Cattle-Lords and Clansmen: the Social Structure of Early Ireland by Nerys Patterson was one of the Celtic books that was recommended to me by online sCattle-Lords and Clansmen: the Social Structure of Early Ireland by Nerys Patterson was one of the Celtic books that was recommended to me by online scholarly types. Even though I’m pretty used to reading academic books, this one was rather difficult and tedious to get through. She starts by reviewing and critiquing previous scholarship on what ancient/medieval Irish society was like. She notes that earlier scholars used innacurate translations, and until recently modern scholars did not like to use ancient Irish law as a source for evidence of social structure. Patterson takes a multidisplinary approach- using evidence from law tracts, other texts, linguistics and archaeology. If like me, you are not interested in the nitty-gritty of law and social rank, skip the first couple chapters to get to the good stuff. Ch. 3 is about the economics and material culture, and there are some interesting tidbits on the cultural associations of various animals, as well as their uses and roles.Ch. 4 is about how the Irish divided up land , which has some cosmological implications. Ch. 5 Seasonal Rhythyms of Social Life, was very interesting and informative- it discusses how the cycles of agricultural, military and courtship/marriage/family activity interrelated to the seasons and festivals. The festivals, it turns out, are less solar than they are agricultural and tribal in nature.
This is probably better to read after getting through more of the earlier scholarship. One book you should read first is Celtic Heritage by Rees, which she cites a lot. Though it’s a difficult read, it is useful for understanding how ancient Irish society worked, how they related to the land, how they saw the world they lived in. ...more
Lady with a Mead Cup is an analysis of the social/religious significance of a ritual in which the wife/lady/queen of a warlord offers a cup of mead toLady with a Mead Cup is an analysis of the social/religious significance of a ritual in which the wife/lady/queen of a warlord offers a cup of mead to the members of a warband in Germanic and continental Celtic (Gaulish) culture. Actually that kind of relates to Wisdom of the Outlaw which I previously read in that it’s focused on warbands and their connection with seership, though it doesn’t discuss the Fenians.
Much of it was rather dry and hard to get through so I skipped parts (mainly the big chunk in the middle about archeology), but there was some good info in there, especially about the role of sibyls/prophetesses in warbands, and later on in the book, the cult of the “Gaulish Mercury”, Rosmerta, and the connection between Mercury, Lugh and Odin and how the cult of Odin evolved in relation to the rise of the warband....more
This is a fascinating analysis of stories about the childhood of the great Irish (and Scottish) hero Fionn MacCumhail. Nagy relates the themes in the This is a fascinating analysis of stories about the childhood of the great Irish (and Scottish) hero Fionn MacCumhail. Nagy relates the themes in the Boyhood Deeds to other Fenian tales, revealing their structure and symbolism. Finn is a complex figure- an outsider who lives on the edge of society, in the wilderness, as well as a poet and seer- positions that were highly regarded, even fairly central to ancient and medieval Irish culture. Nagy examines the role the fennidi- bands of outsider warriors play by serving as gatekeepers to the otherworld- they protect civilized society from human and supernatural invaders, as well as gaining knowledge from the Otherworld. Finn’s family and foster-parents have an interesting influence on the path he takes- Finn’s father was a fennid as well, and his mother was the daughter of a druid- these opposing identities coalesce to create Finn. His foster-parents raised him in the wilderness, and taught him how to fight and hunt.
I found Wisdom of the Outlaw to be quite readable & accessible to the layperson for a scholarly work. I learned a lot about Fenian cycle of Irish mythology and how it relates to the culture, mythos and ideology as a whole....more
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