Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art

by Miranda Green

Overview

In Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art , Miranda Green argues that only by deciphering their complex systems of images and symbols can we uncover the realities of Celtic life and belief in Europe before and during the Roman period. She explores a number of iconographic themes in depth and examines the tribal and regional differences in artistic cult expression to reveal the very varied concepts embraced by anthropomorphic imagery. Discussion ranges from the artistic expression of animal cults and that of natural forces to the effect of religious belief on artistic style, and Miranda Green argues that stylistic features such as emphasis and exaggeration express the religious viewpoint of Celtic patrons and artists

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415080767
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/03/1992
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1400L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

List of illustrations, Preface, Acknowledgements, 1 Prologue, 2 The female image, 3 The divine marriage, 4 The male image, 5 The symbolism of the natural world, 6 Triplism and multiple images, 7 Style and belief, 8 Epilogue, Abbreviations, Notes, Bibliography, Index

Editorial Reviews

"In these pages, anthropologists, artists, archaeologists, historians, literary critics, novelists, and poets will discover a veritable pantheon of hitherto neglected Celtic deities who once enjoyed astonishing artistic representation in Gaul from about 500 BCE to 400 CE. . . . The variety of subjects is awesome, as is sustained iconography of their symbols and emblems. A work of major importance that libraries on many levels should welcome."
From reviews of the cloth edition
-"Choice

From the Publisher

Green (classics, Open Univ., Wales) has compiled an impressive list of statues, reliefs, and some coins that represent Celtic religious iconography in Gaul under Roman artistic influence, 500 B.C.-A.D. 400. The discussions are thematic: male and female images, the divine marriage, the natural world, and multiple images. What the book lacks is an idea--if not an inspired vision then at least an innovative concept of Celtic religious belief--for which her impressive list is evidence. She does make a few hesitant guesses as to what this or that attribute may signify; repeats the now safe theory that images were "desecularized" by deliberate distortion from what we (after the Romans) call normal perception; and silently assumes the imperial, bureaucratic notion that dieties had distinct departments and jurisdictions. But the jacket's promise of a "radical new interpretation" is unfulfilled. She has examined the stones closely and widely, but apparently has not seen the dieties within them, or the believers behind them. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews