Synopsis: In a volume that has become a standard text in Irish studies and serves as a course-friendly alternative to the Field Day anthology, editors Maureen O’Rourke Murphy and James MacKillop survey thirteen centuries of Irish literature, including Old Irish epic and lyric poetry, Irish folksongs, and drama.  For each author the editors provide a biographical sketch, a brief discussion of how his or her selections relate to a larger body of work, and a selected bibliography.  In addition, this new volume includes a larger sampling of women writers.

Review: I can’t say more about the contents of this volume than was already said in the synopsis so I’m not going to, instead I’m going to talk about what I thought if the volume.

I think that this is a must read book for anyone interested in Irish literature of any kind.  It will give the reader a look at all the important authors and poets of Irish history and some of their works to wet the apetite.

I found myself reading all kinds of poetry and enjoying it all, not to mention the familiar myths and some stories that I’ve never heard of too.

I didn’t want to put it down once I started and it was a joy and pleasure to read (or devour which ever works best).

Review: I read this book as part of my research into Ogam. I wanted to see what its history was and where it first began as well as where it was found.

The author of this book does an excellent job of discussing the history of the Ogam alphabet, where it was found, what it was used for and when it might have originated and where.

The book certainly gave me a lot to think about. It discusses the two types of Ogam, gives some meanings to the original script, and gives us sources to look at in mythology and else where as to the uses of Ogam and how some of the misconceptions about it may have started.

A word of warning though, the book does go into the inscriptions themselves and does some translating so some chapters are just about that with only a little information, I found myself skimming them since they were mostly names of people, interesting though that might be it was not what I was after. In the end though I got A LOT out of this book. And feel ready enough to read the more recent books on the subject from a divination stand point.

Synopsis: Great classic of Celtic studies. Survival of pre-Christain Druid beleifs in Medieval Christian manuscript texts.

Review: The author started his Preface with why he decided to write the book and what he provided the reader with when he wrote it. He wrote the book because at the time (1948) books about Irish literature were either out of print or about a later time period than the one he discusses here. Dillon decided that this book would present “the imaginative literature of Ireland in a coherent order, choosing only the best that has survived,”. (p.V) He is not providing a history of literature not is he providing a critic of it.

The Preface is certainly a good place to start if you are looking for books on the analysis of Early Irish literature. Dillon lists an interesting group of books to look through though most of them are old, but still very useful.

The Introduction has a short discussion of how the Celts came to Ireland, what the irish society looked like and how the land was divided. It also has a short discussion of the manuscripts that the stories came from and the places they can be found.

Chapters One through Eight discuss the Ulster, Fenian, Mythological and Historical cycles, Adventures, Voyages, Visions and Irish Poetry. All the chapters are a simple retelling of some of the sagas and poetry in the irish Literature tradition with a little introduction at the beginning of each chapter. The whole book makes for a good introduction to Early Irish literature that is not complicated or very academic though still very scholarly. A good book to have in one’s library for sure.

Synopsis: This book is intended to serve as a practical guide to Gaelic language sources (as opposed to administrative or ecclesiastical records in Latin, French, or English) for the history of these communities in the high Middle Ages, laying emphasis on published texts for which English translations are available. Under six headings (annals, genealogies, poems, prose tracts and sagas, legal material, colophons and marginalia), it discusses not only the nature of the sources themselves, the purpose for which they were originally created, and their survival and availability to researchers, but also how to glean usable historical information from them.

Review: The aim of this book is to introduce people to medieval sources in the Gaelic languages, to explain the purpose of their creation, how they survived, whether they are available in published form, and how to get usable historical information from them. There is a complementary book to this one, which the author herself talks about in her introduction, called Medieval Record Sources (Maynooth Research Guides for Irish Local History, number 4); in that book the records discussed are in English, French and Latin. I’ve ordered that book and will be reading and reviewing it when it arrives.

The manuscripts that are discussed in the book are written in three stages of Gaelic; Old Irish (650 – 900 CE), Middle Irish (900 – 1200 CE), and Classical or Early Modern Irish (1200 – 1650 CE). The author gives a short history of the three divisions of the language and a history of how reliable the translations are that I found engaging and very interesting.

The book is not a very large one, all together only 131 pages long. But it is a treasure trove of information in the sense that by the end of it you know about the Gaelic sources, their strengths and weaknesses. You know the background of how and where they came into being and who wrote them as well as who influenced the writers and how. You get a sense of who translated them and how reliable these translations are and what you can as a modern reader get from them if you are looking for historical information. Another impressive part of this book is of course the Further Reading section and the Index.

