The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries (Kindle Edition)

by W. Y. Evans-Wentz (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This is one of the most in-depth and scholarly attempts to explain the phenomena of the Celtic belief in fairies. Based on Evans-Wentz' Oxford doctoral thesis, it includes an extensive survey of the literature from many different perspectives, including folk-lore, history, anthropology and psychology. The heart of the book is the ethnographic fieldwork conducted by Evans-Wentz, an invaluable snapshot of the fairy belief system taken just on the cusp of modernity. There are regional surveys of the fairy-faith in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany and the Isle of Man. Evan-Wentz later went on to become one of the leading authorities on Buddhism, and published many of the key documents of Tibetan Buddhism including the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Evans-Wentz examines each of the hypothetical explanations of the fairy phenomena. Among these are the theories that fairies were a reclusive race of dwarfs, that they are disembodied spirits, or that they are a figment of our imaginations. Evans-Wentz concludes that they may indeed be a manifestation of inhabitants of a higher reality that only some of us are able to view, let alone understand.

We come away from this study with a multi-dimensional view of the fairies, who, much like the grey aliens of UFO belief, inhabit a narrative which seems too consistent to be the product of insanity, yet too bizarre for conventional explanation.--J.B. Hare

About the Author

About the Author:

"Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz was an anthropologist and writer who was a pioneer in the study of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and as a teenager read Madame Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine and became interested in the teachings of Theosophy. He received both his B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University, where he studied with William James and William Butler Yeats. He then studied Celtic mythology and folklore at Jesus College, Oxford (1907); there he adopted the form Evans-Wentz for his name. He travelled extensively, spending time in Mexico, Europe, and the Far East. He spent the years of the First World War in Egypt. He later travelled to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and India, reaching Darjeeling in 1919; there he enountered Tibetan religious texts firsthand.

Evans-Wentz is best known for his series of four books of spiritual works translated from the Tibetan. Evans-Wentz credited himself only as the compiler and editor of these volumes. The actual translation of the texts was performed by Tibetan Buddhists, primarily Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup (1868-1922), a teacher of English at the Maharaja's Boy's School in Gangtok, Sikkim who had also done translations for Alexandra David-Neel and Sir John Woodroffe.

The Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University has hosted The Evans-Wentz Lectureship in Asian Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics since 1969, funded by a bequest from Evans-Wentz." (Quote from wikipedia.org)

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 724 KB
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Evinity Publishing Inc; 1.0 edition (April 13, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0026FCI5W
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #69,919 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind, July 28, 2001

By	Kelly L. (www.FantasyLiterature.com) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries (Library of the Mystic Arts) (Paperback)

This book was written in the early twentieth century, and my opinion is that no faery book has yet been written to equal it. Evans-Wentz was a sophisticated scholar, and yet treated faery beliefs with the utmost of respect, and even devoted a chapter to scientific and psychological findings that render such beliefs valid. Without looking down his nose on anyone (except maybe stuffy fellow scholars who lost their imagination somewhere along the line), he reports stories of faery encounters in every Celtic nation. He interviewed great numbers of Celtic people in his travels, and collected a vast treasure trove of tales. These range from firsthand accounts to "a friend of a friend" legends to stories handed down through the generations.

After presenting a mass of information on the modern faery faith, he goes on to relate the ancient faery beliefs held by the Celts of old, as recorded in their mythology. Many pages are devoted to the adventures of CuChulainn, Arthur, Bran, and other figures who moved in and out of the Otherworld. He also discusses the Otherworld itself, the misty land where the faeries, the gods, and the dead dwelled. Especially stunning is his assertion that the Celts participated in mysteries much like those of Eleusis. The mythological evidence IS THERE, as Evans-Wentz proves. I only wish someone in those days had written something down to indicate whether or not this is true!

This is the best book ever written on the fae, IMHO. It ought to be on every Celtophile's shelf right next to Squire's _Celtic Myth and Legend_. As a matter of fact, the two books make excellent companions for one another.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not much to add, November 18, 2002

By	S. Roit - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries (Library of the Mystic Arts) (Paperback)

...to what others have said.

There is no book on this subject I have found that equals it.
This is a testament in itself, as this was first published around 1890.

Wentz was an academic, a scholar, yet in early chapters his descriptions of each area of the Isles is breathtaking. It's not dry, it's not stuffy. He spent years collecting encounters, traditions, and beliefs from the most correct source. The people themselves. This contrasts rightfully the tendancy (even more so these days with anything Celtic especially) to project things onto a culture it does not contain. No frilly, watered down, ... little creatures at your beck and call here, which is what other "authors" would have you believe.
For some, the latter chapters of this book will seem a bit dry compared to the first. Regardless of what you think of his theories, they are all intriguing, and well thought out by the author, though I agree he became a bit enchanted himself during the writing. (not a bad thing, IMO, I was enchanted as well) The collection of tales alone is worth the price. I enjoyed every page.

This should be on the shelf of anyone who says they want to learn about Faeries, Celts, and the cultures they came from.
Why read what any old outsider says? Read the words of the people who were born and raised in these cultures. They know themselves better than anyone else, no?

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Basic Book for Your Folklore Shelf, January 6, 2001

By	Skip Church "SkipChurch" (Lawrenceville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries (Library of the Mystic Arts) (Paperback)

Walter Evans-Wentz set out to write this book as his dissertation, at the dawn of academic anthropology. Along the way, he became more than a little entranced. Still, Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries is one of the best, and most important, scholarly works on the topic, and I strongly recommend it. Don't get sucked into buying a lot of phoney 'fairies-with-wings' junk. The real deal is much more interesting. Stick to Rev. Kirk, Peter Narvaez, K.M. Briggs, Sir John Rhys, and Evans-Wentz, and you'll be on the right track.