This interdisciplinary course offers students an introduction to Irish heroic literature and Irish fairy tales and legends. We will read a selection of the early Irish tales that form The Mythological Cycle, The Ulster Cycle and The Cycle of Finn, questioning what literary genres our stories fit into, the significance of recurring themes and symbols, and the origins of Arthurian legends as based upon Celtic prototypes. These stories offer a fascinating insight into the complex world of pre-Christian Ireland by painting vivid portraits of life, culture and legends in pagan times. Significantly, they also bring to light to the crucial role early Irish literature played in the composition of some of the greatest legends ever written in English literature. In addition to the literature aspect of this course, we will explore Celtic archaeology and early Irish history, both of which will enable us to place our stories within a tangible, historical framework. We will also examine legends of otherworldly beings that are particular to Ireland, such as the banshee, the leprechaun, the merrow and the pooka—discussing how, over time, the mythology and pagan beliefs of early Ireland came to form Irish folklore and superstitions.
Attendance policy:
Because IES courses are designed to take advantage of the unique contribution of the instruction and the lecture/discussion format, regular class attendance is mandatory. Any missed class, without a legitimate reason will be reflected in the final grade. A legitimate reason would include: documented illness or family bereavement. Travel, (including travel delays) is not a legitimate reason.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this course, students will be able to assimilate the connections between Celtic archaeology, mythology and early Irish literature. This will enable students to engage critically and analytically with early literary texts and place them within a historical framework. Students will also be able to discern how Celtic mythology came to form the fabric of Ireland’s folklore.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, seminar discussion, small group discussion.
Required work and form of assessment:
As many of the stories we are going to read are quite short in length we will read several texts each week. But please bear in mind that this is a reading intensive course. Attendance/Participation: 15%; Presentation/Discussion leading: 20%; Two 1,500 word essays: 25% each; Final exam: 15%.
content:
Week One: Introduction to Early Irish Life, Culture, Mythology and Literature.
Lecture and discussion: Bronze Age and Iron Age Ireland. Who were the Celts?
Week Two: Celtic Myth and the “founding” of Fairy Ireland
Reading from Heaney: The Mythological Cycle: The Tuatha Dé Danann; The Milesians Come to Ireland.Lecture: Sun Worship and Druidic Practices
Week Three: Field Trip: National Museum of Ireland
Week Four: Genre: Epic and Romance and Building The Irish Hero
Reading from Cross and Slover handout: The Ulster Cycle: The Birth of Conchobhar. From Heaney: The Birth of Cú Chulainn, The Boyhood Deeds of Cú Chulainn, Cu Chulainn Takes Up Arms, The Wooing of Emer. Lecture: Warriors, Goddesses, Wives
Week Five: Romance and Tragedy
Reading from Heaney: The Ulster Cycle: Deirdre of the Sorrows. From The Cycle of Finn:Boyhood Deeds of Finn, Finn Joins the Fianna, The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne. Film: Queen Boudica
Week Six: Irish Epic: The Táin
Reading from Heaney: The Ulster Cycle:Cú Chulainn and Ferdia’s Fight at the Ford, The Weakness of the Ulstermen; excerpts from Kinsella’s translation of The Táin.Film: In Search of Ancient Ireland
Week Seven: The Death Tales:
Reading from Heaney: The Ulster Cycle: The Death of Connla, The Death of Cú Chulainn; From Cross and Slover handout: The Death of Conchobhar.Lecture: Death and the Afterlife
Week Eight: Beheading Games and Tests of Strength
Reading from Heaney: The Ulster Cycle: Bricriu’s Feast; and from Cooper: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.Lecture: Celtic Myth and Arthurian literature.
First Essays due. SUBMIT AT START OF CLASS
Week Nine: The Journey Into Fairy Land
Reading from Heaney: The Mythological Cycle: Midhir and Etain. Reading from Gantz: The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn. Film: In Search of King Arthur
Week Ten: Fairy Tales and Legends
Reading from Heaney: Mythological Cycle: The Voyage of Bran. The Cycle of Finn: The Enchanted Deer: The Birth of Oisín, Oisín in the Land of Youth
Lecture: The Fairy Otherworld; Film clip: The Banshee Lives in the Handball Alley.
Week Eleven: About Fairies: “The gods of the earth”
Reading from Heaney: The Children of Lír. Handouts: WB Yeats, “The Stolen Child”; John Connolly, “The New Daughter”. Films: Púca agus Péist and The Burning of Bridget Cleary.
Week Twelve: Review and Final Exam
Final essays due by end of week 13
Required readings:
Connolly, John, “The New Daughter,” in Nocturnes. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2005.
Cross, T.P. and C.H. Slover, eds. Ancient Irish Tales. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1996. (supplied as photocopies)
Gantz, Jeffrey, “The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn”,” in Irish Myths and Sagas. London: Penguin, 1982.
Heany, Marie. Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legends. London: Faber and Faber, 1995.
Kinsella, Thomas, trans. The Táin: Translated from the Irish Epic Táin Bo Cuailnge. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Cooper, Helen, trans. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Oxford: OUP, 1998.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Michelle Piazza holds degrees in literature, history, politics and medieval studies, with concentration in Old Norse Studies and Celtic Studies. She’s currently completing a postgraduate diploma in Classical Mediterranean Studies, with emphasis on Continental and British Romano-Celtic archaeology. She lectured for many years for University College Dublin and presently lectures for AHA International’s summer study abroad programme in Ireland. She has been teaching for IES Dublin for ten years.
