Celtic From the West: Alternative Perspectives from Archeology, Genetics, Language and Literature Edited by Barry Cunliffe and John T. Koch

Synopsis: This book is an  exploration of the new idea that the Celtic languages originated in the  Atlantic Zone during the Bronze Age, approached from various  perspectives: pro and con, archaeology, genetics, and philology. This  ‘Celtic Atlantic Bronze Age’ theory represents a major departure from  the long-established, but increasingly problematic scenario in which the  story of the Ancient Celtic languages and that of peoples called Keltoi  ‘Celts’ are closely bound up with the archaeology of the Hallstatt and  La Tene cultures of Iron Age west-central Europe. The ‘Celtic from the  West’ proposal was first presented in Barry Cunliffe’s Facing the Ocean  (2001) and has subsequently found resonance amongst geneticists. It  provoked controversy on the part of some linguists, though is  significantly in accord with John Koch’s findings in Tartessian (2009).  The present collection is intended to pursue the question further in  order to determine whether this earlier and more westerly starting point  might now be developed as a more robust foundation for Celtic studies.  As well as having this specific aim, a more general purpose of Celtic  from the West is to bring to an English-language readership some of the  rapidly unfolding and too often neglected evidence of the pre-Roman  peoples and languages of the western Iberian Peninsula. Celtic from the  West is an outgrowth of a multidisciplinary conference held at the  National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth in December 2008. In addition  to 11 chapters, the book includes 45 distribution maps and a further 80  illustrations. The conference and collaborative volume mark the launch  of a multi-year research initiative undertaken by the University of  Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies [CAWCS]: Ancient  Britain and the Atlantic Zone [ABrAZo]. Contributors: (Archaeology)  Barry Cunliffe; Raimund Karl; Amilcar Guerra; (Genetics) Brian McEvoy  & Daniel Bradley; Stephen Oppenheimer; Ellen Rrvik; (Language &  Literature) Graham Isaac; David Parsons; John T. Koch; Philip Freeman;  Dagmar S. Wodtko.

Review: I was very hesitant about buying this book, because I had not read Barry Cunliffe’s Facing the Ocean  But I have read OF the new theory and decided that since I couldn’t get Facing the Ocean I would at least get this one.  In the introduction to the book Barry Cunliffe and John Koch put my mind at ease with what they theory does or doesn’t entail.  While reading about it on the internet I thought it would change everything I knew about the history of the Celts, instead I learned in the introduction that it will just adjust some things.

The theory discussed in this book is : “Celtic probably evolved in the Atlantic Zone during the Bronze Age.” It should be noted that this departure (1) does not involve a re-evaluation of Indo-European as the language from which Celtic evolved, (2) does not require a relocation of the Indo-European homeland itself to the west (nor does it favor any particular homeland for it), and (3) continues to regard the La Téne culture as predominately Celtic speaking from its beginnings in the 5th century BC and most probably also its Hallstatt predecessor, especially the western Hallstatt D of the 6th century BC.  Some definitions that should be known: Atlantic Zone: Ireland, Britain, Armorica, and the north and west of the Iberian Peninsula.  Celtic: is meant in a linguistic sense, meaning the language family and the ancestral proto-language.

The book is divided into three different parts.  The first part is Archeology with three papers by Barry Cunliffe, Raimund Karl, and Amílcar Guerra.  Part two is Genetics and has three papers by Ellen C. Royrvik, Brian P. McEvoy and Daniel G. Bradley, and Stephen Oppenheimer.  Part three is Language and Literature with five papers by G.R. Isaac, David N. Parsons, John T. Koch, Philip M. Freeman and Dagmar S. Wodtko.   Each essay has a bibliography at the end which is amazing and many of the essays have maps and pictures illustrating their points of view.

The questions that Barry Cunliffe asks in his contribution to the book are very important, questions like: is it possible that the Indo-European language reached the Atlantic Zone c. 5000 BCE as the result of enclave colonization bringing the Neolithic Package from the Mediterranean?  Could the Celtic branch have developed in the Atlantic Zone between 5000 to 3000 BCE?  And so on.   Also in many of the other essays there are questions that are being asked.  Some against the theory and some favoring it.  Be prepared to think outside the box, and be prepared to rethink some assumptions you may have had. Likewise Raimund Karl’s insistence that we define what a Celt is is very important.

In the second part of the book Genetics was discussed and to be honest even though what I read was really interesting (I love learning new things) I really don’t think that it is relevant in that to me the Celts were not a race of people but rather a cultural and linguistic group.

