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Basic Celtic Books

These are a series of lists of recommended books which I have collected over the years. All credit to the people who put them together. And unfortunately I cannot identify all of them, as some of these lists are second and third hand, and most are years old. (If you know who the unknown authors are, please pass along the information.)
You will notice a number of the same books appear on more than one list. This should be a good indication that not only is the book in question a "good" book, but also that it is a highly advisable addition to any sort of permanent library you might want to build.
And check out my own personal list!

From my all-time favorite Druidess, Domi O'Brien:
If you are interested in Celtic magic, avoid the books by Hope and by Conway; they are simply mainstream Wicca with Celtic names. For genuine Celtic material, check your library (and interlibrary loan) for:

Rees and Rees, Celtic Heritage.
Piggott, The Druids.
Jackson, A Celtic Miscellany.
Darkstar and Bwca, The Cauldron of Poesy.
Rhys, Celtic Folklore.
Carmichael, Carmina Gaedelica.
Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain.
Ross and Robins, Life and Death of a Druid Prince.
Gree, Gods of the Celts.
MacCana, Celtic Mythology.
Thwaite, Beyond the Inhabited World.
Herm, The Celts.
Chadwick, The Celts.
Chadwick and Dillon, The Celtic Realms.
O'Cuiv, The Linguistic Training of the Medieval Irish Poet.
Kelly, Guide to Early Irish Law.
Markale, Women of the Celts.
Driscoll, The Celtic Consciousness.
Calder, Auriacept na N-Eces.
MacAllister, Lebor Gabala Erenn.
O Rahilly, The Tain.
Danaher, The Year in Ireland.
O Tuathail, The Druid's Dictionary.

Following is some recommended reading on Druidism Ancient and Modern, and associated topics. This is a very brief list, and admittedly quite heavily weighted in the Celtic direction. The ADF Study Program Guide is an excellent source for additional suggestions in other areas. The books below and those in the Study Program Guide are considered to be of sound scholarship, which is not true of much of what has been published about the Druids. You'll notice that most of the publication dates are relatively recent. This is because up until the 1950's research into the Druids was heavily influenced by a couple of hundred years of publication which ranged from mere inaccuracy to pure fantasy. It is only within the last 40 years or so that scholars have begun to tease out a clearer understanding of who and what the Druids really were.
- 'The Druids', Stuart Piggott. Thames and Hudson, London, 1975. ISBN 0-500-27363-4
- 'In Search of the Indo-Europeans', J.P. Mallory. Thames and Hudson, London, 1989 ISBN 0-500-27616-1
- 'Legends of the Celts', Frank Delaney. Sterling Publishing, NY, 1989 ISBN 0-8069-8350-7
- 'Life and Death of a Druid Prince', Ann Ross and Don Robins. Touchtone, NY, 1989 ISBN 0-671-74122-5
- 'The Celtic World', Barry Cunliffe. Greenwich House, NY, 1979. ISBN 0-517-61530-9
- 'The Mabinogion'. (Welsh mythology, several translations)
- 'Women of the Celts', Jean Markale. Inner Traditions International, Vermont, 1972. ISBN 0-89281-150-1
- 'Thracian Tales on the Gundestrop Cauldron', Flemming Kaul, Ivan Marazov, Jan Best, Nanny deVries. Najade Press, Amsterdam, 1991. ISBN 90
- 'Celtic Heritage', Alwyn Rees and Brinley Rees. Thames and Hudson, NY, 1961. ISBN 0-500-27039-2
- 'Celtic Borders; Copywrite-Free Celtic Art', Mallory Pearce. Dover Publications, NY, 1993. ISBN 0-486-27797-6
- 'Comparative Mythology', Jaan Puhvel. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1987. ISBN 0-8018-3938-6
- 'Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art', Miranda Green. Routledge, London and NY, 1989. ISBN 0-415-08076-2
