In this widely acclaimed study, Alwyn and Brinley Rees reinterpret Celtic tradition in the light of advances made in the comparative study of religion, mythology and anthropology. Part One considers the distinguishing features of the various Cycle of tales and the personages who figure most prominently in them. Part Two reveals the cosmological framework within which the action of the tales takes place. Part Three consists of a discussion of the themes of certain classes of stories which tell of Conceptions and Births, Supernatural Adventures, Courtships and Marriages, Violent Deaths and Voyages to the Other World, and an attempt is made to understand their religious function and glimpse their transcendent meaning.
Author(s): Alwyn Rees, Brinley Rees
Publisher: Thames and Hudson
Year: 1961
Language: English
Pages: 428
City: New York
PREFACE 7
PART ONE
THE TRADITION
I. Introduction 11
II. Branches of the Tradition 26
PART TWO
THE WORLD OF MEANING
III. Darkness and Light 83
IV. Coming into Existence 95
V. A Hierarchy of Provinces 118
VI. Involutions 140
VII. The Centre 146
VIII. Five Peaks 173
IX. Numbers 186
PART THREE
THE MEANING OF STORY
X. The Storyteller's Repertoire 207
XI. Births 213
XII. Youthful Exploits 244
XIII. Wooings 259
XIV. Elopements 279
XV. Adventures 297
XVI. Voyages 314
XVII. Deaths 326
XVIII. Epilogue 342
ABBREVIATIONS 352
NOTES 359
INDEX 415
