A Postmodem Look at a Medieval Poet: The Case of William Dunbar
Recently, Umberto Eco, that well-known postmodemist critic/writer, has lamented that “‘postmodem’ is a term bon atout jaire. I have the impres- sion that it is applied today to anything the user happens to like.
A short exploration of the inauguration of kings in late medieval Ireland, and its depiction in bardic poetry
The status and image of a king was, at least partially, derived from the sacral king of sagas, such as that of Niall Noígiallach. In these sagas it is conveyed that under a righteous and unblemished king of royal ancestry there is peace and prosperity…I will give an overview of the elements of these ceremonies, the sources in which they are mentioned, and the developments during the high and late medieval period.
The Persuasive Power of a Mother’s Breast: The Most Desperate Act of the Virgin Mary’s Advocacy
The image of the Virgo Lactans orMaria Lactans (the image of the Virgin Mary suckling the Child Jesus), which occurs as early as the third century in the catacomb of Priscilla inRome, later spread ing across Europe, is found in a number of Irish sources.
Women in Troubadour Song: Of the Comtessa and the Vilana
Since we have melodies for both songs, the question of what “feminine” voices we are hearing is a musi- cal as well as a poetic issue.
From Jongleur to Minstrel: The Professionalization of Secular Musicians in Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Paris
This study asks: how did jongleurs professionalize over the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and incorporate themselves into society as legitimate, productive members?
The Myth of the Anglo-Saxon Oral Poet
There are at least two reasons why the search for the Anglo-Saxon oral poet is worth reopening. To begin with, current thinking about oral poetry and poetics in the Anglo-Saxon period has been indelibly stamped by the classic Parry/Lord thesis, well known in its evolution from the 1950s to more recent years,
A sixteenth century bardic poem composed for Seán Mac Conmara, Lord of West Clann Chuiléin
In this paper, Luke McInerney examines the late 16th century bardic poem Créd fá seachnaim síol Aodha? composed by Domhnall Ó Maoilchonaire for his patron Seán Mac Conmara, Lord of West Clann Chuiléin.