Celtic legends

These legends have come down to us mostly from Irish and Welsh sources. They are fascinating for within the tales we can trace Celtic deities and in some cases possibly older ones absorbed by the Celts themselves when they invaded these Islands. Some have parallels to Greek myths and so may show a common root or alternatively a culture influenced by tales from far off lands.

The Celts were not as uncivilised as the Romans would have us believe. Their metalwork was of such a high standard that the Romans actively imported it. Their woollen cloaks were equally prized, being the height of fashion at one time. It is true that the more northern tribes in Britain struggling against harder climate were possibly less involved in this trade. They all prefered to trade in goods and not money, and so did not use coins till after the Roman invasion.

Some tribes were overrun by others in this process of warfare, leading to an amalgamation of ideas and beliefs. Deities seem to have varied for each area, each having a local river goddess for example and so on. This meant there were many names associated with each type of deity. The method in which they were honoured though and their traits were often very similar. As new names were absorbed the old ones may have fallen into the background as older beings and so give rise to the complex interwoven nature of many of the stories surviving today.

The stories were passed on in an oral tradition, great emphasis was put on the ability to recall information by memory alone. It was not until many centuries afterwards these stories were finally committed to writing, often by Christian monks who put a Christian slant on things in order to preserve their heritage. Careful analysis has enabled scholars to pick out threads of earlier beliefs and allowed us to identify these long lost deities.