Celtic mythology

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Celtic mythology is a mythology of Celtic polytheism, the Iron Age Age religion. Like other Iron Age Europe, early Celtic defended polytheistic mythology and religious structure. For Celtic in close ties with Ancient Rome, like Gaul and Celtiberian, their mythology did not survive the Roman Empire, their subsequent conversion to Christianity and the loss of their Celtic language. Mostly through contemporary Roman and Christian sources that their mythology has been preserved. The Celtic who retained political or linguistic identities (such as Gaels in Ireland and Scotland, Welsh in Wales, and Celtic Britons of South England and Brittany) left behind the remains of their ancestral mythology which was incorporated into written form during the Middle Ages.

Video Celtic mythology

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Although the Celtic world at its peak includes many western and central Europe, it is not united politically nor is there a substantial central source of cultural influences or homogeneity; as a result, there are many variations in the local practice of Celtic religion (although certain motifs, such as the god Lugh, seem to have spread throughout the Celtic world). Inscriptions of more than three hundred gods, often equated with their Roman counterparts, have survived, but the most visible are the genii locorum, local or tribal gods, and few are widely worshiped. However, from what survived Celtic mythology, it is possible to see the similarity that suggests on a more integrated pantheon than is often given credit.

The properties and functions of these ancient gods can be inferred from their names, the location of their inscriptions, their iconography, the Roman gods equated with them, and similar figures of the later Celtic mythological bodies.

Celtic mythology is found in a number of different, if related, subgroups, mostly corresponding to the branches of Celtic languages:

• Ancient Celtic Religion (known mainly through archaeological sources rather than through written mythology)
• mythology in the language of Goidelic, represented mainly by Irish mythology (also shared with Scottish Gaelic mythology)
  • Mythological Cycle
  • Ulster Cycle
  • Fenis Cycle
  • The Cycle of the Kings
• mythology in the language of Brittonic
  • Welsh mythology
  • Cornish mythology
  • Breton Mythology

Maps Celtic mythology

Historical resources

As a result of the scarcity of materials surviving by Gaulish's writings, it is thought that most of the Celtic writings were destroyed by the Romans, although the Gaulish forms of writing use Greek, Latin and Northern Italic letters (as evidenced by the votive goods which contains inscriptions on the Gaulish and Coligny calendars). Julius Caesar attests to the literacy of the Gauls, but also writes that their priests, druids, were forbidden to use writing to record certain verses of religious meaning (Caesar, 6.14) while also noting that Helvetii has a written census (Caesar, De Bello Gallico 1.29).

Rome introduces a wider habit of public inscriptions, and breaks the druid forces in the territory it conquers; in fact, most of the inscriptions for the gods are found in Gaul (modern France and northern Italy), England and other areas that were previously (or now) Celtic-speaking after the date of Roman conquest.

Although early Gaels in Ireland and parts of modern Wales used the Ogham script to record short inscriptions (mostly personal names), more sophisticated literacy was not introduced to the Celtic region that had not been conquered by Rome until the advent of Christianity. Indeed, many Gaelic myths were first recorded by Christian monks, albeit without much of their original religious significance.

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Irish mythology

The oldest mythical body originating from the Heroes Age is only discovered from the early Middle Ages of Ireland. When Christianity began to take over, the gods and goddesses were slowly eliminated as such from culture. What has survived includes material related to the Tuatha DÃÆ' Â © Danann and the Fomorians, which form the basis for the text of Cath Maige Tuired The Battle of Mag Tuireadh, as well as part of the historical focus of Lebor GabÃÆ'¡la ÃÆ' â € ° renn ("The Book of Invasions"). The Tuatha DÃÆ'Â| represents the functions of human society such as empires, crafts and wars, while Fomoria represents chaos and the wild.

Dagda

The leader of the gods for the Irish pantheon seems to be the Dagda. Dagda is a male and other god based figure because he embodies the ideal Irish characteristics. The Celtic god is also considered a clan due to lack of specialization and unknown origin. The special character of Dagda is as a figure of lampoonery burlesque in Irish mythology, and some authors have even concluded that he is believed to be good enough to tolerate jokes at his own expense.

