Book Description

The most comprehensive reference resource on Celtic culture; an encyclopedia written by and for scholars, yet accessible to all. This encyclopedia covers the entirety of the Celtic world, both through time and across geography. Although emphasizing the areas where Celtic languages and traditions survive into the present, the work does not slight the reaches of the Celtic empire, which was the largest language and cultural group on earth prior to the rise of Rome. In some 1,500 articles, many representing original research by the finest Celtic scholars, the work covers the Celts from prehistory to the present, giving comprehensive treatment to all topics from myth to music, religion to rulers, literature to language, government to games, and all topics in between. Entry into the rich world of Celtic scholarship has been difficult: The available information must be teased out of dense scholarly tomes or lightweight books emphasizing such popular elements of Celtic tradition as wee people, Druids, and blue-painted pagans. While this work treats those topics within its broad scope, the information is presented as scholarship, without the pop patina. 1,500 A-Z entries cover every aspect of Celtic life, from prehistory to the present, with bibliographic references for further reading Original articles by the world's finest Celtic scholars A comprehensive bibliography of 7,000+ items including both original sources and the most important and up-to-date modern discussions 200 drawings and illustrations A quick-reference and glossary containing 10,000 entries