Celtic Tomes
This chapter covers Temples, Altars, Images, Symbols, and the Cult of Weapons of the Ancient Celts.
info_outline Festivals CT053Celtic 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.
info_outline Tabu CT052Celtic 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.
info_outline Sacrifice and Prayer CT051Celtic 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.
info_outline Cosmogony CT050Celtic 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.
info_outline Animal Worship CT049Celtic 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.
info_outline Tree and Plant Worship CT048Celtic 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.
info_outline River and Well Worship CT047Celtic 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.
info_outline Primitive Nature Worship CT046Celtic Tomes
McCulloch talks about animism, where everything was a person and the greater objects of nature were worshiped for themselves alone.
info_outline The Cult of the Dead CT045Celtic 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_outlineLiving with the Tylwyth Teg
British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)
Book 1 Chapter 6
by
Wirt Sikes
All about the wondrous music and dancing of the Welsh fairies, and the dangers of joining in with their dance. Sikes tells us the legend of Rhys and Llewellyn, the Bush from Heaven and the story of Twm and Iago in the Forrest of the Magic Yew.
Running Order:
- Section 1 00:50
- The Tale of Elidurus 2:05
- Section 2 5:32
- Shui Rhys and the Fairies 5:42
- Section 3 8:15
- St. Dogmell's Parish, Pembrokeshire 8:20
- Section 4 10:06
- Dancing with the Ellyllon 10:10
- The Legend of Rhys and Llewellyn 10:50
- Dancing with the Ellyllon 10:10
- Section 5 13:13
- Death from joining in the Fairy Reel 13:18
- Legend of the Bush of Heaven 14:45
- Death from joining in the Fairy Reel 13:18
- Section 6 16:07
- The Forest of the Magic Yew 16:13
- The Tale of Twm and Iago 16:41
- The Forest of the Magic Yew 16:13
- Section 7 19:12
- Taffy ap Sion, a Legend of Pencader 19:16
- The Traditions of Pant Shon Shenkin 24:40
- Taffy ap Sion, a Legend of Pencader 19:16
- Section 8 25:38
- Tudur of Llangollen; the Legend of Nant yr Ellyllon 25:41
- Section 9 30:45
-
- Polly Williams and the Trefethin Elves 30:50
- Section 10 32:25
- The Fairies of Frennifawr 32:31
- Section 11 36:47
- Curiousity Tales 37:14
- The Fiend Master 37:57
- Section 12 41:35
- Iago ap Dewi 41:40
- Section 13 42:35
- The Original of Rip van Winkle 42:46
Shui Rhys and the Tylwyth Teg
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.
Elidurus
Shui Rhys
St. Dogmell's Parish, Pembrokeshire
Ellyllon
Rhys and llewellyn
Twm and Iago
Taffy ap Sion
Pencader
Pant Shon Shenkin
Tudur of Llangollen
Nant yr Ellyllon
Polly Williams
Trefethin
Frennifawr
Iago ap Dewi
Rip van Winkle
Giraldus Cambrensis
Pembroke Castle
Vale of Neath
Udor udorum
Halgein udorum
Sir R. C. Hoare's Translation of Giraldus
Cardiganshire
Tylwyth Teg
Cardigan
Teir-nos Ysprydion
fou
Moelgrove
Sir John Franklin
Edmund William Rees, of Aberystruth
Rhys and Llewellyn
Carmarthenshire
corelw
Duw catto ni!
Hai, holo!
O dyn!
Carnarvon
Clynog
Carnarvonshire
Llwyn y Nef
Cymru Fu
Caio
Craig-y-Ddinas
Mathavarn
Llanwrin
Cantref of Cyfeillioc
Ffridd yr Ywen
Twm and lago
gwr cyfarwydd - conjuror
Duw! Duw!
Pencader, Carmarthenshire
Wbwb
Plucked from the Fairy Circle
Careg Hir
Sion Evan y Crydd o Glanrhyd
Catti Shon
Pencader
Sion Glanrhyd
Evan Shenkin, Penferdir
Dir anwyl fi!
Pencarreg
Dinas Bran Castle
Nant yr Ellyllon
Tudur ap Einion Gloff
Nos da'ch'
Ac i chwithau
Fron
Rev. T. R. Lloyd (Estyn), in 'The Principality.'
Trefethin
Ship Inn, at Pontypool, Monmouthshire
ffollachau
Pembrokeshire
Frennifach
tatws-a-llaeth
Tipton
W. Howells,
Archdeacon Beynon
Bluebeard, Psyche, Eros
Taliesin, Gwion Bach
Cerridwen
Bunyan
Llanllawddog, Carmarthenshire
Llangwyly
Grimm
Catskills
Hartz Mountains
Washington Irving
Joseph Jefferson
Epimenides
Dennys
The Fatal Draught
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.