Celtic Mythology and Religion

86 CELTIC MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
tianity had established its sway, nominally at
least,
over the whole land, and paganism was for centuries
a thing of the past.
It may, however, be remarked
that on< or two Latin ecclesiastic il histories appeared
in the eighth century—notably the works of Adamnan
and Bede, but we in vain scan the pages left
us of
their works for any definite information as to the
previous religion. Gildas, a century before either
of these writers, makes only a passing reference to
the old faith. " I shall not," says he, " enumerate
those diabolical idols
of my country, which almost
surpassed in number those of Egypt, and of which
we still see [circ. a.d. 560] some mouldering away
within or without the deserted temples, with stiff
and deformed features as was customary. Nor will
I call out upon the mountains, fountains, or hills,
or upon the rivers, which now are subservient to the
use of men, but once were an abomination and
destruction to them, and to which the blind people
paid divine honour." Our knowledge of the local
development of Celtic religion in Britain and Ireland
cannot be obtained directly from contemporary
history : we have, it is true, some British inscriptions
of the Roman period, which give, mid a host of
minor and local deities, one or two important gods.
But our information must be drawn, nearly all,
from the heroic poems and tales, which do not date
much earlier than a thousand years ago ; and most
are far later than this period. For information
as to the ritual of the old religion, local customs