For fifteen centuries, legends of King Arthur have inspired generations. In the misty past of a Britain under siege, half-remembered events became shrouded in ancient myth and folklore. The resulting tales were told and retold, until over time Arthur, Camelot, Avalon, the Round Table, the Holy Grail, Excalibur, Lancelot and Guinevere all became instantly recognizable icons. Along the way, Arthur's life and times were recast in the mould of the hero's journey: his miraculous conception at Tintagel through the magical intercession of his shaman guide, Merlin; the childhood deed of pulling the Sword from the Stone through which Arthur was anointed King; the Quest for the Holy Grail, the most sacred object in Christendom; the betrayal of Arthur by his wife and champion; and the apocalyptic battle between Good and Evil, ending with Arthur's journey to the Otherworld. Arthur: God and Hero in Avalon views Arthur in terms of comparative mythology, and argues that the Once and Future King remains relevant because his story speaks so eloquently about universal human needs and anxieties. The book discusses the tales of King Arthur, from the very earliest versions to the most recent film and television adaptations, and offers readers an insight into why Arthur remains so popular.

Reveals how the ancient Celtic text of the "Mabinogion" was the mythical predecessor to the legends of King Arthur.

- Revised edition of "Arthur and the Sovereignty of Britain" (UK) that includes the author's latest research and insights.

- A comprehensive reader's companion with synopsis of stories and full commentary.

- Written by renowned scholar Caitlin Matthews, author of "The Celtic Wisdom Tarot" (15,000 sold).

The ancient Celtic stories of the "Mabinogion" have received universal recognition from scholars as both sources of the Arthurian legend and keys to insights into the ancient magic of the Celtic Otherworld. Now renowned Celtic scholar Caitlin Matthews, drawing on a full range of medieval texts and ancient Welsh writings, provides a fully revised and updated reader's guide to these rich and far-reaching tales.

In "King Arthur and the Goddess of the Land," Matthews sheds particular light on Sovereignty, the Goddess of the sacred land of Britain, and the spiritual principle of the Divine Feminine. Clearly revealed are the many alternate forms taken by the Goddess of the Land--including her incarnation as Morgan of Avalon, who plays a dominant role in the Arthurian cycle. Also established are links between the legendary characters of the Mabinogion and their counterparts in other living myths of the Western world. Through the marriage of the Celtic kings to the Goddess of the Land, the sacred contract between political rulership and responsibility for the land's well-being is dramatically revealed. In King Arthur and the Goddess of the Land, Matthews once again articulates definitively the continuing relevance of ancient Celtic thought and belief as illustratedin the powerful myths and legends of ancient Britain.

Celtic tradition is at the heart of many aspects of popular modern pagan paths, and this book brings those aspects together to explore the relevance of a 2000-year-old culture in modern-day society. A Modern Celt looks at the Tuatha de Danaan, who they were and their continuing relevance in the 21st century. It looks at several of the key figures and the legends surrounding them, and considers how they relate to real life, everyday events, and the power they can lend us to deal with our own problems. The wheel of the year brings Celtic festivals and a modern calendar together, and these corner posts of the year help us understand the world as something that existed long before humans arrived, and hopefully will continue to exist long after we are gone. A Modern Celt considers some of the things we do to try and preserve it, and how these can be inspired by our Celtic roots. With musings from members of Celtic paths about why they feel such a tie to their Celtic ancestry, A Modern Celt paints a picture of an ancient world, alive and thriving today.

The Mary of the Celts is essential reading for anyone interested in the reality of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Celtic spirituality. The book explores themes and images associated with the Annunciation, Nativity, Crucifixion, and Assumption, as also the Blessed Virgin's Joys and Sorrows, through a detailed study of poetry on Mary from the Celtic regions of medieval Britain and Ireland. There are haunting images such as the Blessed Virgin Mary as daughter of her Son and as the chamber of the Trinity, with her virginity remaining as unstained and pure as glass pierced by a beam of light, as well as references to popular apocryphal legends, including those of the Instantaneous Harvest that grew while Mary and her child were fleeing into Egypt from Herod's men, and of the girdle thrown down by the Virgin to St Thomas at the Assumption. Amongst the many poets encountered are Muiredeach Albanach, a thirteenth-century Irishman who established a dynasty of poets in the Western Isles of Scotland, and his Welsh contemporary Brother Madog ap Gwallter, whose poem on Mary and her child at Bethlehem has been praised for a Franciscan simplicity and freshness. Taking the original verse in Middle and Early Modern Irish, Middle Welsh, and Middle Cornish (from medieval Cornish drama), Andrew Breeze relates their characteristic images to patristic material, other vernacular poetry (especially in Old and Middle English), Latin hymns, and medieval painting and sculpture. Indeed, The Mary of the Celts has been written as a guide to Marian iconography. It will be useful for students of medieval European literature and art, as well as for specialists in early Irish and Welsh, all of whom will find in it much that is new. It should make readers aware of the wealth of Marian material to be found in Celtic Ireland and Britain, not all of which has had the attention it deserves beyond the Celtic lands. In reviewing Andrew Breeze's Medieval Welsh Literature, Dr Jerry Hunter of the University of Wales wrote in The Times Literary Supplement, 'he has succeeded where generations of scholars have failed'. The Mary of the Celts is likely to have a similar warm welcome from all those concerned with the Marian devotion of the Middle Ages in the Celtic lands and beyond. Dr Andrew Breeze (b. 1954), FSA, FRHistS, was educated at Sir Roger Manwood's Grammar School and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Married with six children, he has been lecturer in English since 1987 at the University of Navarre, Pamplona. Besides numerous research papers on philology, he is the author of the controversial study Medieval Welsh Literature (Dublin, 1997) and co-author with Professor Richard Coates of Celtic Voices, English Places (Stamford, 2000).

Attuned to the movements of nature, the Celts understood that all things are connected, and they "divined" answers to their queries as well as what the future holds from the animals, plants, the winds, and the seasons. Trees and animals had particular knowledge of past, present, and future. Through natural methods of divination, bards, healers, soothsayers, and holy women and men gained powers to see into the unseen. Stories and legends of their powers were told and retold, transmitting an enormous store of wisdom across the generations. In this oracle deck and guidebook, Rosemarie Anderson interprets Celtic myths and legends to create an oracle system of 64 cards featuring symbols from the ancient Celtic ways of knowing. The symbols represent three thousand years of Celtic culture and history, derived from archaeological excavations of Bronze and Iron Age Celtic sites throughout Europe and from the myths, folktales, and faery traditions still flourishing in rural Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The symbols of the cards represent cauldrons, spirals, leprechauns, faeries, animals, trees, the wondrous child (Cu Chulainn), the Sacred King, Cernunnos (the antlered god), the Morrigan (the raven goddess), Tir na nog (the Blessed Isles), and other imagery and figures from Celtic lore. The accompanying guidebook explores the meaning, symbology, and mythic background for each card, such as how the Triple-Mother Goddess (Card 1) represents magnificence and the primal goddess in all her aspects--maiden, mother, and crone. The guidebook also explores the Celtic worldview, the basic principles of Celtic divination, as well as how to use the oracle to receive answers to specific questions. Conveying the power and wisdom of the ancient Celtic ways of knowing, this oracle offers a hands-on way to gain insight into the hidden forces at play in our lives.