Reconstructing

TigersEyeDowsing

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Reconstructing

« on: March 16, 2009, 02:27:08 PM »

How do you know you're really reconstructing?

What if you're just creating a religion you *think* is a historic reconstruction, but isn't really?


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Gorm_Sionnach

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Re: Reconstructing

« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2009, 02:56:03 PM »

Its really 4 parts researxh and 1 part UPG, at least initially, once you become immersed in the culture interpreting a UPG becomes progressively easier. It is also the best approximation, based on the available evidence. Obviouisly we can only reconstruct to a limited extent, generally through teasing the information out of the mythological tales, poems, songs, folklore and customs. Unlike say the Asatru or religio-Romana, the Celts were an Oral society, and the written evidence we have were penned by either foreign authors (on the continent) or Christian scribes (on the Islands). As such the existing information is either written by "hostile" foreigners or Christian (albeit it Irish, which is a very important distinction to make) scribes.

Still, most scholars (and by proxy CR's) believe that much of the pre-Christian mythology and beliefs survived the coming of Christianity, one only need look for them. Since the Celts numbered among the other Indo-European groups, there is also the aspects of adapting other IE groups models, albeit it to a limited extent, similar does not necessarily mean the same, into a CR frame.

So based on the evidence we have and our understanding of Celtic customs, languages and litterature we do the best we can to approximate the most plausible reconstruction. It can be messy and it is certainly not easy, but for those of us who choose (or are chosen) to follow a CR path, it is most deffinetly worth it.


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allthegoodnamesweretaken

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Re: Reconstructing

« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2009, 03:06:37 PM »

Well, I think you can say Asatru (or norse reconstructionism) is actually pretty similar. Most of the writtings come from Christians recording it after they had done away with the old ways.
I think that there is just more written because of a fascination with the culture.

all


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Gorm_Sionnach

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Re: Reconstructing

« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2009, 04:41:39 PM »

I suppsoe the most important diffence between the Norse and the Celts was that the Norse mythology was never (as far as I am aware anyway) sandwitched into a "Christian" historic narritive. The scribes loved the tales they grew up with, loved the culture, as such they did not want to simply discard them, so they decided to make them compatible with the new religion. The down side is that we have no surviving Celtic cosmogenic myth, just what we can glean from the exising native texts and comparison with other IE groups, like the Norse and Hindu cultures. That hasn't stopped some people from Reconstructing Celtic Creation myths, some of them are not half bad but there is as of yet no concensus on it, just some vauge ideas.


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