The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore (Facts on File Library of Religion and Mythology) [Hardcover]

Patricia Monaghan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Ancient Celtic peoples have made lasting contributions to current literature and culture in many parts of the world. Monaghan's 12-page introduction summarizes their possible origins, religious beliefs, languages, society, mythology, and relations with other cultures while the approximately 1000 alphabetically arranged entries describe gods, goddesses, heroes, folkloric elements, sacred sites, objects, and place names. Listings are by the most commonly accepted spelling of each item. Variant spellings often follow. Although an extensive bibliography is appended, many individual entries are followed by the bibliographic sources pertaining to them, complete down to specific pages. The well-designed index indicates each main article's page number in boldface, but also lists page numbers of related articles. This is a complex subject pieced together from Roman and Christian writings, oral traditions and archaeological artifacts, yet the author makes it comprehensible. Readers who enjoy compilations such as Joseph Jacobs's Celtic Fairy Tales (Dover, 1968) can use this encyclopedia to learn more about the interrelation of characters and the culture that created them. Students desiring illustrated narrative descriptions of Celtic culture and mythology may want to turn to Proinsias MacCana's Celtic Mythology (Peter Bedrick, 1985; o.p.) or Timothy R. Roberts's The Celts in Myth and Legend (MetroBooks, 1995).–Ann G. Brouse, Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Celtic mythology is a mystery even to the experts. Trying to sort out what is purely Celtic and what has been altered by the Greeks, Romans, and Christians is an impossible task. Trying to reconcile written records with archeological evidence is difficult if not impossible. The reader is then left with a jumble of names, stories, traditions, and places under the rubric "Celtic mythology."

This latest attempt to bring order out of chaos is an encyclopedia of approximately 1,000 entries covering individuals both mythological and quasi-historical, epics, themes, religious concepts, places, and artifacts. Irish mythology predominates, but continental Celtic figures, even those who are only a name in a local region, such as Britovius, are included.

Organized alphabetically, the entries range in size from several sentences to more than a page. Many end with a short list of sources. The work concludes with a seven-page bibliography and an index with major entries in boldface. An introduction explains Celtic history and culture and describes how the author has handled the entries, especially in regard to spelling.

Other dictionaries and encyclopedias have tackled this topic. An Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology (Contemporary, 2000) uses a thematic approach, with chapters on druids, fairies, etc. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (ABC-CLIO, 1992) uses alphabetical entries and has a bibliography but does not include sources with each entry. Another volume, Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend (Thames and Hudson, 1992), has 400 entries. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore has more entries and provides sources for many of them. In libraries with a high demand for or interest in Celtic mythology, this would be a worthwhile purchase. For libraries with moderate interest that already own one of the earlier encyclopedias or dictionaries, this would be an optional purchase. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Facts on File (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816045240
• ISBN-13: 978-0816045242
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,654,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable, March 10, 2011

By 

S. C. Lehman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore (Concise Encyclopedia) (Paperback)

I am a student of Irish folklore and have really found this book to be one of my favorites. Like another reviewer said, it is lacking in translation and some of the entries aren't as fleshed out as I would like. Maybe I overlooked these because I knew enough Gaelic to know all translations of certain words. But there were some aspects in Celtic folklore that I hadn't yet run across.

This book was able to give me a basic overview to get an idea of what I was looking at and then move on to a more in depth research of the subject. If you're looking for a perfect, all-encapsulating encyclopedia, this isn't it. But if you just want the overview on a wide variety of topics, The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore is a great starting point.

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lacking... But Worth Having, November 22, 2009

By 

Kemet Scholar "Heru-Ka" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore (Concise Encyclopedia) (Paperback)

It's bad when an author's socio-political motivations mar potentially decent scholarship. Case-in-point is the term Dub (Dubh, Dubhlinn, Dubhlin) - a term meaning 'black', 'dark'. Instead of indicating both, the author chose to define the term solely as 'dark'. Of course I questioned, why? Examining a number of references to places and characters, particularly characters, that normally are designated as 'Black' in Irish mythology and history, have now been transformed to 'dark' by the author instead. I then queried, could this be in response to the on-going discussion of the presence of 'Black' people that permeate Irish history and mythology, and an attempt to transform them instead to 'dark' White people? Also, Dubh-linn (Dublin), is now, according to the author 'Dark-pool' instead of Black-pool. What ever the case, consider another encyclopedia or dictionary on Celtic (Irish) mythology and history, in addition to this one, else run the risk of being left in the 'dark' on certain matters. See, as a better reference, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology - James Mackillop.

0 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For true Celtic lovers, December 17, 2007

By 

D. C. Wickham "Dez" (Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore (Facts on File Library of Religion and Mythology) (Hardcover)

I admittedly didn't look through it, as I bought it new for my best friend's Christmas, but it was very nice. I'd have expected it to be heavier and more geekishly school book-like but it's not, and I'm sure my friend will love it.