Celtic Mythology [review-book]

Tom Peete Cross
1919 The American Journal of Theology  
Known as the Early Journal Content, this set of works include research articles, news, letters, and other writings published in more than 200 of the oldest leading academic journals. The works date from the mid--seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. We encourage people to read and share the Early Journal Content openly and to tell others that this resource exists. People may post this content online or redistribute in any way for non--commercial purposes. Read more about Early Journal
more » ... ntent at http://about.jstor.org/participate--jstor/individuals/early-journal--content. JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary source objects. JSTOR helps people discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content through a powerful research and teaching platform, and preserves this content for future generations. JSTOR is part of ITHAKA, a not--for--profit organization that also includes Ithaka S+R and Portico. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. CELTIC MYTHOLOGY CELTIC MYTHOLOGY Of the three sections composing the third volume of The Mythology of All Races,' the first (pp. 5-213), on the myths of the Celts, is the work of Dr. J. A. MacCulloch, who is already widely known to students of tradition through The Childhood of Fiction, The Religion of the Ancient Celts, and numerous special articles in the field of folklore. In The Religion of the Ancient Celts the author attacks the knotty problem of elucidating the documents through which glimpses are caught of the religious beliefs of the early Celtic inhabitants of Britain and Western Europe. In the present study, which is designed to supplement the earlier book, Dr. MacCulloch has set himself the scarcely less difficult task of describing "those Celtic myths which remain to us as a precious legacy from the past" (p. 5). The dissertation is liberally annotated and is accompanied by a classified bibliography. It will be useful to the specialist as well as to the general reader because of the large collections of examples of mythological motifs preserved in Celtic manuscripts and printed sources which frequently escape students of popular origins. Dr. MacCulloch deserves credit for the firmness with which he sets his face against all interpretations of Celtic mythology which are inspired by sun-myths, esoteric druidic cults, and elaborate allegories (pp. 20 f.), but even he does not always resist the lure of theories that
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