Celtic Studies
Encyclopedia
Celtic studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history archaeology
and history
, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages
, living and extinct. The primary areas of focus are the six Celtic languages currently in use: Irish
, Welsh
, Scottish Gaelic, Manx
, Cornish
, and Breton
.
As a university subject, it is taught at a number of universities worldwide, most of them in Ireland
, the United Kingdom
, and France
, but also in the United States
, Canada
, Australia
, Germany
, Poland
, Austria
and the Netherlands
.
Greek and Latin accounts, possibly beginning with Hecataeus
in the 6th century BC and best known through such authors as Polybius
, Posidonius
, Pausanias, Diodorus Siculus
, Julius Caesar
and Strabo
. Modern Celtic studies originated in the 16th and 17th century, when many of these classical authors were re-discovered, published and translated.
Academic interest in Celtic languages grew out of comparative and historical linguistics, which was itself established at the end of the 18th century. In the 16th century, George Buchanan
studied Gaelic
. The first major breakthrough in Celtic linguistics came with the publication of Archaeologia Britannica (1707) by the Welsh scholar Edward Lhuyd
, who was the first to recognise that Gaulish, British and Irish belong to the same language family. He also published the English version of a study by Paul-Yves Pezron
of Gaulish.
In 1767 James Parsons published his study The Remains of Japhet, being historical enquiries into the affinity and origins of the European languages. He compared a 1000-word lexicon of Irish and Welsh and concluded that they were originally the same, then comparing the numerals in many other languages.
The second big leap forwards was made when the Englishman Sir William Jones
postulated that Sanskrit
, Greek, Latin and many other languages including "the Celtic" derived from a common ancestral language. This hypothesis, published in The Sanscrit Language (1786), would later be hailed as the discovery of the Indo-European language family, from which grew the field of Indo-European studies
. The Celtic languages were definitively linked to the Indo-European family over the course of the 19th century.
Although Jones' trailblazing hypothesis inspired numerous linguistic studies, of which Celtic languages were a part, it was not until Johann Kaspar Zeuss's monumental Grammatica Celtica (volume 1, 1851; volume 2, 1853) that any truly significant progress was made. Composed in Latin
, the work draws on the earliest Old Irish, Middle Welsh and other Celtic primary source
s to construct a comparative grammar, which was the first to lay out a steady basis for Celtic linguistics. Among other achievements, Zeuss was able to crack the Old Irish verb.
in Munich
. Until the middle of the 19th century, Celtic studies progressed largely as a subfield of linguistics
. Franz Bopp
(1791–1867) carried out further studies in comparative linguistics
to link the Celtic languages
to the Proto-Indo-European language
. He is credited with having finally proven Celtic to be a branch of the Indo-European language family. From 1821 to 1864, he served as a professor of oriental literature and general linguistics in Berlin
.
In 1896, Kuno Meyer
and Ludwig Christian Stern founded the Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie
(ZCP), the first academic journal solely devoted to aspects of Celtic languages and literature and still in existence today. In the second half of the century, significant contributions were made by the Orientalist Ernst Windisch
(1844–1918). He held a chair in Sanskrit
at the University of Leipzig
, however is most remembered for his numerous publications in the field of Celtic studies. In 1901, the Orientalist and Celtologist Heinrich Zimmer
(1851–1910) was made professor of Celtic languages at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, the first position of its kind in Germany. He was followed in 1911 by Kuno Meyer
(1858–1919), who, in addition to numerous publications in the field, was active in the Irish independence movement.
Perhaps the most important German speaking Celticist is the Swiss scholar Rudolf Thurneysen
(1857–1940). A student of Windisch and Zimmer, Thurneysen was appointed to the chair of comparative linguistics at Freiberg
in 1887; the succeeded to the equivalent chair in Bonn
in 1913. His notability arises from his work on Old Irish. For his masterwork, Handbuch des Altirischen (1909, meaning "Handbook of Old Irish"), translated into English as A Grammar of Old Irish, he located and analysed a multitude of Old Irish manuscripts. His work is considered as the basis for all succeeding studies of Old Irish.
In 1920, Julius Pokorny
(1887–1970) was appointed to the chair of Celtic languages at Berlin. Despite his support for German nationalism and Catholic faith, he was forced out of his position by the Nazis on account of his Jewish ancestry. He subsequently emigrated to Switzerland
and returned to Germany again in 1955 to teach at Munich. In Berlin, he was succeeded in 1937 by Ludwig Mühlhausen, a devout Nazi.
After the World War II
, German Celtic studies took place predominantly in West Germany
and Austria
. Studies in the field continued at Freiburg
, Bonn
, Marburg
, Hamburg
as well as Innsbruck
, however an independent professorship for Celtic studies has not yet been arranged anywhere. In this period, Hans Hartmann, Heinrich Wagner
and Wolfgang Meid made notable contributions to the scientific understanding of the boundaries of the Celtic language area and the location of the homeland of the Celtic peoples. In East Germany, the Berlin chair in Celtic languages has not been occupied since 1966.
