An Introduction to Celtic Mythology and Religion

What do we mean when we talk about Celtic culture and Celtic religion?

Were the Celts the ancient mystics and conquering heroes of romantic literature?

This course will look beyond such notions to consider the complex world of Celtic mythology and religion. By using historical, archaeological and literary material and methodology, we will explore how the people we have come to call Celtic viewed their world.

The course will examine familiar topics such as heroic literature and archaeology, but it will also explore changing attitudes to the nature of Celtic identity and the degree to which urbanization and globalization have affected and encouraged the spread of ideas about Celticism.

Learning and teaching

The module will be delivered through ten 2-hour sessions.

These sessions will consist of a 1-hour lecture followed by class discussion and group work on specific topics relating to the module.

The discussion and group work will enable students to think critically and contribute to the debates and topics presented during the lectures.

The discussion-led sessions and the lectures will be supplemented by resources available to students via Learning Central.

1. ‘How Celtic Are We?’ Introduction to the Celts and their Identity
2. Classical Images of Celtic Mythology and Religion
3. Celtic Heads: A Survey of Art, Archaeology and Literature
4. The Druids and evidence for Celtic Religion
5. The natural world: Gods of nature vs. goddesses of water?
6. Death and the otherworld
7. Voyage tales, Fairy Beings and Otherworld adventures
8. Iron Age sites and the identification of Celtic Cultures
9. Into the Twilight? Celtic Revivals old and New Age

A visit to the Cardiff Library Special Collections

Coursework and assessment

Formative assessment / feedback will occur on a weekly basis through class discussion and group work.

Assignment 1 (Critical Review): 30% - Exact nature of the task will vary from year to year. 500 words. Week 5-6.

Assignment 2 (Essay): 70% - Exact nature of the task will vary from year to year. 1000 words. End of course.

Reading suggestions

• Aldhouse-Green, Miranda J., Caesar’s Druids: Story of an Ancient Priesthood (New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 2010).
• Gantz, Jeffrey, Early Irish Sagas and Myths (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1981).
• Koch, John T. (ed.), Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, 2 vols (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2006).
• Stout, Geraldine, Newgrange and the Bend in the Boyne (Cork: Cork University Press, 2003).
• Mark Williams, Ireland’s Immortals: A History of the Gods of Irish Myth (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016).

Library and computing facilities

As a student on this course you are entitled to join and use the University’s library and computing facilities. Find out more about using these facilities.

Accessibility

Our aim is access for all. We aim to provide a confidential advice and support service for any student with a long term medical condition, disability or specific learning difficulty. We are able to offer one-to-one advice about disability, pre-enrolment visits, liaison with tutors and co-ordinating lecturers, material in alternative formats, arrangements for accessible courses, assessment arrangements, loan equipment and dyslexia screening.