Stephen Lawhead

[Cuchulainn]

I like Stephen Lawhead alot.

I've read the following:

Byzantium

Of the Celtic Crusades: The Iron Lance and the Black Rood

Of the King Raven series: Hood and Scarlett

Of the Pendragon series: Taliesin and Merlin

I'm currently reading Patrick.

I'm looking to get more of his books. I would be interested to hear impressions of his Albion series (i.e. The Paradise War, etc.) and his Dragon King trilogy.

Also, I remember someone in an old thread suggesting that Pendragon and Grail from the Pendragon Cycle were retellings of the same story but from a different point of view. Am I remembering correctly?

[Margaret]

I haven't read any of these and am curious what makes the "Celtic Crusades" series Celtic.

[annis]

The Celtic aspect of the "Celtic Crusades" is provided by the involvement of Celtic Christian monks known as the Céli Dé, and the fact that the main characters are Scottish.

Stephen Lawhead has a particular interest in the Culdee (http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Culdee) or Céli Dé monks, who were part of the Celtic branch of Christianity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Christianity) based in Ireland, Scotland and Britain from the fifth and sixth century AD. This Celtic branch later clashed with and was eventually subsumed by the Roman Catholic branch.

The Culdees have appeared in several Stephen Lawhead novels including the Celtic Crusades trilogy, "Byzantium and "Patrick"

[sweetpotatoboy]

Also, I remember someone in an old thread suggesting that Pendragon and Grail from the Pendragon Cycle were retellings of the same story but from a different point of view. Am I remembering correctly?

Yes, that's right. Basically, it was originally a trilogy and the story was complete with the first three books. Several years later, he apparently felt the series was missing the whole Christianity/Grail element which hadn't been there previously (I read somewhere that Lawhead became religious in those intervening years, but I can't see whether that's true or not, though it would explain much) and he added on two more books that, in part, went over old ground from a different viewpoint and adding in those various elements.

In short, I felt these books were a failed experiment. They ruined a perfectly well written and self-contained trilogy. Read them if you really must but read the various reviews on them and expect to be disappointed if you've loved the first three books.

[Melisende]

I loved Byzantium!

Also have the Celtic Crusade trilogy.

[Cuchulainn]

The Celtic aspect of the "Celtic Crusades" is provided by the involvement of Celtic Christian monks known as the Céli Dé, and the fact that the main characters are Scottish.

Stephen Lawhead has a particular interest in the Culdee (http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Culdee) or Céli Dé monks, who were part of the Celtic branch of Christianity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Christianity) based in Ireland, Scotland and Britain from the fifth and sixth century AD. This Celtic branch later clashed with and was eventually subsumed by the Roman Catholic branch.

The Culdees have appeared in several Stephen Lawhead novels including the Celtic Crusades trilogy, "Byzantium and "Patrick"

He also seems to suggest (or at least such is the mythos in his stories) that the Celi De originated among druids who believed in Christianity.

In the Pendragon series, Taliesin is basically given a vision of God, and then in Merlin there is a schism among the druids between those who believe in Christianity, and those who hold to the old ways. I don't remember that they are referred to as the Celi De in the Pendragon series, but the story and progression is the same.

Sweetpotatoboy: I think he must of been either a Christian, or teetering on the brink of becoming one, when he wrote the first of the Pendragon books.

Melisende: I loved Byzantium, too. I think it is his best book, by far, of the ones of I've read (I have a picture of me reading Byzantium that my wife took when we were in the hospital after the birth of my second son, Logan - cool, huh?)

[annis]

There is definitely some speculation that the Céli Dé, came out of the Druidic tradition. There is a book called "Celt, Druid and Culdee" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celt-Druid-Culdee-I-H-Elder/dp/0852050119) by Isabel Hill Elder which explores this idea.

Much of the information from the book is available to read onlne here:
http://www.goldenageproject.org.uk/images/Celt%2BDruid-Elder.pdf

Also of interest, this article, http://theology101.org/pag/idr/idr33.htm

"Byzantium" is my favorite Lawhead novel as well- wonderful characters. Love those Vikings!

[Carla]

Yes, that's right. Basically, it was originally a trilogy and the story was complete with the first three books. Several years later, he apparently felt the series was missing the whole Christianity/Grail element which hadn't been there previously (I read somewhere that Lawhead became religious in those intervening years, but I can't see whether that's true or not, though it would explain much) and he added on two more books that, in part, went over old ground from a different viewpoint and adding in those various elements.

In short, I felt these books were a failed experiment. They ruined a perfectly well written and self-contained trilogy. Read them if you really must but read the various reviews on them and expect to be disappointed if you've loved the first three books.

I read Pendragon and was unimpressed. I think I might have read Taliesin before, but it was so long ago that I'm not certain (I must reread it and find out). So my disappointment with Pendragon wasn't because it didn't live up to the earlier books. It just didn't seem to be much of a story.

[Margaret]

Interesting. The Christianity that developed in Celtic areas was certainly quite different in tone than Christianity on the Continent during the early centuries. This may well have been due to the influence of the druids. One reason why druids may have been less resistant to Christianity that some other pagans is that Celtic religions already had a concept of triune divinities. There are traces of this idea in the King Arthur story, with the three women who come to take the dying Arthur away across the water.

[JaneConsumer]

I very much enjoyed Byzantium. I've seen it labeled Christian fiction, but it's much better than the average book in that genre.

[annis]

Interesting point about the acceptability of the concept of trinity amongst the Celts, Margaret. The trinity symbol is prevalent in Celtic imagery- I'm thinking of the triskelion knot, for example. Traditionally in Celtic paganism the trinity knot was seen as a drawing of the three aspects of female power: Mother, Crone, and Maiden.

The three women who take Arthur away could fit in with this concept of the Celtic trinity .

The trinity also often symbolises three sisters, such as
The three Moirae in Greek mythology
The three Parcae in Roman mythology
The three Norns in Norse mythology

A more metaphysical understanding sees the symbol as standing for mind, body and spirit.

It might not have been too much of a jump to transfer to the early Christian understanding of the trinity as symbolising as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In fact it's possible that the trinity was "appropriated" by Christianity to make Christian philosophies fit into already existing ideas and patterns of worship, as were festivals like Easter and Christmas.

Melvyn Bragg's novel "Credo" aka "The Sword and the Miracle" is a good read about the early Church in Ireland and Britain, and through the story of the main character, Breda, features the struggle between Pagan and Christian, and Celtic Christianity against Roman Catholicism.

[Margaret]

Well stated, Annis. Except that I gave up halfway through Credo/The Sword and the Miracle - alas, I found it meandering and sleep-inducing.

[annis]

Oh dear! I quite enjoyed it, though I did get a bit frustrated at times with Breda's determined and life-denying march toward holy martyrdom.

Maybe you'd find Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma (http://www.sisterfidelma.com/fidelma.html) series set in seventh century Ireland less soporific?
Fidelma is an Irish nun of aristocratic background, who is a dálaigh ( a combination judge/detective) to the Brehon Court of Ireland.
They are historical mysteries so there's a new case to solve with each book.

[javagirl]

Byzantium is the only one I've read but I really loved it and can imagine reading it again some day.