A brief guide to Celtic myths & legends
(Book)

"In this wide-ranging and very readable introduction to the myths and legends of the Celts--a world of giants, tumultuous storms, magic cauldrons, fierce warriors, and severed heads that talk--Whittock draws extensively on up-to-date archeological evidence, Greek and Roman inscriptions, and medieval Irish and Welsh manuscripts. He also examines the later Breton literature--and, where written evidence is scarce, enduring oral traditions. Such recourse to recent research enables an interpretation that is both fresh and authentic of characters such as the Irish gods before gods, the Fomorians; the children of Lír, the sea diety; the hunter-warrior Finn mac Cumhaill, whose exploits are chronicled in the Fenian Cycle; Cú Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster; the Welsh heroes of the Mabinogion; and the mythical Welsh Arthur, who predates the medieval legends. In addition to examining the myths of the Irish and the Welsh, this account also explores the related mythologies of Scotland, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany."--from cover, p. [4].