. Against these powers, man, situated in the midst of the supernatural, and himself possessed by it, defends with difficulty by force or by magic his small domain, which is always surrounded by invisible tribes and subject on certain ritual days to direct invasion.

In fact, I highly recommend that you read the intro and then the conclusion, and then proceed through the other chapters, and then the conclusion again. The conclusion was a very nice summary that pulled all of the major chapters together into one coherent piece; I wish I had read it at the outset.

All in all, great fun. I enjoyed reading more about Manann√°n mac Lir, C√∫ Chulainn, the Tuatha D√© Danann, Dagda, Lugh, Crom Cruach, and others. It helped make the movies I mentioned‚ "The Secret of Kells" and especially "The Song of the Sea"‚ make more sense. It also shed some surprising light on favorite book series from growing up, like A T. A. Barron Collection: The Lost Years of Merlin; The Seven Songs of Merlin; The Fires of Merlin and Artemis Fowl.

Just an FYI: it doesn't go into the stories themselves a ton, but I think it will provide a great framework for understanding the other stories of Irish mythology. Having gotten this background, I plan to read Celtic Myths and Legends, and then to read some of the primary texts. Look forward to it!

[Marko Vasić · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a long time have I sought for the literature such as this book is, because books about Celts usually enclose descriptions about their way of life and social interactions, but not mythology and mythological legends. Also, a plenty of books that contain legends from Celtic mythology are deprived of explanations about Celtic deities, thus I always felt if some kind of gap lies between the tale and its characters, being uninformed of which precise deity is certain story about. This book widened my sight. Very concise, didactic and comprehensive content that explains exactly as much as I fancy: clear explanations, divided into sections i.e. chapters, where each chapter reveals another part of this specific mythology. Thus this matter is settled on its proper way FROM THE BEGINNING – from the coming of the Tuatha de Danann, through brief description of male and female deities and their main characteristics, and finally – about tribal and non tribal heroes, by whom main division into two cycles of Celtic legends was made. Very valuable are references at the end of the book that suggest further reading hints.

[Eilish Sorohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although short, the book is an informative summary of the Celtic pantheon and the hero’s featured in celtic myths and folklore, as seen through the eyes of the author. The interpretations differ somewhat to other scholars, the author is fond of reviewing duality and it’s part in the myths and legends where others have not touched upon it. However this doesn’t take away from or ruin the retelling in my opinion. It is engaging and easy to read, I would recommend for anyone interested in a summary (although potentially read and research more comprehensive books first as prior knowledge of the myths is helpful.)

[Catrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

The description of the book says that it is concise and erudite. The concise description does not seem to be accurate, at least not to me. I felt the author was all over the place with her topics of discussion and her transition between points was lacking which made reading this book even more difficult. Also, not much was explained when it came to some people and most places. Now I know some previous knowledge is expected from the reader but that is not a guarantee so some explanation would have been helpful.
The erudite part, on the other hand, was quite accurate.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good foundational book that isn't too long. It feels a bit dated to read currently, which is expected as the first publication date is in the 1940's. There are other, modern books that do the job this one does. Still, it's not a bad read and stresses the importance of cultural context, which is always appreciated.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great encapsulation of disparate myths and legends of the Celtic people. What constitutes being a Celt apparently could vary widely during this designated time period (and geography). Sjoestedt clearly elucidates the major tropes of these myths.

[Kim Daly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un ensemble confus, à commercer par l'introduction, qui fait la liste de ce que ce livre n'est pas et les objectifs qui ne sont pas les siens, mais ommet de mentionner ce que l'autrice cherche à faire.

[Christina Godfrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The translation was so awful, I had a really hard time understanding what the author was trying to say.

[Jc · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first real introduction to the Celtic gods and goddess. Very informative and interesting.

[Dylan Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A excellent well written introduction to Celtic mythology

[Everett Trechter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the classic, but it's a bit tough to read, and I love dense, academic, tough to read stuff. There is more up to date scholarship, but I think this is still the succinct summary to start with.

[Cat Tobin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A high-level overview of Celtic mythology, from its very first mythical peoples through to its full pantheon. A useful research work for anyone interested in this period.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good information packed into a little book! This is very academic but informative and helpful and still interesting to read and able to be understood.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting, well-researched read. Takes a few chapters to settle into the translation, but really a fabulous resource if you are willing to cross-reference

[Joan]

Again not gonna rate this cause I’m just not qualified to. Dang though, it’s a short book but dense. I think I’d need to reread it to understand the content better.

[Samrat · Rating 4 out of 5]

More taxonomical than I expected, but I'm hoping the structure gives me more to work with for future reading.

[Kieran Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating to learn more about the Celtic paganism vs the Greek paganism. Readable overview of a fragmented cultural past. Paired well with Caesars Gallic Wars lol

[Kjǫlsigʀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inner secrets of the (Insular) Celts' mythic worldview remains a secret to the author as to most of us, still a tantalizing survey of some curiosities is made.

[Violet Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

very educational, but doesn't go into a bunch of detail, gives you enough to understand though

[Djordje · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inexperienced reader will find difficulties when it comes to mythological texts. Well, this is a great starter book for someone about to immerse themselves before exploring Celtic mythology. From the mythological period through the Ulster and Fenian cycle, a reader will become familiar with the main postulates of Celtic mythology. The book is brief, but at the same time, very comprehensive, and Marie-Louise Sjoestedt is well knowledgeable when it comes to the topic.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had a bit of good information, but it was honestly really hard to get through. I could hardly understand what she was trying to say. And I can't even use it as a reference book, because then I'd have to wade through all the stuff that was too hard to read.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14418200

[Scott Pomfret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good points but cloyingly academic

Despite its relative brevity, this was a bit of a chore to muddle through. While it referenced certain familiar Celtic tales, there was perhaps not enough analysis of the texts themselves. Still, the author makes clear points: that the Gods of the Celtic world are not relegated to heavens but dwell on this earth; that The Greek pantheon shares certain like characters but there is far from a one-to-one correspondence; that "outsiders" (whether foreigners or odd folks within the tribe) could find a place through initiation that was both a service to the tribe but also outside its most rigid constrictions.