Ireland
The
Voyage of Bran
by Meyer Kuno [1895]
Old Irish saga of a voyage to the pagan Celtic otherworld,
with parallel English and Gaelic.
The
Second Battle of Mag Tuired (Cath Maige Tuired)
This Irish saga, from before the ninth Century A.D., is an
account of the epic battle between the mythical Tuatha De
Danann and Fomoire for Ireland.
It has deep roots in Indo-European mythology, told with
Homeric grace and bawdy humor. There are many allusions to
ancient pre-Christian Celtic traditions.
The
Cattle-Raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúailnge)
The central epic of the Ulster cycle: the great Irish hero,
Cuchulain of Ulster, and his battle against the forces of
Queen Medb of Connaught.
The
Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel
Translated by Whitely Stokes [1910]
Heroic
Romances of Ireland (2 Vols.)
by A. H. Leahy [1905-6]
The Courtship of Etain, the Boar of Mac Datho, the Sickbed
of Cuchulain, and the five "Tains" or
Cattle-Forays, including the bizarre Tain bo Regamna, The
Apparition of The Great Queen to Cuchulain.
This text was contributed to Project Gutenberg.
Lady Augusta Gregory was a close collaborator with W.B.
Yeats, the Irish poet and mystic. These three books are her
retellings of Irish mythology and folklore, and are among
the best of the genre.
Cuchulain
of Muirthemne
by Lady Augusta Gregory [1902] [PB]
Gods
and Fighting Men
by Lady Augusta Gregory [1904] [PB]
A
Book of Saints and Wonders
by Lady Augusta Gregory [1906] [PB]
Visions
and Beliefs in the West of Ireland
by Lady Augusta Gregory [1920] [PB]
Yeats
Index
Fairy
and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry
Edited and Selected by W. B. Yeats [1888]
The
Celtic Twilight
by W.B. Yeats [1893 and 1902]
This short book of essays by Yeats is a
must-read.
In
The Seven Woods
by W. B. Yeats [1903]
A short book of poetry and a play by Yeats
on Irish mythological themes.
Later
Poems
by W. B. Yeats [1922]
Some of Yeats' best known poetry.
Legends
and Stories of Ireland
by Samuel Lover [1831, 1834] [PB]
An early 19th century collection of comic
Irish short stories.
The
Irish Sketch-book
by William Makepeace Thackeray [1845] [PB]
A travelogue of Ireland of the 1840s, not
much in the way of folklore, but good background
information.
Ancient
Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland
by Lady Francesca Speranza Wilde [1887] [PB]
A volumnious collection of Irish folklore,
including folk magic, not all of it authoritative.
Myths
and Folklore of Ireland
by Jeremiah Curtin [1890] [PB]
Legendary
Fictions of the Irish Celts
by Patrick Kennedy [1891] [PB]
A huge collection of Irish folklore and
legends, up through Christian times.
The
Aran Islands
by John M. Synge [1907] [PB]
A travelogue of the Aran Islands with
beautiful woodcut illustrations.
Celtic
Wonder Tales
by Ella Young [1910] [PB]
Beside
the Fire
by Douglas Hyde [1910] [PB]
A scholarly collection of Irish folk
stories.
The Preface of this book reviews many of the books included
on this page.
The
Crock of Gold
by James Stephens [1912] [PB]
A novel based on Irish folklore.
In
Wicklow and West Kerry
by John M. Synge [1912] [PB]
A travelogue of rural Ireland at the turn
of the 19th Century.
The
King of Ireland's Son
by Padraic Colum [1916] [PB]
The
Druid Path
by Marah Ellis Ryan [1917]
A collection of short stories set in
ancient and modern Ireland by an American author.
The
Candle of Vision
by AE (George William Russell) [1918]
Essays on Celtic mysticism.
Irish
Fairy Tales
by James Stephens [1920] [PB]
The
Ancient Irish Goddess of War
by WM Hennessey [1870]
Wales
The
Mabinogion
Lady Charlotte Guest, tr. [1877]
A group of Welsh tales from the Red Book
of Hergest, a 14th Century manuscript maintained at Jesus
College, Oxford.
The
Four Ancient Books of Wales
by William F. Skene [1868]
The only available translation of the complete corpus of
Welsh Bardic poetry.
Prolegomena
to the Study of Old Welsh Poetry
by Edward Anwyl [1903]
The
Gododdin Poems
from The Four Ancient Books of Wales
by William F. Skene [1868]
British
Goblins
by Wirt Sikes [1881] [PB]
Despite the title, this book is actually a
study of Welsh fairy folklore.
The
Welsh Fairy Book
by W. Jenkyn Thomas [1907] [PB]
A collection of Welsh legends and
folktales for young readers.
