Celtic Myths and Legends

by Eoin Neeson

A collection of legends from early Christian times, in which the author retells the stories with a directness and simplicity which makes them refreshingly modern. The stories have a literary merit and a style and character of their own; their sophistication not dissimilar to that of the great tales of ancient Greece. Included in this collection 'The Children of Lir', 'The Wooing of Etain', 'Diarmuid and Grainne', 'The Combat at the Ford', 'The Children of Tuireann', 'The Sickbed of Cuchulain' and 'Deirdre and the Sons of Usna'.

Genres: Mythology, Irish Literature, Ireland, History

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1998

Reviews

[Ivan Lanìa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anche per colpa del videogioco Shin Megami Tensei V (sinossi: "battaglia all'ultimo sangue fra le divinità pagane") mi sono ricordato di avere in casa questo volumetto comprato in Irlanda nel 2015 e a suo tempo mollato dopo poche pagine, perché l'introduzione era un'accozzaglia di paragrafi sconnessi che blateravano banalità sulla valenza epistemologica della mitologia e idiozie etno-nazionaliste sulla parentela fra Celti d'Irlanda, Ittiti ed Etruschi (sic) – d'altra parte sembra che l'autore fosse un importante pubblicista della radiotelevisione irlandese nei decenni successivi all'indipendenza, quindi questo margine di capziosità roboante è comprensibile.
A riprendere in mano la raccolta dopo tutti questi anni, l'introduzione resta imbarazzante e assolutamente inadeguata come sussidio alla comprensione (da qui una stellina in meno), però sono riuscito a passare oltre e a gustarmi la ciccia del volume, ovverosia questi sette episodi di mitologia irlandese (specificamente irlandese, non pan-celtici!) riraccontati in prosa contemporanea, e devo riconoscere che l'introduzione era sincera almeno su un punto: ci sono margini di contatto tematico non indifferenti con la tradizione greco-romana, e sembra proprio di avere davanti una letteratura "cugina" di quella romanza.
Più nello specifico, la raccolta ci propone due episodi della saga di Cu Chulainn, il Segugio dell'Ulster, episodi che fra ritualità belliche e infedeltà coniugali mi hanno rammentato le saghe di Eracle e Teseo; una vicenda fiabesca di matrigne malvagie e metamorfosi quale è "I Figli di Lir", sospesa fra il mito di Frisso ed Elle e l'agiografia di san Patrizio (e questo trapasso dal druidismo al cattolicesimo è schiettamente irlandese); la saga de "I Figli di Tuireann", che intreccia il tema di faida dei Sette a Tebe (o degli Orazi e Curiazi) con la cerca argonautica sullo sfondo della teomachia fra il popolo barbarico dei Fomori e quelli dei Tuatha De Danaan; e infine tre diverse storie di lotte intestine dettate da una sposa contesa fra un marito vegliardo e un amante imberbe – ed è subito Guerra di Troia con gradazioni variabili di magia, di misoginia e di onore guerriero autodistruttivo, con probabili agganci a quella che sarà l'epica cavalleresca francofona.
Tutto sommato la varietà dei racconti selezionati non è male e la prosa adottata ha una bellissima qualità di racconto della buonanotte impreziosito da metafore delicate, però mi ha un po' tediato che le varie leggende fossero disposte in ordine non cronologico (perché a quanto pare la mitologia irlandese ha un asse cronologico chiaro), rendendomi faticoso il riconoscere personaggi ricorrenti o parentele incrociate – anche per questo non mi sento di dare più di 3/5 e di considerarlo una buona introduzione alla materia, ma non un capolavoro.

[Catarina Brandão · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book, yet dense, book comprising a series of old celtic tales that describe the victorious and tragic lives of many mythic heroes.
Although I was expecting to learn, in a systematic and detailed manner, about celtic mythology - origin, the backstory of the gods and goddesses and their descendants - I was presented with light tales, one of which I had the opportunity to read aloud with my girlfriend, taking on the roles of the characters, which was a fun way of passing time. The fantastic elements of each tale, whether they are the superhuman powers of some warriors, the magic used to cast curses and spells, or the almost immortality of the mythology characters carried me to a different reality, and to me childhood imagination, in a way.

One detail I find interesting is that these tales don't "age well", considering that each of them depicts women, more precisely princesses, queens or daughters of men with great status, as an object of beauty and envy or prizes to be won, with no will and thoughts of their own. From an historical and carefree perspective, these roles portrayed by women are suited to the time period, but, luckily there is a clear evolution around the roles women play in our society - still the beauty benchmark, but also the symbol of resilience, hard-work and most important, of freedom.

[Attentive · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to give this a strong rating because many of those here are shamefully qualified.

This is a truly excellent version of these stories, distinguished by its transparency and the way in which it permits the cruelty of the tragic twists found in stories such as "The Fate of the Children of Tuireann", "Deirdre and the Sons of Usna" and "Diarmuid and Grainne" to speak for itself, without a layer of anachronistic or novelistic psychology. For the three I've just mentioned this has remained the definitive version since childhood, read and re-read many times.

