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Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations Paperback – September 1, 1994

by Alexander Carmichael (Compiler), John MacInnes (Introduction)

76 ratings

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The Carmina Gadelica is the most comprehensive collection of poems and prayers from the Gaelic tradition of oral poetry. Gathered by Alexander Carmichael, in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, 'from Arran to Caithness, from Perth to St. Kilda'. The poems had been handed down through the generations in a living oral tradition. This tradition and the way of life which sustained it have now disappeared but these poems and prayers live on to remind us of the faith of the unknown poets who composed them.

Previously only available as a bilingual text in six volumes, this one-volume edition in English only is an important contribution to the wider awareness of Celtic literature. John MacInnes' introduction puts the poems in the context of the life and folklore of the Gaelic community.

Print length

687 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Floris Books
Publication date

September 1, 1994
Dimensions

6.2 x 1.8 x 9.1 inches
ISBN-10

0863155200
ISBN-13

978-0863155208
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is a beautiful book... to have for quiet moments and to use for teaching.'
–Yoga Scotland"

About the Author

Alexander Carmichael was born in 1832 on the island of Lismore. His work as a civil servant took him all over the Scottish Highlands and the Hebrides. During his travels he recorded these poems and prayers. Two volumes of the collection appeared before his death in 1912. The remaining volumes appeared later, edited by his daughter and grandson.

Product details

Publisher : Floris Books; Revised edition (September 1, 1994)
Language : English
Paperback : 687 pages
ISBN-10 : 0863155200
ISBN-13 : 978-0863155208
Item Weight : 2.26 pounds
Dimensions : 6.2 x 1.8 x 9.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #117,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #53 in British & Irish Poetry
- #62 in Celtic Religions (Books)
- #131 in Christian Poetry (Books)

Customer Reviews:
76 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		83%
4 star		9%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Stunning prayers and words

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2011

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Unlike most prayer books, this is more like a collection of folk prayers or common prayers and rituals of the people. The rituals may seem odd to us because we don't have a sense of living in a world where spirits (good and bad) are close by. These prayers reflect a people who've been shaped by a Christian vision of the world, but still retain some of their pre-Christian sensibilities about the world around them. Many of the prayers are absolutely stunning and stirring. Some of the prayers serve to sacralize the simple everyday tasks of living like sweeping a room, stoking a fire and so on. Overall, this books of prayers has deeply enriched my personal prayers and reflections.

28 people found this helpful

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M. Beekman

Excellent thoughts

Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2020

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Timeless praise

One person found this helpful

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pretendgardener

My favorite book of prayer

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2014

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I have found just the right passages to address every life situation. It's a giant volume, though, so it takes some time to digest it all. That's part of its charm. I've given the book as a gift to two others. I think it would be one of my desert island necessities.

8 people found this helpful

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Michael Pearce

Unique

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2015

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An absolutely beautiful collection of poetry and prose from the Scottish islands. This is my second copy, I gave the first to a friend, then regretted its absence from my shelves so badly that I bought another.

8 people found this helpful

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CeeCee

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2017

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Wonderful book! A must have for those who are interested in Gaelic: Scottish Literature

4 people found this helpful

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Robert Mitchell

Great resource

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2007

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This is an enormous and enormously diverse compilation of short and not so short prayers from a somewhat hidden part of our western tradition.

If your looking for texts that haven't been to set to music so often as, for instance, the ave maria, look here.

If your looking for a spell to ward off the evil eye, you can probably find that as well : )

If looking for a part of our cultural heritage not regularly reported in cultural histories, look here.

These English translations of Gaelic texts make a whole other world available to the linguistically challenged, like me. : )

24 people found this helpful

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Scott E MacKinnon

Phenomenal. A book you will always be picking back ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2016

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Phenomenal. A book you will always be picking back up and sharing with others. They will need to buy their own copy. This one is mine.

4 people found this helpful

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Carol Boyd

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2014

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Very detailed compilation of oral stories of beliefs and prayers.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Silver Moon Sailor

Wonderful work of love

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2013

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In every way. A book that is beautiful to look at, inspiring to read and well annotated for study. There are wonderful prayers with that distinctive celtic rhythm, cadence and repetition and there are blessings with a stark and humble love for God, the saints, the people and the natural world. Throughout there is a gentle courage and acceptance of hard lives. Although collected in the 19th century they have an ancient and eternal resonance that Ninian and Columb Cille would have known.
And there are some bonkers bits that i don't know what they are about and some stories and legends about faery and fey and lots of charms against said faeries and their dangerous deceiving ways. There are small tailpieces throughout of celtic design such as you would find in the book of Kells or Lindisfarne gospels. They are charming and add to the delight of the book which is very nicely bound and set out altogether. t is a very large book and all of it in English.
A joy.

9 people found this helpful

A Kindle Customer

A well received gift.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2018

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Purchased as a gift, the recipient is very pleased indeed with it. An excellent resource book

Gauthier

Fantastic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 25, 2018

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A fundamental book for anyone interested in Celtic christianity

John Whitby

Good value

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2020

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Purchased as a gift, recipient loved it

aroemelt

If there were 10 stars to be given...

Reviewed in Germany on February 14, 2007

Verified Purchase

...I would apply them to this book. Sure, it is a wee bit too heavy to carry it with me all the time, but don't think I haven't tried...

The Carmina Gadelica are old scottish prayers, hymns and incantations Alexxander Carmichael has been collecting for years during the second half of the 19th. century. Close to extinction these old runes and rhymes were saved by him and given to the world they were not meant for, originally. Not only because the old scottish crofterrs Carmichael listened to often enough were reluctant to tell them to a stranger but also because they wear a trait of intimacy with God, with the Holyness of life itself, with the supernatural that should not rashly be torn into the open, especially into the stark open light of this mundane world of ours, nowadays. There are prayers for every situation, for rising in the morning, for travelling, for toothache, for birth and death - many of them linked to a way of life we can hardly imagine today, e.g. making butter, weaving, fishing etc. But what we can easily apply to our lives, too, is the sense of intimacy mentioned above. God comes close to us and we come close to Him in these prayers and incantations. They teach us anew what we ought to have known all along: that God is not a far off mysterious being high up in heaven but the almighty creator of the earth beneath our feet and the loving father and the close companion in Christ and there is no part of our lives we can or should hide from Him (it's useless, anyway. He knows.). The Carmina Gadelica provide us with a way of prayer that is very old, indeed, and yet may be new to many who are not satisfied with the formal ways of church-speaking orfor those who are looking for a speach in prayer that comes right from the heart. If it is a book too big (and too great) to be read through from cover to cover it is one that should lie araound somewhere it can be picked up and leafed through now and again. It can be a treasure to a christian home close in the wake of the bible.

2 people found this helpful