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Celtic studies orCeltology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to theCeltic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers ofCeltic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history, archaeology and history, the focus lying on the study of the variousCeltic languages, living and extinct.[1] The primary areas of focus are the six Celtic languages currently in use:Irish,Scottish Gaelic,Manx,Welsh,Cornish, andBreton.
As a university subject, it is taught at a number of universities, most of them in Ireland, the United Kingdom, or France, but also in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands.
Written studies of the Celts, their cultures, and their languages go back toclassical Greek and Latin accounts, possibly beginning withHecataeus in the 6th century BC[1] and best known through such authors asPolybius,Posidonius,Pausanias,Diodorus Siculus,Julius Caesar andStrabo. Modern Celtic studies originated in the aftermath of theGutenberg Revolution, when many of these classical authors were rediscovered,mass produced using theprinting press, and translated intovernacular languages.[1]
Academic interest in Celtic languages grew out of comparative and historicallinguistics, which were established at the end of the 18th century. In the 16th century,Renaissance humanistGeorge Buchanan, a native speaker of theScottish Gaelic language, comparatively studied theGoidelic languages. The first major breakthrough in Celtic linguistics came with the publication ofArchaeologia Britannica (1707) by the Welsh scholarEdward Lhuyd, who was the first to recognise thatGaulish,Welsh, Cornish, and Irish all belong to the samelanguage family.[1] Lhuyd also published an English translation of a study byPaul-Yves Pezron into Gaulish.
In 1767James Parsons published his studyThe 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 whenSir William Jones postulated thatSanskrit,Avestan, Greek, Latin and many other languages including "the Celtic" derived from a common ancestral language. This hypothesis, published inThe Sanscrit Language (1786), would later be hailed as the discovery of theIndo-European language family, from which grew the field ofIndo-European studies.[1]
Although Jones' trail-blazing hypothesis inspired numerous linguistic studies, it was not until Bavarian linguistJohann Kaspar Zeuss's monumentalGrammatica Celtica (volume 1, 1851; volume 2, 1853) that any truly significant progress was made.[1] Written inLatin, the work draws on the earliestOld Irish,Middle Welsh and other Celticprimary sources to construct a comparative grammar, which was the first to lay out a firm basis for Celticphilology.[1] Among his many other achievements, Zeuss was able to decipher and explain Old Irish verbal and grammatical rules and also definitively linked the Celtic languages to theIndo-Europeanlanguage family
German Celtic studies (Keltologie) is seen by many as having been established by Johann Kaspar Zeuss (1806–1856). In 1847, he was appointed professor oflinguistics at theLudwig Maximilian University of 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 incomparative linguistics to link theCeltic languages to theProto-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.[citation needed]
In 1896,Kuno Meyer and Ludwig Christian Stern founded theZeitschrift für celtische Philologie (ZCP), the first academic journal solely devoted to aspects of Celtic languages and literature, and still in existence today.[2] In the second half of the century, significant contributions were made by the OrientalistErnst Windisch (1844–1918). He held a chair inSanskrit at theUniversity of Leipzig; but he is best remembered for his numerous publications in the field of Celtic studies. In 1901, the Orientalist and CeltologistHeinrich Zimmer (1851–1910) was made professor of Celtic languages atFriedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, the first position of its kind in Germany. He was followed in 1911 byKuno Meyer (1858–1919), who, in addition to numerous publications in the field, was active in the Irish independence movement.[citation needed]
Perhaps the most important German-speaking Celticist was Swiss scholarRudolf Thurneysen (1857–1940). A student of Windisch and Zimmer, Thurneysen was appointed to the chair of comparative linguistics at theUniversity of Freiburg in 1887; he succeeded to the equivalent chair at theUniversity of Bonn in 1913. His notability arises from his work onOld Irish. For his masterwork,Handbuch des Altirischen ("Handbook of Old Irish", 1909), translated into English asA 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.[citation needed]
In 1920,Julius Pokorny (1887–1970) was appointed to the chair of Celtic languages atFriedrich Wilhelm University, Berlin. Despite his support for centristGerman nationalism and membership in theCatholic Church in Germany, he was forced out of his university position by theNazis on account of his Jewish ancestry. He subsequently fled as arefugee to Switzerland but returned to Germany in 1955 to teach at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. In Berlin, he was succeeded in 1937 byLudwig Mühlhausen [de], a devout Nazi.[citation needed]
AfterWorld War II, Celtic studies predominantly continued inWest Germany and theSecond Austrian Republic. Studies in the field continued at Freiburg, Bonn,Marburg,Hamburg as well asInnsbruck; however, an independent professorship in Celtic studies has not been instituted anywhere. In this period,Hans Hartmann, Heinrich Wagner andWolfgang 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 what becameEast Berlin chair in Celtic languages at what was renamedHumboldt University has remained unoccupied since 1966.
