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Post by rohan on Sept 14, 2006 20:10:11 GMT -1
Has anyone read this and if so what did you think?
Rohan
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Post by Blackbird on Sept 15, 2006 6:31:46 GMT -1
I'm sure I have it somewhere... Like all books of that date (early 1900s) ignore the history but enjoy the tales. (Sorry not to to be more specific, but it's years since I read it) I find books like that more interesting for what they tell us about the period they were written, rather than what they were writing about... if you see what I mean. There are far better introductions to the myths - Proinsias MacCana's book 'Celtic Mythology' is a good 'un and you can pick copies up quite cheaply. I also like the Rees and Rees book 'Celtic Heritage', which explores the tales theme by theme (i.e. voyages, births, marriages) which is useful. (I do find their insistence on finding parallels with Indian stuff a bit tedious, but you can ignore that  ) |
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Post by rohan on Sept 16, 2006 15:48:11 GMT -1
Mmm I think the sooner there's a Book List on the site the better off I'll be in more ways than one! Thanks Blackbird.
Rohan
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Post by Blackbird on Sept 17, 2006 12:19:56 GMT -1
There is one! Look in the articles section.
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Post by viridis on Oct 12, 2006 18:36:09 GMT -1
A bit late to this thread, but having just flicked through it its almost impossible to seperate the two! His telling of the tales tends to be a touch forced in order to mould them to his expectations of what the story ought to be about. It also shows remarkably clearly the habit of the time to try to fit the native tales into a more classical greco-roman framework. 'Classics' were good, native culture was considered uncouth -therefore as a matter of pride, the tales had to be tidied up. In some ways not a bad thing as it kept the stories more accessible than they might otherwise have been, but it does mean an awful lot got chopped out  And of course, its unfortunate that the page I opened it at referred to "Lugh the Sun God of Celtica" ... Blackbird, why don't we have smilies for 'exploding noisily all over the place'?  |
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Post by Blackbird on Oct 13, 2006 6:44:32 GMT -1
I think my copy is packed away already, I've just looked and can't find it now... Its the same problem with stuff like the Guest Mabinogion, prettied up with a few ill considered changes, such as the _Llew_ Llaw Gyffes, an attempt to graft extra symbolism onto Lleu. However, these books remain popular and accessible thanks to the internet. Both of them, and many similar tomes are available free online, while the better stuff seems sadly to have limited print runs and ends up expensive. Still, at least a new reader gets the gist of the tales, and if they are interested, can then find out more. Where I do like these books very much is in studying how 'the Celts' were perceived in later history. I really find it fascinating to see how they interpreted what they found, and how their interpretations had as much to do with their own political climate as anything... I know we're just the same, but it's harder to see when you're close to it.
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Post by viridis on Oct 13, 2006 7:54:20 GMT -1
All true - but one problem with that particular book is that nowhere in the Senate reprint - the one most widely available - is there any indication of its age. Reprinted under a slightly different title in 1994-5, you have to read the preface very closely to get any clue that it was written around a hundred years earlier. |
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Post by Blackbird on Oct 13, 2006 16:48:08 GMT -1
That's a bit naughty! I can't remember which version I have, but not the Senate one - it's a black copy with red and yellow knotwork patterns on.
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