Courses / Module

This module offers the student a first introduction to select topics of medieval Welsh literature. In the first half of the semester, students will examine key manuscript sources and texts that provide insight into the beginnings of Arthurian tradition and will consider the ways in which the writing of history intertwined with that of narrative fiction to create a compelling origin legend for the British people. They will then read and analyse examples from the collection of medieval Welsh tales known as the Mabinogion with a view to understanding how the medium of narrative literature could be used for both entertainment and instruction, particularly as a means to comment on ideas about marriage, gender relations, friendship, loyalty and contemporary political developments. In the second half of the semester, students will further advance their knowledge of these themes by exploring the Welsh contribution to European chivalric literature centring around the court of King Arthur, as well as legends concerning the magician Merlin and the genre of heroic poetry. At key points in the module, they will be encouraged to consider the resonances of Irish literary sources in medieval Welsh tradition and the significance of modern cinematic reworkings of the Arthurian legend. All texts will be read through English translation; no prior knowledge of the Welsh language is required.