Celtic Heritage

Celtic Heritage PDF Author: Alwyn D. Rees
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780500110089
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 427

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Book Description

Celtic Heritage

Celtic Heritage PDF Author: Alwyn D. Rees
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780500110089
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 427

Get Book Here

Book Description


Heathen Gods in Old English Literature

Heathen Gods in Old English Literature PDF Author: Richard North
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521551830
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
Heathen gods are hard to find in Old English literature. Most Anglo-Saxon writers had no interest in them, and scholars today prefer to concentrate on the Christian civilization for which the Anglo-Saxons were so famous. Richard North offers an interesting view of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian paganism and mythology in the pre-Viking and Viking age. He discusses the pre-Christian gods of Bede's history of the Anglo-Saxon conversion with reference to an orgiastic figure known as Ingui, whom Bede called 'god of this age'. Using expert knowledge of comparative literary material from Old Norse-Icelandic and other Old Germanic languages, North reconstructs the slender Old English evidence in a highly imaginative treatment of poems such as Deor and The Dream of the Rood. Other gods such as Woden are considered with reference to Odin and his family in Old Norse-Icelandic mythology. In conclusion, it is argued that the cult of Ingui was defeated only when the ideology of the god Woden was sponsored by the Anglo-Saxon church. The book will interest students interested in Old English, Old Norse-Icelandic and Germanic literatures, Anglo-Saxon history and archaeology.

Toward the Gleam

Toward the Gleam PDF Author: T. M. Doran
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1586176331
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
Between the two world wars, on a hike in the English countryside, Professor John Hill takes refuge from a violent storm in a cave. There he nearly loses his life, but he also makes an astonishing discovery -- an ancient manuscript housed in a cunningly crafted metal box. Though a philologist by profession, Hill cannot identify the language used in the manuscript and the time period in which it is was made, but he knows enough to make an educated guess -- that the book and its case are the fruits of a long-lost, but advanced civilization. The translation of the manuscript and the search for its origins become a life-long quest for Hill. As he uncovers an epic that both enchants and inspires him, he tracks down scholars from Oxford to Paris who can give him clues. Along the way, he meets several intriguing characters, including a man keenly interested in obtaining artifacts from a long-lost civilization that he believes was the creation of a superior race, and will help him fulfill his ambition to rule other men. Concluding that Hill must have found something that may help him in this quest, but knowing not what it is and where it is hidden, he has Hill, his friends at Oxford, and his family shadowed and threatened until finally he and Hill face off in a final, climatic confrontation. A story that features a giant pirate and slaver, a human chameleon on a perilous metaphysical journey, a mysterious hermit, and creatures both deadly and beautiful, this is a novel that explores the consequences of the predominant ideas of the 20th Century.

Anglo-Saxon Paganism

Anglo-Saxon Paganism PDF Author: Jamie Lang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
How Anglo-Saxons in Britain Understood their World 1,500 Years Ago When Anglo-Saxon tribes first settled in Britain in the mid fifth century CE, their beliefs, though varied and developing over time, were essentially pagan and polytheistic. The history of the ways in which the early English understood their world is told here in terms of both the character of specific deities they followed, and the broader nature of their pre-Christian culture. Key themes include the ways in which Anglo-Saxon paganism differed from Scandinavian (Viking) spirituality, and how early English deities compared to those of other early polytheistic cultures, such as the Greek and Sumerian. In order to better comprehend the pagan Anglo-Saxon mind-set, basic Germanic materialist philosophy is contrasted with aspects of ancient Greek idealist philosophy, in particular neoplatonism, and related changing perceptions of the goddess Hecate. Loki's role as an agent of cultural dissent and gender diversity is analysed, and differing views of life after death reviewed. Particular attention is paid to what the Old English Beowulf poem might tell us about English tribal foundation myths, and chapters on the uses of runes and the place of trees in pagan culture are also included. The author seeks to make a case that the early English revered the divine feminine to a degree not found in either Scandinavian paganism or Roman Christianity. As part of this analysis eight north European myths are adapted, retold in short story formats, and evaluated in terms of what they can tell us about important features of early English pagan belief. Early Anglo-Saxon ways of looking at and understanding the world were complex, sophisticated, diverse and pluralistic, and very different from 21st century belief systems. This book seeks to help us comprehend the thought processes of the early English living in Britain one and a half thousand years ago.

Gods, Heroes, & Kings

Gods, Heroes, & Kings PDF Author: Christopher R. Fee
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198038788
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
The islands of Britain have been a crossroads of gods, heroes, and kings-those of flesh as well as those of myth-for thousands of years. Successive waves of invasion brought distinctive legends, rites, and beliefs. The ancient Celts displaced earlier indigenous peoples, only to find themselves displaced in turn by the Romans, who then abandoned the islands to Germanic tribes, a people themselves nearly overcome in time by an influx of Scandinavians. With each wave of invaders came a battle for the mythic mind of the Isles as the newcomer's belief system met with the existing systems of gods, legends, and myths. In Gods, Heroes, and Kings, medievalist Christopher Fee and veteran myth scholar David Leeming unearth the layers of the British Isles' unique folkloric tradition to discover how this body of seemingly disparate tales developed. The authors find a virtual battlefield of myths in which pagan and Judeo-Christian beliefs fought for dominance, and classical, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Celtic narrative threads became tangled together. The resulting body of legends became a strange but coherent hybrid, so that by the time Chaucer wrote "The Wife of Bath's Tale" in the fourteenth century, a Christian theme of redemption fought for prominence with a tripartite Celtic goddess and the Arthurian legends of Sir Gawain-itself a hybrid mythology. Without a guide, the corpus of British mythology can seem impenetrable. Taking advantage of the latest research, Fee and Leeming employ a unique comparative approach to map the origins and development of one of the richest folkloric traditions. Copiously illustrated with excerpts in translation from the original sources,Gods, Heroes, and Kings provides a fascinating and accessible new perspective on the history of British mythology.

