Fingal's Cave, the Poems of Ossian, and Celtic Christianity

On the isolated island of Staffa, near Iona in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, basalt columns have formed a cathedral-like cave where wind and water ebb and flow, creating an ethereal music. This is Fingal's cave a source of mystery, esoteric spiritual insight, and artistic inspiration for centuries. Mendelssohn and Turner were inspired by it, as was philosopher and educationalist Rudolf Steiner. The cave figures in the fragmentary poems of Ossian, collected by the poet James Macpherson, which were a great influence on 18th- and 19th-century Europe and America. Paul and Joan Allen explore the meaning of Fingal's initiation rite, the development of Celtic culture, customs, and influence into modern times, and its revival once again today.