Today, Celtic studies is only taught at a handful of German universities, including those of Bonn
, Trier
, and Mannheim
. the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
, and the Philipps University of Marburg
. It is also taught at the University of Vienna
. Only Marburg, Vienna and Bonn maintain formal programs of study, however even then as a subsection of comparative or general linguistics. No Celtic studies research has taken place in the former centres of Freiberg
, Hamburg
or Berlin
since the 1990s. The last remaining chair in Celtic studies, that at Humboldt University in Berlin
, was abolished in 1997.
The only Chair of Celtic studies in Continental Europe is at Utrecht University
(the Netherlands). It was established in 1923, when Celtic studies were added to the Chair of Germanic studies on the special request of its new professor A.G. van Hamel
.
, Wales
, Scotland
, Northern Ireland
, and the Republic of Ireland
(see below). These studies cover language, history, archaeology and art. In addition Celtic languages are taught in schools in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall and the Isle of Man in addition to extramural courses in each Celtic language.
A notable research project is the Celtic Inscribed Stones Project (CISP), which has made details of the many inscriptions in Britain available online. Work has also been carried out on the Celtic influence on the English language and on the Celtic elements in the place names of England. Books and publications on aspects of Celtic studies are numerous, a notable one being that of Kenneth H. Jackson
on Language and History in Early Britain. This included chapters on all the types of Insular Celtic, including Pictish
. Several journals on Celtic studies are published including Celtica
and Studia Celtica
.
Sir John Rhys
became the first Professor of Celtic Studies at Oxford in 1874. Henry Jenner
was the initiator of the revival of Cornish and the founding of the Cornish Gorseth while Robert Morton Nance
founded the Old Cornwall Society
. The Institute of Cornish Studies
enables academic study and teaching in Cornish studies.
The University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies runs the Ancient Britain and the Atlantic Zone Project , whose Senior Fellow and Project Leader is Professor John T. Koch
, where research is conducted. Professor Koch gave the O'Donnell Lecture in 2008 at Aberystwyth University titled "People called Keltoi, the La Tène Style, and ancient Celtic languages: the threefold Celts in the light of geography"
at the University of Toronto
and St. Francis Xavier University
offers the only B.A. of its kind in Canada with a dual focus on Celtic literature and history, while the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
at the University of Toronto
offers courses at a graduate level through their Centre for Medieval Studies, along with St. Francis Xavier University
.
Other Canadian universities which offer courses in Celtic, Scottish or Irish studies include Cape Breton University
, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Simon Fraser University
, the University of Guelph
and the University of Ottawa
.
In the United States, Harvard University
is notable for their Doctorate program in Celtic studies. Celtic studies are also offered at the universities of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, California, Berkeley
, and California, Los Angeles
. and Bard College
. Many more American universities offer Irish studies, and Rio Grande University will soon be rebooting its Welsh Studies minor.
devoted to Celtic studies, Revue Celtique. Revue Celtique was first published in 1870 in Paris and continued until the death of its last editor, Joseph Loth
, in 1934. After that point it was continued under the name Études Celtiques
. In 2007, 2.8% of the children were enrolled in bilingual primary schools and the number of children enrolled in these schools is steadily growing.
(Czech Republic), University of Poznań (Poland), Moscow State University
(Russia),Uppsala University
(Sweden)
Irish studies are taught at the University of Burgos
(Spain) and the University of A Coruña
(Galicia). Galicia also has its own Institute for Celtic Studies
.
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
, living and extinct. The primary areas of focus are the six Celtic languages currently in use: Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
, Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, Scottish Gaelic, Manx
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
, Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
, and Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
.
As a university subject, it is taught at a number of universities worldwide, most of them in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, but also in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
History (16th-19th century)
Written studies of the Celts, their cultures and their languages go back to classicalClassical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
Greek and Latin accounts, possibly beginning with Hecataeus
Hecataeus
Hecataeus of Miletus , named after the Greek goddess Hecate, was an early Greek historian of a wealthy family. He flourished during the time of the Persian invasion. After having travelled extensively, he settled in his native city, where he occupied a high position, and devoted his time to the...
in the 6th century BC and best known through such authors as Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
, Posidonius
Posidonius
Posidonius "of Apameia" or "of Rhodes" , was a Greek Stoic philosopher, politician, astronomer, geographer, historian and teacher native to Apamea, Syria. He was acclaimed as the greatest polymath of his age...
, Pausanias, Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
. Modern Celtic studies originated in the 16th and 17th century, when many of these classical authors were re-discovered, published and translated.
