Book Details

Ortha nan Gàidheal: Carmina Gadelica in English and Gaelic, in Six Volumes

Compiled by Alexander Carmichael

Price:	£150.00
Publication Date:	23 Nov 2006
Availability:	Available to buy

A complete six-volume facsimile boxed set of Carmina Gadelica in Gaelic and English.

Carmina Gadelica, or Ortha nan Gàidheal (Charms or Songs of the Gaels) in the original Gaelic, is an anthology of poems and prayers from the Gaelic oral tradition, the most comprehensive ever collected. They came from communities all over the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, were often shared or performed at the evening ceilidh and thereby passed on from generation to generation.

Alexander Carmichael compiled the collection in the second half of the nineteenth century, and in doing so created a lasting record of a culture and way of life which has now largely disappeared. In the Introduction, Carmichael recounts with great warmth and evident pleasure the hospitality which he received from the people whose songs and stories he was anxious to record. "I have three regrets," he says, "that I had not been earlier collecting, that I have not been more diligent in collecting, and that I am not better qualified to treat what I have collected." Nevertheless, Carmina Gadelica quickly became an invaluable resource for those wanting to study and understand Gaelic culture, and for those wanting to experience the beauty and wisdom of its oral literature.

This is a beautiful hardback boxed set of all six volumes of the original bilingual edition.

Reviews

'A masterpiece of print production in its time.'
-- Fred Silver, Events Monthly, The Stornoway Gazette, Jan-Feb 2007

'Floris have really outdone themselves by publishing the complete Carmina Gadelica'
--Inner Light Magazine, Spring 2007

About the Author(s)

Alexander Carmichael (1832-1912) was an Excise Officer from the island of Lismore off the coast of Argyll. His work took him all over the Scottish Highlands and the Hebrides, during which time he collected the prayers, hymns, incantations, work-songs, charms and cures that would make up Carmina Gadelica.

Of Further Interest

A single volume English-only paperback of Carmina Gadelica is available:
Carmina Gadelica

Also available, a gift-edition selection from Carmina Gadelica:
The Celtic Gift of Nature: Illustrated Selections from the Carmina Gadelica in Gaelic and English