MA in Celtic Studies

Module Descriptor - The Matter of Britain : Geoffrey of Monmouth and Pseudo-Historical Writing

Department: Welsh
Module Code: MAAS0320
Level: postgraduate
No of Credits: 20
Methods of assessment: see below
Teaching Method(s):distance learning, directed learning, e-mail tutorials
Pre-requisite(s): none
Co-requisite(s): none
Incompatibles: none
Medium: English or Welsh
Contact hours : n/a
Term taught: flexible enrollment
Lecturers: Dr Karen Jankulak / Welsh medium Dr Jane Cartwright

Syllabus:

This module takes a closer look at the increasingly pivotal role of Arthur (due mainly to Geoffrey of Monmouth) in the construction of a chronologically coherent and mythologically satisfying overall vision of British history, as well as the development of such a tradition within a context of similar well-documented traditions from other Celtic regions (Brittany and, especially, Ireland). In addition module examines the interactions of Welsh and Latin (Anglo-Norman, Breton-Norman), as well as Irish, cultures. It overlaps somewhat with Module no. 1 in that it considers in small part some of the same material (especially the Historia Brittonum) although to a different end.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this module the student will have become familiar with the medieval genre of synthesising pseudo-history, and will have gained an appreciation of how legendary histories have shaped our understanding of British (and Irish) history.

The student will have gained a more sophisticated understanding of the notion of ‘history' as opposed to ‘literature' (and, indeed, ‘Latin' as opposed to ‘vernacular'), and will have achieved a broader understanding of the limitations of generic categories.

The student will also have been introduced periods of significant cultural interaction, and will have gained an appreciation of the complexity of Norman Britain and Ireland .

Transferable and other skills involved:

This module, as with any postgraduate module, will develop critical skills at a postgraduate level: these are chiefly the ability to do independent research, and to form and present critical arguments.

While this module does not concentrate specifically on internet skills, it presents the opportunity to use, and to assess, internet sources in the pursuit of high-level academic research and writing.

Main recommended texts:

• Brooke, C.N.L., ‘Geoffrey of Monmouth as a Historian', in C.N.L. Brooke et al , Church and Government in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1976), pp. 77-91; reprinted in C.N.L. Brooke, The Church and the Welsh Border in the Central Middle Ages (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1986), pp. 95-106.
• Carey, John, The Irish National Origin-Legend: Synthetic Pseudohistory (Quiggin Pamphlets on the Sources of Mediaeval Gaelic History, Cambridge, 1994).
• Ó Corráin, D., ‘Irish Origin Legends and Genealogy: Recurrent Aetiologies', in History and Heroic Tale: a Symposium, eds T. Nyberg et al. ( Odense , 1985), 51-96.
• Ó Corráin, D., ‘Historical Need and Literary Narrative', in Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Celtic Studies, Oxford , 1983, ed. D. Ellis Evans ( Oxford , 1986), 141-58.
• Padel, O.J., Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature (Writers of Wales Series, Cardiff , 2000).
• Roberts, B., ‘Geoffrey of Monmouth and Welsh Historical Tradition', Nottingham Mediaeval Studies 20 (1976), pp. 29-40.
• Roberts, B., ‘Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae and Brut y Brenhinedd', in R. Bromwich et al (eds), The Arthur of the Welsh (Cardiff, 1991), pp. 97-116.
• Sims-Williams, ‘Some Functions of Origin Stories in Early Medieval Wales', in History and Heroic Tale: a Symposium, eds T. Nyberg et al. ( Odense , 1985), 97-131.
• Thorpe, Lewis (trans.), Geoffrey of Monmouth. The History of the Kings of Britain (Harmondsworth, 1966).
• Williams, J.E. Caerwyn, ‘Brittany and the Arthurian Legend', in R. Bromwich et al (eds), The Arthur of the Welsh ( Cardiff , 1991), pp. 249-72.

Evaluation (including student evaluation):

Module evaluation questionnaires covering all aspects such as presentation, delivery and assessment will be distributed to students at the end of the module. All distance-learning students within the Department are also invited to submit comments via the Director of e-learning to termly meetings of the Departmental Staff-Student Consultative Committee. The course is also subject to annual reports by the External Examiner and periodic review by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.