Celtic Heritage

the long version

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 Cycles 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 to glimpse their transcendent meaning. - Back cover.