Today, Celtic studies is only taught at a handful of German universities, including those of Bonn,[3]Trier,[4] andMannheim,[5] theJohannes Gutenberg University of Mainz,[6] and thePhilipps University of Marburg.[7] It is also taught at theUniversity of Vienna.[8] Only Marburg, Vienna and Bonn maintain formal programs of study, but even then usually as a subsection of comparative or general linguistics. Only Marburg offers an M.A. course specifically in Celtic Studies. No Celtic studies research has taken place in the former centres of Freiburg, Hamburg or Berlin since the 1990s. The last remaining chair in Celtic studies, that atHumboldt University of Berlin, was abolished in 1997.[citation needed]
The only Chair of Celtic studies in Continental Europe is atUtrecht University (in the Netherlands).[9][10] It was established in 1923, when Celtic studies were added to the Chair of Germanic studies on the special request of its new professorA. G. van Hamel.[11]
Celtic studies are taught in universities in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. These studies cover language, history, archaeology and art. In addition, Celtic languages are taught to a greater or lesser extent in schools in Wales, the island of Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall and the Isle of Man.
The formal study of Celtic Studies at British universities in the late nineteenth century gave rise to the establishment of chairs for SirJohn Rhŷs, firstJesus Professor of Celtic at theUniversity of Oxford, in 1874 and forDonald MacKinnon, first Chair of Celtic at theUniversity of Edinburgh, in 1882. Institutions in the United Kingdom that have Celtic Studies departments and courses are: the Universities of Aberdeen, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter (which houses theInstitute of Cornish Studies), Glasgow, Oxford, Swansea, Trinity St David's, Queen's University Belfast, Ulster University, the University of the Highlands and Islands and the University of Wales,Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. The top five rated degree-awarding programmes/departments as of 2017 are; (1) Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic atUniversity of Cambridge (2) Welsh and Celtic Studies atBangor University (3) Welsh and Celtic Studies atCardiff University (4) Celtic and Gaelic atUniversity of Glasgow (5) Irish and Celtic Studies atQueen's University, Belfast.
A major funder of Celtic Studies doctoral studies in the United Kingdom is the AHRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in the Celtic Languages, which admitted PhD students in the period 2014–2019. The CDT in Celtic Languages is administered through Celtic and Gaelic at theUniversity of Glasgow and its director is Prof.Katherine Forsyth.
Celtic studies andIrish studies are taught in universities inNorthern Ireland and theRepublic of Ireland. These studies cover language, history, archaeology and art. In addition, the Irish language is taught to a greater or lesser extent in schools across the island of Ireland.
The beginning of Celtic Studies as a university subject in Ireland might be dated toEugene O'Curry's appointment as professor of Irish history and archaeology at theCatholic University of Ireland in 1854. In the republic, Celtic Studies, either as full Celtic Studies programmes or as Irish language programmes, are now offered in theNational University of Ireland, Galway,University College Cork,University College Dublin (the successor institution to the Catholic University),National University of Ireland, Maynooth,Trinity College Dublin,University of Limerick,Mary Immaculate College, Limerick,Dublin City University. TheDublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), School of Celtic Studies, is a research institution but does not award degrees. DIAS and theRoyal Irish Academy are leading publishers of Celtic Studies research, including the journalsCeltica andÉriu.
