In the year 43 AD, Roman legions splashed ashore in Kent, unopposed by the Britons led by Caractus, who had sworn to repel them. The Emperor Claudius had dispatched Aulus Plautius and 45,000 men to conquer the mist-covered island where Julius Caesar had failed almost a century earlier. Over the next 40 years, Roman would clash with Celt in a series of battles that neither realized would determine the future of Western civilization. The Romans broke the Britons, whose furious courage could not match Roman discipline. The island would pass under Roman rule for the next several centuries, implanting a Latin-oriented culture and shoving Celtic ways to the very fringes of Europe. All that would remain were their legends; not least among them the fiery leadership of Boudicca, warrior-queen of the Iceni and resolute enemy of Rome.

The Rome at War series covers Roman battles against both their neighbors and each other. The first game, Hannibal at Bay, covered the last battles of Carthage’s favorite son. The second, Fading Legions, focused on the empire’s latter years, when it was beset by barbarian invasion, an implacable rival, and civil war. Continue Reading »

As another resource for those that love the Celts we have started building some image galleries under our Resources section. So far, we have two galleries for you to browse. The first is a set of photographs that Ruth and I took a couple of years ago at a Celtic Festival at Michelham Priory, Sussex, UK and the second is a set of images of miniature figurines used by wargamers to fight with the Ancient Celts on the tabletop.

One of the difficulties that those that have just encountered the Celts is visualising what they looked like. Wargamers often spend a lot of time researching their subject so that their miniatures look very similar to how the original warriors would have looked. So enjoy these photos as an aid to visualising the Celts. Continue Reading »

Anyone who starts to take an interest in the medieval texts relating to Ireland quickly picks up the idea that the country was divided into ‘fifths’. Indeed, the Gaelic word cuigeadh still means ‘fifths’ (singular coiced) and the modern-day Gaelic expression which translates literally as ‘the five fifths of Ireland’ refers to the political divisions of Ulster, Connacht, Leinster and Munster. Yes, you have counted correctly. There are only four ‘fifths’ in Ireland. The early legends subdivided Munster into east and west, but this is an artificial adjustment. The earliest clearly datable references to the cuigeadh relate to the kingdoms which emerged in the fifth and sixth centuries. At this date Ireland is considered to be divided into fifths but only four functional divisions are recognisable.

Ireland divided into four ‘fifths’ (adapted from Rees and Ress).

A region known as Midhe (perhaps meaning ‘middle’ or ‘neck’), which incorporated the royal centre at Tara, was regarded as having pre-eminent status and has for many centuries been popularly considered to be the fifth coiced. Yet, politically, from the iron age onwards, Midhe was under the domination of one or other adjoining kingdoms. Tara, with its impressive group of ditched earthworks and the Lia Fail (Stone of Density, used for the coronation of the High Kings of Ireland), indeed had enourmous prestige in the medieval literature yet, when the kings met annually (at Beltain), they did so at a natural outcrop known in recent years as Aill na Mireann, but probably traditionally as Carraig Choithrigi (the Stone of Divisions), which is situated near the less-impressive earthworks on the Hill of Uisnech. Furthermore, it is Uisnech, not Tara, which is the geographical mid-point of Ireland. For instance, it is claimed that a beacon fire on Uisnech can be seen over a quarter of Ireland [1].
Continue Reading »

Dmitry Davydov has a blog which he claims will link to as many Free Documentaries as he can find - well done, Dmitry! Amongst the first few he has found are five 48 minute episodes presented by Dr. Francis Pryor. Dr Pryor is a familiar face to Time Team viewers and specialises in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Dmitry says: In this visually stunning, provocative new series, best-selling writer and archaeologist Francis Pryor offers an inspiring new view of Britain before the Roman invasion. He shatters the received wisdom that we were a relatively uncivilised bog people inhabiting a misty island, just waiting to be taught how to live by the invaders.

You can also find some audio by Dr Pryor talking about Flag Fen here. Google videos goes on to say: Continue Reading »

Our latest episode, part 6 of the Book of Invasions, is on the site and available for your download. It is already available via iTunes and other podcatchers. We hope that you enjoy the show. This is the first part of a two-part sub-story about the Sons of Tuireann that is technically not a part of the original Book of Invasions manuscripts. However, we feel that chronologically, the events depicted in the story of the Sons of Tuireann should go at this time.

You can listen to the episode on the website here and find the accompanying Shownotes here.

We are really keen to hear your views about the series so far, whether by email or voice feedback - something that we can share with other listeners. So, if you get a chance, drop us a line and let us know what you think. We would love to hear it all.

