Middle Welsh: Language and Culture 1

At the end of this course, successful participants will be able to:

(1) comprehend the basic grammatical structure of Middle Welsh

(2) translate simple Dutch/English sentences into Middle Welsh

(3) translate a simple, short Middle Welsh prose text into Dutch/English in a limited amount of time

(4) answer questions related to the contents, themes and concepts from medieval Welsh literary texts studied during class

(5) list and explain some of the most common theoretical approaches to medieval Welsh literature
 

Middle Welsh is the Celtic language of Wales in the period between ca. 1100 and 1450. Many texts from this period have survived, from a variety of genres, including heroic prose tales, poetry, historiography, law texts, religious literature and medical texts. The grammatical structure of the language is not complicated but does present its difficulties to learners because it differs in important respects from other western European languages. The course offers an introduction to medieval Welsh grammar and enables students to read a simple prose text. In addition, a number of important literary texts from the collection of tales known as the Mabinogion will be introduced.