In Northern Ireland,Queen's University Belfast andUlster University offer Celtic studies programmes. In Northern Ireland, Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University also offer Celtic studies.
In 1874,Donald MacKinnon became the first Chair of Celtic studies at theUniversity of Edinburgh, in 1882. Aberdeen, Glasgow and the University of the Highlands and Islands also have Celtic studies departments.
A major funder of UK Celtic Studies doctoral studies is the AHRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in the Celtic Languages, which admitted PhD students in the period 2014–2019. The CDT in Celtic Languages is administered through Celtic and Gaelic at theUniversity of Glasgow and its director is Prof.Katherine Forsyth.
The first Jesus Professor of Celtic at the University of Oxford wasJohn Rhŷs.[12] TheUniversity of Wales established theCentre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, also coveringWelsh studies.[13]
TheInstitute of Cornish Studies is based in Falmouth,Cornwall.
In North America, Celtic scholars and students are represented professionally by the Celtic Studies Association of North America.[14]
Several universities in Canada offer some Celtic studies courses, while only two universities offers a full B.A. as well as graduate courses.St. Michael's College at theUniversity of Toronto andSt. Francis Xavier University[15] offers the only B.A. of its kind in Canada with a dual focus on Celtic literature and history, while thePontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies at theUniversity of Toronto[16] offers courses at a graduate level through their Centre for Medieval Studies, along withSt. Francis Xavier University.
Other Canadian universities which offer courses in Celtic, Scottish or Irish studies includeCape Breton University,[17]Saint Mary's University, Halifax,[18]Simon Fraser University,[19] theUniversity of Guelph[20] and theUniversity of Ottawa.[21]
In the United States,Harvard University is notable for its Doctorate program in Celtic studies.[22] Celtic studies are also offered at the universities ofWisconsin-Milwaukee,[23]California–Berkeley,[24]California–Los Angeles,[25]Bard College,[26] and many others,[27][28] including programs in which a student may minor, like at theCollege of Charleston.[29] Some aspects of Celtic studies can be accessed through Irish Studies programmes, such as at theUniversity of Notre Dame.
In 1804, theAcadémie Celtique was founded with the goal of unearthing theGallic past of the French people. France also produced the firstacademic journal 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 nameÉtudes Celtiques.
TheUniversity of Western Brittany (Brest) offers a two-year, international European-Union certified master's degree course entitled "Celtic languages and Cultures in Contact". It is part of the Centre for Breton and Celtic Research (CRBC). Closely linked to this MA programme, theUniversity of Western Brittany organizes an intensive two-week Summer School in Breton Language and Cultural Heritage Studies every year in June. This Summer School is also sponsored by the CRBC and welcomes scholars from around the world with an interest in the Celtic (and minority) languages and cultures to study Breton, the least known of the living Celtic languages.
Celtic studies are also taught at other universities elsewhere in Europe, including theCharles University in Prague (Czech Republic),[30]University of Poznań (Poland),[31] The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland),Moscow State University (Russia),[32]Uppsala University (Sweden)[33]
Irish studies are taught at theUniversity of Burgos (Spain)[34] and theUniversity of A Coruña (Galicia).[35] Galicia also has its ownInstitute for Celtic Studies.
Celtic Studies are taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at theUniversity of Sydney (Australia),[36] which also hosts the triennial Australian Conference of Celtic Studies.
The International Congress of Celtic Studies is the foremost academic conference in the field of Celtic Studies and is held every four years. It was first held in Dublin in 1959. The XV International Congress of Celtic Studies was held at theUniversity of Glasgow in 2015. In 2019, the XVI ICCS was held atBangor University and the XVII ICCS will be held atUtrecht University in 2023.
TheDerek Allen Prize, awarded annually by theBritish Academy since 1977, rotates between Celtic Studies, Numismatics and Musicology. Recent winners in the field of Celtic Studies include: Prof.Máire Herbert (2018), Prof. Pierre-Yves Lambert (2015) and Prof. Fergus Kelly (2012).[37] Prof. Herbert is the first female Celticist to be awarded this prize.
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