Celtic Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Sagas and Beliefs by Hourly History

Celtic Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Sagas and Beliefs Reviews

• 
  Dannii Elle

  This was a solid first introduction into Celtic mythology. Asides from detailing some of the major gods and mythological stories associated with them, it also gave a brief overview of the history of the land and how both intersected with and affected the lives of the inhabitants of ancient Ireland.
• 
  Elena

  Exactamente lo que promete. Una guía muy breve y concisa con las bases de la mitología Celta, desde la introducción a los principales dioses hasta los rituales más importantes pasando por el efecto que el Cristianismo tuvo sobre esta cultura. Ideal como primera toma de contacto con el tema.
  Lo mejor: El autor es consciente de la brevedad de su obra y recomienda recursos para el que quiera ampliar conocimientos sobre el tema.
• 
  Apollo Hesiod

  I love greek mythology, but it's interesting to learn about all different kinds of mythology...very informative & will definitely read more about Celtic Mythology
• 
  Lori C

  "The Celtic people seldom built temples—they had no need. The sanctity of nature was an inescapable part of their worship, and the land itself was a permanent temple".
  
  Again, this series has peaked my interest in an assortment of subjects. What an astounding and inventive history the Irish have! I'm sure I'll be digging deeper. In fact, I've already purchased a book of folktales.
• 
  Stephanie (Bookfever)

  Celtic mythology is probably one of the few I know the least about so I thought this book was super interesting. It mainly focused on Irish mythology which I liked a lot because Ireland is one of those countries that I love learning more about, whether it's about its history or mythology.
  
  I do have to say that I didn't enjoy it quite as much as some of the other Hourly History books I've written. It was still fascinating but there I just thought it was not quite as good. And it dragged a tiny bit at some places in the book.
  
  Other than that I liked the book for sure. I especially loved reading about everything surrouding the Tuatha dé Danann. Also the chapter of Celtic Life and Rotuals was a favorite of mine.
• 
  Young Kim

  I think this book can work as a college text- or reference-book...
  
  Dealing with the ancient mythology is not an easy task for any writer, especially if the author just tries to briefly introduce it to the readers within limited page numbers.
  
  Clearly ancient mythology is not a good subject to talk about in a brief manner at all, and this book, too, like other books of this “Ancient Mythology Series” by the same author and publisher, tells why.
  
  This book, too, like the same author's other mythology books, got so many links to other websites for the readers to read further to really understand the subject, meaning this book alone is NOT complete.
  
  While going on with the "not-so-brief" journey through this book, due to the many, many links, you will constantly ask yourself the same question, even without reading the links: “Gosh, so diverse. Is this really the same, "one" people's myth?”
  
  Among the many ancient mythologies known to us, the Celtic Mythology must be one of the toughest; it is probably not the author's fault though that the story's so difficult and confusing for the beginners to follow with many different stories about one, same figure in the same myth since each different tribe in Ireland, according to the book, must have had various stories that had passed down to following generations.
  
  It so happened because of the “di-vision” of ancient Irish society, which was also the reason why the country couldn't effectively fight off the foreign invasions until the recent centuries.
  
  It is a good lesson for the world that unity is the vis'ion for the future of an'y Human society.
  
  Unfortunately we find a huge error the author has made with this book.
  
  As a matter of fact the ancient Celtic people were found all over the modern-day Western European Continent in France, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, yet he hasn’t made it clear if the many, many different stories for one, same figure in the very same myth were of the Celts in Ireland alone "or" from the Celts in the whole Western Europe.
  
  But as you move through the pages towards the end, you will feel like the author was actually focusing on Ireland again and again ignoring all the other Celts in the whole continent. At least that’s how I felt after finishing the last page, which wasn’t really a good “con-clos'/ -clus'ion”, but more like an other “entr-/ intr-o-duction” after all.
  
  He has NOT finished the book.
  
  (Kindle Ed. p. 29)
  Some linguists call Gaelic, the native language of Ireland, the “Chosen Language” and claim that it was spoken in the Garden of Eden—that it came with Jacob’s tribe to Egypt, then Carthage and via Galicia in Spain, to Ireland. The more conventional linguists will say the roots are Indo-European, and the reason why it is so incredibly rich is that it, like the people, has developed from 72 different languages. However it happened, Gaelic has been the spoken and written language of Ireland for thousands of years and was well established by 600 BCE. The oldest ancient Irish inscriptions we have are on stones that date from the fifth and sixth centuries. It is also spoken in Scotland, and today it is still the vernacular in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Cornwell, and Brittany.
  