- 'Celtic Myths', Miranda Green. British Museum Press and University of Texas Press, Austin,1993. ISBN 0-29272-754-2
- 'Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend', Miranda Green. Thames and Hudson, London, 1992. ISBN 0-500-01516-3
- 'Real Magic', Isaac Bonewits. Samuel Weiser, Inc, Maine, 1989. ISBN 0-87728-688-4
- ANWYL, EDWARD; "Celtic Religion in Pre-christian Times", Archibald Constable & Co. 1906 ***
- BORD, JANET & COLIN; "The Secret Country", Grenada 1978 ***
- BORD, JANET & COLIN; "Mysterious Britain", Grenada 1974 ***
- BORD, JANET & COLIN; "Earth Rites", Grenada 1983 ***
- BORD, JANET & COLIN; "Sacred Waters", Paladin Books 1986 ***
- CUNLIFFE, BARRY; "The Celtic World", McGraw Hill MCMLXXIX ***
- DAMES, MICHAEL; "The Avebury Cycle", Thames & Hudson 1977 ***
- DANAHER, KEVIN; "The Year in Ireland", (Leinster Leader, Ltd. 1972) Mercier Press 1972 ***
- EVANS-WENTZ, W. Y.; "The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries", Universtiy Books 1966 ***
- GREGORY, LADY AUGUSTA; "Gods and Fighting Men of the Celts", John Murray 1913 ***
- IRISH TEXTES SOCIECTY; "Labor Gabala Erenn", parts 1-4, Trans. R.A.S. MacAlister 1941 ***
- JONES, GWYN & THOMAS; "The Mabinogion", Dragon's Dream 1982 ***
- JOYCE, P.W.; "Social History of Ancient Ireland", Vol 1 & 2 Benjamin Blum Pub. 1968 ***
- KINSELLA, THOMAS; "The Tain", Oxford Univ. Press 1969 ***
- MACALISTER, R.A.S.; "Tara; A Pagan Sanctuary of Ancient Ireland", Charles Schribner & Sons 1931 ***
- MACNEILL, MAIRE; "The Festival of Lughnasa", Oxford, 1962 ***
- REES, ALWEN & BRINLEY; "Celtic Heritage", Oxford 1971 ***
- ROSS, ANNE; "Pagan Celtic Britian", Rudledge & Kegen Paul 1967 ***
- ROSS, ANNE, & DON ROBBINS; "The Life & Death of A Druid Prince", Summit 1989 ***
- RUTHERFORD, WARD; "The Druids, Magicians of the West", Aquarian Press 1978 ***
- SEYMOUR, ST. JOHN; "Irish Witchcraft and Demonology", 1913
- SJOESTEDT, MARIE-LOUISE; "Gods and Heroes of the Celts", Methven & Co. Ltd. 1949 ***
- SQUIRE, CHARLES; "Celtic Myth & Legend, Poetry & Romance", Newcastle 1975 ***
- TOULSON, SHIRLEY; "The Winter Solstice", Jill Norman & Hobhouse 1981 ***
- WHITE, CAROLYN; "A History of Irish Fairies", Mercier Press 1976 ***
- WILLIAMSON, JOHN; "The Oak King, the Holly King & the Unicorn", Harper & Row 1974 ***
- WOOD-MARTIN, W. G.; "Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland, Vols 1 & 2", Kennicat Pub. 1902/1970 ***
- "Pagan Celtic Britain", Anne Ross. Fairly dry and academic, though well researched and full of useful information.
- "Mythology of the British Isles", Geoffrey Ashe. A lovely book, full of myth, analysis and pictures, it works well as either a serious reference work or a dip-in coffee table book. Highly recommended.
- "Celtic Myths and Legends", T.W.Rolleston. A classic book on Celtic mythology, written around 90 years ago and available in cheap facsimile editions. Contains shortened version of many of the myths.
- "The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries", W.Y.Evans-Wentz. Another classic work on the beliefs of the Celts. It contains a vast amount of information about what the celts actually believed and how their old pagan religion co-existed alongside Christianity as the "Fairy Faith".
- "The Fairy Tradition in Britain", Lewis Spence. This is a rare book which really should be reprinted. Similar to the above and highly recommended if you can find a copy [unlikely].
- "A Dictionary of Faires", Katherine Briggs. A *really useful* and entertaining book dealing with British (esp. celtic) lore. Look up "Taghairm", 'the most horrible of all recorded magical spells' as practised by Scottish witches [don't try this one at home].
