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Mythology Worlds
CELTIC EUROPE
Druids and magic
Challenges of Studying Celtic mythology
The pre-Christian Celts left no written records of their beliefs, so we must rely on the work of archaeologists to gain a picture of what Celtic religion was like in ancient times.
While the Celts did indeed have a writing system (manifest, for example, in the old Irish writing system Ogham), they valued oral tradition over written narratives.
We must also rely on the accounts of the Roman conquerors.
As we all know, history is written by the winners.
We may never know the Roman conquest from the Gauls' perspective, but we can be sure it must have been like the Asterix cartoons from France.
All the evidence we do have of Celtic stories and myths was written down after the Celts became Christian.
Nevertheless, the Medieval Irish and Welsh literary cycles offer us a glimpse into the world of the Celts.
The Four Seasonal Celtic Festivals
Samhain
November 1st
Celtic New Year, ancestor of Halloween
Imbolc
February 1
Feast of Brigid, a.k.a. Candlemas
Beltane
May 1
Festival of the Sun, a.k.a. May Day
Lughnasa
August 1
Festival of Lugh, start of the harvest
Early Celtic Deities of Ancient Western Europe
France, Belgium, the Alps, southern Germany, and far northern Italy
The Etymologic Legacy of the Ancient Celts
Paris, the capital city of France, is named after a Gaulish tribe called the Parisii.
French things are sometimes called "Gallic", after the Gauls themselves.
London, the capital of the U.K., comes from the Celtic place name "Lugdunum".
("Fortress of Lugus")
Place names of Brythonic origin dot the English landscape.
The country of Belgium is named after the Belgae Celts.
The Danube River is named after the ancient Celtic mother goddess Danu.
Myths and Legends of Ireland
The Cycles of Pre-Colonial Irish Literature
The Mythological Cycle
The origins of the Irish people and their gods
The Ulster Cycle
Cuchulainn and the Cattle Raid of Cuailnge
The Kings Cycle
The cycle of kings (What else?)
The Fenian Cycle
Finn McCool and his son Oisin
Calculation of Fairy Time based on the story of Oisin
If Oisin spent 3 years in Tir Na Nog and discovered that 300 years had passed in the Material Plane, then...
1 fey year = 100 material years
Therefore...
1 fey day = about 4 material days
1 fey hour = about 6 material hours
1 fey minute = about 10 material minutes
1 fey second = about 6 material seconds
The snakes are back in Ireland
There is a growing Druid movement in the here and now.
Tales of Wales
The Four Branches of the Mabinogion
Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed
The story of Pwyll and his meetup with Rhiannon
Branwen, Daughter of Llyr
Bran the Blessed's war with Ireland
Manawydan, Son of Llyr
Life of Pryderi in a post-Ireland-war world
Math, Son of Mathonwy
The Children of Don
My Irish ancestors would be offended by the Bran the Blessed story.
This is a great example of how the British viewed the Irish even before they colonized Ireland in the 1500s and stifled the Irish/Gaeilge language.
Arthurian Legends
Primary Sources of Arthurian Legends
Geoffrey of Monmouth, History of the Kings of Britain
(Historia Regum Britanniae)
The Spoils of Annwn
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
The Norman poet Wace
Chretien de Troyes*
Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur
Insert Monty Python and the Holy Grail joke here
Celtic Mythical Creatures
Types of Fairy
The Seelie Court
Good fairies
The Unseelie Court
Evil fairies
Trooping Fairies
They live in groups in the Neolithic mounds, and wear green
Solitary Fairies
They live alone in specific places and prefer human companionship
They wear red, grey, or brown
The Bretons are descendants of British refugees who fled the Anglo-Saxon invasion of their homeland, and settled on the northwestern tip of France...which to this day is called Brittany.
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