Customer Reviews

Carmina Gadelica: Hymns & Incantations

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This collection has become a sourcebook for those interested in Celtic Christianity and even in pre-Christian ritual. I use it frequently as a reference to find out common folk themes running through Christianity on the fringe. The tradition was dying out when Carmichael chronicled it, and now the richness of imagining is preserved for future generations. If you are interested in spirituality, particular in Scotland, you must get this book!

The number of books on Celtic spirituality in the past ten years is stultifying. The inane banalities poured out in most of these books is paralleled only by the repititiousness of most of their contents.

This book, however, is the real thing. These poems were collected in the last century by Alexander Carmichael in his work in the Scottish highlands. They truly display the sense of closeness to the earth, and closeness to God, in daily life that is the hallmark of Celtic spirituality, and as expected in a collection of poems from the poor and humble, there is not a speck of pretension in any of it. The book has been a minor classic in its own field ever since it was first published, and now it is finally getting the widespread recognition it deserves.

My only regret is that this version doesn't include the Gaelic versions that Carmichael collected alongside the English translation; I believe that the original edition included these. If you're burned out on the absurdities of Celtic spirituality which are served up by the truckload nowadays, this book will give you your faith back.

This is NOT a another modern book about the ancient traditions of "Celtic Spirituality". I, for one, am extremely grateful. This is a collection of traditional prayers and incantations used by the Gaelic speakers living in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. These "poems" are simple, sparse, superstitous and incredibly beautiful. When Carmichael documented these in the 1800's, the Gaelic culture and its belief systems were quickly dying out amidst a wave of modernisation, protestantism and urban flight. These poetic artifacts are a true window on the beliefs, hopes, fears and superstitions of the pre-modern world. Many of these were used to ritualize common daily tasks. These chants find the sublime in the pedestrian, in a way that is completely devoid of self-conciousness. The poems in this collection are unique and priceless. Carmichael did a wonderful thing in preserving these gems for future generations. If you are interested in understanding the unromanticized and complicated truth of the spiritual side to Gaelic culture, this is indispensible. If not, perhaps the latest coffee table book of "Celtic Prayers" is more your speed...

I've used these prayers in personal meditations as well as sermons. The prayers reveal God's closeness in every act of every day. And the Appendix tells the story of many prayers.

As a follower of the Old Religion, I find this book a valuable glimpse into the roots and source of inspiration. It is far better and more solid scholarship than the vast bulk of modern Pagan reconstructionist writings. I'd recommend this as an essential part of a folk-spirituality book collection.