Celtic Studies

Celtic Studies concentrates on the study of the history and culture of the Celtic-speaking peoples through the medium of texts written in ancient, mediaeval and modern varieties of Celtic. These texts comprise ancient Celtic inscriptions carved during the pre-Roman and Roman periods, but above all a wide variety of poetry and prose attested in Britain and Ireland from the early Middle Ages onwards. The subject-matter ranges from early mediaeval imaginative recreations of the pre-Christian past right up to contemporary narrative and poetic reflections of political, social, and philosophical issues.

Bound up with, and supplementary to, the study of the vernacular texts is the study of the archaeological record, of the writings of Greek and Roman authors, and of the many different ways in which the ancient and mediaeval Celts have been looked at from the early modern period onwards.

Programme Structure & Content

Celtic Studies is available as a Single Honours programme, and courses are available from third and fourth year. For first and second year, students will attend courses in Celtic Civilisation. In addition, they may also attend courses in Scottish Gaelic (highly recommended) which will equip them with a thorough grounding in one of the four modern Celtic languages with a continuous history from the Middle Ages. In view of the linguistic dimension of Celtic Studies, it is essential that students who have done no Scottish Gaelic in their first or second year attend the Celtic Civilisation course on ‘The History of the Celtic Languages' or show in some other appropriate way that they have acquired appropriate linguistic skills (e.g. first or second year Latin, Greek, Hebrew or other languages).

First Year
In first year, all students in Celtic Studies are given an introduction to the early history and culture of the Celtic peoples.

Second Year
Second year students are offered a range of courses focusing on particular facets of the mediaeval and modern history, literatures and cultures of the Celtic-speaking peoples. Topics covered from first and second year include Celtic archaeology, traditional Celtic religion, contacts with the Roman world, the spread of Christianity, and the impact of Vikings. In the second semester of the second year there is a course on ‘The History of the Celtic Languages' for students taking Celtic Studies in their third and fourth years.

Third & Fourth Year (Honours)
From third and fourth year, students can learn both Irish and Welsh, concentrating on the mediaeval or modern forms of these languages. Breton, Manx and Cornish may be offered from time to time, and students who have done Scottish Gaelic in first and second year may broaden their knowledge of it and relate it to the other Celtic languages. In addition, there are relevant courses on the historical and cultural background of the mediaeval and modern Insular Celtic literatures offered in the degree-programmes in Celtic Civilization, History and History of Art.