Celtic Tales (or The Celts) is a book of comics that includes six stories about Corto Maltese, a sailor from Malta. The stories were created by the Italian artist Hugo Pratt and first published in the French comic magazine Pif Gadget between 1971 and 1972. The stories take place in Europe during World War I, from 1917 to 1918. The stories are:

Six stories

In the Venetian Lagoon, San Francesco del Deserto is an island that houses a Franciscan monastery. In 1917, Corto arrived and asked the monks for a copy of a map drawn on a missionary’s skin. This might show where the seven mines of Sapa Inca Atahualpa are located, near the Marañón River in Peru. These mines are also known as the Seven Cities of Cibola and the legendary El Dorado. However, only six are listed on the map—the seventh is missing. A monk advises Corto to visit the Venetian Ghetto to meet Melchisedech the rabbi, who owns a diary that describes all seven cities. There, Corto finds that a page showing the location of the seventh city is missing from the book. The person responsible seems to be a strange paralyzed woman living in a Venetian palace, nicknamed "The Angel in the Window to the Orient."

Corto discovers that an Austrian plane has often flown over her house. This puzzles Antonio Sorrentino, a Carabinieri captain. With a few men and Corto, he goes to the palace to solve the mystery. Inside, Corto learns that the "paralyzed woman" is actually Venexiana Stevenson, an old enemy from Honduras who now seeks El Dorado. While the Carabinieri capture her Austrian allies, Venexiana escapes.

This story connects Corto’s adventures in the Americas (from the volumes Under the Sign of Capricorn and Beyond the Windy Isles) with his journey in Europe (this volume). Earlier, in Peru, a monk told Corto about a mysterious map kept in Venice. This story shows his attempt to find it.

To create this story, Hugo Pratt used information from missionary books in Verona, Italy, called the Comboni. These books, written by missionaries in South America, are filled with notes from local people. Pratt believed this information was so valuable that people from Peru and Brazil visit the library to study it and learn native languages.

Pratt often included Venice in his stories, such as Fable of Venice. He described real places like the Piazza San Marco, which includes St. Mark’s Basilica, the Lion of Venice, and the Doge’s Palace. Through Corto’s conversations, Pratt highlights how beautiful Venice is, making it hard to leave.

On the north coast of the Adriatic Sea, the Battle of Caporetto was fought between Italy and Austria-Hungary. The royal family of Montenegro hid its gold in Sette Casoni, Italy, during the war. The Montenegrin Republican Army hired Corto to recover the gold.

Corto’s plan involves people from many countries. An Austrian officer, Lieutenant Radesky, secretly watches the operation from a balloon and distracts his fellow Austrians. Meanwhile, Scottish and French soldiers take the gold from a church, avoiding Austrian soldiers. Radesky is later rescued by Americans, including a medic named Ernest Way, inspired by Ernest Hemingway. Finally, the gold is loaded onto a Greek gunboat led by Onatis, who resembles Aristotle Onassis, with Corto waiting at the end.

This story takes place during World War I, a time when European borders and governments changed. Montenegro became an independent kingdom in 1910 but was later absorbed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1918. Fighting with the Allies, Montenegro was occupied by Austro-Hungarian forces.

Corto comments on how borders shifted during the war. For example, a village like Lozzo di Cadore in Veneto might be controlled by Italy or Austria depending on the day. Despite the chaos, Corto meets people who help him. Though his allies come from different countries, they unite under the goal of recovering the gold.

In October 1917, Corto used the Montenegrin gold to help Sinn Féin fight the British Army. He learned that one member, O’Sullivan, betrayed the group and caused the execution of Pat Finnucan, a leader of the Irish Revolution. In Dublin, Corto meets Moira "Banshee" O’Danann, Pat’s wife, who wants to avenge her husband. With her help, Corto enters British headquarters (Dublin Castle) and sets off a bomb.

Inside, Corto learns a shocking truth: Pat Finnucan, not O’Sullivan, was the real traitor. O’Sullivan had agreed to take blame for Pat to protect his reputation. Sean Finnucan, Pat’s brother, tells Corto that the truth must remain hidden to inspire the revolution. Later, Corto finds Moira on a beach and asks her to leave with him, but she refuses, believing she brings misfortune and must fulfill her duties.

This story is inspired by real events. Pratt met Pat Finnucan’s niece and spoke with Patricia Frawley, an Irish-American, who inspired the character of Moira. Pat Finnucan’s tomb includes the word "Fianna," referring to warrior groups in Irish mythology and a nationalist group from 1909.

Other events in the story include the Easter Rising, led by Patrick Pearse, which led to the Irish Free State in 1922.

In Wiltshire, England, on December 21, 1917, during the winter solstice, creatures from Celtic mythology gather at Stonehenge to discuss a coming attack by Germany. They need help from a human, so Corto is awakened by Puck, a raven, and led to Major Vortigern Welsh, a British soldier dying from a self-inflicted wound. Welsh warns Corto about his wife, Rowena, a German spy planning to attack Tintagel Castle in Cornwall.

At Tintagel, Rowena uses a German submarine to attack the castle, where Allies are meeting. Corto boards a tugboat to sink the submarine. Afterward, Rowena is tried and given her Iron Cross to Corto, who is also awarded a medal for bravery. Later, Corto returns to Stonehenge and sleeps nearby.

Artistic elements

Hugo Pratt created many more drawings of the characters and places connected to the stories in this album, just like he did with other parts of the series. In these drawings, he illustrated different locations in Ireland and historical or legendary figures.

One of the many covers for Celtic Tales shows a poem where Corto Maltese thanks various characters, mostly from Celtic legends.

Awards and tributes

Hugo Pratt received the "Prix Saint-Michel" for "Best Realistic Writing" in 1977 for the story A Midwinter Morning's Dream.

Twenty years after Hugo Pratt's death, his former assistant Lele Vianello, another Italian comic book creator, created a tribute album titled Twenty after … Homage to Hugo Pratt. The album includes drawings inspired by the story A Midwinter Morning’s Dream, in which the character Corto and figures from Celtic legends wait for Pratt on the day of his death to greet him and welcome him into their world.