Readings in Old Irish, A.D. 700-1200 Holland

Readings in Old Irish, A.D. 700-1200 ; 
Prof. Gary Holland, 
FALL 2000: Celtic Studies 105A (4 units),  
(Full participation/ grade/audit) I'm afraid I flunked this class (even though I was auditing it), but I sure learned a lot. And I am ever grateful for Gary putting up with me. Everybody else was a linguist. I was the lone poet.

Designed to offer students who have already taken the basic grammar course in Old and Middle Irish (105A) further opportunity to work with important texts written in the period A.D. 700-1200 and to refine their knowledge of the language as well as their grasp of the vernacular tradition as a whole. Texts will include both prose and poetry, and major genres such as epic, legend, and genealogy.

TEXTS:

A Grammar of Old Irish, Rudolph Thurneysen, tr. D.A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin

Old Irish Reader, Rudolph Thurneysen

Old Irish Paradigms & Selections from the Old-Irish Glosses, with Notes & Vocabulary, John Strachan

Old Irish Workbook, E.G. Quin

Stories from the Táin, ed. John Strachan

Old Irish Verbs and Vocabulary, Anthony Green

Bethu Brigte, ed. by Donncha o’ hAodha


I don't think I ever worked so hard in one class as this one.

I eventually plan to transcribe my Celtic Studies class notes, so this post is a placeholder (as well as a reading list). A reminder, a smack in the gob. What brought this on: I was asked to do a lecture on Celtic Bardic Poetry at Sacramento Poetry Center, and a) I was far too long gone from this material, b) I couldn't put my hands on the notes,. But I at least still had some of the books, and TG for the internet. So many medieval texts are now online (not so in 1999). I was able to reconstruct what I needed. But it was almost as bad as reinventing the wheel.   —MH 11/2015