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homunculus (4)

Founded in 1990, Skyclad is considered to be one of the first bands in the "folk metal" genre. Until his departure in 2001, the lyrics came from the pen of band leader Martin Walkyier, who wrote some of the most poetic and sharply socio-political lyrics in metal (and had a wicked way with a pun, to boot). [more inside]
posted by jbickers on Dec 7, 2011 - 18 comments

Ed Shevlin Polishes His Irish While Collecting The Trash
posted by jason's_planet on Oct 23, 2011 - 30 comments

Information-age math finds code in ancient Scottish symbols. "The ancestors of modern Scottish people left behind mysterious, carved stones that new research has just determined contain the written language of the Picts, an Iron Age society that existed in Scotland from 300 to 843. The highly stylized rock engravings, found on what are known as the Pictish Stones, had once been thought to be rock art or tied to heraldry. The new study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A, instead concludes that the engravings represent the long lost language of the Picts, a confederation of Celtic tribes that lived in modern-day eastern and northern Scotland."
posted by homunculus on Apr 2, 2010 - 24 comments

Liam Clancy has died. Liam, last surviving member of the hugely popular Clancy Brothers, strongly influenced Bob Dylan but also became an interpreter of Dylan's work.
posted by jeffen on Dec 6, 2009 - 35 comments

Over 2,500 songs from Newfoundland (and also from away) [more inside]
posted by goingonit on Jun 15, 2009 - 14 comments

1. Make a penny whistle from pvc or copper pipe. 2. Learn how to play it. 3. Away ye go! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
posted by bokeh on Mar 17, 2009 - 8 comments

Salsa in Kilts! I was not aware of them until seeing them in the (excellent) movie Driving Lessons. WOW! Meet Salsa Celtica.
posted by spock on Nov 25, 2007 - 9 comments

The Beltane Fire Society Fire Festival. Happy Beltane! [Some links NSFW.]
posted by homunculus on Apr 30, 2007 - 23 comments

After the Romans left Britain was divided into a number of Celtic kingdoms that fought with each other and, increasingly, with the Germanic invaders we know as "Anglo-Saxons." The most famous alleged defender of Celtic Britain, of course, is King Arthur, but he's more myth than history. What catches my imagination is The Gododdin (Welsh original, by Aneurin), an epic lament for the band of men who gathered at Eiddyn (Edinburgh, main town of Gododdin) around the year 600 and headed south for a last-ditch battle against the Saxons at Catraeth (probably Catterick in northern Yorkshire), where they were wiped out. One contingent was from Elmet (Elfed in the poem), a kingdom that had been holding the line against the invaders in what's now Yorkshire; once Elmet was conquered, there was no stopping them. And all of this history was basic to the poetry of David Jones, one of the best unknown poets of the previous century, and important to one of the best known, Ted Hughes (book with photos). "Men went to Catraeth, familiar with laughter. The old, the young, the strong, the weak."
posted by languagehat on Aug 31, 2006 - 31 comments

Bardou (note: sound on intro) is a Belgian band founded by Jim Kline and Mariusz Radwanski combining medieval, baroque, folk, celtic and sea chanty in a beautiful sound. While strolling down the Cours Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence this afternoon, I chanced upon these two musicians playing dulcet tones in a duet. As I drew closer, I saw the instruments were nothing I'd encountered before: a nyckelharpa and an arch guitar. The sound was quite appealing (.mpg video).
posted by darkstar on Apr 9, 2006 - 10 comments

Celtic Digital Library.
posted by hama7 on Apr 30, 2004 - 3 comments

Boudicca (also known as Boadicea) was the queen of the Celtic Iceni tribe in eastern Britain in 60 AD. As recorded by Tacitus and Cassius Dio, she led a brutal revolt against the Romans and razed London and Southwark. There's a famous statue of her at Westminster Bridge, and Masterpiece Theatre has produced a new historical drama about her, Warrior Queen.
posted by homunculus on Oct 12, 2003 - 23 comments

"The Druids of the ancient Celtic world have a startling kinship with the brahmins of the Hindu religion," according to popular historian Peter Berresford Ellis. Another author examines the parallels between Celtic and Vedic culture in the article The Celtic Vedic Connection, and a particular diety is analyzed in The Horned God in India and Europe. This may not be very conservative scholarship, but I found it intriguing and fun to contemplate.
posted by homunculus on Jul 31, 2002 - 6 comments

"Biggest flame war of all time: Danny Boy - sentimental Irish favorite, or stupid song decried by true Celts everywhere?" A link to a discussion in another forum about how one prevents the banal from driving out the profound in online public-participation forums. (Their conclusion: ruthless and efficient moderation.)
posted by Steven Den Beste on Jul 3, 2001 - 4 comments

Mmmmm. Hu-ming. A British archaeologist finds evidence that cannibalism still existed amongst the Celts as recently as two thousand years ago, during Roman Times.

One grisly find includes a femur which had been split lengthways in order to scrape the marrow out. Tastemungus mates :)
posted by zeoslap on Feb 28, 2001 - 6 comments

Having just made contact with another dimension, I thought this was worth a read. It's small yet, and a bit New Agey-Crunchy for my tastes, but I'm convinced that if we could just enfold the shamanic experience with what's coming down the pike for information exhange, we could twist the world into a pretzel. Or whatever.
posted by Ezrael on Jun 16, 2000 - 3 comments