This book was something of an unexpected purchase. I simply passed it in the bookstore, picked it up, and decided that I wanted to read it. Fortunately, it has been deemed worthy to find its place in the canon of "The Barnes and Noble Library of Essential Reading," so this particular copy was very reasonably priced. (Even the Dover version was more expensive, and that's saying something.) Barnes and Noble got it right this time, though, as Celtic Myths and Legends turned out to be a great book.
I'm usually a little suspicious of anthologized mythologies, especially those of the Celtic variety. The problem is that so much has now been labeled Celtic it can be difficult to weed through the good and the bad. What makes this book different is that the author was genuinely a scholar of Celtic myths and legends, and this particular volume has become a legend in itself. Rolleston was born in the mid-1800s and became a leading figure in the Irish Literary Revival movement of the early twentieth century. (Think Yeats and "Easter, 1916" for a frame of reference). Even Yeats liked Rolleston and greatly admired his work, although the two did not see eye-to-eye on how to fully revive Irish literature and language. But Rolleston received great acclaim for his scholarship and for the care he put into this book. It is nicely divided up so that the first two chapters are a description of the ancient Celts and what little we know of their religion. (Some of Rolleston's ideas seem like pure speculation, but he deserves credit for presenting some fascinating ideas.) The third chapter explains the Irish invasion myths, as in how the Celts arrived in Ireland to begin with, while the fourth tells about the myths of the Milesian kings. And then Rolleston gets into the famed Ultonian and Ossianic Cycles, detailing the most famous stories and mentioning a few less famous ones that are equally as interesting. He concludes the book with a look at another group of Celtic tales, those of the Cymry (the Welsh). These have a different flavor altogether and make a refreshing change from the Irish tales, while also reminding readers that there is more to the Celts than just Ireland.
What I liked the most about this book is that Rolleston does not simply dump an enormous group of myths on the reader. He selects stories and then takes the time to suggest the meaning of them. While some people may not like this, I found it very helpful in establishing a context. Rolleston also keeps up a dialogue with the reader along the way, pointing out qualities that come up again and again and reminding readers about certain features that shaped Celtic mythology. This is where the discussion about Celtic history and religion proves to be helpful. While it may not seem interesting that the Celts worshipped rocks and stones, it becomes very significant when one considers that in the earliest legends of Arthur (Welsh in origin), the holy grail was probably a stone and later a cauldron. As the stories made their way to the continent and thus to the Christianization of Chretien de Troyes, this stone/cauldron was transformed into the cup of the Eucharist. Also bear in mind that the Scottish kings have traditionally been crowned on the Stone of Scone, or the Stone of Destiny. Rolleston is very helpful in bringing all of these points together.
The greatest challenge in reading the stories is probably in sorting through all the names and characters. Irish and Welsh are very foreign to English ears, so the names don't quite roll off the tongue in the same way. Names like Cuchulain, Oisin, and Aine in Irish, and Evnissyen, Llwyd, and Pryderi in Welsh are simply a challenge to pronounce, much less remember. But despite the difficulty, the stories themselves shine through with all of the wonderful brightness and complexity that marked the Celtic peoples. They are simultaneously earthy and ethereal, a reminder of how the Celts have traditionally believed that just beyond the natural world is the Land of Youth, or the world of Faerie. It seems a little silly to our modern sensibilities, but in reading these stories you gain an understanding of how integral this concept was and how much it shaped the personalities of the Celts over the centuries. Anyone who has seen Mairead Nesbitt play the fiddle is tempted to say that she just danced out of Faerie and that she doesn't quite belong in the natural world. There is something about the Celts even today that sets them apart and continues to amaze us.
Those who are hoping that these stories will have hints of Christian ideals and godly characters will be very disappointed. These are very much the product of pagan minds. But part of the charm in these Celtic myths is that they give us a glimpse into the past, of a world that once existed and of the people who inhabited it. Some of the stories are downright amazing, especially when one considers the role of women and the fact that they were viewed very much as equals to men in the Celtic mind. No one can read about the formidable yet fascinating Maev and not be impressed.
A big thumbs-up for Celtic Myths and Legends. It is just over 300 pages, so it is a pretty quick read, and Rolleston is wise enough to keep it going and not bog the reader down with extremely lengthy tales. This is not an all-inclusive book, however, so it should be considered more of an introduction than anything else. It won't provide a complete listing of all stories from the mythologies, but it will offer a tempting taste. And while I wouldn't consider it "essential reading" for everyone, I would argue that the majority of people would greatly enjoy this collection of tales.
