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_outlineThe Medieval Devil in Wales
British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)
Book 2 Chapter 6
by
Wirt Sikes
The Medieval Devil in his customary form in Wales. How Sion Cent tricked the Devil and kept his soul and how he was tricked by an old Welshwoman at the Devil's Bridge. We learn about the Devil's Bridge as well as about how to avoid Pacts with the Devil. Sikes tells us of the few visits by angels to Wales as well as the Bardic Tradition of the Creation.
Running Order:
- The Evil Spirit in his customary Form 1:36
- The stupid Medieval Devil in Wales 1:53
- Sion Cent 3:43
- The Devil outwitted 4:26
- Pacts with the Fiend and their Avoidance 4:49
- Sion Dafydd's Foul Pipe 5:28
- The Devil's Bridge and its Legends 8:34
- Similar Legends in other Lands 10:10
- The Devil's Pulpit near Tintern 11:50
- Angelic Spirits 13:03
- Welsh Superstitions as to pronouncing the Name of the Evil Spirit 16:03
- The Bardic Tradition of the Creation 17:12
- The Struggle between Light and Darkness and its Symbolization 18:49
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 pronunciations right for you.
Sion Cent
Sion Dafydd
Cardiganshire
Polyphemus
Hercules
Cacus
Odysseus
Peredur
Mabinogion
Gambrinus
der Teufel
Jack the Giant Killer
Norse Jotuns
Arabian Genii
Monmouthshire
Maenol
Pope Benedict IX
Rev. John Kent
Cymric
Grosmont Fair
Monnow, near Grosmont
Diawl
Carmarthenshire
Hills of Arfon
Sion Dafydd
Llanfair-Fechan
Rhiwgyfylchi
Ach! tw! tw!
Main at Frankfort
Switzerland
St. Gothard
Andermatt
Hafod
Tintern Abbey
Cistercian monks
degage (e acute)
Llandogo
Prophet Jones
David Thomas
Pantau
Laugharne
Pa hyd? Pa hyd? Dychwelwch feibein Adda!
Pa hyd? Pa hyd yr erlidiwch y Cristnogion duwiol?
Ress David
Whitlands
Pont y Gwr Drwg
/|\ (Welsh Bardic Name of God)
The Three Rays
Hindus
Brahma, VBishnu
Siva
Einigan Gawr
Genii/Jinns
Ahriman
Vritra
Indra
Ormuzd
British Goblins can be found on Archive.org
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.