The Locus of the Sacred in the Celtic Otherworld

Abstract

The Celtic Otherworld of medieval Irish, Welsh and French Arthurian literature is popularly invoked as a fantastical setting for the supernatural adventures of medieval heroes and bold knights-errant: a place of unearthly beauty and enchanting music, fey and dangerous for the unwary traveller. This is the fabulous realm of Faerie, the land under the hollow hills, of disappearing islands like Ys or Lyonesse, populated by a host of magical beings - fairies, elves and water spirits. According to descriptions in early Irish literature, the Celtic Otherworld is a place of untold beauty and pleasure, where there is no age, no sickness and no death.