G603 25359 FULK (#1 or #6)
Celtic Languages  & Literature

5:45p – 7:00p TR

The topic of the course this semester will be the medieval Irish
language. Irish is a Celtic language, and its medieval form
comprises Old Irish (recorded mostly as glosses and inscriptions
from the fifth century to the ninth) and Middle Irish (recorded in
many literary forms from the tenth century to the sixteenth). The
language has some strikingly unique features, though it shares some
features with Welsh. Our approach to the language will be text-
oriented, so that we will learn much of our grammar from the process
of translating texts. The texts will include Scéla Mucce Meic
Dathó ‘The Story of Mac Dathó’s Pig’, Mesca Ulad ‘The Drunkenness of
the Ulstermen’, and some lyrics. There will be two examinations and
some shorter exercises. Required texts: Lehmann & Lehmann, An
Introduction to Old Irish; Thurneysen, A Grammar of Old Irish; J.
Charmichael Watson, ed., Mesca Ulad. The G500 prerequisite can in
most cases be waived.