Customer Reviews

British and Irish Mythology: An Encyclopedia of Myth and Legend

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This is the most comphrensive guide I have seen of British and Celtic mytholog. It's organized like a dictonary, from Arthur to Ymir. Any myth guru will get a kick out of it!

Other authors fill big thick books full of Celtic mythology, but this seems to be a bit beyond John and Caitlin Matthews. While "British and Irish Mythology: An Encyclopedia of Myth and Legend" is handy for quick reference, it's far too scanty in its details and padded with irrelevent mythologic -- and historic -- items. Seriously, Lady Godiva?

It's set up in the format of an encyclopedia, with alphabetically arranged entries starting from Abaris and ending with Yvain (see Owain). Each entry is clearly marked with what kind of person, place, civilization or item it is, and what kind of story it stems from -- Arthurian, Irish, Scottish, Norse, Welsh, saints, Greek, genetic Celtic, and other items that pop up throughout legendary history.

Unfortunately, it's both too long and too short. Somehow John and Caitlin Matthews never go very deep into any one mythic figure -- the great King Arthur, about whom entire books are written, gets only a few paragraphs. Most gods, heroes and other figures get a short paragraph or two, and sometimes even less. It would be nice to see some details, correlations, and historical background.

At the same time, it's padded with loads of irrelevant information. A large portion of the book is made up of Norse and Grecian myth, which even the Matthewses can't give a good excuse for -- they only provide a rambling explanation about how the public's attention is probably about to shift back to Norse and Scandinavian mythology rather than Celtic. All well and good -- though it hasn't happened yet -- but it doesn't explain their presence in a book of British mythology.

And many other entries are sorely lacking. Most saints included are there less for their mythic appeal than for an excuse to snipe at Christianity's presence in Ireland and Britain, or at the "cults of popularity," such as Thomas of Canterbury. And some figures listed in here -- such as Sir Francis Drake -- stretch the very definition of "legend."

Perhaps even worse than the padding is the omissions -- the Matthewses go through the usual rounds of Irish, Scottish and generic Celtic myths, but blithely ignore some of the more obscure Celtic mythologies and legends. For example, where are the Manx, Welsh, Breton or Cornish legends? They're referenced in passing, but apparently not deserving of further research.

"British and Irish Mythology: An Encyclopedia of Myth and Legend" is handy for a quick reference as to what the Grail Question was, but pretty useless for anything deeper, and riddled with information nobody asked for.