The Celtic World is a detailed and comprehensive study of the Celts from the first evidence of them in the archaeological and historical record to the early post-Roman period. The strength of this volume lies in its breadth - it looks at archaeology, language, literature, towns, warfare, rural life, art, religion and myth, trade and industry, political organisations, society and technology. The Celtic World draws together material from all over pagan Celtic Europe and includes contributions from British, European and American scholars. Much of the material is new research which is previously unpublished.
The book addresses some important issues - Who were the ancient Celts? Can we speak of them as the first Europeans? In what form does the Celtic identity exist today and how does this relate to the ancient Celts?
For anyone interested in the Celts, and for students and academics alike, The Celtic World will be a valuable resource and a fascinating read.

First published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Animals played a crucial role in many aspects of Celtic life: in the economy, hunting, warfare, art, literature and religion. Such was their importance to this society, that an intimate relationship between humans and animals developed, in which the Celts believed many animals to have divine powers. In Animals in Celtic Life and Myth, Miranda Green draws on evidence from early Celtic documents, archaeology and iconography to consider the manner in which animals formed the basis of elaborate rituals and beliefs. She reveals that animals were endowed with an extremely high status, considered by the Celts as worthy of respect and admiration.

This volume is a study of the female aspect of religion both in past and present mythologies. It explores the function and nature of goddesses and their cults in many cultures, including Celtic, Roman, Norse, Caucasian and Japanese traditions. The contributors explore the reasons for the existence of so many goddesses in the mythological traditions of largely patriarchal societies. They demonstrate how, in many myths, the female deity is seen as more ambivalent than her male counterparts, curing and cursing at whim. They show goddesses do not play primarily "feminine" roles in myths; war, hunting and sovereignty being equally important aspects of their cults.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203418190

For the Celts, a rural people whose survival depended solely upon their environment, natural phenomena, the elements, and animals, especially, merited their extreme respect. The Celts made both wild and domesticated species the focus of elaborate rituals as well as the basis of profound religious beliefs. "Animals in Celtic Life and Myth" examines the intimate relationship between humans and animals, in a society in which animals were special and central to all aspects of life.
Miranda Green draws on evidence from a variety of early Celtic documents, as well as archaeology and iconography, revealing that the Celts believed many animals to be sacred, either possessing divine status in their own right or acting as mediators between gods and humans. She covers the crucial role of animals in the Celtic economy; in hunting and welfare; in Celtic art and literature; in religion and ritual. The attitude of the Celts toward animals closely connected the Celtic with the everyday: warfare was bound up with religion; the killing of animals was a ritual act; in stories, heroes talk to animals in their own language and gods change at will from human to animal form. The book covers the important period between 8 B.C. and 1 A.D., during which much of Europe, ranging from Ireland to Czechoslovakia, was turning to Christianity.
"Animals in Celtic Life and Myth" is invaluable to students of archaeology, anthropology and history, as well as to the general reader with an interest in animals.

The presence of gods was felt in every corner of the Celtic world, and influenced all areas of life in Celtic society. This fascinating book delves into these corners to examine all aspects of the gods, ritual customs, cult objects and sacred places of the ancient Celtic peoples. Miranda Green introduces the Celts and the evidence that they left behind, placing them in their geographical and chronological context, and continues on to look at Celtic cults of the sun and sky, animals and animism, mother goddesses, water gods and healers, as well as examining the influence of religion on war, death and fertility. Embracing the whole of the Celtic world from Ireland to Australia, and covering from 500 BC to AD 400, this is a rewarding overview of the evidence for Celtic religions, beliefs and practices which uses modern scholarship to bring a mysterious and captivating part of European history to life.

Sacrifice, like death, is one of the great taboos of modern society. The notion that human sacrifice, and even cannibalism, could be considered a most holy act is almost inconceivable. Yet the evidence for human sacrifice in northwest Europe, deriving from both archaeology and the testimony of Classical writers of the first centuries BC and AD, has to be confronted. Professor Green puts forward some reasons for ritual murder and shows how the multiple deposits of bog-bodies at sites like Tollund and Lindow illustrate the importance of place in the sacrificial rite. She also highlights the essential role of the priesthood in sacrificial murder.

The Concept of the Goddess explores the function and nature of goddesses and their cults in many cultures, including:
* Celtic
* Roman
* Norse
* Caucasian
* Japanese traditions.
The contributors explore the reasons for the existence of so many goddesses in the mythology of patriarchal societies and show that goddesses have also assumed more masculine roles, with war, hunting and sovereignty being equally important aspects of their cults.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415144213 EB:0203456386