Arthur in the Celtic Languages
The Arthurian Legend in Celtic Literatures and Traditions
Editor(s) Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan,Erich Poppe
Language: English
Genre(s): Literary Criticism
Series: Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages
- January 2019 · 432 pages ·244x172mm
- · Hardback - 9781786833433
- · eBook - pdf - 9781786833440
- · eBook - epub - 9781786833457
About The Book
This is the first comprehensive authoritative survey of Arthurian literature and traditions in the Celtic languages of Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Irish and Scottish Gaelic. With contributions by leading and emerging specialists in the field, the volume traces the development of the legends that grew up around Arthur and have been constantly reworked and adapted from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. It shows how the figure of Arthur evolved from the leader of a warband in early medieval north Britain to a king whose court becomes the starting-point for knightly adventures, and how characters and tales are reimagined, reshaped and reinterpreted according to local circumstances, traditions and preoccupations at different periods. From the celebrated early Welsh poetry and prose tales to less familiar modern Breton and Cornish fiction, from medieval Irish adaptations of the legend to the Gaelic ballads of Scotland, Arthur in the Celtic Languages provides an indispensable, up-to-date guide of a vast and complex body of Arthurian material, and to recent research and criticism.
Endorsements
‘This long-awaited successor to The Arthur of the Welsh is the first-ever survey of Arthurian material across all the Celtic languages from the Middle Ages to modern times. A significant contribution to the field of Arthurian studies in general, it will prove an indispensable resource for those working with material in the Celtic languages.’
-Professor Sioned Davies, Chair of Welsh, Cardiff University
‘This invaluable collection, the work of an impressive array of experts, communicates the findings of the quarter century and more since the publication of The Arthur of the Welsh. Going into far greater detail than its predecessor in its treatment of the Breton and Cornish evidence, it breaks new ground with its chapters on the Arthur of the Gaels. It will be a rich resource for Celticists and Arthurian specialists alike.’
-Professor John Carey, Department of Early and Medieval Irish, University College Cork
‘This volume is a milestone in Arthurian research … respecting recent intercultural tendencies in Celtic studies. In lucid diction, Welsh, Cornish, Breton and Irish Celtic Arthurian traditions are explained in detail and compared, opening enormous fields of cultural and historical background knowledge.’
-Cora Dietl, Honorary President of the International Arthurian Society
‘Arthur in the Celtic Languages is a book for the twenty-first century: its multilingual and geographical breadth, and the excellence of the scholarship, recommend it as a must-read for the expert and student alike.’
-Raluca Radulescu, Professor of Medieval Literature, Bangor University
'Looking at tales that recount quests and narrate marvels, the essays describe characters and situations as they are reimagined and reinterpreted according to local circumstances, traditions, and preoccupations at different historical periods. Specialists, in particular, will find this examination of a vast and complex body of lore indispensable.'
- R. Cormier, emeritus, Longwood University. CHOICE
'Poppe and Lloyd-Morgan’s edited collection signals a shift away from our previous, anachronistic lingonationalist groupings of the Arthurian legend and toward, one hopes, a refreshing emphasis on comparativism.'
- Dr Daniel G. Helbert, Assistant Professor of English, Young Harris College, Speculum 96/2
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Contributors
Abbreviations
Glossary of Welsh Terms
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Part One: Wales
-The Beginnings of Welsh Arthurian Tradition
-Native Welsh Arthurian Tales
-Medieval Translations and Adaptations into Welsh
-Influences and Re-Compositions
-Popular and Later Traditions
Part Two: Cornish & Breton Traditions
Part Three: The Gaelic World
-Ireland
-Scotland