Academic interest in Celtic languages grew out of comparative and historical linguistics, which was itself established at the end of the 18th century. In the 16th century, George Buchanan
George Buchanan
George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...
studied Gaelic
Goidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
. The first major breakthrough in Celtic linguistics came with the publication of Archaeologia Britannica (1707) by the Welsh scholar Edward Lhuyd
Edward Lhuyd
Edward Lhuyd was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also known by the Latinized form of his name, Eduardus Luidius....
, who was the first to recognise that Gaulish, British and Irish belong to the same language family. He also published the English version of a study by Paul-Yves Pezron
Paul-Yves Pezron
Paul-Yves Pezron was a seventeenth-century priest from Brittany, best known for his 1703 publication of a study on the common origin of the Bretons and the Welsh, Antiquité de la nation, et de langue des celtes....
of Gaulish.
In 1767 James Parsons published his study The Remains of Japhet, being historical enquiries into the affinity and origins of the European languages. He compared a 1000-word lexicon of Irish and Welsh and concluded that they were originally the same, then comparing the numerals in many other languages.
The second big leap forwards was made when the Englishman Sir William Jones
William Jones (philologist)
Sir William Jones was an English philologist and scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages...
postulated that Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Greek, Latin and many other languages including "the Celtic" derived from a common ancestral language. This hypothesis, published in The Sanscrit Language (1786), would later be hailed as the discovery of the Indo-European language family, from which grew the field of Indo-European studies
Indo-European studies
Indo-European studies is a field of linguistics dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. Its goal is to amass information about the hypothetical proto-language from which all of these languages are descended, a language dubbed Proto-Indo-European , and its speakers, the...
. The Celtic languages were definitively linked to the Indo-European family over the course of the 19th century.
Although Jones' trailblazing hypothesis inspired numerous linguistic studies, of which Celtic languages were a part, it was not until Johann Kaspar Zeuss's monumental Grammatica Celtica (volume 1, 1851; volume 2, 1853) that any truly significant progress was made. Composed in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, the work draws on the earliest Old Irish, Middle Welsh and other Celtic primary source
Primary source
Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied....
s to construct a comparative grammar, which was the first to lay out a steady basis for Celtic linguistics. Among other achievements, Zeuss was able to crack the Old Irish verb.
Celtic studies in the German-speaking world and the Netherlands
German Celtic studies (Keltologie) is seen by many as having been established by Johann Kaspar Zeuss (1806–1856) (see above). In 1847, he was appointed as a professor of linguisticsLinguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. Until the middle of the 19th century, Celtic studies progressed largely as a subfield of linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
. Franz Bopp
Franz Bopp
Franz Bopp was a German linguist known for extensive comparative work on Indo-European languages.-Biography:...
(1791–1867) carried out further studies in comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness....
to link the Celtic languages
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
to the Proto-Indo-European language
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
. He is credited with having finally proven Celtic to be a branch of the Indo-European language family. From 1821 to 1864, he served as a professor of oriental literature and general linguistics in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
In 1896, Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I while traveling in the United States was a source of controversy.-Biography:...
and Ludwig Christian Stern founded the Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie
Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie
Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie ' is an academic journal of Celtic studies, which was founded in 1896 by the German scholars Kuno Meyer and Ludwig Christian Stern and first appeared in 1897. It is the first journal devoted exclusively to Celtic languages and literature and the oldest...
(ZCP), the first academic journal solely devoted to aspects of Celtic languages and literature and still in existence today. In the second half of the century, significant contributions were made by the Orientalist Ernst Windisch
Ernst Windisch
Ernst Wilhelm Oskar Windisch was a German scholar and celticist.He is known as an Indo-Europeanist. He was also a friend of the young Friedrich Nietzsche.-Works:...
(1844–1918). He held a chair in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, however is most remembered for his numerous publications in the field of Celtic studies. In 1901, the Orientalist and Celtologist Heinrich Zimmer
Heinrich Zimmer (Celticist)
Heinrich Friedrich Zimmer was a German Celticist and Indologist.Born to a farming family in Kastellaun in the Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany, he studied ancient languages at Kaiser Wilhelm University in Strassburg, going on to study Indology and Sanskrit under Rudolf von Roth at the...
(1851–1910) was made professor of Celtic languages at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, the first position of its kind in Germany. He was followed in 1911 by Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I while traveling in the United States was a source of controversy.-Biography:...
(1858–1919), who, in addition to numerous publications in the field, was active in the Irish independence movement.
Perhaps the most important German speaking Celticist is the Swiss scholar Rudolf Thurneysen
Rudolf Thurneysen
Eduard Rudolf Thurneysen was a Swiss linguist and Celticist.Born in Basel, Thurneysen studied classical philology in Basel, Leipzig, Berlin and Paris. His teachers included Ernst Windisch and Heinrich Zimmer...
