The Celtic Myths
Miranda Aldhouse-Green
978-0-500-25209-3
The new instalment in T&H’s successful myths series (after The Greek and Roman Myths and The Egyptian Myths) introduces the world of the Celts, their gods and goddesses, heroes, monsters and villains. As well as vividly exploring the tales, the author brings her expertise in the archaeology of the Iron Age and particularly shamanism to bear on the mythical worlds she describes, with evidence as diverse as the Gundestrup Cauldron and the famous bog bodies.
Publisher:
First Published:
Thames & Hudson
2015
Why It Matters
Miranda Aldhouse-Green is one of the foremost authorities on Celtic mythology and Iron Age archaeology. This book is an essential companion for anyone wanting to understand the mythological world that underpins Irish and Welsh tradition. She draws on archaeology, classical sources and medieval manuscripts to build a comprehensive picture of the Celtic divine world — gods, goddesses, heroes, sacred animals and ritual landscapes. For a writer working in Irish noir fantasy, the chapters on shape-shifting, sacred water, and the Otherworld alone are worth the price. If you read one academic text on Celtic mythology, make it this one.