Celtic Source

In this last in the series on Welsh folklore, we look at the peculiar phenomena of the Giant's Beard and what it could have stood for in the ancient past.

What happened to the Celtic gods of Iron Age Europe? Where are they in later Celtic folklore?

A very frequently asked question amongst modern druids is what (if anything), can be taken from the work of Iolo Morganwg, the founding father of modern druidry and notorious forger of ‘ancient’ texts? The answer may surprise you.

This neolithic tomb on Ynys Môn isn't the only cairn to be named after a giant witch . . .

What happened to the Celtic gods of Iron Age Europe? Where are they in later Celtic folklore?

Peniarth 118, a Welsh manuscript written in 1600, describes many of the traditional giants and witches of Wales. It also confirms that King Arthur and his knights had a very long relationship with these monstrous, otherworldly figures.

The Witch can often be a cartoonish character in folklore, not just in Wales but across the world. But there is also a mythological quality to the witch as an embodiment of death.

The witch transformed into a hare is an old folk tale found across many parts of Europe. In Wales, the story appears to have a connection to Saint Melangell, the protector of ŵyn Melangell ('Melangell's lambs'), the traditional Welsh name for hares.

The life of St Collen contains perhaps the earliest surviving folktale regarding Gwyn ap Nudd. But what do some of symbols in this story mean?

The Fairy Bride Legend is a type of folk tale that’s found in many parts of Britain and Ireland. But how should we interpret these types of story, what do they tell us about the folk who told and re-told them across the centuries?