(1857–1940). A student of Windisch and Zimmer, Thurneysen was appointed to the chair of comparative linguistics at Freiberg
Freiberg, Saxony
Freiberg is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.-History:The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries...
in 1887; the succeeded to the equivalent chair in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
in 1913. His notability arises from his work on Old Irish. For his masterwork, Handbuch des Altirischen (1909, meaning "Handbook of Old Irish"), translated into English as A Grammar of Old Irish, he located and analysed a multitude of Old Irish manuscripts. His work is considered as the basis for all succeeding studies of Old Irish.
In 1920, Julius Pokorny
Julius Pokorny
Julius Pokorny was an Austrian linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities.-Life:...
(1887–1970) was appointed to the chair of Celtic languages at Berlin. Despite his support for German nationalism and Catholic faith, he was forced out of his position by the Nazis on account of his Jewish ancestry. He subsequently emigrated to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and returned to Germany again in 1955 to teach at Munich. In Berlin, he was succeeded in 1937 by Ludwig Mühlhausen, a devout Nazi.
After the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, German Celtic studies took place predominantly in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Studies in the field continued at Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
as well as Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, however an independent professorship for Celtic studies has not yet been arranged anywhere. In this period, Hans Hartmann, Heinrich Wagner
Heinrich Wagner
Heinrich Wagner was a German chess master.In 1920/21, he won in Kiel. In 1921, he took 8th in Hamburg , and won in Hamburg . In 1922 he tied for 3rd-5th in Oeynhausen...
and Wolfgang Meid made notable contributions to the scientific understanding of the boundaries of the Celtic language area and the location of the homeland of the Celtic peoples. In East Germany, the Berlin chair in Celtic languages has not been occupied since 1966.
Today, Celtic studies is only taught at a handful of German universities, including those of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
, Trier
University of Trier
The University of Trier , in the German city of Trier, was founded in 1473. Closed in 1798 by order of the then French administration in Trier, the university was re-established in 1970 after a hiatus of some 172 years. The new university campus is located on top of the Tarforst heights, an urban...
, and Mannheim
University of Mannheim
The University of Mannheim is one of the younger German universities. It offers Bachelor, Master, and PhD degrees.The University is mainly located in Mannheim’s palace the largest baroque palace in Germany. The whole city center of Mannheim is aligned symmetrically to the palace.About 800 scholars...
. the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz is a university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg. With approximately 36,000 students in about 150 schools and clinics, it is among the ten largest universities in Germany...
, and the Philipps University of Marburg
Philipps University of Marburg
The Philipp University of Marburg , was founded in 1527 by Landgrave Philip I of Hesse as the world's oldest university dating back to a Protestant foundation...
. It is also taught at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. Only Marburg, Vienna and Bonn maintain formal programs of study, however even then as a subsection of comparative or general linguistics. No Celtic studies research has taken place in the former centres of Freiberg
Freiberg, Saxony
Freiberg is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.-History:The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
or Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
since the 1990s. The last remaining chair in Celtic studies, that at Humboldt University in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, was abolished in 1997.
The only Chair of Celtic studies in Continental Europe is at Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....
(the Netherlands). It was established in 1923, when Celtic studies were added to the Chair of Germanic studies on the special request of its new professor A.G. van Hamel
A.G. van Hamel
Anton Gerard van Hamel ) was a Dutch scholar, best known for his contributions to Celtic and Germanic studies, especially those relating to literature, linguistics, philology and mythology...
.
Celtic studies in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England
Celtic studies are taught in universities in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
(see below). These studies cover language, history, archaeology and art. In addition Celtic languages are taught in schools in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall and the Isle of Man in addition to extramural courses in each Celtic language.
A notable research project is the Celtic Inscribed Stones Project (CISP), which has made details of the many inscriptions in Britain available online. Work has also been carried out on the Celtic influence on the English language and on the Celtic elements in the place names of England. Books and publications on aspects of Celtic studies are numerous, a notable one being that of Kenneth H. Jackson
Kenneth H. Jackson
Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson was an English linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, written circa AD 1100, preserves an oral tradition originating some six centuries earlier and reflects Celtic Irish society of the...
on Language and History in Early Britain. This included chapters on all the types of Insular Celtic, including Pictish
Pictish language
Pictish is a term used for the extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland in the Early Middle Ages...
. Several journals on Celtic studies are published including Celtica
Celtica
Celtica: Journal of the School of Celtic Studies is an academic journal devoted to Celtic studies, with particular emphasis on Irish literature, linguistics and placenames. It was founded in 1946 and has since been published by the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced...
and Studia Celtica
Studia Celtica
Studia Celtica is an annual journal published in Wales containing scholarly articles on linguistic topics, mainly in English but with some Welsh and German; it also contains book reviews and obituaries. The journal is published by the University of Wales Press on behalf of the University of Wales...
.
