Animals in Celtic Life and Myth

By: Miranda Green

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Hardcover | 10 December 1992 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
304 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.6 x 1.75

Hardcover

RRP $263.00

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For the Celts, a rural people whose survival depended solely upon their environment, natural phenomena, the elements, and animals, especially, merited their extreme respect. The Celts made both wild and domesticated species the focus of elaborate rituals as well as the basis of profound religious beliefs. "Animals in Celtic Life and Myth" examines the intimate relationship between humans and animals, in a society in which animals were special and central to all aspects of life.
Miranda Green draws on evidence from a variety of early Celtic documents, as well as archaeology and iconography, revealing that the Celts believed many animals to be sacred, either possessing divine status in their own right or acting as mediators between gods and humans. She covers the crucial role of animals in the Celtic economy; in hunting and welfare; in Celtic art and literature; in religion and ritual. The attitude of the Celts toward animals closely connected the Celtic with the everyday: warfare was bound up with religion; the killing of animals was a ritual act; in stories, heroes talk to animals in their own language and gods change at will from human to animal form. The book covers the important period between 8 B.C. and 1 A.D., during which much of Europe, ranging from Ireland to Czechoslovakia, was turning to Christianity.
"Animals in Celtic Life and Myth" is invaluable to students of archaeology, anthropology and history, as well as to the general reader with an interest in animals.

Industry Reviews

"Excellent introduction to, and a timely round-up of, a complicated and fascinating subject." -"The London Times Literary Supplement "Green had brought together a wealth of information on the diversity of roles played by animals in Iron Age Celtic society and the variation evident from region to region in Britain, on the Continent, and to some extent in Ireland as revealed by excavation, iconography, literature, and tradition...For those with a serious interest in Celtic prehistory, this is a book well worth having." -"American Journal of Archaeology "The book is abundantly illustrated and displays valuable notes, a nice bibliography and an index; it is extremely instructive to understand the major role animals play in Celtic culture.." -"The Journal of Indo-European Studies, Summer 1996

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