Irish stories depict Dagda as a ruling figure, armed with clubs. In Dorset there is a famous outline of the ithyphallic giant known as Cerne Abbas Giant with the club cutting into chalky soil. Although this may have been produced in relatively modern times (the English Civil War era), it has long been considered a representation of Dagda. This has been questioned by recent research which suggests that there may be representations of what appear to be a large curtain hanging from the horizontal arm of a figure, leading to the suspicion that this figure actually represents Hercules (Heracles), with the skin of a Nemean lion on his arm and carrying a club which he used to kill him. In Gaul, it is speculated that Dagda is associated with Sucellus, the striker, equipped with hammers and trophies.

The MorrÃÆ'gan

The MorrÃÆ'gan is a tripartite war goddess of the Celtic of Ancient Ireland. He is known as Morrag, but the different parts that are divided in are also referred to as Nemain, Macha, and Badb (among others, less common names), with each representing different aspects of combat. She is best known for her involvement at TÃÆ'¡in BÃÆ'³ CÃÆ'ºailnge .

Lugh/Lug

The most common god in fairy tales is Lugh. He is clearly a remnant of the earlier and wider Lugus deity, whose diffusion in the Celtic religion is evident from the number of names of places where his name appears, occurred throughout the Celtic world. The most famous are the towns of Lugdunum (the modern French city of Lyon), Lugdunum Batavorum (Brittenburg, 10 kilometers west of Leiden in the Netherlands) and Lucus Augusti (Greek: ?? u ???? u ??????? , modern Galician Lugo city). Lug is portrayed in Celtic myth as the last to be added to the list of gods. In Ireland, a festival called Lughnasadh (Irish: LÃÆ'ºnasa "August") was held in his honor.

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Other important goddesses include Brigid (or Brigit), daughter of Dagda; Aibell, ÃÆ' ine, Macha, and the sovereign goddess, ÃÆ' â € ° riu. The most famous is the Epona, the horse goddess, which is celebrated with horse races at summer festivals. Significant Irish deities include Nuada AirgetlÃÆ'¡m, the first king of the Tuatha DÃÆ'Â Danann; Goibniu, smith and brewer; Dian Cecht, protector of healing; and the sea god ManannÃÆ'¡n mac Lir.

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Welsh Mythology

Less known about British pre-Christian mythology than Ireland. The important reflexes of British mythology appear in the Four Branches of Mabinogi, especially in the names of several characters, such as Rhiannon, Teyrnon, and BrÃÆ'n ¢ n the Blessed ( Bendigeidfran , "Bran [Blessed] Blessed"). Other characters, most likely, come from mythological sources, and various episodes, such as the appearance of Arawn, the king of the Other World seeks the help of a man in his own enmity, and the story of a hero who can not be killed unless in seemingly contradictory circumstances, traceable along myth and Indo-European legend. Children Ll? R ("Sea" = Irish Ler) in Second and Third Branches, and DÃÆ''n (Danu's children in earlier Irish and Indo-European traditions) in the Fourth Branch are the main characters, but the tales themselves are not primary mythology.

While further mythological names and references appear elsewhere in Welsh narratives and traditions, especially in the stories of Culhwch and Olwen, where we find, for example, Mabon ap Modron ("Divine Child of the Divine Mother") , and in the collected Welsh Triads, it is not enough to know the background of British mythology to reconstruct the creation narrative or the coherent pantheon of English gods. Indeed, although there are many similarities with the Irish myth, there may not be an integrated British mythological tradition per se . Whatever its origin, survival material has been well utilized in serving literary works addressing the cultural problems of Wales in the early and late Middle Ages.

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The remains of Gaulish and other mythologies

The Celtic nation also worships some of the lesser known gods than their names. The classical writers have preserved some of the legends of Celtic legend or myths.