Another highly recommended book if you are looking for the origins of the sources you are reading.

Synopsis: This book discusses the rich written heritage of the Old and Middle Irish period, 600-1200, and is suitable for students of medieval Ireland as well as the general reader who wants to learn about the stories, poetry and themes of early Irish literature. Early chapters deal with the poets, druids, monks, the beginnings of writing, manuscripts as well as an introduction to each of the saga cycles. These sagas contain the stories of heroes such as Cu Chulainn and Finn mac Cumaill as well as kings, such as Cormac mac Airt. Further chapters focus on the poets and their poetry, the heroes visiting the Otherworld, the births and deaths of famous heroes as well as stories about kings, kingship and sovereignty goddesses. Included also is a bibliography and a comprehensive index including personal and place names.

Review: The book starts out with an introduction where the author gives us the aim of the book, a general look at what to expect and a time frame for the manuscripts discussed. The aim of the book is to give an overview of the literature of early Ireland between the period of 600 CE to 1200 CE. The texts written from 600 CE to 900 CE are written in Old Irish and the texts written from 900 CE to 1200 CE are written in Middle Irish. Most of the literature, the author tells us, have general features. These features include the fact that they all talk about one of the provinces of Munster, Leinster, Ulster or Connacht. They might talk about one of the four fire festivals of Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine, or Lugnasad. Noblemen and kings play chess while women embroider, and the stories might feature music and musicians, especially harpers. At the end of the Introduction the author provides a further reading list on history and literature that includes some great books (though some of them are a bit old).

Chapter One Background: This chapter was certainly an eye opener in more ways than one. While I knew most of the information in it, it still made me stop and think more than once. The whys and hows of the information is just as interesting as the information itself. We know that the Irish Monks wrote done the stories of the oral traditions but I certainly didn’t know that there are even stories of how and why that began. The comparison with other cultures is certainly also very interesting.

The texts are written in both prose and poetry with prose being the main vehicle for the stories and poetry inserted at certain intervals. Each story has a place, person, time and cause of invention for it to be complete. Sagas can be seen in genealogy and the stories can be used to give a political, historical or even a legal message. It is interesting to me that the writing started out in Latin but quickly it changed to Latin and Irish then Irish. They didn’t forget Latin though and translated many Latin texts into Irish.

The chapter also has a discussion about the difference between Druids, Bards, Ovates and Filids, how they were portrayed in the texts and why. The only thing that was a bit weird to read was the author saying that there is no evidence that the Irish, and the Gauls were related in anyway. Uh, how about the language?

Branches of literature, oral traditions and written literature and Ogam, writing and manuscripts are discussed at the end of the chapter. The final part of the chapter gives the reader an example of of the Irish language around 1000 CE.

Chapter Two The Mythological Cycle: The author tells us that the Mythological cycle talks about the Gods and Goddesses and takes place in the Time of the Gods, she also tells us that the Irish myths always describe the shape of the land or place that the myths take place in. This gives us the criteria for the sagas; time, place, and person. Each story gives its own conflict.

This chapter was an interesting (though not always accurate) discussion of some of the “major” Irish Gods, the fire festivals, the myths included in the Mythological cycle and theories of myth in general.

Chapter Three The Heroic Cycle: The Heroic Cycle is also known as the Ulster cycle and it talks about the conflict between Connacht and Ulster. It is one of the largest corpus of material in all the cycles and it contains around 75 stories.

This chapter is a discussion of the major stories in the cycle.

Chapter Four The Fenian Cycle: The Fenian cycle concentrates on Leinster and Munster and Finn mac Cumaill and his band of warriors. The stories of the Fianna are considered the closest to Paganism, which maybe why they didn’t receive as much attention as the other cycles.

This chapter as with the others discusses the stories in the cycle but it also offers a short discussion on what is an outlaw, as well as the imageries of wolf, dog and deer and what they mean for this cycle.

Chapter Five The Cycles of the Kings: The Cycles of the Kings contains 100 stories about the prehistoric and historic kings of Ireland. Another name for this cycle is the “Historic Cycle” even though the historical content of these tales is really questionable. The stories center around the relationship between the Ué Néills, the men of Leinster and Tara. The chapter goes on to discuss some of the stories in this cycle.

Chapter Six The Otherworld: The Otherworld is associated with four different types of stories in Irish mythology. Some of these stories were written in Latin as well as Irish; these stories are Adventures (Echtraí), Voyages (Immrama), Visions (Físi) and frenzy (baile).