Celtic
Folklore: Welsh and Manx
By John Rhys [1900] [PB]
The Barddas of Iolo Morganweg
A visionary reconstruction of the Druidic and Bardic
tradition, which had a huge influence on the modern Celtic
and neo-Pagan revival. Or a notorious forgery, you decide...
The
Barddas, Vol. I (J. Williams Ab Ithel, editor) [1862]
The
Barddas, Vol. II [1874]
Scotland
Carmina Gadelica, by Alexander Carmicheal
Prayers, invocations, blessings and charms, in English
and Gaelic, from the Western Isles of Scotland.
Carmina
Gadelica, Vol. I [1900].
Carmina
Gadelica, Vol. II [1900].
Popular
Tales of the West Highlands, by J. F. Campbell
A four-volume comprehensive sourcebook of Scottish
folklore.
Popular
Tales of the West Highlands, Vol. I [1890]
Popular
Tales of the West Highlands, Vol. II [1890]
Popular
Tales of the West Highlands, Vol. III [1890]
Popular
Tales of the West Highlands, Vol. IV [1890]
The
English and Scottish Popular Ballads
by Francis James Child [1882-1898].
The motherlode of ballad collections, including many
variations on each ballad.
The
Poems of Ossian
by James Macpherson [1773]
Scottish
Fairy and Folk Tales
by Sir George Douglas [1773]
Wonder
Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend by Donald Alexander
Mackenzie [1917]
Notes
on the Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland
by Walter Gregor [1881]
The
Prophecies of the Brahan Seer
by Alexander Mackenzie, intro. by Andrew Lang [1899]
The tale of the famed Scottish clarivoyant and his amazing,
and very specific, predictions.
Brittany
Legends
and Romances of Brittany
by Lewis Spence [1917]
Folk
Tales of Brittany
by Elsie Masson [1929]
Manx
The
Phynodderree and Other Legends of the Isle of Man
by Edward Callow [1882]
The
Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man
by A.W. Moore [1891]
Traces
of the Norse Mythology in the Isle of Man
by P.M.C. Kermode [1904]
Celtic Fairies
These are texts and studies about Celtic fairies, elves,
and other supernatural creatures (as opposed to fairytales,
which are a different matter altogether). Some of the books
listed here are listed elsewhere on this page.
The
Secret Common-Wealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies
By Robert Kirk, 'Comment' by Andrew Lang [1893]
This monograph, originally written in
1691, is a classic of Scottish fairy folklore.
This etext was scanned from a very rare first printing of
the Lang edition.
Fairy
Legends and Traditions
by Thomas Crofton Croker [1825] [PB]
A
Peep at the Pixies
by Anna Eliza Bray; Illustrations by Hablot K. Browne
[1854]. [PB]
The
Fairy Mythology
by Thomas Keightley [1870]. [PB]
British
Goblins
by Wirt Sikes [1881] [PB]
Despite the title, this book is actually a
study of Welsh fairy folklore.
The
Phynodderree and Other Legends of the Isle of Man
by Edward Callow [1882]
Tales
of the Dartmoor Pixies
by William Crossing [1890]. [PB]
The
Science of Fairy Tales
by Edwin Sidney Hartland [1891]. [PB]
Tales
of Fairies and of the Ghost World
by Jeremiah Curtin [1895] [PB]
The
Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries
by W.Y. Evans-Wentz [1911] [PB]
A serious study of Fairy folklore and
mythology, with an ethnographic approach.
The first book by Evans-Wentz, who later went on to
translate many of the books of Tibetean Buddhism.
Fairies
by Gertrude M. Faulding [1913]. [PB]
The
Coming of the Fairies
by Arthur Conan Doyle [1922]
A study of the famous Cottingley fairy photographs, by the
creator of Sherlock Holmes.
General Studies
Survivals
in Belief Among the Celts
by George Henderson [1911]
An extensive review of evidence of pre-Christian beliefs in
Celtic culture.
Celtic
Myth and Legend
by Charles Squire [1905]
A comprehensive treatment of Irish, Welsh, and British
mythology, from the ancient pagan pantheons up to the
Arthurian legends.
The
Religion of the Ancient Celts
by J. A. MacCulloch [1911]
Celtic
Fairy Tales
by Joseph Jacobs [1892] [PB]
More
Celtic Fairy Tales
by Joseph Jacobs [1894] [PB]
Myths
and Legends of the Celtic Race
by Thomas Rolleston [1911] [PB]
On
the Study of Celtic Literature
by Matthew Arnold [1867] [PB]
A
Book of Folklore
by Sabine Baring-Gould [1913] [PB]
Tom
Tit Tot, An Essay on Savage Philosophy in Folk-Tale
by Edward Clodd [1898] [PB]
Other Links
CELT,
the Corpus of Electronic Texts [External Site] is a
scholarly and very comprehensive archive of Celtic texts.
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