Sir John Rhys
John Rhys
Sir John Rhys was a Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.-Early years and education:...
became the first Professor of Celtic Studies at Oxford in 1874. Henry Jenner
Henry Jenner
Henry Jenner FSA was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival....
was the initiator of the revival of Cornish and the founding of the Cornish Gorseth while Robert Morton Nance
Robert Morton Nance
Robert Morton Nance was a leading authority on the Cornish language, nautical archaeologist, and joint founder of the Old Cornwall Society....
founded the Old Cornwall Society
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies was formed in 1924, on the initiative of Robert Morton Nance, with the objective of collecting and maintaining "all those ancient things that make the spirit of Cornwall — its traditions, its old words and ways, and what remains to it of its Celtic language...
. The Institute of Cornish Studies
Institute of Cornish Studies
The Institute of Cornish Studies is a research institute in west Cornwall: it started in 1970/71 as a research centre jointly funded by Exeter University and Cornwall County Council, with three core staff being employees of the University of Exeter...
enables academic study and teaching in Cornish studies.
The University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies runs the Ancient Britain and the Atlantic Zone Project , whose Senior Fellow and Project Leader is Professor John T. Koch
John T. Koch
Professor John T. Koch is an American academic, historian and linguist who specializes in Celtic studies, especially prehistory and the early Middle Ages....
, where research is conducted. Professor Koch gave the O'Donnell Lecture in 2008 at Aberystwyth University titled "People called Keltoi, the La Tène Style, and ancient Celtic languages: the threefold Celts in the light of geography"
Celtic studies in North America
While Celtic studies programs in Canada are not as widespread as they are in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England, several universities offer some Celtic studies courses, while only two universities offers a full B.A. as well as graduate courses. St. Michael's CollegeUniversity of St. Michael's College
The University of St. Michael's College is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1852 by the Congregation of St. Basil of Annonay, France. While mainly an undergraduate college for liberal arts and sciences, St. Michael's retains its Roman Catholic affiliation through its postgraduate...
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a post-secondary institution located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The school was founded in 1853, but did not offer degrees until 1868. The university has approximately 5000 students.-History:...
offers the only B.A. of its kind in Canada with a dual focus on Celtic literature and history, while the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies is a research institute in the University of Toronto that is dedicated to advanced studies in the culture of the Middle Ages....
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
offers courses at a graduate level through their Centre for Medieval Studies, along with St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a post-secondary institution located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The school was founded in 1853, but did not offer degrees until 1868. The university has approximately 5000 students.-History:...
.
Other Canadian universities which offer courses in Celtic, Scottish or Irish studies include Cape Breton University
Cape Breton University
Cape Breton University , formerly the "University College of Cape Breton" , is a Canadian university in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
, the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
and the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
.
In the United States, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
is notable for their Doctorate program in Celtic studies. Celtic studies are also offered at the universities of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. and Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
. Many more American universities offer Irish studies, and Rio Grande University will soon be rebooting its Welsh Studies minor.
Celtic studies in France
France produced the first academic journalAcademic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
devoted to Celtic studies, Revue Celtique. Revue Celtique was first published in 1870 in Paris and continued until the death of its last editor, Joseph Loth
Joseph Loth
Joseph Loth was a French linguist and historian who specialised in the study of Celtic languages.Loth was born in Guémené-sur-Scorff, Brittany. After his studies at Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, he became a teacher at Pontivy, then Quimper and Saumur until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870...
, in 1934. After that point it was continued under the name Études Celtiques
Études Celtiques
Études Celtiques is a French academic journal of Celtic Studies, based in Paris.It started life under the name Revue Celtique, which was founded in 1870 by Henri Gaidoz. Between 1870 and 1934, as many as 52 volumes were published under the editorial supervision of Celtic scholars such as Henri...
. In 2007, 2.8% of the children were enrolled in bilingual primary schools and the number of children enrolled in these schools is steadily growing.
Celtic studies elsewhere
Celtic studies are also taught at other universities elsewhere in Europe, including the Charles University in PragueCharles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
(Czech Republic), University of Poznań (Poland), Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
(Russia),Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
(Sweden)
Irish studies are taught at the University of Burgos
University of Burgos
The University of Burgos is a public university in the Spanish city of Burgos with about 10,000 students studying over 30 different undergraduate degrees, over 20 PhD Programmes, as well as several Official Masters and other graduate courses.- History :The University of Burgos was founded in 1994...
(Spain) and the University of A Coruña
University of A Coruña
The University of A Coruña is a public university located in the city of A Coruña, Galicia. Established in 1989, university departments are divided between two primary campuses in A Coruña and nearby Ferrol...
(Galicia). Galicia also has its own Institute for Celtic Studies
Galician Institute for Celtic Studies
-Aims and history:The Instituto Galego de Estudos Célticos is a Galician non-profit learned society established in 2009...
.