The chapter on the Otherworld discusses its location, nature, visits, Heroic biographies and some of the actual tales as well as comments on them from different literature scholars like J. Carney, and Myles Dillon.

Chapter Seven Kings, Goddesses and Sovereignty: A short chapter on kingship, what it takes to be a king (physical attributes as well as the virtues of the king) and the Sovereignty Goddesses that facilitated that. It talked about the relationship between these Sovereignty Goddesses and the king, the manifestations of these Goddesses and a short note at the end of the chapter on madness in Early Irish literature.

Chapter Eight The Hero and Heroic Biography: This is one of the most interesting chapters of this book. It talks about the Hero and the journey he takes from conception to death. It discusses each stage of the Hero’s life and what it means in Irish literature.

Chapter Nine Poets and Poetry: Another interesting chapter that discusses the role and status of the Poet, and I learned that the combination of prose and poetry that is used in Irish mythology is called prosimetrum. It also talks about some of the poets known and their poetry as well as Early Irish lyrics.

I LOVED this book. It is simple and strata froward, nothing too complicated, certainly AN INTRODUCTION and nothing more. If you know NOTHING about Irish mythology then you should read this book, if you know a bit about Irish mythology but want to refresh what you know and maybe learn a little more then read this book. I highly recommend it.

Synopsis: An application of Georges Dumézil’s tripartite diagnostic for Indo-European to the primary sources of Irish mythology (medieval manuscripts but also folklore collected in the 20th century). Comparison is made not only with the structures and remains of other traditions but also with structures in the wider field of Indo-European linguistics. Where this study differs from others in the same field is the “pincer attack” used – the author is a native speaker of Irish and so checked out all the texts in the original but is also a linguist with considerable experience of other Indo-European languages, including Vedic Sanskrit. If the reader finds that, despite its undoubted shortcomings, this analysis helps to situate the myths of the Irish gods in their wider, Indoeuropean, context, then it will have served its purpose.

Review: I decided to write this review as I read the book because I had so much to say and I was worried that I’d forget it all. So here it goes.

Chapter One The Irish Pantheon: The first thing that struck me as odd was the fact that the author has these neat little boxes that he put the Irish Gods in. Boxes like Shaman God, Sky God, Wind God, etc., and that is not something that anyone who knows the Irish Gods can say about Them, that They fit into neat little boxes. The other thing that struck me as odd was that he equated Gods with each other just because in different manuscripts they seem to be put into the same role or put into a trilogy with other Gods, forgetting that the myths are not perfect, written by Christian Monks, and are in some cases fragmented. To my mind he is also not taking into account that different Gods were worshipped by different tribes and just because they may have similar functions that does not mean they are equal. Some of his classifications actually boggle the mind…

Chapter Two Structure of the Irish Pantheon: In this chapter the author takes George Dumézil’s three function theory and applies it to the Irish Pantheon or rather his representation of it (Shaman God, Sky God and so on). I think that George Dumézil’s theory is a good one when applied generally to the Indo-European Pantheon but for the Irish Pantheon…I’m not so sure it works. To add to that he uses the associations of the four elements, which isn’t particularly Irish or Celtic for that matter.

Chapter Three The Celtic Pantheon: In this chapter he seems to think that just because some Deities are similar in name across the Celtic World then they must be the same Deity (Lugh and Lleu for example), I’m not sure how he came across this thought and by this point I’m starting not to care really. We know that the ancient pagan were HARD POLYTHEISTS and that means that each God or Goddess was a distinct Deity in His or Her own right…Add to that the fact that because we don’t know much about the Gaulish Gods he seems to think that using “interpretation Romana” helps with that, and to a certain degree it does, but not to the extent that he seems to have used it.

Chapter Four The Indoeuropean Pantheon: In this chapter the author uses the word Indoeuropean (yes unhyphenated) to mean the Indo-European daughter cultures rather than the reconstructed Indo-European Pantheon. The chapter is short and again uses the Shaman God, Sky God, etc., analogy to discuss in VERY brief terms the Vedic pantheon among a few others like the Norse, Roman and Greek pantheons (with the Roman and Greek he points out that they don’t fit in very well with the structure he has set up).