  In fact it feels like the author is seriously Ireland-centered. What he says sounds a lot like the blind "crazy" Korean nationalists who claim that every nation has originated from ancient Korean civilization. No, it was quite opposite as the Koreans and the Korean states, like all other Human societies, were also originated from the Red Sea area where we find the traces of the early Humans we call the Homo Sapiens.
  
  His Irish-centered idea and the confusing direction of this book that self-contradicts himself makes it sound like Ireland, not the whole Celtic world, had so many different stories for each the same figure telling us it was the division among only-the Irish people in that small island that caused all the hardships in the country's history.
  
  Truth is that it sounds like he is trying hard to lift up the Irish spirit, but he is actually killing it without realizing it.
  
  Celtic has never only meant the Irish, and the author said that, too...maybe like twice contradicting the main flow of the book, although they are the only story lines in this book told in balance.
  
  (Kindle Ed. p. 24)
  Broadly speaking, the Celtic expansion reached its height around 225 BCE, and the mythology we are exploring dominated the cultural milieu for people’s lives right down through the Middle Ages. It was an agrarian culture for the most part, but it was not without wealth; archaeological investigations have come across over 400 Celtic gold mine sites in France alone. They had an oral tradition, and bards would recite the great sagas of the people at the three yearly gathering at the Feis of Tara, where the governing rules were reviewed, major disputes were resolved, and new laws and regulations would be promulgated. It is said that five great roads radiated across the country from Tara Hill to the five regions, each ruled by a king or a Ri Tuath. These are Ulster in the north, Connaught in the west, Munster in the south, Leinster in the east, and Mide (Meath) at its center. Returning to Julius Caesar’s description of the Celtic people, he characterized them as mysterious and superstitious. One description of the Irish people states they were a “conglomeration of tribes with remarkable staying power.”
  
  Imagine if all these Celtic Kingdoms were united. Then there wouldn't be Roman Empire we remember today. There might not be the Great Germanic Expansion into the modern-day European Continent during the 4th century, either. In what a different world we could have been living now then, huh, with standards and perspectives pretty different than ours, right?
  
  Look at these words - car, carr’y (carry) and carr’i-er (carrier).
  
  This is the Oxford Dictionary definition of our English word “car.”
  
  car (n.): from late Middle English (in the general sense ‘wheeled vehicle’) and from Old Northern French carre, based on Latin carrum, carrus...
  
  And I’d add more lines as follows:
  
  ...based on Latin carrum, carrus of “Celtic” origin.
  
  As a matter of fact as we’ve all learned the ancient European history at school, the Romans learned how to build chariots from the Celts, who sacked Rome long Before the Christ. You tell me if the “expert” linguists have been right about most of our words’ etymologies from, they’ve been claiming, Greek and Latin, as if the ancient Greek and Latin words had just fallen from the Heaven lol
  
  God, gut, good, 가-다 (to go), 코 (core), 콕/ 콱/ 꽉/ 꼭 (coq/ cock), Gaul, Gallia, 갈 (car), chariot, 찰/ 참 (Charles, Tsar, Karl, Carlos and Charm): Google "young h d kim" and read my books if you desire to kn-ow.
  
  Our heads are full of Greece and Rome as the very "origin (or-i-gin)" and "beginning (be-gin)" of so-called the "Western" Civilization, and why do you think that is? It's kind of funny that the same author's book "Greek Mythology" tells why.
  
  (Kindle Ed. p. 19)
  ...and the nuts used to fall into the well and feed the speckled salmon who lived there...
  
  Just out of curiosity, why the personification: Intended or a typo?
  
  (Kindle Ed. p. 33)
  ...Now this hound was no ordinary dog; he was the size of a pony...
  
  So, not a typo, but just the author's preferred way to describe things: Personification, and I like that too.
  
  This one’s definitely a typo though, so the book has only one typo...not bad:
  (Kindle Ed. p. 28)
  ...I am the head of the spear the draws blood in battle...
  
  Typo: ...that draws blood in battle...
  
  The bottom line is I do not recommend this book to anyone, but only to those who are really in mythology, history or/ and linguistics for studies.
  
