INTER-UNIVERSITY CENTRE DUBROVNIK
Don Frana Bulica 4, HR-20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia
Tel: + 385 20 413 626 / 627, Fax: + 385 20 413 628, E-mail: iuc@iuc.hr

New perspectives on

Medieval Celtic prose

The graduate course "New perspectives on Medieval Celtic prose"

will be held between 15-17 September 2008.

Directors:

Ranko Matasović, University of Zagreb

Stefan Zimmer, Bonn University

Abstract

This course will present new insights in our understanding of Medieval prose texts in Old and Middle Irish and Middle Welsh. Results of the last couple of decades of philological analysis of Celtic prose will be presented, with focus on the problems of dating, elements of oral literature, and the influences from classical and ecclesiastical sources. Mutual influences between two Insular Celtic traditions will also be taken into account, and particular attention will be paid to the stylistic features and motives that set the Celtic storytelling apart from the mainstream of European literature.

Instruction will be on the graduate level, but undergraduate students of Celtic languages and/or Medieval studies are also invited to apply. No knowledge of Medieval Celtic languages will be assumed, although some familiarity with Latin and/or Old Irish and Middle Welsh is welcome. The instruction will be in the form of lectures with powerpoint presentations and handouts. Lectures will be followed by a round-table discussion in which participants will be able to ask questions and discuss issues with all lecturers. (top)

Lecturers

1. Ranko Matasović, University of Zagreb

Introduction to Medieval Celtic Prose (1 hour)
This introductory lecture will give an overview of problems involved in the interpretation of the Medieval prose texts in Irish and Welsh. The literary prose of the Medieval Celtic countries will be placed in the wider context of Medieval European literature. Criteria that set the Celtic literary tradition apart from others will be discussed, as well as the problems of interpretation specific to Old and Middle Irish and Middle Welsh texts (top).

2. Kim McCone, NUI Maynooth

Pagan and Christian influence in Early Irish Tales (6 hours)

This course of six lectures will begin by considering the environment in which surviving early medieval Irish sagas were produced and the implications that this has for their interpretation. This introduction will be followed by five lectures submitting individual texts, principally in English translation, to a more detailed examination with a view to illustrating and discussing the basic issues involved. Lectures two and three will look at a group of the earliest extant Old Irish tales probably dating from the late seventh and/or early eighth century A.D., namely Compert Con Culainn (Cú Chulainn’s Conception), Compert Mongáin (Mongán’s Conception), Echtrae Chonnlai (Connlae’s Expedition) and Immram Brain (Bran’s Voyage). The fourth lecture will deal with the probably tenth-century Scéla Muicce Meic Da Thó (The Tale of Mac Da Thó’s Hound), the fifth with Aided Cheltchair Meic Uithechair (The Death of Celtchar son of Uithechar) and the sixth with the account of Cú Chulainn’s death in Brislech Mór Maige Muirthemne (The Rout of Muirthemne Plain). (top).

3. Ruairí Ó hUiginn, NUI Maynooth

The Problem of Dating of Medieval Irish prose (6 hours)
The question of dating texts and related matters will be addressed in this series of seminars. Following a general overview of the different linguistic periods of Irish, dating criteria relating to the various stages of Old, Middle and Early Modern Irish will be examined and discussed. This will comprise not only an examination of linguistic data but also, where appropriate, the use of non-linguistic criteria. A number of short excerpts from different texts will be read with special reference to linguistic features, style and content. The use of linguistic archaisms as stylistic devices in prose texts or their use to fulfil certain metrical requirements in poetical compositions will also be discussed with reference to relevant examples. The question of dating some medieval Welsh material will also be examined. Finally we will examine a number of edited texts and paying special attention to the criteria used by their editors in dating them (top).