True, not all of these retellings seem to be perfect—"The Children of Lir" has always felt a bit off and awkward—but if there's a better version of the best of them, I'd love to hear of it.

[Cian · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
A vibrant and rich collection of some of the most iconic stories of the legendary Gaelige mythos, as interpreted from the first recorded manuscripts. Sweet but sweeping, it is not a good introductory text. Rather, it is a good supplement to the like of Lady Gregory's 'Of Heroes and Fighting Men,' else the stories will appear completely disjointed, and its inner components of the world and its culture as piece-meal and incoherent.

The Sick Bed of Cú Chulainn is particularly endearing in this collection. Its observations about marriage, love, men and women are as staple here in this Irish 'heroic' genre as it is in other timeless epics across all the nations of such works.

[Anjuna Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, I found a lot of the stories morally ambiguous and caused a lot of cognitive dissonance with the characters. Hearing their naive outlooks on life I was really able to put myself back in time into ancient Ireland. A wonderful collection of stories that didn't have much in terms of the usual Disney "cautionary tale" although some were cautionary tales like The Children of Lir the reasoning behind the morals was very strange and points us towards a long forgotten way of morally seeing the world and other people.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of various Irish stories of their ancient heroes, though not the best one. It has some flaws in its telling that I found disturbing (such as in the "Christianized" ending of "The Children of Lir".)

If you are one that calls themselves a Druid and think that being one means that you believe all the "flower-power love and peace stuff," you should read this book, though you probably won't like it putting pin-pricks in your romanticized notions of what the Celtic People really were like.

While Druidry and Celtic heritage is Earth-Centered, the Irish Warrior Class was one of the most respected, in much the same way that the USMC, Navy Seals or Special Forces are respected amongst modern society.

Druidic Celts were not "tree-hugging hippies who liked to play-act at Stonehenge, smoke dope and expound about peace." They were fierce, barbaric (by today's standards), yet creatively complicated individuals... Warriors and poets who could slay a man and then compose a poem about the beauty of a flower at dawn. They loved passionately, lived passionately and died the same way.

Like the original Grimm Fairy Tales, these stories all contain lessons, but they are not rewritten and "romanticised" so that they were politically correct and "suitable for a child's ear." Their stories were about strength, courage, jealousy, deception, good vs evil and tainted with a pale shade of sadness and melancholy for which the Irish are most famous.

And, if you're like me, you may want to look at a Gaelic pronunciation guide to learn how to pronounce names and places so that you can see how Gaelic was affected by the various invaders, from the Milesians from Turkey (via Spain) and the Scandinavian Vikings. "Eioe" now becomes "Joey" in a Scandinavian accent. "Fion" or "Finn" as in Finn McCool makes you realize his ancestors were Finnish Vikings. "Cian" is pronounced "Ken" and Aoife said as "Effie". Once I learned a little about the language, I could see the paths from whence they originated and understand a little more about these people and their tales of how they lived in peace with those they conquered.

Lastly, if you are a fan of Irish/Scottish folk music, a fan of Silly Wizard or of Andy M. Stewart and you wondered what the inspiration was for "The Queen of All Argyle", I'd have you read the tale of "Dierdre and the Sons of Usna". It will all make sense at some point.

That alone made this book worth reading.

It will give you insight into the intrigues and history of this most fascinating race of people.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My fault that I didn't look at what this book entailed before picking it up, but I was expecting more analysis and less retelling. The book itself contains an Introduction and seven tales: The Fate of the Children of Tuireann, The Wooing of Etain, The Combat at the Ford, Deirdre and the Sons of Usna, The Children of Lir, Diarmuid and Grainne, and The Sickbed of Cuchulain.

The introduction was my favorite part, largely because I was familiar with a majority of the tales already. However, the stories were presented well, and the translation very well-written. It was an enjoyable book to read, but I don't expect it to remain with me for long. (Indeed, writing this review a month after finishing it, I can't quite recall what exactly, I liked about the introduction, just that I liked it.

And Cuchulain is an ass.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in a gift shop while visiting the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. These beautiful and tragic tales of heroic warriors, intoxicating women, spirits, druids and giants have reaffirmed my love for mythology and written. The more familiar I become with the norse and celtic mythology, the more I realize that Tolkien . It was a pleasure to read of places which I had seen or heard of while touring Ireland.

[Frank Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well written and entertaining introduction to the Myths and Legends of Ireland. The editor (author) did a great job of including selections from different time periods. Unfortunately, even as it was supposed to be an introduction, there were numerous characters that the reader was evidently supposed to know all about, but were never introduced. This made some of the stories a bit less understandable than they may otherwise have been.

[Nick Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interested in Celtic myths and legends? Then this #book maybe for you. Eoin Neeson retells some of the most famous Celtic tales including The Sickbed of Cuchulain, The Wooing of Etain, and The Children of Lir.

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, but it still worth reading if you like mythology.

[Ellen Chronister]

full of short stores from interviews of Irish people, mostly farmers and stories about the fairies.

[Monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

beautiful stories... i got this in ireland and it is kind of a hard read... written with language format that's hard to follow in some parts... but worth it!