MetaFilter posts tagged with celtic

GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador

goingonit — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:49:49 -0800

Over 2,500 songs from New fou nd land (and also from away) The layout is full of terrible frames but the content is staggering. Over 700 of the songs come with video (though many of the videos are cover versions); many others have chords or MIDI; some have historical details (don't miss the story of Virtue Kean). One of the most complete catalogues of Newfoundland's living and growing musical tradition on the Internet. Some highlights: Great Big Sea Wade Hemsworth, complete with National Film Board of Canada short Stan Rogers (previously) Tons of sea shanties And of course Buddy Wasisname and the other fellers

Penny for your Thoughts

bokeh — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:20:26 -0800

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

Salsa in Kilts?

spock — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 11:52:18 -0800

Salsa in Kilts! I was not aware of them until seeing them in the (excellent) movie Driving Lessons. WOW! Meet Salsa Celtica.

Beltane Fire Festival

homunculus — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:15:42 -0800

The Beltane Fire Society Fire Festival. Happy Beltane! [Some links NSFW.]

Romanes Eunt Domus.

languagehat — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 15:28:30 -0800

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."

Sweet Nyckelharpa + Arch Guitar = Bardou.

darkstar — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 14:04:33 -0800

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).

Celtic Digital Library

hama7 — Fri, 30 Apr 2004 05:33:07 -0800

Celtic Digital Library.

Warrior Queen

homunculus — Sun, 12 Oct 2003 11:32:45 -0800

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.

homunculus — Wed, 31 Jul 2002 13:39:04 -0800

"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.

Steven Den Beste — Tue, 03 Jul 2001 14:40:48 -0800

"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.)

zeoslap — Wed, 28 Feb 2001 09:59:42 -0800

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 :)

Ezrael — Fri, 16 Jun 2000 21:28:50 -0800

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.