Archæology and Tradition
1933; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 131; Issue: 3308 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1038/131431b0
ISSN1476-4687
Autores Tópico(s)Historical and Archaeological Studies
ResumoTHE Sir John Rhys memorial lectures of the British Academy, inaugurated in 1925 and delivered annually since that date, have now secured, as a series, a place in Celtic studies worthy of the great scholar they commemorate. The lectures have been apposite in subject and the lecturers have never failed to stimulate interest in their special field. The latest lecture to be published (London: Oxford University Press. 1s. 6d. net), by Prof. H. Fleure on “Archaeology and Folk-Tradition”, deals with a matter of interest to both archæologist and folklorist, but perhaps at the present stage in archæological studies, more particularly to the former. The illustration, or perhaps illumination, of conclusions derived from archæological data by reference to tradition and legend may become an alluring, but somewhat hazardous, exercise in ingenuity. Prof. Fleure's suggested relation of “The Twilight of the Gods” to a period of climatic deterioration and racial unrest in bronze age Europe is suggestive, but at the same time by its very restraint inculcates caution in those who have not his wide knowledge of the archæological aspects of ancillary sciences such as meteorology, botany, and geography, which is essential for a synthesis such as he essays. Turning more specifically to Britain and the relation of British and Irish archæology to Celtic tradition, his interpretation, for example, of Irish ethnic tradition shows by precept and example how at each stage the argument must adhere rigidly to ascertained fact. Yet notwithstanding his caution, Prof. Fleure feels able to place some reliance on the traditional Spanish connexion of early Irish peoples and incidentally to offer an enlightening suggestion as to the possible origin of the obscure Tuatha de Danann.
Referência(s)