- "The White Goddess", Robert Graves. Hugely influential and controversial book, which has contributed to much of modern paganism (both Wicca and Druidry). Highly recommended but don't treat it all as literal truth, rather "poetic inspiration". IMHO, a "must read" for anybody following a goddess/celtic path, even if you don't agree with it!
Basic Celtic Studies Reading List (* indicates books to start with.)
- Chadwick, Nora, The Celts (Penguin, Middlesex 1985)
- *Cross, Tom Peete and Clark Harris Slover, Ancient Irish Tales (Barnes & Noble, Totowa NJ 1988 reprint of 1936 edition)
- *Cunliffe, Barry, The Celtic World : An Illustrated History of the Celtic Race, Their Culture, Customs and Legends (Greenwich House, NY 1986)
- *Davidson, HR Ellis, Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe : Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions (Syracuse University Press, Syracuse 1988)
- de Santillana, Giorgio and Hertha von Dechend, Hamlet's Mill : An Essay
- Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and its Transmission Through Myth 2ed (David R. Godine, Boston 1983)
- Dillon, Myles, Early Irish Literature (University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1948)
- Evans-Wentz, WY, The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries (Citadel Press, NY 1990)
- *Ford, Patrick K, The Mabonogi and Other Welsh Medieval Tales (University of California Press, Berkeley 1977)
- *Gantz, Jeffrey, Early Irish Myths and Sagas (Penguin, London 1988)
- *Green, Miranda, The Gods of the Celts (Barnes & Noble, Totowa NJ 1986)
- Hutton, Ronald, The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles : Their Nature and Legacy (Blackwell, Oxford 1991)
- Kinsella, Thomas, The Tain (University of Philadelphia Press, Philadelphia 1985)
- Littleton, C. Scott, The New Comparative Mythology : An Anthropological Assessment of the Theories of Georges Dumzil, 3ed (University of California Press, Berkeley 1982)
- *MacCana, Proinsias, Celtic Mythology (Hamlyn, London 1970)
- *McNeill, F. Marian, The Silver Bough (Cannongate, Edinburgh 1989)
- Merrifield, Ralph, The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic (New Amsterdam Books, NY 1988)
- *Nagy, Joseph Falaky, The Wisdom of the Outlaw : The Boyhood Deeds of Finn in Gaelic Narrative Tradition (University of California Press, Berkeley 1985)
- O'Driscoll, Robert ed. The Celtic Consciousness (George Braziller, MY 1987)
- *Piggot, Stuart, The Druids (Thames & Hudson, NY 1986)
- *Rees, Alwyn and Brinley, Celtic Heritage : Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales (Thames & Hudson, NY 1989)
- *Rolleston, TW, Celtic Myths and Legends (Avenel Books, NY 1986)
- Ross, Anne, Pagan Celtic Britain : Studies in Iconography and Tradition (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1967)
- Ross, Anne, The Pagan Celts (Barnes & Noble, Totowa NJ 1986) formerly Everyday Life of the Pagan Celts
- Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise, Gods and Heroes of the Celts (Turtle Island Foundation, Berkeley 1982)
- *Skelton, Robin and Margaret Blackwood, Earth, Air, Fire, Water : Pre-Christian and Pagan Elements in British Songs, Rhymes and Ballads (Arkana, London 1990)
- Wood-Martin, W. G., Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland : A Folklore Sketch : A Handbook of Irish Pre-Christian Traditions (Longmans, Green & Co, London 1902) 2 vols
(NOTE from LadyFaerieFire: While I cannot endorse or even recommend any particular purveyor of such specialty items as scholarly texts, etc., I did happen to find this reference among my many lists of recommended books. If you find it useful, then let me know.)
For Celtic books of all sorts, learner's texts for Irish, Welsh, Breton, books on language, culture, historical data about druids, literature and folklore, and scholarly editions of Celtic texts, try
Ford $ Bailie
P. O. Box 138
Belmont, MA 02178
(617) 489-6635
(617) 489-6388 FAX
They specialize in things Celtic, and can provide scholars, students, and the general public with publications in the field of Celtic studies, and are the principal North American distributors for the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Wales Press, Gomer Press, and are themselves publishers. They have over two hundred titles in stock, and will order anything they don't have. Their catalog comes out about twice a year, and they always carry the standard dictionaries, grammars and editions, as well as books on Celtic cultural history.