The third part was interesting to me because it talks about language and literature.  The first paper reminded me of all I knew of the Indo-European family tree and how it was discovered.  The second paper was interesting in that it showed how place names can be used to date a shift in language but also all the problems with the interpretations of these shifts.  The third and fourth papers are about Tartessian and all the new and old discoveries made about it.  And the final paper is about Lusitanian.

I really loved this book, maybe the theory of Celtic From the West is not fully developed yet with lots of questions to answer and maybe it is not a viable theory at all BUT it sure does present a point of view that must and should be explored.

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Caesar’s Druids: Story of an Ancient Priesthood by Miranda Aldhouse-Green

Synopsis: Ancient chroniclers,  including Julius Caesar himself, made the Druids and their sacred  rituals infamous throughout the Western world. But in fact, as Miranda  Aldhouse-Green shows in this fascinating book, the Druids’ day-to-day  lives were far less lurid and much more significant. Exploring the  various roles that Druids played in British and Gallic society during  the first centuries B.C. and A.D.—not just as priests but as judges,  healers, scientists, and power brokers—Aldhouse-Green argues that they  were a highly complex, intellectual, and sophisticated group whose  influence transcended religion and reached into the realms of secular  power and politics. With deep analysis, fresh interpretations, and  critical discussions, she gives the Druids a voice that resonates in our  own time.

Review: In this book the author, a professor of Archeology at Cardiff University, used her tremendous expertise as a scholar of ancient religious culture, her intimate knowledge of the classical sources and her archeological and anthropological background to put together this book on the Druids.

Professor Miranda Aldhouse-Green used the preface to tell us why she wrote the book and what she hoped to focus on in it.  Her focus is to be on the Druids encountered by Greek and Roman writers and travellers at a time when they were flourishing, and on the time of their decline and possible reconfiguration under the Roman occupation.  She also tells us that she will be combining close scrutiny of the Classical records with the archeological and anthropological material findings.  She acknowledges that there are problems with all of these sources.

The book is divided into 12 chapters and an Epilogue and each chapter is then further divided into subsections depending on what the chapter is talking about.   This book is well organized and indexed.  The sheer amount of research and documentation in this book is worth the read.  All that was ever said or written about the Druids is presented here supplemented by archeology, anthropology and some of the vernacular records too.  As usual with Prof. Miranda, I don’t agree with all her conclusions BUT most of them are sound.   It does read a bit like a thesis paper but it is interesting enough to keep you going till the end.  I like Prof. Miranda’s writing style as she does not talk down to her readers even if they are laymen.

This is a great edition to the library of any person interested in the Celts and by extension the Druids.

 

A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book by Ceisiwr Serith

Synopsis: From the Fall Equinox and Beltane to celebrations of peace and justice, A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book offers more than 700 prayers for the rituals of life–from the sacred to the mundane.

A companion to the popular A Book of Pagan Prayer, this handbook of rituals and prayers is organized thematically, making it convenient to use if one is seeking prayers for specific occasions, seasons, times of day, meals, or milestones. Included is an extensive section on the requisites of ritual and how to use ritual and prayer to create lasting change in your life and in the world.

A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book is suitable for all pagans: Druids, Wiccans, solitaries, Greek & Norse Reconstructionists, Mystery Cult Reconstructionists, and more, offering perfect petitions or invocations to invoke, embrace, and honor the major events that make up our lives.

Review:  The synopsis is true, this is the perfect companion to A Book of Pagan Prayer or as I affectionately call it The Green Book (in case you are wondering this one is red lol).  The author included a wonderful introduction about how pagans DO pray for different reasons just like any religion.  The first part of the book describes prayer, and how it might be done, and rituals and what they entail.  The second part of the book is about how to build a ritual and all its different components and the types of prayers that can be used at different times of the year or day.  The third and final part is all about petitioning the Gods.

I really loved this book.  While I don’t think I will use the actual prayers in the book I know I will take inspiration from them.  The structure for the rituals is something that I have personally used for my own rituals and the final part about petitioning the Gods was my definite favorite.

This and the first book (A Book of Pagan Prayers) are a great addition to the newbies’ bookshelves.  They also make a great gift to someone like me, who like to get inspiration from other people’s prayers if and when they get stuck with their own.  They also give you ideas on how to perhaps put together a ritual or tweek your own to make it better.  This is the type of book I would like to see more of in the Pagan community.