Areas of Celtic studies
- Archaeology
- (historical) Linguistics
- Ethnology
- History
- Literature
- Religious studies (see Celtic ChristianityCeltic ChristianityCeltic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
) - Political science
Notable Celticists
- Osborn BerginOsborn BerginOsborn Joseph Bergin was a scholar of the Irish language and Early Irish literature. He was born in Cork and was educated at Queen's College Cork , then went to Germany for advanced studies in Celtic languages, working with Heinrich Zimmer at the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin...
(1873–1950) - D. A. BinchyD. A. BinchyDaniel Anthony Binchy was a scholar of Irish linguistics and Early Irish law.From 1919-20 he was Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society...
- Nora ChadwickNora Kershaw ChadwickNora Kershaw Chadwick , CBE, was a noted medievalist.-Background:Chadwick was born in Lancashire in 1891. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge and lectured at St Andrews during World War I. She returned to Cambridge in 1919 to study Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse under...
- Ann DooleyAnn DooleyAnn Dooley is a professor with the Centre for Medieval Studies and the Celtic Studies Program at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto where she specializes in Irish literature...
- Thomas Charles-EdwardsThomas Charles-EdwardsThomas Mowbray Charles-Edwards FRHistS FLSW FBA is an academic at Oxford University. He holds the post of Jesus Professor of Celtic and is a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College....
- Peter Berresford EllisPeter Berresford EllisPeter Berresford Ellis is an English historian, literary biographer, and novelist who has published over 90 books to date either under his own name or his pseudonyms Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. He has also published 95 short stories...
(1943-) - Ellis EvansEllis EvansEllis Evans is a Welsh scholar and academic. He was born in the Towy Valley in Carmarthenshire and went to Llandeilo Grammar School....
(1930-) - Robin FlowerRobin FlowerRobin Ernest William Flower was an English poet and scholar, a Celticist, Anglo-Saxonist and translator from the Irish language. He is commonly known in Ireland as "Bláithín" . He married Ida Mary Streeter.-Life:...
(1881–1946) - Sir Idris FosterIdris FosterSir Idris Llewelyn Foster was a distinguished Welsh scholar, and was most notably Jesus Professor of Celtic at the University of Oxford from 1947 until 1978....
(1911–1984) - John FraserJohn Fraser (Celticist)John Fraser was Jesus Professor of Celtic at the University of Oxford.-Life:He was born in Inverness, Scotland, and studied at the University of Aberdeen, Trinity College Cambridge and the University of Jena...
(1882–1945) - Richard GendallRichard GendallRichard Gendall is a British expert on the Cornish language, born in 1924. He is the founder of "Modern Cornish"/Curnoack Nowedga, which split off during the 1980s. Whereas Ken George mainly went to Medieval Cornish as the inspiration for his revival, Gendall went to the last surviving records of...
- Ken GeorgeKen GeorgeKenneth J. George, writing as Ken George, is an oceanographer, poet, and linguist noted as being the originator of Kernewek Kemmyn, an orthography for the Cornish language supporters claimed to be more faithful to Middle Cornish phonology than its precursor . Kernewek Kemmyn was introduced in 1987...
- R. Geraint GruffyddR. Geraint GruffyddProfessor Emeritus R. Geraint Gruffydd , MA DPhil DLitt FLSW FBA is a scholar of Welsh language and literature. He is a graduate of Bangor University and Jesus College, Oxford He commenced his studies at Oxford in 1948...
- Anton Gerard van Hamel (1886–1945)
- Kathleen HughesKathleen Hughes (historian)Kathleen Winifred Hughes, born 8 September 1926 in Middlesbrough, died 20 April 1977, was an English historian, her specialisation was Irish ecclesiastical history, particularly the early Christian Church in Ireland....
- Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson (1909–1991)
- Henry JennerHenry JennerHenry Jenner FSA was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival....
(1848–1934) - Bobi JonesBobi JonesEmeritus Professor Robert Maynard Jones , generally known as Bobi Jones, is a Welsh Christian academic, one of the most prolific writers in the history of the Welsh language. A versatile master of poetry, fictional prose and criticism, he is now in his seventies and still producing work of a high...
(1929-) - Alexander MacbainAlexander MacbainAlexander Macbain was a Scottish philologist, best known today for An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language .-Early life and education:...
- Breandán Ó Madagain (1942-)
- Bernhard MaierBernhard MaierBernhard Maier is a German professor of religious studies, who publishes mainly on Celtic culture and religion....
(1963-) - Ranko MatasovićRanko MatasovicRanko Matasović is a Croatian linguist, Indo-Europeanist and Celticist.He was born and raised in Zagreb where he attended primary and secondary school. At the Faculty of philosophy at the University of Zagreb he graduated linguistics and philosophy, receiving M.A. in linguistics in 1992 and Ph.D...
- Eoin McKiernanEoin McKiernanEoin McKiernan, M.A.,Ph.D., D. Litt., was one of the major early scholars in the interdisciplinary field of Irish Studies in the United States and the founder of the Irish American Cultural Institute. He is credited with leading efforts to revive and preserve Irish culture and language in the...
