About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherPrinceton University Press

ISBN-10069118304X

ISBN-139780691183046

eBay Product ID (ePID)24038583903

Product Key Features

Number of Pages608 Pages

Publication NameIreland's Immortals : a History of the Gods of Irish Myth

LanguageEnglish

SubjectCeltic Spirituality, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology, Folklore & Mythology, History, European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh

Publication Year2018

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaLiterary Criticism, Religion, Body, Mind & Spirit, Social Science

AuthorMark Williams

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height1.4 in

Item Weight33.8 Oz

Item Length9.4 in

Item Width7.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceCollege Audience

Reviews"Imaginative, well-written, and full of interesting information.... Williams's book is a magnificent and exciting undertaking." --Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Irish Times, "Far too much writing on Irish mythology is disturbingly superficial, and that makes a book as comprehensive and learned as this one a welcome addition." ---Juliette Wood, Folklore, "What is really impressive in this book is Mark Williams's ability to bring together modern English and medieval Irish literature.... It is a beautifully written analysis, bursting with ideas and new insights." --Clare Downham, International Yeats Studies, "[A] fascinating history.... Williams ... is equally at home in the arcana of Old Irish texts and modern English-language writing, and it is this range of erudition that has allowed him to write the first full overview of the long twilight of the Irish gods." --Fintan O'Toole, New York Review of Books, "Mark Williams has written a very readable and hugely informative book with novel insights." ---Ephraim Nissan, Fabula, "Williams has a wealth of insight for his readers. No book like this has ever been written before; and all who seek to gain a better sense of its subjects ... will be in its author's debt." --John Carey, Studia Celtica

SynopsisA sweeping history of Ireland's native gods, from Iron Age cult and medieval saga to the Celtic Revival and contemporary fiction Ireland's Immortals tells the story of one of the world's great mythologies. The first account of the gods of Irish myth to take in the whole sweep of Irish literature in both the nation's languages, the book describes how Ireland's pagan divinities were transformed into literary characters in the medieval Christian era-and how they were recast again during the Celtic Revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A lively narrative of supernatural beings and their fascinating and sometimes bizarre stories, Mark Williams's comprehensive history traces how these gods-known as the T atha D Danann -have shifted shape across the centuries. We meet the Morr gan, crow goddess of battle; the fire goddess Brigit, who moonlights as a Christian saint; the fairies who inspired J.R.R. Tolkien's elves; and many others. Ireland's Immortals illuminates why these mythical beings have loomed so large in the world's imagination for so long., A sweeping history of Ireland's native gods, from Iron Age cult and medieval saga to the Celtic Revival and contemporary fictionIreland's Immortals tells the story of one of the world's great mythologies. The first account of the gods of Irish myth to take in the whole sweep of Irish literature in both the nation's languages, the book describes, A sweeping history of Ireland's native gods, from Iron Age cult and medieval saga to the Celtic Revival and contemporary fictionIreland's Immortals tells the story of one of the world's great mythologies. The first account of the gods of Irish myth to take in the whole sweep of Irish literature in both the nation's languages, the book describes how Ireland's pagan divinities were transformed into literary characters in the medieval Christian era-and how they were recast again during the Celtic Revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A lively narrative of supernatural beings and their fascinating and sometimes bizarre stories, Mark Williams's comprehensive history traces how these gods-known as the Tuatha De Danann-have shifted shape across the centuries. We meet the Morrigan, crow goddess of battle; the fire goddess Brigit, who moonlights as a Christian saint; the fairies who inspired J.R.R. Tolkien's elves; and many others. Ireland's Immortals illuminates why these mythical beings have loomed so large in the world's imagination for so long., A sweeping history of Ireland's native gods, from Iron Age cult and medieval saga to the Celtic Revival and contemporary fiction Ireland's Immortals tells the story of one of the world's great mythologies. The first account of the gods of Irish myth to take in the whole sweep of Irish literature in both the nation's languages, the book describes how Ireland's pagan divinities were transformed into literary characters in the medieval Christian era--and how they were recast again during the Celtic Revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A lively narrative of supernatural beings and their fascinating and sometimes bizarre stories, Mark Williams's comprehensive history traces how these gods--known as the Túatha Dé Danann --have shifted shape across the centuries. We meet the Morrígan, crow goddess of battle; the fire goddess Brigit, who moonlights as a Christian saint; the fairies who inspired J.R.R. Tolkien's elves; and many others. Ireland's Immortals illuminates why these mythical beings have loomed so large in the world's imagination for so long.