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A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (Oxford Paperback Reference) | 
 enlarge | Author: James Mackillop
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $13.56
You Save: $3.39 (20%)
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 781687
Media: Paperback
Pages: 490
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0198609671
Dewey Decimal Number: 299.1603
EAN: 9780198609674
ASIN: 0198609671
Publication Date: September 23, 2004
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
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Amazon.com Review
The full richness of Celtic mythology, with legends, sagas, and folklore, with traditions, places, and personalities, are now evocatively yet concisely conveyed in James MacKillop's dictionary. The 4,000 entries include brief descriptions (such as the short explanation of Arthen, the bear-and-river god of early Wales) as well as extended stories of bloody vengeance (following actual or supposed treachery), romantic love, and frequent adultery, plus tales of mysterious monsters on lonely hillocks. From Deirdre and Cuchulainn to leprechauns, from Galahad, cauldrons, and archaeology to druids, MacKillop provides an impressive amount of lore and research in a reliable, browsable, and enjoyable dictionary. --Stephanie Gold
Product Description
A comprehensive and accessible survey of one of the world's richest mythological traditions. It covers the people, themes, concepts, places, and creatures of Celtic mythology, saga, legend, and folklore from both ancient and modern traditions, in 4,000 entries ranging from brief definitions to short essays. An introductory essay explores the origins and identity of Celts, the history of the Celtic revival, and the meaning and role of mythology. An excellent source for those curious about the mystical myths of the Celts.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Must-Have for Celt-o-philes and Celtic-leaning Wiccans and Pagans! April 25, 2006
T. Parmer
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
So you listen to Loreena MacKennitt and love you a good Celtic knot. You know vaguely that Brigid is a Christian saint who started as an Irish goddess, and that Taliesin had something to do with bards. If you want to learn more, pick up this book. Sure it's a dictionary, but if you have a couple hours, you could read it cover to cover and come away with more colorful stories of heros and gods and beasts than you ever could have imagined. For being a reference book, it reads as well as most short story compendiums. Informative and a fun read!
awesome dictionary of celtic icons October 31, 2005
Siobhan Olaoghaire Sannes (Fresno, CA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
My copy of this tremendously helpful book is completely dog-eared. Interestingly enough, I bought the book not because of my interest in Celtic and Druidic studies, but because I play an online multiplayer game called Dark Age of Camelot. As I was playing I noticed a couple of "mobs" (monsters) which seemed curiously in tune with their natural meanings. I work at a bookstore and picked this book up on my break to look up a few more of the mobs and found them all in there. Over time, I found that the game was startling on target with mobs, non-player characters and mythic storyline.
I have since used it for a number of other Celtic "look ups" and just love having this book handy. It is nearly indespensible in my mind.
 Great in some area, but very imbalanced overall August 19, 2005
N. Mcguigan (Seattle, WA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is wonderfully useful for Irish and Welsh mythology. Irish and Welsh entries are generally quite comprehensive and individually mostly of a high quality.
The major flaw, and it is quite a major one, is the horrific dearth of Scottish and Breton entries, which appear quite randomly and often are only of very low quality. So for instance, Irish "kings" of minor historical or mythological importance occur in abundance, yet figures such as Macbeth, Malcolm II and Malcolm III are totally unaccounted for. Dublin has a huge entry, Glasgow has no entry (although admittedly St. Kentigern does). There may be entries for Goidel Glas and Scota, of supreme importance in medieval Scottish origin myth, but nothing is said of them in relation to Scotland or in how they were used there. Every half-significant Irish geographical feature has an entry, yet a location like Scone has nothing. Likewise, there are no entries for the "Prophecy of Berchan" or the "De Situ Albanie." I could go on and on.
 Useful but flawed October 25, 2003
F. P. Barbieri (London UK)
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
Quite frankly, if this is the best reference work on Celtic legends and culture, this only goes to show how very bad the rest are. Other reviewers have pointed out the irrelevant English items and very bad etymology; I would like to add that the book is infuriatingly uneven in its references. Some I have been able to track down; other entries have no origin listed at all, which has resulted, in one case, in a desperate and completely unavailing trawl through EVERY TITLE in the Brittany bibliography - and that for a reference which is absolutely fundamental to my research. I know this particular character and folk-tale exist; they must, because other facts I encountered confirm that they must; but because Mr. MacKillop has not given his source for his description, I am unable to proceed. And that is not the only case in which the entries let me down. It is pointless to write a reference dictionary if you are not going to give references!
Mostly Good April 30, 2002
22 out of 29 found this review helpful
There is much in this book that is useful about Celtic folklore and mythology. However, the etymologies are usually incorrect. This may not matter to some. It does to me. The back cover claims that this book has "authoritative...etymologies for Celtic names..." when they are in fact neither authoritative nor correct. For example, MacKillop gives for the entry Deva an etymology from Latin meaning goddess "[L. goddess]." However, the Latin for Goddess is _diva_ not _deva_. The word _Deva_ is transparently Brittonic from (Proto)-Celtic *_deiwa_. Especially annoying for me is the etymology of English words used as headings, which are out of place in a Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (I believe). So, while the entry for "Stag" is indeed useful, giving the etymology of 'Stag' from "[OE stagga]," (while at least correct in this instance), is just absurd. As for careerist motivations and cut and past "druidical" names: ... Lastly, my motivations were not careerist, but one of informing others. A book that claims to be authoritative in Celtic etymologies, I belive ought to live up to that claim. Unfortunately, this one doesn't, and others should be aware of that.
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