Celtic Books

These tapes ARE the welcome companion to the print ed. _Teach Yourself Gaelic_ (by Robertson & Taylor, c1993, 2003,) with the same "heather" cover. Becasue most Scottish Gaelic texts don't give a hint to the pronunciation, which does not resemble the spelling of the words, the tapes are a must.

(I believe there is an error above. This is NOT by Roderick Mackinnon in this iteration & not a companion to Gaelic, by Roderick Mackinnon.)

Caveat: Both books _Teach yourself Gaelic_ by Robertson & Taylor, & _Gaelic_ by Roderick Mackinnon are Scottish Gaidhlig (not Irish Gaeilge.) Also Mackinnon does include pronunciation guide for each of the vocabulary words.

Discusses the common names of the "celtic" breeds of dogs, complete with pronunciation "crash course" regarding the gaelic language. Very thorough, very fun attitude.

I have been many books out with Auld Scots sayings and proverbs, but I think this is the best one I have come across. Has the Gaelic saying, then the English, often with comparison to other languages that are very similar. Index for quick reference. A lot of the phrases I have naturally seen elsewhere, but no books has so many and presented in such a excellent fashion.

I enjoyed this book immensely. The history involves
life in Scotland when many felt forced to leave as
well as life in Nova Scotia where the poet settled.
There is also some genealogical information. The last
part of the book contains many examples of his poetry.
It is a well written book.

The Galatian language has been dead for over 1500 years and remains of it are hard to find. But the author of this book has done a marvellous job in sifting through a vast array of inscriptions and arcane literary sources to recover what few elements survive. This is not a book for the average casual reader, but for scholars interested in the ancient Celtic languages, the process of cultural assimilation in the ancient world, or the cultural background to St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, it is an essential text. And certainly few other people aside from the author would have the varied skills necessary to produce this book: knowledge of Greek, Latin, Celtic languages, epigraphy, linguistics, as well as ancient history.

After reading the book I would have to say it is very inspirational. You realy should buy this book

As an Irish woman living in the US I found this an accurate if somewhat tongue-in- cheek guide to English as it is spoken on the Emerald Isle. It brought me right back home and I enjoyed every page. Laughing at ouselves is one of the best Irish traits and this book does it beautifully while still remaining accurate and providing useful information on phrases in common use in Ireland. It literally provides translations when necessary and explores the social context and understandings of the spoken word. An enjoyable and useful read for anyone who knows Ireland, native or visitor or anyone who ever hopes to go there .

As a lampworker and historical re-enactor, I found this book to be a great reference. The major portion of the book consists of maps, graphs and descriptive text covering the locations/dates of the finds, techniques used to make the beads, and drawings of the various bead classifications. For my purposes, however, the many pages of color photos are invaluable. Most of the photos have a size reference, and many show multiple angles of the same bead. This has allowed me to replicate several of the beads for use in my medieval re-enactments.

I love this book! It's a wonderful blend of information and ways of connecting with the Goddesses of the Norse and Celtic pantheons. Skye has a great writing style...knowledgeable, sassy and light.

Love the parts about the Welsh Goddesses!

Bendithion Afallon Michelle!

God and Heroes of the Celts is an excellent, approachable, rich text that provides a wonderful introduction to ancient Celtic myth, religion, and culture. Sjoestedt discusses the traits of Celtic mythology, the Gods of the Continental Celts, the Mother-Goddess concept (in Ireland specifically), the concept of the Chieftain God, the relationship between the physical and mythical/spiritual world, and the role of the hero within and the hero outside of the tribe. These topic selections cover a great deal of important concepts in ancient Celtic mythology and society, and while the chapters aren't very long, Sjoestedt makes clear and important arguments that are easy to read without being innately obvious or insignificant. My only regret about this book was the length: I wish it had been longer, covered more subjects, and contained more depth (such as contradictions within the myths and more information of the various Gods and Goddess [or God/Goddess types]). Nonetheless, this is a readable, accurate, useful introduction to ancient Celtic religion, and I highly recommend it to the curious reader both as a good read and as a lead-in to further study.

Perhaps the best part about this book is its approachability. The shortness of the text and strength of the arguments could make for a dense, difficult text, but instead Gods and Heroes of the Celts is easy to follow while still containing well-reasoned, strong arguments about the nature of Celtic belief and mythology. The best books on ancient Celtic religion are generally academic texts that can make for difficult reading, and so this text serves a necessary function by introducing the topic and indicating key themes in a way that is accessible to even the newest readers. Despite its place as an introductory text, Gods and Heroes of the Celts isn't basic or obvious: rather, Sjoestedt digs through popular misconceptions and Mediterraneans/Greco-Roman interpretations of Celtic religion in order to make arguments that are informed, accurate, and based in Celtic mythology and culture.

The arguments themselves make up some of the underlying features of an academic, uncontaminated approach to ancient Celtic religion. The concept of the Mother-Goddess is related to the earth and so to natural earth cycles, both creative and destructive; the Chieftain God is related to the Tribe, which must both overcome and work in tandem with the Earth; the heroes are divided into opposing but non-contradictory concepts of of intra- and extra-tribalism; etc. These arguments draw connections between and help make sense of the wide breadth of Celtic myth. Sjoestedt also explains the danger of some previous, popular, faulty interpretations of Celtic myth which interpret Celtic gods from a Greco-Roman viewpoint by either misinterpreting or simplifying gods and goddesses into roles such a sun gods and moon goddesses or else which interpret contradictions as errors and try to reconcile and simplify concepts such as this world v. the Otherworld and the tribal hero v. the non-tribal hero. As such, Sjoestedt's arguments are helpful both by introducing useful, accurate interpretation and by warning the reader away from inaccurate interpretations.

All in all, I very highly recommend this book. I enjoyed reading it and, at such a manageable length, expect to reread it at a later date for a refresher on Sjoestedt's arguments. It is approachable, enjoyable to read, a good introduction and useful guidance (both towards accurate arguments and away from inaccurate ones) and well researched. The translation that I read (the Turtle Island Foundation edition translated by Myles Dillon) seemed to me to be very good: easy to read, and the language felt natural. If ancient Celtic religion interests you, definitely pick up a copy of this book: it's inexpensive, useful, and very easy to read. Your research shouldn't stop here, because the length prevents Sjoestedt from covering a wide breadth of topics or going into great depth, but it is a good read and a great introduction.