Books based on Celtic Mytholgies
Nai Ying Kwok
Hi,
Just wondering if anybody could post or email stuff about what, in their
opinion, has been the best books tha have been based on Celtic
Mythology. I'll collate and post the reults back if anyone's interested.
Thanks in advance,
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Lee Ballentine
>...what, in their
>opinion, has been the best books tha have been based on Celtic
>Mythology....
How about a couple of books of (rather than based-on)?
CELTIC MYTH AND LEGEND by Charles Squire (also titled:
THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE BRITISH ISLES (1905)
and of course
THE MABINOGION (my ed. is translated by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones)
This consists of eleven tales written down between about 1300 and 1425.
Another book, which I can't seem to find in order to get the title
quite right, is approximately:
IRISH SAGAS AND FOLK TALES by (I think) Sean O'Faolin. Anyone else
out there know this book?
Lee Ballentine
pro...@csn.org
Sandra Hereld
>...what, in their
>opinion, has been the best books tha have been based on Celtic
>Mythology....
For kids books, my hands down winner is still the
Taran books by Alexander LLyoud (sp)
The Book of Three
The Black Cauldron
Castle of Llyr
Taran Wanderer
The High King
He's done others, but this series is the best.
(The Disney movie The Black Couldron was *Bad*, but not
Lloyd's fault.)
Sandy
-- We're looking for a good consumer credit counseling service
that takes Visa.
-- Dunaqui
B.A. Davis-Howe
Umm, have you read Welsh mythology? The Taran series, while great fun, is not
consistent with Welsh myth--in fact, it is dogmatically contradictory to
Welsh myth at points.
I repeat, I think the series is good--that still doesn't make it Welsh.
Merry meet, merry part, merry meet again,
Br'anArthur
Queer, Peculiar, and Wyrd! :-)
James Moore
>How about a couple of books of (rather than based-on)?
>CELTIC MYTH AND LEGEND by Charles Squire (also titled:
>THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE BRITISH ISLES (1905)
>and of course
>THE MABINOGION (my ed. is translated by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones)
>This consists of eleven tales written down between about 1300 and 1425.
The Jones and Jones translation is great if you're trying to translate
from Welsh, but the archaic language really drives me up the wall
when I just want to read the stories in English. Try these translations:
Title: The Mabinogi, and other medieval Welsh tales /
translated, with an introd., by Patrick K. Ford.
Berkeley : University of California Press, 1977.
xii, 205 p. ; 22 cm.
Notes: Bibliography: p. 30-32.
Contents: Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed.--Branwen, daughter of Llyr.--
Manawydan, son of Llyr.--Math, son of Mathonwy.--Lludd
and Lleuelys.--Culhwch and Olwen.--The tale of Gwion
Bach.--The tale of Taliesin.--Appendix: Cad goddeu.
Includes index.
Title: The Mabinogion / translated with an introduction by
Jeffrey Gantz.
Harmondsworth ; New York : Penguin, 1976.
311 p. : map ; 19 cm.
Series notes: Penguin classics.
Notes: Bibliography: p. [35]-37.
Includes index.
Also listed
under: Gantz, Jeffrey.
If you're interested in the Irish material, the best place to start is
probably:
Title: Early Irish myths and sagas / translated with an introduction and
notes by Jeffrey Gantz. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England ; New
York, N.Y. : Penguin, 1981.
Description: vi, 280 p. : map ; 19 cm.
Series: Penguin classics.
Notes: Includes index.
Bibliography: p. 28-31.
Subjects: Epic literature, Irish -- Translations into English.
Epic literature, English -- Translations from Irish.
--
James Moore /|\ ja...@wrs.com
Wind River Systems \|/ Alameda, California
"Half of what he said meant something else, and the other half
didn't mean anything at all"
James Moore
>The Taran series, while great fun, is not
>consistent with Welsh myth--in fact, it is dogmatically contradictory to
>Welsh myth at points.
>I repeat, I think the series is good--that still doesn't make it Welsh.
