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CELTIC HERITAGE PA Paperback – May 17, 1989

by Alwyn Rees (Author), Brinley Rees

4.6 75 ratings

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In this widely acclaimed study, Alwyn and Brinley Ress reinterpret Celtic tradition in the light of advances made in the comparative study of religion, mythology and anthropology. Part One considers the distinguishing features of the various Cycle of tales and the personages who figure most prominently in them. Part Two reveals the cosmological framework within which the action of the tales takes place. Part Three consists of a discussion of the themes of certain classes of stories which tell of Conceptions and Births, Supernatural Adventures, Courtships and Marriages, Violent Deaths and Voyages to the Other World, and an attempt is made to understand their religious function and glimpse their transcendent meaning.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thames & Hudson; Revised ed. edition (May 17, 1989)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 430 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0500270392
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0500270394
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.21 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 1.1 x 8.2 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,080,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,066 in Mythology (Books)
- #2,644 in Folklore & Mythology Studies
- #37,007 in United States History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 75 ratings

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Alwyn Rees
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4.6 out of 5

75 global ratings

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Kp

A good read on history

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2019

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I was looking for a book more geared towards children, this is not. I am glad i got it though. It's a great study on Celtic mythology. I'm still going to read it with my son though it may have to wait until he's at least 2 lol

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M. Graham

Excellent resource for Celtic Studies

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2017

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Reprint of the 1961 classic by the Rees brothers on Celtic Heritage vis-a-vis storytelling and culture among the Celtic people. Scholarly and intended (at least in my case) for class participation and study. I'd forgotten what a lovely book this is to read, despite being a scholarly work. Very happy with the product and getting it faster (giving me more time to prepare for class) is a bonus.

6 people found this helpful

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James E. Slaven Jr.

Great book on Celtic myths

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2014

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Excellent writing and I loved how they looked at Celtic myths through multiple culture lenses. Organized well, too, by myth and time periods.

One person found this helpful

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Ayl

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2014

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Great book, if you're only going to start with one book on the topic, try this one.

One person found this helpful

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Charles H.

Very interesting, if a tad inaccessible.

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2012

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As the name might hint, this book is about Celtic mythology is it relates to the religious practices ancient Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It contains a lot of insights, but those insights all but require a good understanding of the mythology to really understand. The author's do their best to explain everything in such a manner that a complete laymen can pick it up and understand, but the sheer amount of material surely makes it difficult.

At any rate, it's a very nice little book. I enjoyed it. :)

4 people found this helpful

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Raelene Thomas

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2015

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Scholarly, well-researched.

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2010

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It does a good job on showing the similarities of Irish, Welsh and Indian mythology and social groups.

One person found this helpful

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Juushika

An in-depth study of Celtic myths, religion, and culture. Dense but readable, with too much comparativestudy. Highly recommended

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2006

Celtic Heritage is an in-depth study of the myths of Ireland and Whales, interpreting the myths, identifying key themes, and determining the impact of pre-Christiain Celtic society on the myths. The Rees brothers provide an overview of the branches of Irish and Welsh mythology, explore themes such as darkness and light, creation stories, hierarchy, religious/cultural centers, and the use of numbers as they appear in the myth and therefore as the influenced Celtic society, and then analyze the aspects of the different kind of stories, including births, wooings, adventures, and deaths, that make up the Irish and Welsh myths. Their analysis closely follows the original texts and shows a great deal of research into Celtic history and ancient culture. Ultimately, by working backward from the myths and using archaeological and cultural research as a guide, they are able to draw conclusions about the pre-Christian Celtic society itself: structure, beliefs, and practices. It is a scholarly text and can be dense and difficult to read it at times; there are also too many comparisons made to Indian religion, and the Reeses are to willing to use these comparative studies to imply or infer parts of Celtic religion and mythical interpretation. However, on the whole this is a scholarly, in-depth, eye opening book with useful information and brilliant, logical analysis. I highly recommend it. If you're having trouble finding a copy, college libraries seem to stock this book fairly consistently.

No doubt about it, Celtic Heritage is a dense scholarly text. The myths they draw on are complex and contradictory, our cultural knowledge is limited and requires explanation, and the conclusions that that the authors draw come from significant research and analysis. As a result, this can be a challenging, time-consuming read. However, don't let the book's complexities prevent you from reading it: the Rees brothers are fairly talented writers and bring a lot of clarity to these complex subjects, and the more you read of it the more familiar you will become with the myths and Celtic culture and the easier the book will be to understand. Furthermore, the information within this book is more than valuable enough to spend the time and energy to follow the analysis and unpack the text. The book is not as difficult to read as it may seem. Give it the time and thought that it deserves, and you'll learn a lot from it.

More than its denseness, the real problem with this book is the frequent comparisons between Celtic and Indian myth and culture. Comparative religious studies is a double-edged sword: comparing similar religions may provide new depth and fill in gaps of our knowledge about both religions, but we run the risk of assuming that one similarity always indicates another. In the study of polytheistic religions, the differences are often as important, if not more important, than the similarities. Indian religion, myths, practices, and gods may share a number of similarities to Celtic religion, and some of the Indian references provided by the Rees brothers puts Celtic aspects in context or allows us to make assumptions where there is a gap in our knowledge, but they rely too heavily on using the Indian religion for this purpose. It is brought up multiple times a chapter, and the authors never remind the audience about the dangers of assuming that the Celtic and Indian religions are identical.

Nonetheless, this is a superb text. Rather than stating their conclusions as dry fact, the Rees brothers walk the reader through their evidence and analysis; the conclusions themselves are logical and incredibly useful for interpreting Celtic myth and understanding Celtic culture. The authors fully explore concepts such as the self-contradictory, inverted, asocietal nature of the otherworld, the conception of directions and cultural centers which place the here and now as a cardinal but hidden direction, and the use of culturally and religiously significant numbers which are often important multiples (4x2, 3x4, etc) plus one. For the dedicated Celtic scholar, this is an invaluable, interesting, useful text. I highly recommend it to those interested in Celtic myth and religion--not just the stories, but also the meaning found within them. This is a book worth reading careful, buying, and coming back to again.

14 people found this helpful

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