4. Hildegard Tristram, University of Freiburg in Breisgau.

Imagining the Past – Medieval Irish and Welsh Tales Between Orality and Literacy (6 hours)
Although they are only preserved in written form in manuscripts which date from the central or later Middle Ages, the early Irish and Welsh prose tales look back to an age in which literature was essentially oral and passed on only by word of mouth. The depth of narrated time may in some cases encompass more than a thousand years, in other cases only a few centuries, in a few cases even less than a century. These tales were written down by the monks to be read out aloud (or ‘pre-lected’) among peer literati or to be performed in front of live audiences. Thus, they are written in nature, but orally-derived. Their function was to be orally delivered.
In my six lectures, I will discuss a number of characteristics relating to the written and the oral nature of these narratives, focussing on selected texts such as the Irish tales of Táin Bó Cuailnge (‘Cattle Raid of Cuailnge’), Togail Bruidne Dá Derga (‘The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel’) and Scéla Mucce Meic Dathó (‘Stories about Mac Dathó’s Pig”) and the Welsh tales of Kulhwch ac Olwen (‘Kulhwch’s Wooing of Olwen’) and the Four Branches of the Mabinogi: (Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan and Math). The Irish tales are heroic in character and the Welsh ones (Arthurian) romances. Pagan mythology lurks behind all of them.
A Reader will be provided and put on the website a few weeks before the course so that the students can study it in advance and come prepared. The lectures will be illustrated by selected recordings of modern readings from the texts studied (top).

Download PDF files here: Reader.pdf & Bibliography.pdf

5. Stefan Zimmer, Bonn University

Middle Welsh Prose (6 hours)
The short lecture series attempts to present the Welsh prose literature from c. 1050 to c. 1450 in a systematic way. It will consist of the following unists:

1. Introduction
2. Law Texts
2.1 Bryein Teiliau
2.2 Laws of Hywel Dda
3. Narrative Texts
3.1 Culhwch ac Olwen
3.2 Mabinogi
3.2.1 Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet
3.2.2 Branwen Uerch Llyr
3.2.3 Manawydan Uab Llyr
3.2.4 Math Uab Mathonwy
3.3 Arthurian Romances
3.3.1 Translations of Chansons de geste
3.3.2 Translations of Graal & Perslevaus stories
3.3.3 Adaptions from Chrestien de Troyes
3.4 Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig
3.5 Chwedleu Saeth Doethon Rufein
3.6 Breuddwyd Rhonabwy
3.7 Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys
4. Historical Texts
4.1 Brut y Tywysogyon
4.2 Brut y Brenhinedd
4.3 Brut Dingestow
4.4 Ystorya Gruffudd ap Cynan
5. Religious Texts
5.1 Elucidarium
5.2 Didactic texts
5.3 Ymborth yr Enaid
5.3 Scripturial and other texts
6. Hagiography
6.1 Dewi
6.2 Beuno
7. Medical Texts
8. Grammars
9 Conclusion, with references to Early Welsh Poetry and the Welsh Bible (top).

6. Applications

All participants should apply by e-mail to Ranko Matasović (rmatasov@ffzg.hr) and Tena Gnjatović (tena_gnjatovic@yahoo.com) by March 31, 2008. Please state your full name, address and affiliation. The number of participants is limited, so in case of the unexpectedly great interest participants who apply earlier will be accepted.

Attendance fee: 40 Euros (includes instruction, course materials, and a guided tour of Dubrovnik). Up to seven grants will be offered to participants, covering the attendance fee and accomodation. If you would like to apply for a grant, please enclose a letter of reference with your application for the course and send both to Ranko Matasović (rmatasov@ffzg.hr) and Tena Gnjatović (tena_gnjatovic@yahoo.com). Applicants from Eastern European countriesmay also apply for a HESP Scholarship directly to the IUC at least one month before the beginning of the course. Please write directly to the IUC Secretariat (iuc@iuc.hr) to obtain an application form.

(top).

The event will be sponsored by
The Croatian Ministry of Science and Education;
The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and
The Irish Embassy (Diplomatic Representation for Croatia is handled by the embassy in Slovenia (Ljubljana).