Travels Through Middle Earth

Travels Through Middle Earth PDF Author: Alaric Albertsson
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN: 0738715360
Category : Anglo-Saxons
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
Tolkien's enduring vision of Middle Earth was largely inspired by the worldview of ancient Saxon Pagans. In this pagan guidebook, Alaric Albertsson presents a complete introduction to Anglo-Saxon cosmology, deities, spirits, and rituals. Travels Through Middle Earth offers practical information about the Saxon Pagan path, including many ways to incorporate Saxon rituals into contemporary spiritual life. Discover the húsel, a basic ritual for honoring personal ancestors, the Gods, and dwarves and elves. Learn how to set up a wéofod, the Saxon altar, to connect with the Gods. Also covered in this handbook: the concept of wyrd and how it shapes your destiny, the holy tides and how to celebrate them, rites of passage, worship, magic, and even instructions for making mead.

Water and fire

Water and fire PDF Author: Daniel Anlezark
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526162652
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
Noah’s Flood is one of the Bible’s most popular stories, and flood myths survive in many cultures today. This book presents the first comprehensive examination of the incorporation of the Flood myth into the Anglo-Saxon imagination. Focusing on literary representations, it contributes to our understanding of how Christian Anglo-Saxons perceived their place in the cosmos. For them, history unfolded between the primeval Deluge and a future – perhaps imminent – flood of fire, which would destroy the world. This study reveals both an imaginative diversity and shared interpretations of the Flood myth. Anglo-Saxons saw the Flood as a climactic event in God’s ongoing war with his more rebellious creatures, but they also perceived the mystery of redemption through baptism. Anlezark studies a range of texts against their historical background, and discusses shifting emphases in the way the Flood was interpreted for diverse audiences. The book concludes with a discussion of Beowulf, relating the epic poem’s presentation of the Flood myth to that of other Anglo-Saxon texts.

Bede, The Reckoning of Time

Bede, The Reckoning of Time PDF Author: Beda (Venerabilis.)
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 0853236933
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 585

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Book Description
From the patristic age until the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582, computus -- the science of time reckoning and art of calendar construction -- was a matter of intense concern. Bede's The Reckoning of Time (De temporum ratione) was the first comprehensive treatise on this subject and the model and reference for all subsequent teaching discussion and criticism of the Christian calendar. It is a systematic exposition of the Julian solar calendar and the Paschal table of Dionysius Exiguus, with their related formulae for calculating dates. But it is more than a technical handbook. Bede sets calendar lore within a broad scientific framework and a coherent Christian concept of time, and incorporates themes as diverse as the theory of tides and the doctrine of the millennium. This translation of the full text of The Reckoning of Time includes an extensive historical introduction and a chapter-by-chapter commentary. It will interest historians of medieval science, theology, and education, Bede scholars and Anglo-Saxonists, liturgists, and Church historians. It will also serve as an accessible introduction to computus itself. Generations of medieval computists nourished their expertise in Bede's orderly presentation; modern scholars in quest of safe passage through this complex terrain can hope for no better guide.

Ragnarok

Ragnarok PDF Author: A.S. Byatt
Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 184767965X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
As the bombs rain down in the Second World War, one young girl is evacuated to the English countryside. Struggling to make sense of her new wartime life, she is given a copy of a book of ancient Norse myths and her inner and outer worlds are transformed. Linguistically stunning and imaginatively abundant, Byatt’s mesmerising tale - inspired by the myth of Ragnarok - is a landmark piece of storytelling from one of the world's truly great writers.

Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms PDF Author: Claire Breay
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780712352024
Category : Anglo-Saxons
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Anglo-Saxon period stretches from the arrival of Germanic groups on British shores in the early 5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. During these centuries, the English language was used and written down for the first time, pagan populations were converted to Christianity, and the foundations of the kingdom of England were laid. This richly illustrated new book - which accompanies a landmark British Library exhibition - presents Anglo-Saxon England as the home of a highly sophisticated artistic and political culture, deeply connected with its continental neighbours. Leading specialists in early medieval history, literature and culture engage with the unique, original evidence from which we can piece together the story of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, examining outstanding and beautiful objects such as highlights from the Staffordshire hoard and the Sutton Hoo burial. At the heart of the book is the British Library's outstanding collection of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, the richest source of evidence about Old English language and literature, including Beowulf and other poetry; the Lindisfarne Gospels, one of Britain's greatest artistic and religious treasures; the St Cuthbert Gospel, the earliest intact European book; and historical manuscripts such as Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. These national treasures are discussed alongside other, internationally important literary and historical manuscripts held in major collections in Britain and Europe. This book, and the exhibition it accompanies, chart a fascinating and dynamic period in early medieval history, and will bring to life our understanding of these formative centuries.