Buchdetails
Format
Gebundene Ausgabe
Seiten
288
Sprache
Italienisch
Veröffentlicht
Jan 1, 1999
Verlag
Il saggiatore
ISBN-10
8842807524
ISBN-13
9788842807520
Beschreibung
Originally published in 1958, The Celts was posthumously reorganized two decades later for the Ancient People, Ancient Places Series. The material hasn't been updated or revised, tho pictures were added & Stuart Piggott provided a new Preface.
This isn't an ideal 1st book on the Celts, as it's dated & some of the ideas seem ambiguous &/or unsubstantiated. Still, one would highly recommend it as supplementary reading to someone who's already been well immersed in the subject matter.
The book is well-illustrated & full of photos. Powell has some fascinating viewpoints & brilliant insights, even tackling the terms 'Celt', 'German' & 'Teuton'. The book is fairly easy to read, altho there is a density of ideas that sometimes requires a reread of various paragraphs.
On the down side, Powell sometimes seems 'away with the fairies' in that not all of his insights are well substantiated, either within the book or outside of it. He over-generalizes in some places, not specifying which Celts or of when he's speaking. Celts living near the Rhine in 500 BCE aren't identical to British Celts in 500 AD; generalizations are rarely appropriate for this long-lived & widespread group.
Powell shows his age by abusing the comma in ways that are no longer allowed in proper writing form. He plays the 'Name Game', where all words that look or sound similar must have some causal link.
Celtic mythology isn't his strong suit, as he struggles to make his case for a possible triplicity link for the Dagda & Lug; earlier in the book he refers to the Morrigan as "the Queen of Demons", definitely an interpretation made from a Christian standpoint & not quite appropriate to the subject.
This book desperately needs revision & a clear chronology.
Before buying this, consider Ronald Hutton's "Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles", Peter Berresford Ellis' "The Celtic Empire" & "The Druids", Barry Raftery's "Pagan Celtic Ireland" & even A.F. Harding's "European Societies in the Bronze Age".--Ogma (edited)
This isn't an ideal 1st book on the Celts, as it's dated & some of the ideas seem ambiguous &/or unsubstantiated. Still, one would highly recommend it as supplementary reading to someone who's already been well immersed in the subject matter.
The book is well-illustrated & full of photos. Powell has some fascinating viewpoints & brilliant insights, even tackling the terms 'Celt', 'German' & 'Teuton'. The book is fairly easy to read, altho there is a density of ideas that sometimes requires a reread of various paragraphs.
On the down side, Powell sometimes seems 'away with the fairies' in that not all of his insights are well substantiated, either within the book or outside of it. He over-generalizes in some places, not specifying which Celts or of when he's speaking. Celts living near the Rhine in 500 BCE aren't identical to British Celts in 500 AD; generalizations are rarely appropriate for this long-lived & widespread group.
Powell shows his age by abusing the comma in ways that are no longer allowed in proper writing form. He plays the 'Name Game', where all words that look or sound similar must have some causal link.
Celtic mythology isn't his strong suit, as he struggles to make his case for a possible triplicity link for the Dagda & Lug; earlier in the book he refers to the Morrigan as "the Queen of Demons", definitely an interpretation made from a Christian standpoint & not quite appropriate to the subject.
This book desperately needs revision & a clear chronology.
Before buying this, consider Ronald Hutton's "Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles", Peter Berresford Ellis' "The Celtic Empire" & "The Druids", Barry Raftery's "Pagan Celtic Ireland" & even A.F. Harding's "European Societies in the Bronze Age".--Ogma (edited)