Discover the fascinating world of Celtic stories and heroes
A number of popular story-book figures of the past centuries are of Celtic origin. King Arthur is probably the best-known of such figures, but other examples include St. Patrick of Ireland, as well as fairies and leprechauns. All of these are (correctly) seen as Celtic. Interestingly, however, the earliest Celtic tales about these figures are often very different from the ones we know today. For instance, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were not very chivalrous in the earliest Welsh tales. Sometimes they were mean, and sometimes laughable. What were these early stories? Why and how are they different from the popular versions we have now?
In this talk, you will get new insight into some of the richest and most interesting literatures from the Early Middle Ages: that of Ireland and Wales. We will see just how many traditional story-book figures you know from this Celtic past, and we will explore how similar or different the Celtic originals are from the modern stories you know.