Early Period Library Recommendations

The following titles are recommended for reading by early period enthusiasts who have an inclination toward Celtic prehistory. Most can be obtained from any university or state library through interlibrary loan, and many are still in in print.

The Quest for Merlin by Nikolai Tolstoy, published by Little and Brown, plunges deep into the remote past in order to explain that Merlin was the last heir of druidic tradition. for the roots of Merlin go back far beyone Celtic heathendom into the 'prehistoric night' of Iron and Bronze Age Britain.

The Literature of Scotland by Roderick Watson, published by macMillian Pulblishers, London, 1984. Excellent literary documentation of the develpment of literature in Scotland. The first chapter focuses upon the merging of Celtic, Pictish and Gaelic influences on literature through the 14th century.

The Age of Stonehenge By Colin burgess, published by J.M. Dent and Sons, Ltd., London, 1980. Drawing upon the latest evidence of excavation and research, Burgess brings to life the history of Britain and Ireland between 3000 and 1000 B.C. descriptions of physical characteristics and appearance of the people, their fashions in clothing, equipment and weapons, and their arts and sciences.

The Discovery of King Arthur by Geoffrey Ashe, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City, Ney York, 1985. Ashe traces the myth of King Arthur to its roots in the twelfth century writings of Geoffrey of Monmouth and shows how much of Geoffey's fifth century history was based on fact.

The Celtic Realms by Miles Dillon and Nora Chadwick, the New American Library, Newy York, 1967. a masterful survey of the history and culture of the Celtic peoples from their prehistoric origins throught the Norman invasion of Britain, with a separate treatment for British and Irish people. The book also concentrates upon the genius of Celtic literature, religion and visual arts.

Bellenden also included an article on Pictish art by An Comunn Gaidhealach, Inverness, Scotland. It included a list of books on the Picts which I am printing here for all of you Picts out there:

The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland, J. Romilly Allan and J. Anderson, Edinburgh, 1903.

The Inscriptions of Pictland, F.C. Diack, The Spalding Clud, Aberdeen, 1944.

The Problem of the Picts, edited by F. T. Wainwright Nelso, 1955.

Prehistoric Scotland, R. Feachen, Batsford, 1963.

The Picts, Isabel Henderson, Thames and Hudson, 1967.

The Early Christian and Pictish Monuments of Scotland, Ministry of works, 1957.


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