Celtic Mythology

legends about their gods and heroes. The legends were passed

from generation to generation. They were written down in the Middle Ages but they describe far older times when the tribal way of life predominated among the Celts. The chroniclers and writers translated the Celtic legends into Modern English and called them the “Celtic Sagas”.

– Mythos – meant everything told by the mouth of

man, a word or a story.
There are two main canons of myths, Irish and Welsh.
The oldest known myths were composed in 300 BC. It was the time of Celtic Iron Age. The Celts believed in many Gods and had their own priests – the Druids, who passed these stories. With the coming of Christianity in the 5th c. AD they were passed on by bards. They were first written down in the 7th century. These myths were kept in Irish manuscripts written down between the 12th and 14th centuries AD.
They were first translated into English at the beginning of the 20th c.

However, they give an idea of the Celts’ way of

life, their occupations, tools, weapons, customs and religion. That is why Celtic mythology is a valuable source of information about the early inhabitants of the British Isles.

was divided among several tribes. The tribes that lived in

Ireland were ruled by the legendary King Conchobar. Many warriors gathered round the King of Ulster and there was not one among them who was not a hero. Their exploits were those of giants. With one stroke of their favourite swords they beheaded hills for sport. When they sat down to meat, they devoured whole oxen. The gods themselves could hardly do better than the heroes of Ulster.