  However, I think this book can work as a college textbook, and the students can use all the links throughout the pages as great references.
• 
  Carrie (The Butterfly Reader)

  Learned a lot about the Gods and Goddesses and that's what I was hoping for!
• 
  Mike Curtis

  I read the Captivating History book on Celtic Mythology first, and this one was more of what I was looking for.
  
  While very basic and lacking depth - I don’t expect depth from an Hourly History book, just a basic overview - it touched on who the Celts were how the myths developed and evolved over time, and the basics of their belief system.
  
  Like a solid 101 type class, the Hourly History books do a great job of helping you wrap your head around the basics of a topic before digging deeper.
  
  If you are looking for a short collection of Irish/Celtic stories - the Captivating History book may be more to your liking, but for how those stories fit into a larger context, this is a good title.
• 
  S.L. Baron

  This is far from a definitive history of the Irish Celts, but it’s a good introduction for those who are interested in learning more about them and don’t know where to begin.
  
  Years ago, I had read numerous books about the Celtic gods and heroes, and I found it a good refresher read for me.
  
  I also appreciated the links to websites that are included. I’m currently writing a book that begins in ancient Ireland, and I know I’ll be hitting some of them for research.
• 
  Katrin

  This was a very quick introduction to the Celtic people, gods and mythology. In this it was very good, informative, links for further reading and explaining the most basic things. What really put me off is that in this book basically Celtic=Irish. That is SO not true. Wales gets mentioned ONCE. Wales with its own fantastic mythology and bardic tradition! There was no mention of Anglesey, Scotland is terribly left out, too. Although this is a good quick introduction, I'm really not happy with how Irish centered this is. Celtic people were all of them, not confined to Ireland at all! This is something that should be revised.
• 
  K

  Good. It was a bit vague and broad but I expected that from such a small book. It had some interesting stories and was an overall good book.
• 
  Emma Dargue

  Brief guide to Celtic Mythology and all that entails. This guide allows you to develop basic knowledge to then go and research in more detail.
• 
  efa

  Cheeky bitta Irish mythology love to see it. However NO FINN MAC CUMHAILL??/!1 get it sorted
• 
  Maggies Daisy

  Tweaked my interest on Celtic religions and now find myself drawn to more of these enchanting perilous tales from our history.
• 
  Nihal Lele

  I had never heard of Celts and Irish mythology, so when I found out that hourly history had written a book on Celtic mythology, I couldn't wait to read it.
  
  This book gave me a brief idea of Irish myths and beliefs. I could learn about Celtic Gods, heroes, tribes, and myths. I can't believe that Celtic Mythology is broad and comparatively interesting to other famous mythologies like Greek and Egyptian myths.
  
  It was a very interesting read. If you are interested in history, I recommend you this book. Loved it!
• 
  Ivy - Hearts Books.

  All Hourly History books deliver what they promise. Light reading, informative and lay a good foundation for future in depth reading. Loved reading about The Celts always been curious and this beats reading about them on Wikipedia. If you are wondering whether you should read this or not and you either want a quick recap of prior knowledge you have on them or like me - before this - just know they existed - this read will not disappoint. Happy reading!
• 
  María López Moreno

  Lectura rápida, se lee en una hora más o menos. Es una introducción a la mitología celta, muy interesante para los amantes de Irlanda y el mundo celta. Disponible para descargar gratuitamente en amazon.es versión Kindle.
  
  (Libro en inglés)
• 
  D

  It's a great starting place
  
  - Quote: The well-being of the realm was directly linked to the quality of the king.
  - Thoughts: This is a simplified and broadly encompassing research about the theme.
  It does not, nor does it intent to, tell the tales and sagas of the celt heroes and gods, it does instead tell you where to look for then and explain some of what you can look up for.
  it's a great starting place.
  ▶◀
  These are my personal opinions, you may discord, my final rating of the book is not necessarily linked to this system and may diverge from it.
  Real life research
  - Development: 4/5 stars
  - Research: 5/5 stars
  - Enjoyment: 4/5 stars
  - Writing stile: 4/5 stars
  - Translations: 5/5 stars
  - Violence level: Old religions had human sacrifice
  - Tech level: starting before the piramids of egipt until Christendom
  - Religion level: real life Druidism and Celtic beliefs
  - Main genre: Research
  - Subgenre: Religion, Lore
  - Best of it: It covers a broad array of things, it's also fast to read
  - Worst of it: It doesn't really goes deep into anything
  - Aftertaste: Thinking of those ugly Irish Uilleann pipes
  World
  - Real world (Y/N): ✓
  - Main scenario: Ireland
  Setting
  - Historical importance: 4/5 Stars
  - Historical deep: 5/5 Stars
  - Historical score: 4/5 Stars
  - Geopolitical importance: 2/5 Stars
  - Geopolitical variety: 1/5 Stars
  - Geopolitical score: 2/5 Stars
  - Setting overall score: 3/5 Stars
  - About the setting: Scottish
• 
  Virginia O'Malley