According to Syrian Lucian rhetoric, Ogmios should lead a group of men chained by their ears to his tongue as a symbol of his eloquence.

The first century Roman poet, Lucan, mentions the gods of Taranis, Teutates and Esus, but there is little Celtic evidence that these were important gods.

A number of art objects, coins, and altars may depict scenes from lost myths, such as Tarvos Trigaranus representation or from 'Jupiter' riding over the Anguiped (a snake-shaped man). The Gundestrup cauldron has also been interpreted in myth.

Together with the dedication of giving us the names of gods, there is also a representation of gods with no names attached. Among them are three or three headed deity gods, squat gods, gods with snakes, gods with wheels, and horsemen with giants kneeling. Some of these images can be found in the Late Bronze Age peat swamp in England, which shows that the symbols are pre-Roman and widespread throughout the Celtic culture. The distribution of several images has been mapped and shows the concentration pattern of the center of the image along with a wide scatter that shows these images most likely attached to specific tribes and distributed from some concentration point of tribal tribe outside along the trade line.. The image of a three-headed god has a central concentration between Belgae, between the Oise, Marne and Moselle rivers. Horsemen with giant knees centered on either side of the Rhine. These examples seem to indicate regional preference from common stock drawings.

Julius Caesar about Celtic religion and their significance

The classic entry of the Celtic gods of Gaul is part of Julius Caesar Commentarii de Bello Gallico (52-51 BC, Gallic War). In this he mentions the five major gods worshiped in Gaul (in accordance with the practices of his day, he gives the names of the closest Roman deities) and explains their roles. Mercury is the most glorified of all the gods and many representations of it are to be found. Mercury is seen as the originator of all art (and is often referred to Lugus for this reason), advocates of adventurers and merchants, and the strongest forces concerning commerce and profits. Next Galia respects Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. Among these gods the Celtic people are portrayed to have more or less the same views as other populations: Apollo dispels disease, Minerva encourages skills, Jupiter controls the heavens, and Mars affects war. In addition to these five, he mentions that Gallic traces their ancestors to Father D. MacBain argues that Apollo corresponds to Lugh Ireland, Mercury to Manannan mac Lir, Jupiter to Dagda, Mars to the Net, and Minerva to Brigit.

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See also

• Banshee
• Cantabrian mythology
• Celtic Christianity
• Fisher King
• TÃÆ'¡in BÃÆ'³ Flidhais
• Triskelion
• Niskai

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References

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Bibliography

• de Vries, Jan, Keltische Religion (1961).
• Duval, Paul-Marie, Les Dieux de la Gaule , ed new. updated and enlarged (1976).
• Mac Cana, Proinsias. Celtic mythology . New York: Hamlyn, 1970. ISBNÃ, 0-600-00647-6.
• Mac Cana, Procas, The Learned Tales of Medieval Ireland (Irish Literature - Study), Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1980): ISBNÃ, 1-85500-120-9.
• MacKillop, James, Dictionary of Cytology Mythology . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBNÃ, 0-19-280120-1.
• Maier, Bernhard, Celtic religious and cultural dictionary , Boydell & amp; Brewer 1997 ISBNÃ, 978-0-85115-660-6.
• O'Rahilly, Thomas F. Early Irish History and Mythology (1991, reissued 1971).
• Rhys, John, 3rd ed. (1898, reprinted 1979).
• Sjoestedt, M. L., Celtic Gods and Heroes . 1949; translated by Myles Dillon. repr. Berkeley, CA: Turtle Press, 1990. ISBNÃ, 1-85182-179-1.
• Stercks, Claude, ÃÆ' â € ° lÃÆ' Â © ments de cosmogonie celtique (1986).
• Vendri, Joseph; Ernest Tonnelat & amp; B.-O. Unbegaun Les Religions des Celtes, des Germain and des Descensiens Slave (1948).

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External links

• Celtic & amp; Culture: a detailed description of Gundestrup's cauldron
• The Celtic religion - What information do we really have
• What We Don't Know About Ancient Celtic

Source of the article : Wikipedia