The Transmigrations of Taliesin

£7.00

PROFESSOR JOHN CAREY

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TEMENOS ACADEMY PAPER 43

28 pages

ISBN 978 1 9164818 8 6

Taliesin, the prototypical poet of Welsh tradition, came to be associated with mysterious and all-encompassing knowledge: gained in innumerable lifetimes, and in the forms of many creatures. This essay seeks to situate these ideas within the broader context afforded by comparisons with early Irish tales, and with the lore of Pythagoras, as well as illustrating the inspiring effect that Taliesin had on some notable poets of the twentieth century.

John Carey is Professor of Early and Medieval Irish at University College, Cork, a Fellow of the Temenos Academy and a member of its Council and Academic Board.