Would you accept "strongly flavoured and accented with Welsh
traditions?" The Chronicles of Prydain are certainly not a retelling
of the Mabinogi, but they certainly borrowed heavily. For example,
the "cauldron-born" aren't something that you find in the original
materials, but in Branwen Daughter of Llyr you do find an Irish
cauldron that has the power to restore life to the dead. And Arawn
exists in the original stories (again, in Branwen) as the lord of the
otherworld, although not as the leader leader of the forces of
darkness that he is in the Chronicles.
Lee Ballentine
>lee...@teal.csn.org (Lee Ballentine) writes:
>>THE MABINOGION (my ed. is translated by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones)
>>This consists of eleven tales written down between about 1300 and 1425.
>The Jones and Jones translation is great if you're trying to translate
>from Welsh, but the archaic language really drives me up the wall
>when I just want to read the stories in English. Try these translations:
>
> Title: The Mabinogi, and other medieval Welsh tales /
> translated, with an introd., by Patrick K. Ford.
> Berkeley : University of California Press, 1977.
> xii, 205 p. ; 22 cm.
Sounds great... I'll try to find this.
Meanwhile, I unearthed another Irish epic in translation:
THE TAIN, translated by the poet Thomas Kinsella. THE TAIN or The Cattle
Raid (actually Tain Bo Cuailnge). This telling is compiled in part from
fragmentary text contained in the oldest of the principal Irish medieval
manuscripts: the 12th century BOOK OF THE DUN COW (Lebor na hUidre), and
in part from the later, 14th century manuscript THE YELLOW BOOK OF LECAN.
My paperback edition is Oxford University Press, 1969, reprinted 1979.
Tasty maps too, showing the scenes of the action.
Contemporary retellings can be entertaining, but there's no substitute
for the real thing.
Lee Ballentine
pro...@csn.org
James Moore
Author: Cross, Tom Peete, 1879-1951.
Title: Ancient Irish tales, edited by Tom Peete Cross and Clark
Harris Slover.
New York, H. Holt [c1936].
viii, 609 p. front., pl., double map, fold. geneal tab.
23 cm.
Subjects: Tales,--Irish.
Also listed
under: Slover, Clark Harris.
Kharanth elMorak
weekend), but Steven Lawhead has written (IMO) some good books, Arthur,
Merlin and one other whose name escapes me.
--
Martin N. Steed You may be a king, Or a little street sweeper,
But sooner or later, You dance with the Reaper.
JANET: cs...@uk.ac.keele.seq1 -The Grim Reaper,
Internet: cs...@seq1.keele.ac.uk Bill & Teds Bogus Journey.
jerry cullingford
"I don't know oif they've been mentioned already (our news feed died over the
"weekend), but Steven Lawhead has written (IMO) some good books, Arthur,
"Merlin and one other whose name escapes me.
Taliesin. (I think :-) ).
--
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| Jerry Cullingford #include <std.disclaimer> +44 442 230000 | ,-|--
| j...@crosfield.co.uk (was j...@cel.co.uk) or j...@cel.uucp x3868 | \_|__
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+ \___/
Kharanth elMorak
> In article <29...@keele.keele.ac.uk> cs...@seq1.keele.ac.uk (Kharanth elMorak) writes:
> "I don't know oif they've been mentioned already (our news feed died over the
> "weekend), but Steven Lawhead has written (IMO) some good books, Arthur,
> "Merlin and one other whose name escapes me.
>
> Taliesin. (I think :-) ).
Yep thats the one.
Anyone read any of Steven lawheads stuff, like is other trilogy, and Empyrion?
Richard Patrick
Kat Patrick using account rpat...@plex-1.ann-arbor.mi.us
Stephen Hardy
As no one else as seen fit to mention it, I was wondering
how many people have read Lawhead's new one,
_The Paradise War_ which IMHO is totally brilliant.
Every time he writes a book he gets better. I thought the
Dragon King (??) trilogy was a waste of paper, but
Empyrion_ was much better, and then the _Pendragon Cycle_
was truly worth reading. Still, the quality has jumped once again
in his latest book, so if you weren't impressed with his others
give this one a try. (Once again set amongst Celtic Mythology
though this time, not Christianized.)
Cheers
Steve.
Stephen Hardy
ste...@aerodec.anu.edu.au