Celtic Myth in the 21st Century: The Gods and their Stories in a Global Perspective (New Approaches to Celtic Religion and Mythology)

This fascinating book offers twelve chapters by experts in the field of Celtic mythology—from myth and the medieval to comparative mythology and the new cosmological approach. Celtic Myth in the 21st Century offers a wide range of innovative research that leads readers on an adventure through the wonders of Celtic history: the possible use of hallucinogenic mushrooms in ancient Ireland to the mental mapping in the interpretation of the Irish legend Táin Bó Cuailgne . It also looks at the modern integration of established scholarship with new findings that have recently emerged at the Indo-European level; these developments have the potential to open up the whole field of mythology in a new way. An exciting addition to existing scholarship, Celtic Myth in the 21st Century is the first book to offer a view of Celtic mythology as the reflection of a prehistoric state that it is possible to recover through integrated cosmological enquiry. Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Preface 8 List of Illustrations 10 List of Abbreviations 12 List of Contributors 14 Introduction: Celtic Myth in the 21st Century: Jonathan M. Wooding, Series Editor 16 Section 1: Myth and the Medieval 24 1: God and Gods in the Seventh Century: Tírechán on St Patrick and King Lóegaire’s Daughters: Elizabeth Gray 26 2: Identity, Time and the Otherworld: An Observation on The Wooing Of Étaín: John Carey 38 3: The Celtic Dragon Myth Revisited: Joseph Falaky Nagy 46 4: Tory Island and Mount Errigal: Landscape Surrogates in Donegal for the Gods Balor and Lug: Brian Lacey 58 Section 2: Comparative Mythology 66 5: Ireland as Mesocosm: Grigory Bondarenko 68 6: Hunting the Deer in Celtic and Indo-European Mythological Contexts: Maxim Fomin 88 7: Gods, Poets and Entheogens: Ingesting Wisdom in Early Irish Literary Sources: Sharon Paice MacLeod 104 8: The Armorican Voyage to the Afterlife and Celtic Myths: Fañch Bihan-Gallic 122 Section 3: The new Cosmological Approach 134 9: Towards Adopting a Double Perspective on Celtic Mythology and its Prehistoric: Roots Emily Lyle 136 10: Sisters’ Sons in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi: Anna June Pagé 152 11: Fashioner Gods in Ireland and India: the Dagda and Tvaṣṭṛ: John Shaw 164 12: Psycho-Cosmology: Mental Mapping in Táin Bó Cuailnge: James Carney 178 Bibliography 194 Index 218 Back Cover 226 "[This work] offers twelve chapters by experts in the field of Celtic mythology - from myth and the medieval to comparative mythology and the new cosmological approach. Celtic Myth in the 21st Century offers a wide range of innovative research that leads readers on an adventure through the wonders of Celtic history: the possible use of hallucinogenic mushrooms in ancient Ireland to the mental mapping in the interpretation of the Irish legend Táin Bó Cuailgne. It also looks at the modern integration of established scholarship with new findings that have recently emerged at the Indo-European level; these developments have the potential to open up the whole field of mythology in a new way ... Celtic Myth in the 21st Century is the first book to offer a view of Celtic mythology as the reflection of a prehistoric state that it is possible to recover through integrated cosmological enquiry."--Provided by publisher This book explores the exciting world of Celtic mythology and demonstrates how it can be related to its prehistoric Indo-European roots.