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Though the Celtic world at its
height covered much of western and central Europe, it was not politically
unified, nor was there any substantial central source of cultural influence or
homogeneity; as a result, there was a great deal of variation in local practices
of Celtic religion.
The nature and functions of these ancient gods can be deduced from their names,
the location of their inscriptions, their iconography, the Roman gods they are
equated with, and similar figures from later bodies of Celtic mythology.
Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples. Like
other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a polytheistic religion,
having many gods and goddesses. The mythologies of continental Celtic peoples,
such as the Gauls and Celtiberians, did not survive their conquest by the Roman
Empire, the loss of their Celtic languages and their subsequent conversion to
Christianity. Only remnants are found in Greco-Roman sources and archaeology.
Most surviving Celtic mythology belongs to the Insular Celtic peoples (the Gaels
of Ireland and Scotland; the Celtic Britons of western Britain and Brittany).
They preserved some of their myths in oral lore, which were eventually written
down by Christian scribes in the Middle Ages. Irish mythology has the largest
written body of myths, followed by Welsh mythology.
The supernatural race called the Tuatha Dé Danann is believed to be based on the
main Celtic gods of Ireland, while many Welsh characters belong either to the
Plant Dôn ("Children of Dôn") or the Plant Llŷr ("Children of Llŷr"). Some
figures in Insular Celtic myth have ancient continental parallels: Irish Lugh
and Welsh Lleu are cognate with Lugus, Goibniu and Gofannon with Gobannos, Macán
and Mabon with Maponos, and so on. One common figure is the sovereignty goddess,
who represents the land and bestows sovereignty on a king by marrying him. The
Otherworld is also a common motif, a parallel realm of the supernatural races,
which is visited by some mythical heroes. Celtic myth influenced later Arthurian
legend.
My Icon: The (not so) horned god; Cernunnos |
