Celtic Mythology

London: Hamlyn, 1970. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Very good/Good. 136, [6] pages. Illustrated endpapers. Further Reading List. Index. Several color plates and over 100 illustrations in black and white. DJ is price-clipped. The author suggests that whereas Celtic remains have have been found in Wales, Scotland, Cornwall and much of Europe, the more impressive mythology, with its great stories of supernatural creatures and superhuman forces "nearly all derive from Ireland.". The author gives an enthralling account of the development of these...stories, and shows how they express the beliefs and hopes of a great civilization....The book is beautifully illustrated with outstanding examples of the work of Celtic artists and craftsmen. Proinsias Mac Cana (6 July 1926 - 21 May 2004) was a Celtic scholar. He held professorships at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and University College Dublin. Mac Cana attended Queen's University Belfast, graduating with a degree in Celtic languages in 1948. He completed a Master of Arts degree at Queen's, where he was appointed an assistant lecturer in 1951. Two years later, he was awarded a Ph.D,. In 1961, he was appointed Professor of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and later became Professor of Welsh at University College Dublin where he became Professor of Early Irish in 1971. In 1985, he returned to the Dublin Institute to take up a senior professorship, and retired in 1996p. He had been President of the Royal Irish Academy between 1979 and 1982. Mac Cana was a member of Academia Europaea. In 1997, the British Academy awarded him its Derek Allen Prize for Celtic Studies. Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a polytheistic religion, having many gods and goddesses. The mythologies of continental Celtic peoples, such as the Gauls and Celtiberians, did not survive their conquest by the Roman Empire, the loss of their Celtic languages and their subsequent conversion to Christianity. Only remnants are found in Greco-Roman sources and archaeology. Most surviving Celtic mythology belongs to the Insular Celtic peoples (the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland; the Celtic Britons of western Britain and Brittany). They preserved some of their myths in oral lore, which were eventually written down by Christian scribes in the Middle Ages. Irish mythology has the largest written body of myths, followed by Welsh mythology. The supernatural race called the Tuatha Dé Danann are believed to be based on the main Celtic gods of Ireland, while many Welsh characters belong either to the Plant Dôn ("Children of Dôn") and the Plant Ll r ("Children of Ll r"). Some figures in Insular Celtic myth have ancient continental parallels: Irish Lugh and Welsh Lleu are cognate with Lugus, Goibniu and Gofannon with Gobannos, Macán and Mabon with Maponos, and so on. One common figure is the sovereignty goddess, who represents the land and bestows sovereignty on a king by marrying him. The Otherworld is also a common motif; a parallel realm of the supernatural races, which is visited by some mythical heroes. Celtic myth influenced later Arthurian legend. Irish mythology is the largest surviving branch of Celtic mythology. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Christian scribes, who modified and Christianized them to some extent. The myths are conventionally grouped into 'cycles'. The Mythological Cycle, or Cycle of the Gods, consists of tales and poems about the god-like Túatha Dé Danann and other mythical races. Many of the Tuath Dé are thought to represent Irish deities. They are often depicted as kings, queens, druids, bards, warriors, heroes, healers and craftsmen who have supernatural powers. Prominent members of the Tuath Dé include The Dagda ("the great god"), who seems to have been the chief god; The Morrígan ("the great queen" or "phantom queen"), a triple goddess associated with war, fate and sovereignty; Lugh; Nuada; Aengus; Brigid; Manannán; Dian Cecht the healer; and Goibniu the smith, one of the Trí Dé Dána ("three gods of craft"). Their traditional rivals are the monstrous Fomorians (Fomoire), whom the Tuath Dé defeat in the Cath Maige Tuired ("Battle of Moytura"). Other important works in the cycle are the Lebor Gabála Érenn ("Book of Invasions"), a legendary history of Ireland, and the Aided Chlainne Lir ("Children of Lir"). The Ulster Cycle consists of heroic legends about the Ulaid. It focuses on the mythical Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa and his court at Emain Macha, the hero Cú Chulainn, and their conflict with the Connachta and queen Medb. The longest and most important tale is the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The Fianna Cycle is about the exploits of the mythical hero Finn and his warrior band the Fianna, including the lengthy Acallam na Senórach ("Tales of the Elders"). The Kings' Cycle comprises legends about historical and semi-historical kings of Ireland (such as Buile Shuibhne, "The Madness of King Sweeny"), and tales about the origins of dynasties and peoples.