Cult Accessories CT054
Celtic Tomes
This chapter covers Temples, Altars, Images, Symbols, and the Cult of Weapons of the Ancient Celts.
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Festivals CT053
Celtic Tomes
The Celtic year was not at first regulated by the solstices and equinoxes, but by some method connected with agriculture or with the seasons.
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Tabu CT052
Celtic Tomes
The Irish geis, pl. geasa, which may be rendered by Tabu, had two senses. It meant something which must not be done for fear of disastrous consequences, and also an obligation to do something commanded by another.
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Sacrifice and Prayer CT051
Celtic Tomes
The Celts offered human victims on the principle of a life for a life, or to propitiate the gods, or in order to divine the future from the entrails of the victim. We shall examine the Celtic custom of human sacrifice from these points of view first.
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Cosmogony CT050
Celtic Tomes
The Celts may have possessed the Heaven and Earth myth, but all trace of it has perished. There are, however, remnants of myths showing how the sky is supported by trees, a mountain, or by pillars.
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Animal Worship CT049
Celtic Tomes
Animal worship pure and simple had declined among the Celts of historic times, and animals were now regarded mainly as symbols or attributes of divinities.
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Tree and Plant Worship CT048
Celtic Tomes
The Celts had their own cult of trees, but they adopted local cults. This chapter also details how the Celts made their sacred places in dark groves, the trees being hung with offerings or with the heads of victims.
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River and Well Worship CT047
Celtic Tomes
Among the Celts the testimony of contemporary witnesses, inscriptions, votive offerings, and survivals, shows the importance of the cult of waters and of water divinities. This chapter also details the many fairies and folklore creatures associated with water.
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Primitive Nature Worship CT046
Celtic Tomes
McCulloch talks about animism, where everything was a person and the greater objects of nature were worshiped for themselves alone.
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The Cult of the Dead CT045
Celtic Tomes
The custom of burying grave-goods with the dead and other grave customs is the subject of this chapter. McCulloch also talks about the role of fairies and the festival of Samhain.
info_outlineChangelings
British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)
Book 1 Chapter 5
by
Wirt Sikes
Changelings among Welsh fairies. Stories of the Plentyn-newid, or Changelings, among Welsh Fairies. Methods of exorcising the Changeling child, the Frugal Meal, the story of Dewi Dal and the Fairies, and how mothers can sometimes stop the Fairies kidnapping their child!
Running Order:
- Section 1 0:49
- The Plentyn-newid 1:22
- The Cruel Creed of Ignorance regarding Changelings 3:00
- Modes of Ridding the House of the Fairy Child 3:35
- Section 2 5:04
- The Legend of the Frugal Meal 5:06
- Section 3 7:31
- Legend of the Place of Strife 7:34
- Section 4 11:02
- Dewi Dal and the Fairies 11:04
- Section 5 13:08
- Prevention of Fairy Kidnapping 13:10
- Fairies caught in the Act by Mothers 13:15
- Piety as an Exorcism 14:00
- Prevention of Fairy Kidnapping 13:10
Names Used in this Section
All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronounciations right for you.
Plentyn-newid
Dewi Dal
Tylwyth Teg
Edmund John William
Monmouthshire
Carnarvonshire
Martin Luther
Colloquia Mensalia
Prince of Anhalt
homicidium
River Moldaw
M. Villemarqué
Glamorganshire
Gwcljz vi ken guelet iar wenn,
Gwcljz mez ken gwelet gwezen.
Gweljz mez ha gweliz gwial,
Gweliz derven e Koat Brezal,
Biskoaz na weliz kemend all.
Gweliz mez ken gwelet derven,
Gweliz vi ken gwelet iar wenn,
Erioez ne wiliz evelhenn
[Keightley, 'Fairy Mythology']
Radnorshire
Montgomeryshire
Trefeglwys
Llanidloes
Llyn Ebyr
Gwelais fesen cyn gweled derwen;
Gweiais wy cyn gweled iâr
Erioed ni welais ferwi bwyd i fedel
Mewn plisgyn wy iár!
Taiar
Cae Mawr
Eurwallt
Rev. T. R. Lloyd (Estyn), in 'The Principality'
Dazzy Walter
Abel Walter
Ebwy Fawr
Jennet Francis
Friesland
Thuringia
Henderson, 'Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties'
Doolittle's 'Social Life of the Chinese'
Jennet Francis struggles with the fairies for her baby
A Shout of Thanks to Dom Duff
We'd like to send out a huge shout of thanks to Dom Duff, the famous Breton Power-Folk musician for his help with the Breton Language (Breizh) pronunciation in this chapter. You can find out all about Dom and hear his super music on his website!
British Goblins can be found on Sacred Texts.
You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.
Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.
Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte. You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.