Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 2: Arthur—Bunyan

The portion preserved in the supplied file begins with detailed studies of Arthur and the Arthurian Cycle, examining literary traditions, Celtic materials, medieval romances, legendary development, and comparative folklore. Subsequent entries address the Arval Brothers, ancient Roman religious priesthood and ritual; and Aryan Religion, a very extensive comparative investigation into Indo-European religious conceptions, ritual, sacrifice, burial customs, deities, sacred fire, cosmology, and linguistic evidence. The volume also treats the Arya Samaj, including its founder, doctrines, Vedic orientation, social reform, education, and institutional development.

A major section is devoted to Asceticism, first through a general theoretical introduction and then through comparative studies of Buddhist, Celtic, Christian, Greek, Hindu, Japanese, Jewish, Muslim, Persian, Roman, and Semitic-Egyptian traditions. These entries analyse fasting, celibacy, monastic discipline, renunciation, bodily austerity, spiritual purification, and philosophical attitudes toward desire and material existence. Further articles examine Islamic theological figures and schools, funerary customs, ancient Near Eastern goddesses, and broad geographical-cultural concepts such as Asia. Overall, the work reflects early twentieth-century comparative scholarship, combining philology, textual study, archaeology, history of religions, ethnography, and philosophical analysis.