Vision and Magic in the Druid Tradition.
The prophetic tradition of the ancient Celts is an important aspect of their cultural heritage, and those who were able to divine or prophesy the future were accorded a unique status. In this collection John Matthews has gathered together not only accounts of the methods of divination used by the ancient Celtic seers and prophets but also some of the actual prophetic statements. It includes several essays and articles written earlier this century and now no longer widely available. These shed fresh light on the prophetic tradition and show how seership and prophecy are common to traditions from across the world.
Language has always been important in the bardic tradition, and in the second section of this collection John Matthews has brought together several important discussions on the ways in which an originally oral tradition began to be recorded, especially through the use of ogham, the ancient script whose development and history remain uncertain.
The final part considers some of the best known prophetic and visionary accounts and the ways in which they were used to sustain and continue the bardic tradition. These accounts, which reflect many aspects of Celtic culture and belief between the ninth and eighteenth centuries, are put into context by a chapter from Margaret Griffith's masterly study of vaticination in Wales.
This compilation provides in accessible and readable form some of the most important writings on the Celtic and bardic prophetic traditions and will be a significant resource for anyone interested in this fascinating aspect of our Celtic heritage.