If you fancy writing us a review for any of the podcast directories, in particular iTunes, that would be absolutely fantastic - we’ll certainly give you a shout out. The more people come to hear about us, the more friends we will all discover on this site and the more people will come to know and love the Celtic Tales as we do.

Thanks for listening

St. Maughold of the Isle of Man, Bishop(also known as Macaille, Maccaldus, Machalus, Machella, Maghor, Maccul) Died c. 488. Saint Maughold was an Irish prince and reputedly a captain of robbers who was converted by Patrick. Upon his conversion, he became a new man by putting on the spirit of Christ. One version of the legend says that Patrick told him to put to sea in a coracle without oars as a penance for his evil deeds.

Isle of Man

Another says that he set sail in order to avoid the temptations of the world. In both stories, he retired to the Isle of Man (Eubonia) off the coast of Lancashire, England. Continue Reading »

THE Fairies have a great fondness for getting their babes suckled by comely, healthy young women. A fine young woman of Nithsdale was one day spinning and rocking her first-born child. A pretty little lady in a green mantle, and bearing a beautiful babe, came into ‘the cottage and said, “Gie my bonny thing a suck.” The young woman did so, and the lady left her babe and disappeared, saying, “Nurse kin’ and ne’er want.”

The young woman nursed the two children, and was astonished to find every morning, when she awoke, rich clothes for the children, and food of a most delicious flavour. Tradition says this food tasted like wheaten-bread, mixed with wine and honey. Continue Reading »

It is the most delightful land of all that are under the sun; the trees are stooping down with fruit and with leaves and with blossom. Honey and wine are plentiful there; no wasting will come upon you with the wasting away of time; you will never see death or lessening. You will get feasts, playing and drinking; you will get sweet music on the strings; you will get silver and gold and many jewels. You will get everything I have said…and you will get gifts beyond them which I have no leave to tell of.”

“ Thus it was that the Otherworld, the mystical enchanted land of many Celtic myths, was described to the warrior Oisin by the faerie-woman Niamh of the Golden Hair.

In Irish myth, the Otherworld was created as the domain of the divine race of the Tuatha de Danaan following their defeat by the Milesians (Ireland’s fifth and last race of invaders). The Milesians, it was decided, would rule the visible part, while the Dananns took possession of the invisible regions below ground and beyond the seas. This Otherworld was accessible through lakes, caves and above all the Sidhe or faerie mounds, the countless prehistoric burial mounds such as those of the Boyne in Co. Meath. Continue Reading »

It is just over three hundred years since Robert Kirk, minister of Aberfoyle, died at the age of fifty two. But the question remains, did he really die or was he ‘taken’? Taken, that is, by the Good People, the elusive folk who lived under the earth in the green hills. The youngest and seventh son of James Kirk, Robert studied theology at St. Andrews and took his master’s degree at Edinburgh. He became the minister of Balquidder and moved to Aberfoyle in 1685, having published a psalter in Gaelic the previous year.

He had also been involved in preparing a Gaelic translation of the Bible. We might expect a man of his background to have been a staunch supporter of established orthodoxy but this was no ordinary preacher. He recorded his thoughts in a manuscript dated 1691 entitled “The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies”. There is no mention of hell and damnation, just a fair and reasonable account of the unseen world.

There is nothing sentimental in his writing, and those seers who had the ability to witness the people of peace regarded it as an affliction rather than a gift. The Tabhaiser, or Seer, “is not terrified with their sight when he calls them, but seeing them in a surpryse (as often he does) frights him extreamly”. These are clearly not the tinselled fairies of Victorian England but the wild and elemental spirits of nature. Two ways of gaining the second sight are described. The first is to acquire a tedder (tether) of hair which has bound a corpse to the bier. With this wound round the waist one must stoop down and look back through the legs until a funeral passes. The alternative is to find an accomplished seer who will place his right foot over the candidate’s left and lay his hand upon his head. This confers the power to see and seems not unlike descriptions of admission to a witch coven. Continue Reading »

We received this email this week and thought we would share it with you as there is some great videos on David Royal’s Blog and some super photos on flickr. Unfortunately People in the UK cannot view the video’s at the Smithsonian Channel website, but can view them at the BBC site

Hello Gary and Ruth,

I came across your post on the current Stonehenge excavation, “The Stonehenge dig it; follow it LIVE”, today while doing some research for my client the Smithsonian Channel. The Smithsonian Channel is partnering with the BBC to film the documentary of the excavation, and we’ve been promoting the dig online in a handful of venues. I see that you’re fascinated by Stonehenge (me too – I am hoping to visit soon) and I thought you might be interested to check out some of the content the Smithsonian Channel has from the dig. Continue Reading »