This ends Part One The Pantheon. You are probably wondering if there was anything I liked about this part, the truth is, yes there is something that I did like about this part. With every mention of a God or Goddess the author tells us from which manuscript he gets the name or story about the Deities he is using. This gives me a good build up of places to look if I am looking for a certain God or Goddess that I have not studied yet…

Chapter Five to Nine: I have to say I’m pretty impressed with the way the author interprets the myths to fit in with his pantheon structure. If you accept the structure, the myths he chose and the way he interprets them make perfect sense. I do see a few chinks in the armor, for example, when he talks about Nuadu and Ogma being alter egos even though they are together in one of the myths and he says this is the only time that happens as if that makes perfect sense.

Part Two The Myths was actually a delight to read. Putting some of the interpretations aside again the draw is that the author mentions exactly where he got his myths from and from what manuscripts. In some cases his interpretations are really good minus the attempt to box in the Gods. If you were ever confused by some of the myths this would be a great part to read, just to get a “clean” chopped up into little pieces that make sense version of these myths. This is part of the reason I’m giving this book a good grade. Read it only after you’ve studied the Gods enough to know when he is making sense and when he is not and read it only after you have read enough myths to know where the chinks in his armor occur.

Publisher: Moon Books

Copyright: 2012

Synopsis: Perhaps the first serious attempt to collate the vast body of druidic knowledge from verifiable ancient sources and Celtic survivals into one usable and practical volume as a handy reference for druids and a learning tool for the would be druid. Inspired by the medieval Irish ‘Scholar’s Primer’ this work is the culmination of 15 years’ research and practical exploration of what it means to be a druid in a modern context.

Review: This was certainly an interesting book to read.  It has been a while since I read a book that was about Druidic practice rather than its history.

The Druid’s Primer is certainly a very informative work.  It talks about the many aspects of Druidry from cosmology to the Gods and Goddesses to divination and Ogham.  I’ve seen a lot of reviews of this book (as well as the blurbs on the book) saying that this book is distinctly Irish in flavor.  Well, yes and no.  The book does have a lot of Irish materials in it, however it is not the JUST about the Irish material as it does have a lot of Welsh concepts in there like Awen and the Welsh names of some of the Feast days.  

My favorite chapters in this book actually occurs at the end of the book, namely the divination and Ogham chapters.  The author really did a good job in both instances.

In short, I would recommend this book to newbies as it does a very good job of explaining Druidry in an easy and simple way.

My friend Laibhran also has a review of this book up on her blog I highly recommend that you check it out right here: Random CR and Heathen Ramblings 

Publisher: iUniverse

Copyright: 2011

Synopsis: The Shaping of the Celtic World traces the rise and decline of the great Celtic peoples. Ranging from prehistoric to modern times, it undertakes an examination of Celtic civilization, revealing a proud and independent society with its unique history, mythology, pantheon of gods, literature, and artistry. The romance of Celtic mythology is unsurpassed. It introduces us to many intriguing legends, of which the battles between the gods and giants are most alluring.Emerging in the 6th century BC, the Celts conquered and settled the greater part of Europe, laying the foundation for westerncivilization. Their contribution in shaping the modern world cannot be underestimated. As Europe languished in the barbarism of the Dark Ages, the great heritage of Western Europe was endangered of being entirely lost but for the Celtic monks of Ireland and Britain who scribed and illuminated Europes treasury of literature.The book is written for the millions who proudly identify with their Celtic rootsknown today by their ethnic identities as Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Mann, Breton, and Cornish. This concise yet user-friendly guide to ancient European history will be enjoyed by a variety of readers including students, travelers, history enthusiasts, and those interested in their Celtic origins.

Review: For the first time I am not sure how to write a review for a book I’ve read.  The material in the book is basically divided into three parts: history, religion and art.

The information in the historical part is basically correct but very much outdated.  The latest reference in the book is copyrighted to 2006 and that is a book that lists the classical writers’ quotes about the Celts.  His sources go all the way back to the early 1900s.  Good sources…just really OLD.  I do like that he went all the way to Christianity and beyond in terms of history since a lot of other books tend to stop just before Christianity comes to the Celts.

The part on the Celtic religion was very accurate considering he again was using old sources, but we really don’t have much of an update on that front even in new books, at least nothing that would change that information drastically.

In the arts part of the book the author talks about not just material art but also literature and it was actually very interesting in that he brings it all the way up to the 19th century, and not just to the Christian era.

I didn’t hate the book, but I didn’t love it either.  So what is the problem?  I think what bothered me the most is that I didn’t see the author’s thoughts on the subject matter he was covering.  He isn’t a scholar but rather an enthusiast and I knew that so I was expecting to see that enthusiasm…which I didn’t. I felt like he had a bunch of points by other authors that he had to convey and he did…end of story.