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The Song of Taliesin: Tales from King Arthur's Bard

by John Matthews

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661397,011 (3.67)5
Everyone knows of Arthur--the "once and future" legendary warrior who held off the invading Anglo-Saxons and preserved the Celtic identity of sixth-century England for forty years. But few know of Taliesin, who may have been poet to Arthur, and like Merlin, was said to have shamanic powers. Behind Taliesin's story lies a vast legacy of initiatic wisdom, much of it now lost. But enough remains to convey much of the ancient Celts' passionate spirit and religious practice. To create these tales, John Matthews has brilliantly mined medieval and premedieval sources, embellishing them where fragmentary with the rich heritage of Celtic folklore. Part legend, part fiction, part mythology, they are alive with the power of one of the most compelling mystical/literary traditions. "It is my hope," says Matthews, "that they provide a key to the secret lore of Britain, where once the Grail and the Cauldron were sought, and where the Sleeping Lord still awaits the One Who Is to Come, who will blow the Horn three times in the Cave of the Sleepers." Reading these lyrical, mysterious stories, we thrill that it is so.… (more)
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This is a collection of short stories, pulled together with a storyline of a monk who stumbles onto Taliesin's hut when Taliesin is ready to set his knowledge into a more permanent form. Each of them taken individually is a rich story full of intriguing glimpses into the worlds seen and unseen; as a whole, they comprise Matthews' re-telling of an enormous corpus. Tales such as "Ogma: the Search for Letters" discusses the creation of the Ogham alphabet and uses the Celtic imagery of a Wheel (instead of a Norse Tree) for where the god gains his knowledge. "Entertainment of a Noble Head" pulls from the Mabinogion a readable tale of Bran the Blessed and the sacred Cauldron.

Endnotes at the end of the entire volume discuss which tales are simple re-tellings and which are more full-on recreations to aid the reader with deciding which version fits in their life. And while I'm not always a big fan of pulling from one's own work as source material, Matthews has certainly done enough research into this era that he can be seen as a source himself. ( )
  threadnsong | Jan 1, 2018 |
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Everyone knows of Arthur--the "once and future" legendary warrior who held off the invading Anglo-Saxons and preserved the Celtic identity of sixth-century England for forty years. But few know of Taliesin, who may have been poet to Arthur, and like Merlin, was said to have shamanic powers. Behind Taliesin's story lies a vast legacy of initiatic wisdom, much of it now lost. But enough remains to convey much of the ancient Celts' passionate spirit and religious practice. To create these tales, John Matthews has brilliantly mined medieval and premedieval sources, embellishing them where fragmentary with the rich heritage of Celtic folklore. Part legend, part fiction, part mythology, they are alive with the power of one of the most compelling mystical/literary traditions. "It is my hope," says Matthews, "that they provide a key to the secret lore of Britain, where once the Grail and the Cauldron were sought, and where the Sleeping Lord still awaits the One Who Is to Come, who will blow the Horn three times in the Cave of the Sleepers." Reading these lyrical, mysterious stories, we thrill that it is so.

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