The Celtic Dragon Myth E-Book

J.F. Campbell

• Herausgeber: David De Angelis
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

The Scottish folklorist J.F. Campbell pieced together the tale of the Celtic Dragon, an intricate oft-told story involving not just dragons but mermaids, giants, and sidhe (fairies). This story, or portions thereof, is found in many Indo-European folklore traditions, as far afield as India. Campbell includes not only his merged narrative, but original Gaelic texts for two of the episodes. Campbell is best known for his four volume Popular Tales of the Western Highlands, also available at this site. The book includes a contribution by George Henderson, the Gaelic text and an English translation of the related tale of Fraoch and the Dragon.

About Author:
John Francis Campbell (Scots: Iain Frangan Caimbeul; Islay, 29 December 1821 – Cannes, 17 February 1885), also known as Young John of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Òg Ìle) was a Scottish author and scholar who specialised in Celtic studies. Campbell was known as authority on Celtic folklore and that of the Gaelic peoples in particular. His best known published work is the bilingual Popular Tales of the West Highlands (4 vols., 1860–62), and Gaelic various texts.

Leseprobe

THE CELTIC DRAGON MYTH

With the Geste of Fraoch and the Dragon

By

J. F. CAMPBELL

Illustrations by Rachel Ainslie Grant Duff

1911

The Celtic Dragon Myth by J.F. Campbell.

© David De Angelis 2017 [all rights reserved]

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE GESTE OF FRAOCH

THE DEATH OF FRAOCH

FRAOCH

II

II

III

III

IV

IV

THE CELTIC DRAGON MYTH

INTRODUCTION

THE FISHER

THE WEAPON

THE THREE WAYS

THE MERMAID

THE MEETING OF THE THREE WAYS

THE MEETING OF THE FISHER'S THREE SONS

NOTES TO CELTIC DRAGON MYTH

GAELIC

NA TRÌ RATHAIDEAN MÓRA

AN T-IASGAIR

If the king's daughter is not here to-morrow at this same hour the realm shall be ravaged by me

INTRODUCTION

Between the years 1870 and 1884 the late Mr J. F. Campbell of Islay was repeatedly attracted by a series of legends current in the Highlands and Isles, which made special appeal to him as a storyologist. After reading a dozen versions of the stories, he found that no single title fitted so well as that of the Dragon Myth. "It treats of water, egg, mermaid, sea-dragon, tree, beasts, birds, fish, metals, weapons, and men mysteriously produced from sea-gifts. All versions agree in these respects; they are all water myths, and relate to the slaying of water monsters."

As early indeed as 1862, while fresh from work, he had taken incidents from three versions and compared them with versions in other languages. Several journeys in the Highlands followed, as also in Japan, China, and Ceylon. While in the East, it was part of his pastimes to make sketches of the Dragons of the Orient, his mind being all the while full of the legends of the West. He regarded this as one of the most important of myths, and the most difficult to deal with. It is the State Myth of England, Russia, and Japan. He found it in the "Rig Veda," and he concluded generally that it is Eur-Aryan in the widest sense.

Of his own work he expressly says that it is free translation. "I take the story from the Gaelic and tell it in my own words generally where the scribe's language is prosy. But when passages occur which seem worth preservation—bits of recitation and quaint phrases—I have translated carefully. This is work honestly done while my head was full of the subject. I think that it might interest a large number of readers… ." The manuscript is among the Campbell of Islay Collection in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, to the Curators of which I am beholden for their courtesy, of which I now make public acknowledgment, in enabling me to complete at Glasgow University Library the transcription which I had begun many years ago.

For him the subject had two distinct aspects: first, the story is amusing for children; secondly, it has a scientific interest for a large and growing number of scholars. He had heard in London Mr Ralston give his lectures upon Russian stories, and found that the children in the audience were much amused. But amongst the audience were also Thomas Carlyle, Professor Owen, Sir R. Murchison, Reeve, Lady Ashburton, Miss Dempster of Skibo, and a number of learned people who wanted to know "the philosophy of the subject." For Mr Campbell thought there was a great deal of philosophy in it, and he states: "I want readers, wise and foolish, to be equally well treated. The foolish may read the story, the wise may read both story and notes."