(1915–2004) - Kuno MeyerKuno MeyerKuno Meyer was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I while traveling in the United States was a source of controversy.-Biography:...
(1858–1919) - John Morris-JonesJohn Morris-JonesSir John Morris-Jones was a Welsh grammarian, academic and poet.He was born at Llandrygarn, Anglesey and educated at Friars School, Bangor. Whilst at Jesus College, Oxford, Morris-Jones co-founded the Cymdeithas Dafydd ap Gwilym...
(1864–1929) - Robert Morton NanceRobert Morton NanceRobert Morton Nance was a leading authority on the Cornish language, nautical archaeologist, and joint founder of the Old Cornwall Society....
(1873–1959) - Cecile O'RahillyCecile O'RahillyDr. Cecile O'Rahilly was a scholar of the Celtic languages and the sister of the Celtic scholar T. F. O'Rahilly. She is best known for her editions/translations of the various recensions of the Ulster Cycle epic saga Táin Bó Cúailnge....
(1894–1980) - T. F. O'RahillyT. F. O'RahillyThomas Francis O'Rahilly was an Irish scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly in the fields of Historical linguistics and Irish dialects. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy.-Biography:He was born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland...
(1883–1953) - Julius PokornyJulius PokornyJulius Pokorny was an Austrian linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities.-Life:...
(1887–1970) - Sir John RhysJohn RhysSir John Rhys was a Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.-Early years and education:...
(1840–1915) - Ailbhe Mac ShamhráinAilbhe Mac ShamhráinAilbhe Mac Shamhráin, , Irish medieval historian and celticist.-Career:Studied at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. He was a research associate at Scoil an Léinn Cheiltigh, NUI Maynooth. Previously he taught early Irish history & settlement studies at Trinity, St...
- Marie-Louise SjoestedtMarie-Louise SjoestedtMarie-Louise Sjoestedt-Jonval was a French linguist and literary scholar who specialized in Celtic studies, especially Irish mythology...
(1900-1940) - Whitley Stokes
- Thomas TaylorThomas Taylor (historian)Rev. Thomas Taylor was a priest, historian and scholar of Celtic culture.-Life and career:Taylor was born in Thurvaston, Derbyshire, England. He attended King Edward VI School, Macclesfield becoming head boy in 1874. He matriculated at St Catharine's College, Cambridge in 1877, and graduated in...
(1858–1938) - Derrick Thomson (1921-)
- Rudolf ThurneysenRudolf ThurneysenEduard Rudolf Thurneysen was a Swiss linguist and Celticist.Born in Basel, Thurneysen studied classical philology in Basel, Leipzig, Berlin and Paris. His teachers included Ernst Windisch and Heinrich Zimmer...
(1857–1940) - Calvert WatkinsCalvert WatkinsCalvert Watkins is a professor Emeritus of linguistics and the classics at Harvard University and professor-in-residence at UCLA.His doctoral dissertation, Indo-European Origins of the Celtic Verb I...
- Glanmor WilliamsGlanmor WilliamsSir Glanmor Williams was one of Wales's most eminent historians.Sir Glanmor was born in Dowlais, into a working-class family, and was educated at Cyfarthfa Castle School. He studied at Aberystwyth alongside Alun Lewis and Emyr Humphreys, becoming a specialist in the early modern period of Welsh...
- Sir Ifor WilliamsIfor WilliamsSir Ifor Williams was a Welsh scholar who laid the foundations for the academic study of Old Welsh, particularly early Welsh poetry....
(1881–1965) - J. E. Caerwyn WilliamsJ. E. Caerwyn WilliamsJ. E. Caerwyn Williams FBA , was a Welsh scholar. His fields of study included the literatures of the Celtic languages, especially Welsh and Irish literature. He has published books in both English and Welsh.Caerwyn Williams was born in Gwauncaegurwen, Glamorgan in 1912 into a coal-mining family...
(1912–1999) - Nicholas WilliamsNicholas WilliamsNicholas Jonathan Anselm Williams , writing as Nicholas Williams or sometimes N.J.A...
(1942-) - Ernst WindischErnst WindischErnst Wilhelm Oskar Windisch was a German scholar and celticist.He is known as an Indo-Europeanist. He was also a friend of the young Friedrich Nietzsche.-Works:...
(1844–1918) - Johann Kaspar Zeuss (1806–1856)
- Heinrich ZimmerHeinrich Zimmer (Celticist)Heinrich Friedrich Zimmer was a German Celticist and Indologist.Born to a farming family in Kastellaun in the Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany, he studied ancient languages at Kaiser Wilhelm University in Strassburg, going on to study Indology and Sanskrit under Rudolf von Roth at the...