Celtic Myth And Legend In Early Ireland
This interdisciplinary course offers students an introduction to Irish heroic literature and Irish fairy tales and legends. We will read a selection of the early Irish tales that form The Mythological Cycle, The Ulster Cycle and The Cycle of Finn, questioning what literary genres our stories fit into, the significance of recurring themes and symbols, and the origins of Arthurian legends as based upon Celtic prototypes. These stories offer a fascinating insight into the complex world of pre-Christian Ireland by painting vivid portraits of life, culture and legends in pagan times. Significantly, they also bring to light to the crucial role early Irish literature played in the composition of some of the greatest legends ever written in English literature. In addition to the literature aspect of this course, we will explore Celtic archaeology and early Irish history, both of which will enable us to place our stories within a tangible, historical framework. We will also examine legends of otherworldly beings that are particular to Ireland, such as the banshee, the leprechaun, the merrow and the pooka—discussing how, over time, the mythology and pagan beliefs of early Ireland came to form Irish folklore and superstitions.
Because IES courses are designed to take advantage of the unique contribution of the instruction and the lecture/discussion format, regular class attendance is mandatory. Any missed class, without a legitimate reason will be reflected in the final grade. A legitimate reason would include: documented illness or family bereavement. Travel, (including travel delays) is not a legitimate reason.
By the end of this course, students will be able to assimilate the connections between Celtic archaeology, mythology and early Irish literature. This will enable students to engage critically and analytically with early literary texts and place them within a historical framework. Students will also be able to discern how Celtic mythology came to form the fabric of Ireland’s folklore.
Lectures, seminar discussion, small group discussion.
As many of the stories we are going to read are quite short in length we will read several texts each week. But please bear in mind that this is a reading intensive course. Attendance/Participation: 15%; Presentation/Discussion leading: 20%; Two 1,500 word essays: 25% each; Final exam: 15%.
Week One: Introduction to Early Irish Life, Culture, Mythology and Literature.
Lecture and discussion: Bronze Age and Iron Age Ireland. Who were the Celts?
Week Two: Celtic Myth and the “founding” of Fairy Ireland
Reading from Heaney: The Mythological Cycle: The Tuatha Dé Danann; The Milesians Come to Ireland. Lecture: Sun Worship and Druidic Practices
Week Three: Field Trip: National Museum of Ireland
Week Four: Genre: Epic and Romance and Building The Irish Hero
Reading from Cross and Slover handout: The Ulster Cycle: The Birth of Conchobhar. From Heaney: The Birth of Cú Chulainn, The Boyhood Deeds of Cú Chulainn, Cu Chulainn Takes Up Arms, The Wooing of Emer. Lecture: Warriors, Goddesses, Wives
Week Five: Romance and Tragedy
Reading from Heaney: The Ulster Cycle: Deirdre of the Sorrows. From The Cycle of Finn: Boyhood Deeds of Finn, Finn Joins the Fianna, The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne. Film: Queen Boudica
Week Six: Irish Epic: The Táin
Reading from Heaney: The Ulster Cycle: Cú Chulainn and Ferdia’s Fight at the Ford, The Weakness of the Ulstermen; excerpts from Kinsella’s translation of The Táin. Film: In Search of Ancient Ireland
Week Seven: The Death Tales:
Reading from Heaney: The Ulster Cycle: The Death of Connla, The Death of Cú Chulainn; From Cross and Slover handout: The Death of Conchobhar. Lecture: Death and the Afterlife
Week Eight: Beheading Games and Tests of Strength
Reading from Heaney: The Ulster Cycle: Bricriu’s Feast; and from Cooper: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Lecture: Celtic Myth and Arthurian literature.
First Essays due. SUBMIT AT START OF CLASS
Week Nine: The Journey Into Fairy Land
Reading from Heaney: The Mythological Cycle: Midhir and Etain. Reading from Gantz: The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn. Film: In Search of King Arthur
Week Ten: Fairy Tales and Legends
Reading from Heaney: Mythological Cycle: The Voyage of Bran. The Cycle of Finn: The Enchanted Deer: The Birth of Oisín, Oisín in the Land of Youth
Lecture: The Fairy Otherworld; Film clip: The Banshee Lives in the Handball Alley.
Week Eleven: About Fairies: “The gods of the earth”
Reading from Heaney: The Children of Lír. Handouts: WB Yeats, “The Stolen Child”; John Connolly, “The New Daughter”. Films: Púca agus Péist and The Burning of Bridget Cleary.
Week Twelve: Review and Final Exam
Final essays due by end of week 13
Connolly, John, “The New Daughter,” in Nocturnes. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2005.
Cross, T.P. and C.H. Slover, eds. Ancient Irish Tales. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1996. (supplied as photocopies)
Gantz, Jeffrey, “The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn”,” in Irish Myths and Sagas. London: Penguin, 1982.
Heany, Marie. Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legends. London: Faber and Faber, 1995.
Kinsella, Thomas, trans. The Táin: Translated from the Irish Epic Táin Bo Cuailnge. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Cooper, Helen, trans. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Oxford: OUP, 1998.
Michelle Piazza holds degrees in literature, history, politics and medieval studies, with concentration in Old Norse Studies and Celtic Studies. She’s currently completing a postgraduate diploma in Classical Mediterranean Studies, with emphasis on Continental and British Romano-Celtic archaeology. She lectured for many years for University College Dublin and presently lectures for AHA International’s summer study abroad programme in Ireland. She has been teaching for IES Dublin for ten years.