Fiery Shapes: Celestial Portents and Astrology in Ireland and Wales, 700-1700

By Mark Williams and Mark Williams

The presentation of the magical and mantic in Celtic literature has persistently been dogged by misunderstanding and over-romanticized readings. Among the misconceptions about the ancient and medieval Celtic peoples, the notion of a specifically 'Celtic' astrology remains widespread in the popular mind. This study aims to counter such myth-making, and to demonstrate how a number Irish and Welsh literary writers in the medieval and Early Modern period conceived of portents in the heavens - comets, blood-coloured moons, darkened suns - and what they knew of the complex art of astrology.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199571848
• ISBN13: 9780199571840
• Release Date: November 2010
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.3"