The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore (Facts on File Library of Religion and Mythology)OUT OF PRINT - Softcover

Patricia Monaghan Ph.D.

4.26

84 ratings by Goodreads

9780816075560: The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore (Facts on File Library of Religion and Mythology)**OUT OF PRINT**

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0816075565 ISBN 13: 9780816075560

Publisher: FACTS ON FILE, 2008

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

This book helps you discover the rich world of Celtic mythology and folklore. Celtic peoples were talented storytellers, and their stories provide a rich, panoramic view of Celtic culture.The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore is a fascinating reference to the myths and folklore originating from the people of the Celtic lands - Ireland, Scotland, Celtic Britain, Wales, Brittany and central France, Galicia, and the smaller islands where the Celts lived. This accessible book offers a broad overview of the elements that make up Celtic mythology and folklore, including figures, deities, events, stories, and places. Concise A-to-Z entries provide brief descriptions of the subjects, emphasizing the original sources of myths and traditions and including bibliographic references.It has approximately 1,000 entries covering: Heroic figures; Historical places; Mythic figures; Narrative and epic cycles; Sacred places and objects; Themes and religious concepts; Theories and controversies; and more.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Patricia Monaghan, a member of the interdisciplinary faculty at DePaul University in Chicago, is the author of The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit and of the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines. A winner of the Pushcart Prize, she is also a poet and essayist who serves as Senior Fellow at the Black Earth Institute in Wisconsin.

From Booklist:

Celtic mythology is a mystery even to the experts. Trying to sort out what is purely Celtic and what has been altered by the Greeks, Romans, and Christians is an impossible task. Trying to reconcile written records with archeological evidence is difficult if not impossible. The reader is then left with a jumble of names, stories, traditions, and places under the rubric "Celtic mythology."

This latest attempt to bring order out of chaos is an encyclopedia of approximately 1,000 entries covering individuals both mythological and quasi-historical, epics, themes, religious concepts, places, and artifacts. Irish mythology predominates, but continental Celtic figures, even those who are only a name in a local region, such as Britovius, are included.

Organized alphabetically, the entries range in size from several sentences to more than a page. Many end with a short list of sources. The work concludes with a seven-page bibliography and an index with major entries in boldface. An introduction explains Celtic history and culture and describes how the author has handled the entries, especially in regard to spelling.

Other dictionaries and encyclopedias have tackled this topic. An Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology (Contemporary, 2000) uses a thematic approach, with chapters on druids, fairies, etc. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (ABC-CLIO, 1992) uses alphabetical entries and has a bibliography but does not include sources with each entry. Another volume, Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend (Thames and Hudson, 1992), has 400 entries. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore has more entries and provides sources for many of them. In libraries with a high demand for or interest in Celtic mythology, this would be a worthwhile purchase. For libraries with moderate interest that already own one of the earlier encyclopedias or dictionaries, this would be an optional purchase. RBB
Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.