Arthur in the Celtic Languages: The Arthurian Legend in Celtic Literatures and Traditions

This is the first comprehensive authoritative survey of Arthurian literature and traditions in the Celtic languages of Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Irish and Scottish Gaelic. With contributions by leading and emerging specialists in the field, the volume traces the development of the legends that grew up around Arthur and have been constantly reworked and adapted from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. It shows how the figure of Arthur evolved from the leader of a warband in early medieval north Britain to a king whose court becomes the starting-point for knightly adventures, and how characters and tales are reimagined, reshaped and reinterpreted according to local circumstances, traditions and preoccupations at different periods. From the celebrated early Welsh poetry and prose tales to less familiar modern Breton and Cornish fiction, from medieval Irish adaptations of the legend to the Gaelic ballads of Scotland, Arthur in the Celtic Languages provides an indispensable, up-to-date guide of a vast and complex body of Arthurian material, and to recent research and criticism.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgements List of Contributors Abbreviations Glossary of Welsh Terms List of Illustrations Introduction Part One: Wales - The Beginnings of Welsh Arthurian Tradition - Native Welsh Arthurian Tales - Medieval Translations and Adaptations into Welsh - Influences and Re-Compositions - Popular and Later Traditions Part Two: Cornish & Breton Traditions Part Three: The Gaelic World - Ireland - Scotland

About the Author :
Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan is Honorary Research Fellow at Bangor University, and was formerly Head of Manuscripts and Visual Images at the National Library of Wales. Erich Poppe was formerly Professor of Celtic Studies at the University of Marburg, and is currently involved in two research projects on medieval Welsh language and philology.

Review :
`This long-awaited successor to The Arthur of the Welsh is the first-ever survey of Arthurian material across all the Celtic languages from the Middle Ages to modern times. A significant contribution to the field of Arthurian studies in general, it will prove an indispensable resource for those working with material in the Celtic languages.’ ; -- Professor Sioned Davies, Chair of Welsh, Cardiff University ; `This invaluable collection, the work of an impressive array of experts, communicates the findings of the quarter century and more since the publication of The Arthur of the Welsh. Going into far greater detail than its predecessor in its treatment of the Breton and Cornish evidence, it breaks new ground with its chapters on the Arthur of the Gaels. It will be a rich resource for Celticists and Arthurian specialists alike.’ ; --Professor John Carey, Department of Early and Medieval Irish, University College Cork ; `This volume is a milestone in Arthurian research … respecting recent intercultural tendencies in Celtic studies. In lucid diction, Welsh, Cornish, Breton and Irish Celtic Arthurian traditions are explained in detail and compared, opening enormous fields of cultural and historical background knowledge.’ ; --Cora Dietl, Honorary President of the International Arthurian Society