  Celtic Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Sagas and Beliefs (Kindle Edition)
  Author & Publisher: Hourly History
  
  This book is typically my type of book and is a delightful short read. I'm very interested in mythology anyways and is a subject close to my heart. I was delighted to find this free copy on Amazon, catching up on some of the best Celtic events/stories, all wonderfully captured in this book.
  
  This book is very nicely presented and written. There are also very useful additional clickable information links. There is a sign up at the end of the book for a free ebook-Friday which I'm really looking forward to. This is a wonderful incentive for history and mythology book lovers.
  
  Sections that are covered:
  The Arrival of the Tuatha dé Danann
  Hibernia
  The Main Gods of the Celtic Pantheon
  Celtic Life and Rituals
  Sources of Celtic Mythology
  The Effect of Christianity and Beliefs and Superstitions
  
  The book contains some lovely poetry but this section is my favourite:
  “Faeries, come take me out of this dull world, For I would ride with you upon the wind, Run on the top of the dishevelled tide, And dance upon the mountains like a flame.” —By William Butler Yeats, from The Land of Heart’s Desire
  
  I highly recommend this book to history, archaeology, and mythology lovers.
  
• 
  Joshua

  Be forewarned that this is not, strictly speaking, a book about Celtic mythology. While it does heavily mention it, the book suggests all sorts of practices for the reader to do, including invocations of the various deities, and makes frequent references to Wicca and Neo-Druidism, neither of which represent the actual pre-Christian Celtic pagans’ beliefs or practices.
  Furthermore, the author at one point states that Irish Gaelic is the vernacular in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of Mann. Of course, Scotland, Cornwall, and Mann mainly speak English, but the indigenous languages of all these countries, except Ireland, of course, are separate Celtic languages. This is a small detail, but it makes the author’s credibility suspect.
• 
  Douglas Brown

  Good quick guide to the the Irish legends and related links
  
  It's impossible in a small space even to scratch the surface of Irish lore. This book is quite illuminating in laying out in understandable form the 4 major eras of pre-Christian legends. It does contain some 2 dozen of the key stories in very abbreviated form and, unusual in this short format, it contains many references (including live URL links most of which remain current) to more detailed scholarly materials on the topics.
• 
  Hal Brodsky

  Pretty basic superficial outline of Irish mythology. How much is accurate I do not know, but there seem to be some major errors.
  
  Example: On the Day Christ was crucified a lead sphere from a previous battle exploded inside the brain of a Celtic king? What, a bullet? in 33 AD ?
  Example: The Celtic Language was spoken by the ancient Hebrews and arrived in the British Isles by way of Tunis and Spain. I don't think so.
  
  Still, it was a fun read with some, but not enough, entertaining stories.
• 
  Knit Spirit

  Tout est dans le titre : un guide concis sur la mythologie celtique. Lu en à peine 1h, il contient les grandes lignes d'une riche mythologie résumée en peu de choses dans ces pages.
  J'ai été pas mal déçue car je m'attendais à autre chose (c'est ma faute, j'aurais dû voir que c'était un tout petit ouvrage). Disons que c'est une bonne introduction au sujet mais si on veut en savoir plus, il va falloir se procurer un livre plus complet.
  En bref : tout est survolé.
• 
  Rebekah

  Short Overview of Celtic Mythology
  
  This is a general overview of Celtic Mythology and all that it intails. Goes ovwr somw of the more major gods and goddesses. Breaks down the types of mythology tales there are, and then how Christianity changes them.
  I like how short stories were shared as examples in different parts of the book.
• 
  M L Evans

  Concise but Irish centric
  
  A good narrative about Irish Celtic mythology but the book references the Celts across Gaul, Scotland and Wales with no reference to their mythology. I would expect that these other Celtic nations to have different mythological story lines not aligned to the Irish? A comparative narrative around these different cultures would have been beneficial.