(1851–1910)
Notable Celtic studies journals
- Zeitschrift für celtische PhilologieZeitschrift für celtische PhilologieZeitschrift für celtische Philologie ' is an academic journal of Celtic studies, which was founded in 1896 by the German scholars Kuno Meyer and Ludwig Christian Stern and first appeared in 1897. It is the first journal devoted exclusively to Celtic languages and literature and the oldest...
(ZCP), est. 1896, Halle. - Revue Celtique (RC), est. 1870, Paris; continued after 1934 by Études celtiques.
- ÉriuÉriu (journal)Ériu is an academic journal of Irish language studies. It was launched in 1904 as the journal of the School of Irish Learning in Dublin. When the School was incorporated into the Royal Irish Academy in 1926, the Academy continued publication of the journal, in the same format and with the same title...
est. 1904, Dublin. - The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies (BBCS), est. 1921, Cardiff; merged with Studia Celtica in 1993.
- Etudes CeltiquesÉtudes CeltiquesÉtudes Celtiques is a French academic journal of Celtic Studies, based in Paris.It started life under the name Revue Celtique, which was founded in 1870 by Henri Gaidoz. Between 1870 and 1934, as many as 52 volumes were published under the editorial supervision of Celtic scholars such as Henri...
(EC), est. 1936, Paris. - Celtica. Journal of the School of Celtic StudiesCelticaCeltica: Journal of the School of Celtic Studies is an academic journal devoted to Celtic studies, with particular emphasis on Irish literature, linguistics and placenames. It was founded in 1946 and has since been published by the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced...
, est. 1949, Dublin. - Studia CelticaStudia CelticaStudia Celtica is an annual journal published in Wales containing scholarly articles on linguistic topics, mainly in English but with some Welsh and German; it also contains book reviews and obituaries. The journal is published by the University of Wales Press on behalf of the University of Wales...
, est. 1966, Cardiff. - Éigse. A Journal of Irish StudiesÉigseÉigse: A Journal of Irish Studies is an academic journal devoted to the study of the Irish language and literature. It started life in 1923 as part of an initiative by the Senate of the National University of Ireland to use the Adam Boyd Simpson Fund for the publication of an Irish studies journal...
, est. 1939, Dublin. - Cambrian Medieval Celtic StudiesCambrian Medieval Celtic StudiesCambrian Medieval Celtic Studies is a bi-annual academic journal of Celtic studies, which appears in summer and winter...
(CMCS), est. 1993, Aberystwyth; formerly Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies. - Peritia. Journal of the Medieval Academy of IrelandPeritiaPeritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland is an annual Irish academic journal "devoted to Irish and Insular medieval studies as seen in the context of the European middle ages and the heritage from antiquity, and to European medieval studies generally." The editors are Donnchadh Ó Corráin...
, Cork.
Further reading
- Brown, Terence (ed.). Celticism. Studia imagologica 8. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1996.
- Fischer, Joachim and John Dillon (eds.). The correspondence of Myles Dillon, 1922-1925: Irish-German relations and Celtic studies. Dublin: Four Courts, 1999.
- Huther, Andreas. "'In Politik verschieden, in Freundschaft wie immer': The German Celtic scholar Kuno Meyer and the First World War." In The First World War as a clash of cultures, ed. Fred Bridgham. Columbia (SC): Camden House, 2006. pp. 231–44. ISBN 1571133402.
- Koch, John T. "Celtic Studies." In A century of British medieval studies, ed. Alan Deyermond. British Academy centenary monographs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. pp. 235–61. ISBN 9780197263952. RHS record
- Mac Mathúna, Séamus. "The History of Celtic Studies in Russia and the Soviet Union." In Parallels between Celtic and Slavic. Proceedings of the First International Colloquium of Societas Celto-Slavica held at Coleraine 19–21 June 2005, ed. Séamus Mac Mathúna and Maxim Fomin. Studia Celto-Slavica 1. Coleraine, 2006.
- Meek, Donald E. "Beachdan Ura à Inbhir Nis / New opinions from Inverness.' Alexander MacBain (1855-1907) and the foundation of Celtic studies in Scotland." Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 131 (2001). pp. 23–39. ISSN 00811564.
- Ó Lúing, Seán. Celtic studies in Europe and other essays. Dublin: Geography Publications, 2000.
- Schneiders, Marc and Kees Veelenturf. Celtic studies in the Netherlands: a bibliography. Dublin: DIAS, 1992.
- Sims-Williams, Patrick. "Celtomania and Celtoscepticism." Cambrian Medieval Celtic StudiesCambrian Medieval Celtic StudiesCambrian Medieval Celtic Studies is a bi-annual academic journal of Celtic studies, which appears in summer and winter...
36 (1998): pp. 1–35. - Wiley, Dan. "Celtic studies, early history of the field." In Celtic Culture. A Historical Encyclopaedia, ed. J.T. Koch. Santa Barbara et al., 2006.
External links
- Finding the Celtic project (FtC)
- International Congress of Celtic Studies