Lady With a Mead Cup: Ritual Prophecy and Lordship in the European Warband from La Tene to the Viking Age [Hardcover]

Michael J. Enright (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: Four Courts Pr Ltd (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851821880
• ISBN-13: 978-1851821884
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,551,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She was King-Maker, May 26, 2002

By 

Rede Seeker (Cincinnati, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady With a Mead Cup: Ritual Prophecy and Lordship in the European Warband from La Tene to the Viking Age (Hardcover)

Whether as Wife, Seeress, or Sovereign, the high-born lady was the king-maker for her people. No new-age wishfullment here. The Author cites archeological finds, medieval texts and histories and established cultural norms for the period under study. Her world may have been circumscribed by tradition, but within her circle she wielded considerable power. The Author also presents evidence for a stronger Celtic influence on Teutonic culture than previously accepted. A wealth of information, not for the casual reader; no titilating tales of witchcraft or Goddess worship or 'uppity women'.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource but not worth big money, September 7, 2006

By 

Andrew J. Jacob "Andrew" (MN, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lady With a Mead Cup: Ritual Prophecy and Lordship in the European Warband from La Tene to the Viking Age (Hardcover)

EDIT: This review was written when used copies were going for $1,000 or more. The current prices of ~$80 are more than worth it.

Rede Seeker's review above is dead-on. This is well researched and crucial to reconstruction of ancient European religious practices. However, it is available in pretty much any library in the world (just request it through InterLibrary Loan or your local equivalent). Plus, it only has re-reading value to serious grad students. I would pay a couple hundred dollars for it, since it is out of print, but the prices listed here recently are ridiculous. If you need the info in this book, save your thousand dollars and visit your local library.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important, nuanced, careful, February 8, 2011

By 

Christopher R. Travers "Einhverfr" (Chelan, WA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lady With a Mead Cup: Ritual Prophecy and Lordship in the European Warband from La Tene to the Viking Age (Hardcover)

In this work, Michael Enright tackles the question of the sumbel/symbel ceremony in Anglo-Saxon England and Viking-Age Scandinavia. Drawing on a comparative of Germanic historiographies, ethnographies, epics, and archaeology, as well as similar material from the Celts, he puts together a compelling picture of the role of women in forming and maintaining the war band in these cultures, with forays into weaving, magic, prophesy, and the like.

This work is exceptionally important to the understanding of Germanic and Celtic concepts of gender, contract, social order, and magic. The author's thinking is clear, and his style accessible. His attention to detail is good.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone studying this or related topics, from academics to Reconstructionist Neopagans.