The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture [Paperback]

Jean Markale (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1993

While historians have tended to accord the Celts a place of minor significance in comparison to the Romans, The Celts firmly aligns the Celtic peoples as the primary European precedent to the Greco-Roman hegemony, restoring this culture to its true importance in the development of European civilization. An expert in Celtic studies, Markale regards myth as a branch of history, and explores mythological material to reveal the culture that gave rise to it. The alternative historical vision that emerges is both convincing and exciting.

• One of the most comprehensive treatments of Celtic civilization ever written.

• A cornerstone of Western civilization and the major source of its social, political, and literary values, Celtic civilization occupied the whole of Western Europe for more than a millennium.

• Unlike the Middle Eastern forerunners of the Greco-Roman world, Celtic civilization is still alive today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A comprehensive study of European culture that traces the shamanic, mythical, and spiritual traditions of the Western world to their roots in Celtic civilization."
(

Parabola

)

Language Notes

Text: English
Original Language: French

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions; First American Edition edition (April 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892814136
• ISBN-13: 978-0892814138
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #942,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of Gaulish Celts, October 26, 2005

By 

Siobhan Olaoghaire Sannes "Art Does Not Apolo... (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture (Paperback)

I have a strange liking for books by Jean Markale. No matter what strange tangents my spiritual/historical leads me on, Arthurian, Celtic, Cathars, Jean Markale seems to have a book on it. On some weird level, he and I must think and wonder in the same ways and so I find his books fascinating.

One thing to note about Markale that you should remember before reading him and that is he is described as a poet, philosopher, historian and storyteller and this must be kept in mind when reading him. His scholarship seems good, but his creative mind takes him places that no strict historian would travel. Nonetheless, he is a good read and a writer that makes you think with his very intelligent style of writing.

That being said, I enjoyed this book for its somewhat Gaulish focus on Celtic deities, worship and history (and the subject seems to be prioritized in that order). This book is one of many of Markale's great tomes.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the power of myth, July 11, 2003

By 

AE (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture (Paperback)

It seems that the quest of this book by Markale is to explain the Celts through the power of their myths. Noble goal, indeed, and Markale succeeds in describing the history and the emmense influence the Celts had on Western Europe...even by today's standards.... a great deal of which he does by recalling mythical incidents. His history, as always, is nearly flawless, unbias, and interesting.

But I got somewhat bored with Markale's constant comparisons of Celtic myth figures to Biblical and Greco-Roman figures. Back in the days of Charles Squire this may have been necissary, but I found it tedious in this work. Not just tedious, but irrelevant and not slightly irritating.

If you can get past the many subtle personal commentary and criticism, the work has great merit. Markale is a notable historian and I especially recommend his work "The Druids".

25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps the worst book on the Celts I have ever read, April 5, 2005

By 

Hallstatt Prince (MA. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture (Paperback)

Overly pedantic yet having sparse foot notes the author makes many statements without backing them up with their sources and the material noted in the bibliography is woefully outdated.
It is not only overly pompous but reads as though it written by someone with their own personal ax to grind. And when the author trys to present factual material many of what is presented as fact runs contrary to other Celtic scholars whose credentials are far more extensive. (such as the reasons for the Saxon invasions, and when the author describes the Saxon invasion of Britain there is never again a mention of the Romans).
Ancient Celtic art, my humble opinion some of the most beautiful art mankind has ever created, is both barely mentioned and when it is disparaged. The Hallstatt period is barely mentioned and when it is the dates of the period are wrong! (this is both important and basic information).
And yet there are many "sins of omission" of factual material. There is too much time spent on myth while barely skimming the surface when it comes to archeological evidence as well as classical Mediterranean sources.
There is also a great amount of picking and choosing by the author such as concentrating on just several tribes and forgetting the rest.
A great amount of arcane history is detailed in some parts whereas other significant parts of the history of the Celts are totally neglected. The book is a mess as it jumps around from Freud to Jung to ancient Greek philosophers (even Cocteau is brought into the mix) and wastes much time on dubious philosophical musings and half baked psychological interpretations by the author.
It reads as both being bombastically scholarly yet smacks of New Age philosophy.
Not recommended - especially for the beginner.