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  6. CE5038: Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Poetry PG

CE5038: CELTIC AND ANGLO-SAXON POETRY PG (2016-2017)

Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27


Course Overview

The course explores the rich poetic legacy of Britain and Ireland in the early medieval period, and traces the further development of Welsh, Gaelic and Lowland Scots poetry up until the sixteenth century. From the light-drenched nature poetry of the Gaels through the eloquent anguish of Anglo-Saxon meditative verse to the high jinks of the great Welsh poet Dafydd ap Gwilym, the stress is on the energy and variety of the art produced by the diverse linguistic communities of the territories that became Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. ​

Course Details

Study Type Postgraduate Level 5
Term First Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Old Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Professor Patrick Crotty

Qualification Prerequisites

None.

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Celtic (CE)
  • Any Postgraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

  • CE5538 Celtic and Anglo Saxon Poetry (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

The course introduces and analyses a representative range of poetry from the major linguistic communities of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales from early medieval times to the sixteenth century​. The poetry is examined in the light both of aesthetic and contextual considerations, and in relation to the emergence of the four nations of the 'British' Isles. Reasons for the high status accorded to the art in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon cultures are explored, and Welsh, Gaelic and Anglo-Saxon literatures considered in terms both of their distinctive qualities and of the interactions between them. Attention is also paid to poetry in Latin, the language of learning not only in Britain and Ireland but throughout Christendom. The course encompasses such topics as early Gaelic nature poetry; devotional poetry in Ireland and England; Y Gododdin ​and early Britain; Anglo-Saxon metrics and the development of English poetry; the classical poetry of Ireland and Scotland; patronage and praise in Celtic verse; the achievement of Dafydd ap Gwilym;​ Highlands vs Lowlands: flyting bards and makars in sixteenth-century Scotland. All save the Scots poetry is considered in translation, though students will have the opportunity of hearing and - in accordance with their linguistic abilities - reading sample texts in the original languages.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 21st September 2026 for Term 1 and Full Year courses and 8th January 2027 for Term 2 courses.

Summative Assessments

1 essay of 2,500 words (40%); 1 essay of 3,500 words (50%); 1 presentation (10%).

Resit: 1 essay of 5,000 words​.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Feedback

Detailed feedback on student essays will be provided by tutor at agreed times and within the normal turn-around sc​hedule; feedback on presentations will be given within two days of the event. ​​

Course Learning Outcomes

None.
 

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