THE Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland
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R E L I G IO N S AN C I E N T A N D MO D E R N TH E M Y T H OL O GY O F A N C IEN T BRIT A IN AN D IR E L AND RELIGIONS : ANCIENT AND MO DER N. ANIMI S M . W LODD Auth TI n S tor o Crealz on . By E D ARD C , or of y f A T E S . P N H I M 0 ME ALL N ON IC ON uth Tbe R elz z on o tire By JA S A S P T , A or of g f Umve rse . TH E R E L G O S F AN E T . I I N O CI N CHINA 0 in h e n i e sit G I L E LL . D . ess h n e se t By Profes sor S . Prof or of C i U v r y e of Cambridg . R THE R E L IGION OF ANCI E NT G EE CE . NE I ON Le tu e at e n h a lle e a b id e , By J A HARR S , c r r N w m Co g , C m r g ek R eli z on A uth or of Pro/ego men a to S t u dy qfGre g . IS L AM . ‘ M s h u Y M A C . I. E . la te H . t ME E AL' S E D . By A R , of Hig Co r tu e in Be n al uth Th e S irit lsla m an d TIn of J u d ica r g , A or of p qf I a m E t/ ucs of sl . E MAGIC AN D F TIS HIS M . DDO N F R S L e tu e o n E th n l at am D r A. C By . C HA , . c r r o ogy bridge Un ive rsit F A E T EGY T TH E RE L IGION NCI N P . ms F . R S . FL I N r ess . DE e . By Prof or W M RS P , B B AN D S R A THE RE L I GION OF A YL ONIA A SY I . E O I U G I NC late h e B t sh use u . B T P L . E t y H H S P H S , of ri i M m EAR L Y B U DDH IS M. e ss R DAVl LL D late Se e ta Th e R al By Prof or HYS , . cr ry of oy t t Asi a ic S oci e y. HIN D UI S M . D r L . D . B NE th e De e n t O e n tal P n te d By . AR TT , of partm of ri ri M B t u B ks an d S S . sh se u oo . ri i M m. V SCAND INA IAN R E L I GION . I LL I M A I GIE n t E d t th e Ox ord E n lish By W A . CRA , J oi i or of f g D ict xo n a R IGI N C E LTIC E O . B ess ANWYL e ss elsh at Un e lle e y Prof or , Prof or of W iv rsi ty Co g , e t th Ab rys wy . TH E YT LOGY F A E T BR TA AND RE LA D M HO O NCI N I IN I N . B L E S UI E uth TimM th olo o th e B rz tislz y CHAR S ' R , A or of y gy f Islan ds . J U DAI S M E L AB M L e tu e in Tal ud L t e atu e i By ISRA RAHA S , c r r m ic i r r n a b d e n e s uth e wish L e in 112: 'Mid l s C m ri g U iv r i A or of J if d e Agt . THE R E L G O F tyNCIE NT R E I I N O OM . I L B I L E Y M A. By CYR A , . S T THE E T RE L G O OF A HIN O . ANCI N I I N J PAN . Asr rx G o . By W. C M O THE RE L G OF A E T E' O AND E RU I ION NCI N M IC P . L e w rs S pe n ce M A By . EARLY R S T A TY CH I I NI . ' S B. S L C K f . e ss at M Gill n ty By A , Pro or U ive rsi . THE PS YCHOL OG ICA L O R IG IN AN D NATU RE OF R E L IGION . fe s L E B . By Pro s or J . H . U A TH E RE L G ON OF E T L E I I ANCI N PA STINE. S NL E A OO K By TA Y . C . TH E MY THOL OGY OF AN CIE N T BR ITAIN AND IR E L AND By C H A R L E S S ' U I R E O OO O OO O O ‘ ’ TR E MY THOL OG Y o r TH E mu r' rsn TSLAN DS LO NDON ’ C O N S T A B L E 69 C O M PA N Y L T D 1 0 OR ANGE STR EET L EICESTER S ' UAR E F O R E W O R D THI S little book does not profess in any way to su pplement the volu me u pon Celtic R eligion u already contrib ted to this series . It merely aims at calling the attention of the general reader to o u r u the mythology of own co ntry , that as yet little - known store of Celtic tradition which reflects the religious conceptions of o ur earliest articu late u ancestors . Nat rally , its limits compel the writer u bu t to dogmatise , or, at most , to to ch very briefly u u pon disp ted points , to ignore many fascinating - u u side iss es, and to refrain from p tting forward u But any s ggestions of his own . he has based his work u pon the stu dies of the leading Celtic scholars , and he believes that the reader may safely accept it as in line with the latest re C. search . S C O N T E N T S ( H AP. I L AN T E I M OLO . THE CE Ts D G H R YTH Y, I I THE GODs OF TH E O N I NEN L CE LTs . C T TA II I TH E GODs OF THE INS L E LT . U AR C s, H M HI HIS O F E L N IV . T E YT CAI. O I D T RY R A , V TH E MY THIOAL HI S O OF B I IN . T RY R TA , V I. TH E HE ROIO CLE o r ANCI EN ULS E CY T T R, TH E F N I AGAs V II. E I N O ss ANIc S A , R O , , VI I I . THE A U I N LE GEN D RTH R A , H ONOLOG IC L S Y L LAE US C R A , S EL E C E D Bo o x s BE A I NG ON E L IC M H OLOG 79 T R C T YT Y, THE MY THOLOGY OF ANCIENT BRITAIN AND IRELAND C H A P T E R I THE CE LTS AND TH E I R MY THOLOGY ’ ‘ THE Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland . This title will possibly at first sight suggest to the reader who has been brought u p to consider himself essentially an Anglo - Saxon only a few Tiw WOden u dim memories of , of , of Th nor i ( Thor) , and of Fr g, those Saxon deities who have bequ eathed to u s the names of fou r of the days of l o ur o f E n lish week . Yet the traces the g gods are u comparatively few in Britain , and are not fo nd at all in Ireland , and , at any rate , they can be better stu died in the Teu tonic countries to which they were native than in this remote ou tpost of u their infl ence . Preceding the Saxons in Britain — ‘ by many centuries were the Celts the Ancient Britons —who themselves possessed a rich myth o 1 w e sdte Od n e sdee Th u n re sd ae late Th u rre sdae g, W g, g ( r , g) , an d Fri e dae S ee e r n e s dae is ad a t e d th e L atin g g. t ( ) g p from , a l m i d S a ies . A MYTHOLOGY OF ANCIENT BRITAIN a u u logy , the tr dition of which , tho gh obsc red , has u mi e never been qu ite lost. In s ch fa liar nam s as ’ ‘ ‘ u e n L dgat , called after a legendary good ki g ’ Lu d who was once the Celtic god Llfidd ; in popu lar folk an d fairy tales ; in the stories of u but Arth r and his knights , some of whom are British divinities in disgu ise ; and in certain of o u r the wilder legends of early saints, we have fragments of the Celtic mythology handed down tenacious ly by Englishmen who had qu ite as mu ch of the Celt as of the Saxon in their blood.