Most people have heard of the Celts--the elusive, ancient tribal people
who resided in present-day England, Ireland, Scotland and France.
Paradoxically characterized as both barbaric and innocent, the Celts
appeal to the modern world as a symbol of a bygone era, a world
destroyed by the ambition of empire and the spread of Christianity
throughout Western Europe. Despite the pervasive cultural and literary
influence of the Celts, shockingly little is known of their way of life
and beliefs, because very few records of their stories exist. In this
book, for the first time, Philip Freeman brings together the best
stories of Celtic mythology.
Everyone today knows about the gods and heroes of the ancient Greeks,
such as Zeus, Hera, and Hercules, but how many people have heard of the
Gaulish god Lugus or the magical Welsh queen Rhiannon or the great Irish
warrior Cú Chulainn? We still thrill to the story of the Trojan War, but
the epic battles of the Irish Táin Bó Cuailgne are known only to a few.
And yet those who have read the stories of Celtic myth and legend--among
them writers like J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis--have been deeply
moved and influenced by these amazing tales, for there is nothing in the
world quite like them. In these stories a mysterious and invisible realm
of gods and spirits exists alongside and sometimes crosses over into our
own human world; fierce women warriors battle with kings and heroes, and
even the rules of time and space can be suspended. Captured in vivid
prose these shadowy figures--gods, goddesses, and heroes--come to life
for the modern reader.
