ISBN:
9781134665327
,
1134665326
,
0203023560
,
9780203023563
Language:
English
Pages:
Online Ressource (xix, 283 pages)
,
illustrations
Parallel Title:
Print version Animals in Celtic life and myth
Keywords:
Celts Domestic animals
;
Celts Hunting
;
Celts Folklore
;
Animals, Mythical
;
Animals, Mythical, in art
;
Mythology, Celtic
;
Celts Domestic animals
;
Celts Hunting
;
Celts Folklore
;
Celts Folklore
;
Animals, Mythical
;
Animals, Mythical, in art
;
Mythology, Celtic
;
Celts Hunting
;
Celts Domestic animals
;
Animals in folklore, mythology, & religion
;
Animals, Domestic history
;
Customs and Folklore Kelten
;
SOCIAL SCIENCE ; Folklore & Mythology
;
Animals, Mythical
;
Animals, Mythical, in art
;
Celts
;
Mythology, Celtic
;
Kultur
;
Tiere
;
Dieren
;
Kelten
;
Mythen
;
Keltische tijd
;
Celtes ; Animaux domestiques
;
Celtes ; Chasse
;
Mythologie celtique
;
Animaux ; Mythologie
;
Animaux ; Dans l'art
;
Folklore
;
Kelten
;
Electronic books
;
Electronic books
Abstract:
For the Celts, a rural people whose survival depended greatly upon their environment, the sanctity of natural phenomena and of the elements led to extreme respect and veneration of animals. Both wild and domesticated species became the subject of elaborate rituals and formed the basis of profound religious beliefs. Animals in Celtic Life and Myth examines the intimate relationship which developed between humans and animals, in a society in which animals were central to all aspects of life. Miranda Green draws on evidence from a variety of early Celtic documents, as well as archaeology and iconography, to reveal that the Celts believed many animals to be sacred, either possessing divine status in their own right or acting as mediators between gods and humans. She covers the crucial role of animals in the Celtic economy, in hunting and warfare, in Celtic art and literature, and in religion and ritual. The attitude of the Celts toward animals closely connected the cult and the everyday: warfare was bound up with religion; the killing of animals was associated with ritual; in stories, heroes talk to animals in their own language and gods change at will from human to animal form. The author covers the important period between 800 BC and AD 400, during which much of Europe was turning to Christianity, and examples range from Ireland to Czechoslovakia. Animals in Celtic Life and Myth will be invaluable to students of archaeology, anthropology and history
Description / Table of Contents:
Book Cover; Title; Contents; List of figures; Preface; Acknowledgements; THE NATURAL WORLD OF THE CELTS; FOOD AND FARMING: ANIMALS IN THE CELTIC ECONOMY; PREY AND PREDATOR: THE CELTIC HUNTER; ANIMALS AT WAR; SACRIFICE AND RITUAL; THE ARTIST'S MENAGERIE; ANIMALS IN THE EARLIEST CELTIC STORIES; GOD AND BEAST; CHANGING ATTITUDES TO THE ANIMAL WORLD; Notes; Bibliography; Index;
Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-273) and index. - Print version record
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