Celtic Mythology and Folklore

The world folk music gained a lot of popularity across the globe in the recent years, with a wide range of styles and music forms. However, no music style matches the popularity and uniqueness of the Celtic music.

When it comes to celtic literature, the ‘Otherworld’ is a common theme found throughout various genres of literature which represents a sort of ‘heaven-like’ place. In Celtic mythology the Otherworld is depicted as a supernatural world that provides abundance, joy, and everlasting youth and beauty. We typically see the Otherworld as being very elusive, but in Celtic literature some mythical heroes get the opportunity to visit the Otherworld, sometimes by invite from one of it’s inhabitants or just by a lucky chance.

Before the mass conversion of Ireland, a group of pagan people known as the Celts inhabited Britain and even parts of France. First recognized in the writings Gallic Wars of

Greetings to Tidal Wave Publishing! I am a 7th grade student at Old Donation School. I would like to submit my original fable based on traditional Irish fables and myths, titled The Journey for the Cure, to be inserted in your upcoming anthology. This story is about a man, Jack Kelly, who makes a journey to save his wife from a curse. On his journey, he meets a leprechaun who throws him off and he has to race to save his wife in time. My work reveals common Irish traditions, archetypes, and morals that are relevant with youth.

After readying Joseph Campbell’s, The Power of Myth, I have understood the importance of myth in understanding and giving more meaning to life. Myths and stories, are important because they help us, as individuals, identify who we are based on what we believe and the stories that we find true to ourselves. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to comprehend who we truly are.

The "Lady in Blue" The "Lady in Blue" is a popular Spanish legend in the Southwest and particularly New Mexico. The legend of the lady started with New Mexico Indians in the 17th century and remains popular today.

Legend is Finn Mac Cool. Finn is the most famous legend of Ireland. He is a giant that decides to leave his family. Myth is The Children of Lir. The childrenś father, King Lir, marries his dead wife´s sister and a jealous man turns King Lirś children into swans for 900 years. Fairy Tale is the Boyhood of Fionn. He is forced to be raised by two druids after his mother dies. Irish folklore is stories containing former Gods and other stories told by Irishmen. Even though the modern Irish culture is mainly Christian, the older Irish culture mainly believed in gods, like Greece. Ireland still believes that many of these stories are true because of the traditions and knowledge that past Ireshmen led on to modern Ireland.

The Ancient Celts were polytheistic, with each Celtic tribe having their own set of deities and cults. Hundreds of gods each depict a specific element of nature. The worship of water deities was very common, as it was believed to have significant healing powers. Deposits of gold have even been found throughout rivers running through the Celtic Empire. Animals such as bears, birds and horses were also worshipped due to their characteristics of strength and speed.

As the Celtic Religion had laities, Celts, who revered the power of the word over the written document, little could be deciphered about their religious beliefs. However, after assessing the classical literature of Julius Caesar, Poseidonios and others, and certain archaeological and iconographic artefacts, it is made evident that the Celtics was an imminent, polytheistic religion which ran on animalistic beliefs. These beliefs which were filtered through Romans, Greeks and Christians suggested that the Celts believed in many deities, both gods and goddesses, some of which were worshipped only in a small, regional vicinity, but others whose veneration had a broader geographic dispersal. Today, the names over two hundred of these deities have

Many people have wondered what sorts of conversations that cows would have if given the chance to speak; some men have even claimed to know the answer from experience. In Iceland, just one of the many pieces of lore that the society has believed in for generations is that for one hour on New Year’s, animals, specifically cattle, are given the opportunity to speak (Stefánsson 304). Along with cows, it is even believed to be possible to communicate with the birds, though some like the raven, may not be so kind (Stefánsson 306). Whether a person can speak the language of the birds or not, Iceland has strict customs concerning eagles and the eggs of a few birds (Stefánsson 304-306). While birds are prevalent in Icelandic myths, many other creatures

Intelligence, knowledge, and the ability to be cunning are very important characteristic of the heroes in a lot of the myths and folktales of the Vikings and Celtic culture.

As the Celtic Religion had laities, Celts, who revered the power of the word over the written document, little could be deciphered about their religious beliefs. However, after assessing the classical literature of Julius Caesar, Poseidonios and others, and certain archaeological and iconographic artefacts, it is made evident that the Celtics was an imminent, polytheistic religion which ran on animalistic beliefs. These beliefs which were filtered through Romans, Greeks and Christians suggested that the Celts believed in many deities, both gods and goddesses, some of which were worshipped only in a small, regional vicinity, but others whose veneration had a broader geographic dispersal. Today,

Although these sacred tales may be misleading or vague, the Irish and Welsh did have one advantage: the work was composed by a Celtic heritage – those of Irish and Welsh decent. Therefore, this category of evidence can be considered more ‘direct' compared with other resources that are completely second-hand.

Changes and alters are bound to happen over long periods of time, right? If it’s a person who you see for the first time in a few years, or even if it’s an inanimate object you have not seen since you were a child. When looking back at that “thing” after a stretch of time, it will rarely seem like it was untouched. Norse Mythology is a great example of this. The way that the gods were presented has changed. Their physical appearance and mentality has changed greatly. The way the gods think of themselves has been changed to where the things that they do in modern films and stories would make the character in Norse Mythology embarrassed. These few changes are very apparent in the characters Odin, Loki and Thor.

This essay is written for English 503 and the subject is Norse Mythology. The main sources of our knowledge about Norse Mythology are from the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. Edda is Icelandic for saga and these stories are often to as The Sagas. The Prose Edda was written by Snorri Sturluson from Iceland around the year 1200. Snorri begins the prologue of the book where he explains his understanding of the origin of heathen science. Prose Edda itself is based on belief in the old Nordic gods or heathen, and recounts and explains the faith of men before they were Christian. The book is divided into three main parts, but they are called the Gylfaginning, Skaldskaparmal and Hattatal. In the first section, Gylfaginning (The delusion of King