As you can probably guess from this post’s title, this week I’m finally going to start talking about Celtic mythology! I’d like to voice a disclaimer before I begin: I am far less well-versed in the Celtic myths than I am in any of the other mythologies we’ve discussed. I’ve been researching them a lot, and I’ll do my best to be as accurate as possible - but, if you spot an error in any of my posts, please let me know (either through email or in the comments.).
The influence of Celtic mythology upon American culture is rather more subtle than that of Greek or Norse mythology. Movies these days often feature stories from those cultures, but seldom show the gods of the Celts. Those deities can be found more often - though still infrequently - in books. Since book four The Dresden Files has featured characters from the Celtic myths; a more recent series, The Iron Druid Chronicles, features a main character who hails from ancient Britain and regularly interacts with the Celtic deities he worships. (I’m only on book 4, so please - no spoilers!) Speaking of druids - they have their origin in the Celtic myths, and can now be found in many role-playing games, stories, and even video games. (*cough*World of Warcraft*cough*)
Apart from those, I don’t know of many modern representations of Celtic mythology. An argument can be made that Arthurian legend is of Celtic origin, but the stories of King Arthur bear far more references to the Christian God than to any Celtic deities, despite stemming from the same part of the world as the Celtic myths. No, the Celtic stories are really a force unto themselves...a force which American pop culture seems uninterested in.
Perhaps part of the reason for this disinterest lies in the names of the Celtic gods and heroes. Their names, and their spelling, are completely unfamiliar to most modern audiences. Other mythologies have it far easer - it’s relatively simple to pronounce Zeus or Thor (though his hammer Mjolnir is a little trickier, as evidenced by the number of people calling it “Mewmew”.). But how in the world does one say Matholwch, or Dindshenchas, or even Medb? (Jim Butcher, author of The Dresden Files, solves this problem by spelling Medb’s name as Maeve, which is roughly how it would be pronounced. Kevin Hearne, author of The Iron Druid Chronicles, gives you a pronunciation guide at the start of his book but tells you to say the names however you please.)
I won’t try to tell you how to say the names of the characters we’ll discuss, since I’m pretty sure I’d bungle the job. If you’re interested, here are a few guides - good luck! I will end this discussion of names by telling you that when my brother David was born, my dad (a fan of Celtic mythology) wanted to spell his name Daffyd - it’s pronounced the same way.
My mom (not a fan of Daffy Duck) wouldn’t let him, haha!
But I digress - on to the myths.
Celtic mythology is somewhat unique amongst the various mythologies I’ve studied. A lot of things within the myths look like they could be a counterpart to, say, Greek mythology - but the way they are referenced is quite different. Take its deities, for example. They are rarely referred to as gods within the myths; instead, they go by the name “the Tuatha De Danann”, meaning “the Children of Danu”. Danu, according to the myths, is a mother goddess from whom everyone is born.
Often, the Celtic gods are simply referred to as “the Tuatha De”, or “the Children”. You’ll get to hear more about their members in the coming weeks.
There is a force in the myths set to oppose to Tuatha De - the Fomorians. The Fomorians were a fierce ancient tribe who fought against the Tuatha De Danann for possession of Ireland. There were several occasions where one of the two factions ruled over the other, but it was always during an uneasy peace truce that inevitably ended up broken. We’ll talk more about one such time in my next post.
Like many other mythologies, the Celtic myths feature demigods - but they are never referred to as such in the books I’ve read. Instead, they are the children, or the grandchildren, or even further descendants of one of the Tuatha De Danann. They possess powers greater than those of ordinary mortals, but they are not immortal.
Cu Chulainn, perhaps the best known child of the Tuatha De Danann.
Also unique in Celtic mythology is the role of the druid. Druids are sort of like priests, ones who worship the Tuatha De. However, druids appear in the Celtic myths before the Tuatha De Danann show up to settle Ireland. How can you have priests before you have gods? The answer likely lies with Danu, mother of the Tuatha De. The druids probably worshipped Danu and other earlier gods before the birth of the Tuatha De Danann.
Druids are not your typical priests. Their ranks are comprised of both male and female members (called druidesses), and they possess magic. They can use their powers to shapeshift themselves or others, bring life to inanimate objects (one story tells of a druid creating a bride out of flower petals), and move between their realm and the land of the gods - amongst other things. Pretty cool, right?
Perhaps my favorite part of Celtic mythology is the relationship between it and Christianity. The dichotomy between the two is pretty stark - and yet, the two mingle amongst the Celtic myths after the rise of Christianity. Priests find themselves under attack by magical creatures, or providing a home for beings cursed by druids. They even talk around a campfire with those who fought alongside descendants of the Tuatha De Danann. I find the coexistence of the two religions fascinating!
With that, I’ll wrap up this brief introduction. In the coming weeks we’ll be talking about several characters from Celtic mythology: some of the Tuatha De Danann, their descendants, and druids. I’ll also talk about some magical creatures found within the Celtic myths. I hope you guys stick around - I’m excited for this!
You know the drill - if you have questions or comments, please post below or email me. I’d love to hear from you! Are you familiar with Celtic mythology?
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