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Celtic History



  Among Druids and High Kings : Celtic Ireland, Ad 400-1200 (What Life Was Like)

Time-Life Books (Editor)
 
 

  The Ancient Celts

Barry Cunliffe (Editor)
Reviews
World History Editor's Recommended Book
Each generation, the British scholar Jacquetta Hawkes has observed, chooses the archaeology that best suits its current ideology. For a century beginning in the late 1800s, archaeologists depicted the Celts as an inordinately brave and poetic tribal people who battled their way across the Eurasian world without being unduly aggressive--in the manner, that is, of good colonialists. Today some archaeologists are more inclined to consider the Celts as a people who kept ethnic unity alive across a huge span of territory and time, a view that may offer comfort in a time when, as Oxford University professor Barry Cunliffe writes, "ethnic divisions are becoming a painful and disturbing reality." Cunliffe himself takes the view that the Celts were at once alike and diverse, which led to the formation of many different Celtic cultures from the Black Sea to Ireland. This heavily illustrated, well-written book tells their story well, from the beginnings of Celtic culture in the distant Indo-European past to the height of Celtic power in the third century A.D.

Synopsis
Fierce warriors and skilled craftsmen, the Celts were famous throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, feared by both Greeks and Romans. Written by one of the world's leading authorities on European history, The Ancient Celts is a stunningly illustrated account of one of the leading civilizations of ancient Europe. 200 photos, 24 in color.

 

  The Celts : Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture

Jean Markale

Reviews
Book Description
While historians have tended to accord the Celts a place of minor significance in comparison to the Romans, The Celts firmly aligns the Celtic peoples as the primary European precedent to the Greco-Roman hegemony, restoring this culture to its true importance in the development of European civilization. An expert in Celtic studies, Markale regards myth as a branch of history, and explores mythological material to reveal the culture that gave rise to it. The alternative historical vision that emerges is both convincing and exciting.

One of the most comprehensive treatments of Celtic civilization ever written. A cornerstone of Western civilization and the major source of its social, political, and literary values, Celtic civilization occupied the whole of Western Europe for more than a millennium. Unlike the Middle Eastern forerunners of the Greco-Roman world, Celtic civilization is still alive today.

Synopsis
This comprehensive treatment of Celtic civilization peels back the layers of European history beyond the Greco-Roman influence to reveal the ancient Celtic people who were the real source of our Western social, political, and literary values. Drawing on myth as well as history, Markale's treatment is both original and convincing. Illustrations. (Inner Traditions International)

 

  How the Irish Saved Civilization : The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe

Thomas A. Cahill
Reviews
Amazon.com
In this delightful and illuminating look into a crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas Cahill takes us to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick and the Book of Kells. Here, far from the barbarian despoliation of the continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully preserved the West's written treasury. When stability returned in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spreading learning, becoming not only the conservators of civilization, but also the shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp on Western culture.
 

  The Fury of the Northmen : Saints, Shrines and Sea-Raiders in the Viking Age A.D. 793-878

John Marsden
 
 

  The Celtic World

Barry Cunliffe, Emil M. Buhrer
Reviews
Synopsis
Numerous illustrations, photographs, and maps mark a large-format exploration of the history of the Celts, a civilization that once ranged from central Europe to northern Scotland. The pictures are really fabulous!
 
 

  The Book of Durrow : A Medieval Masterpiece at Trinity College Dublin

Bernard Meehan
Reviews
Synopsis
Brilliant color reproductions highlight this investigation into the creation and meaning of an ancient Irish illuminated manuscript--the seventh-century predecessor to the Book of Kells. An unusual and welcome gift for anyone interested in the history of the Emerald Isle. 30 color plates.

Midwest Book Review
The Book Of Durrow is an early medieval Gospel book from the seventh century housed in the Trinity College library: written by Irish monks, this is the earliest surviving insular Gospel book. Here Manuscript keeper Meehan examines the masterpiece, using forty color reproductions to aid in the interpretation of the book's pictures and meaning. A fine, specialized title.

 

  The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland

R. F. Foster (Editor)
Reviews
Synopsis
Few countries have such a compelling and stirring history as Ireland. This sumptuously illustrated volume captures all the color of the Emerald Isle, from the earliest prehistoric communities through centuries of turbulent change, to the present day. 200 halftones; 24 color plates; 8 maps.


The latest volume in the widely acclaimed series offers the most authoritative account of Irish history yet. From the earliest prehistoric communities to the present day, this book emphasizes the paradoxes and ambiguities of the Emerald Isle. More than 200 photos, 24 in full color.

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Revised: November 18, 1998.