h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Interesting timeline....I'm curious, where did you get your information?

Thanks. I have been compiling this for teaching purposes over a number of years, and have gradually added material I thought interesting, and taken some things off so as not to make it too long. As for the sources: where possible I have used primary sources: histories, chronicles, etc. For the archaeology, and pre-history material, a good easily accessible book is Frank Delaney's "The Celts", and for one with pictures that is actually quite legitimate, Simon James' "Exploring the World of the Celts". The latter also has a website (which I have lost the link to I'm sorry) that raises some current debates in the field.

There are also more specific books and articles I can recommend if you are after more info on a particular issue.

Cheers
Bran.

Thanks much, I'll have a look round for those books next time I get to the library. I am, actually, searching after two specific topics - Celtic religious practises and their impact and involvement in daily living. Truth told, I'm looking for anything that goes into any sort of detail on daily life, though the religion bit is my main focus. Anything you can suggest here would be greatly appreciated.

2 more centimes,
-L.

When you say Celtic religion, do you mean Christian or pre-Christian? There is a lot to be wary of in both topics, as they seem to promote flights of fancy in a lot of writers who go well beyond what can be reasonably deduced from primary sources. There is a good chapter on beliefs in the Frank Delaney book "The Celts". If you are after pre-Christian - this is very conjectural, as the Celts were not literate and as such we have to rely on Roman and Greek sources - their enemies. Some books to look at might include the following.

I hope this helps. I'll add more as I come across them.
Cheers
Bran.


Curriculum Development Unit. (1994). The Celtic Way of Life. O’Brien Educational: Dublin, Ireland.

Delaney, F. (1986). The Celts. Grafton Books: London, England.

Delaney, F. (1989). Legends of the Celts. HarperCollins: London, England.

Delaney, F. (1993). A Walk to the Western Isles: After Boswell and Johnson. HarperCollins: London, England.

Ellis, P.B. (1985). Celtic Inheritance. Muller, Blond & White: London, England.

Ellis, P.B. (1991). The Celtic Empire: The First Millenium of Celtic History c.1000BC-51AD. Constable: London, England.

Ellis, P.B. (1991). A Dictionary of Irish Mythology. Oxford University Press: Oxford, England.

Gregory, Lady Augusta. (1904). Gods and Fighting Men: The story of the Tuatha De Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland. Oxford University Press: Oxford, England.

Jackson, K.H. (transl.) (1971). A Celtic Miscellany. Penguin Books: Harmondsworth.

James, S. (1993). Exploring the World of the Celts. Thames & Hudson, Ltd: London, England.

Kee, R. (1995). Ireland: A History. Abacus: London.

MacCrossan, T. (1992). The Sacred Cauldron: Secrets of the Druids. Llewellyn Publications: Minnesota, USA. (Very conjectural)

MacLeod, J. (1996). Highlanders: A History of the Gaels. Hodder & Stoughton: London, England.

Neill, K. (1979). The Irish People. Mayflower Books: New York, USA.

O’Hogain, D. (1991). Myth, Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition. Prentice-Hall: New York, USA.

Smyth, D. (1988). A Guide to Irish Mythology. Irish Academic Press: Dublin, Ireland.