160402 VO Archaeology of the celtic world (2019W)

Special Topic for Winter Semester 2019: Celtic Myth and Religion
A survey of the mythological and religious systems of Celtic-speaking peoples based on a variety of sources, including medieval Irish and Welsh literature, comparative linguistics, the writings of Classical authors, and archaeological evidence for religious beliefs and practices. We will consider the problems inherent in identifying and reconstructing any form of unified “Celtic” mythology, religion, or cultural identity based on the separate evidence of the Continental Celts and the Celtic-speaking peoples of Ireland and Britain. Topics will include: “Celtic” divinities, the role of archaeology and folklore in understanding myth and religion, sacred kingship and sacred landscape, varying beliefs about the afterlife and the Otherworld, hero tales, and the development of modern Celtic identities, religious movements, and nationalisms.

A survey of the mythologies and religions of Celtic speaking peoples. We will consider the problem of identifying and reconstructing a unified ?Celtic? mythology, religion, and cultural identity based on the independent evidence of the Continental Celts and the Celtic peoples of Ireland and Britain. Topics will include: sources of information about the Continental Celts and their culture, the evidence for pre-Christian myth and religion in the medieval literature of Ireland and Wales, the reconstruction of a possible Celtic pantheon, the role of folklore in understanding myth, and the development of modern Celtic religious movements.