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CCIV10030

Academic Year 2024/2025

The British Celts (CCIV10030)

Subject:
Celtic Civilization
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Irish, Celtic Stud & Folklore
Level:
1 (Introductory)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Jaqueline Bemmer
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The module gives an overview of the early history of the Celtic-speaking peoples in Britain. After outlining what we know of Late Iron Age Britain, we study the wide-ranging changes caused by Roman Conquest, and examine what can be learned from various types of evidence about aspects of daily life, art and religion. When the Romans left we consider what was their enduring legacy, and what the newly independent Britain was once again like before the arrival of a new external threat with the coming of Germanic speakers, the ancestors of the English. These are the 'Dark Ages' in terms of scanty direct textual documentations, when traditions associated with the enigmatic but influential figure of Arthur developed. We also examine the emergence of new kingdoms and see how Christianity spread over the whole land. Finally we look at the languages and written culture of late antique and early meideval Britain, starting with the earliest evidence of the British Celtic languages such as curse tablets and burial stones, but focusing on medieval Welsh literature, such as the heroic poems and the magical Mabinogion narratives, which are read in translation.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the role of the native Celts in the formation of Britain, and the impact of invading cultures on them.
Be aware of the main source material available for the historical interpretation of early Britain.
Gain some knowledge of medieval Welsh literature in the light of social and historical forces which shaped it, as well as appreciating what it has to say to modern readers.

Indicative Module Content:

Part 1 : Roman Britain
Introduction: Who were the Celts?
Late Prehistoric Britain
The Classical Sources
Daily Life
Religion
Late Antiquity in Britain
Tintagel
Part 2: Early Medieval and Anglo-Saxon Britain
After Rome – Independent Britain
The Arrival of the Saxons
The Story of Arthur
Kings and Kingdoms – The Successor States in the North
Kings and Kingdoms – The Successor States in the South-West
The Britons and their Church
A “Celtic” Church or a “Roman” Church?
The Britons divided

Part 3: Early Welsh language and literature
The peoples and languages of early Britain I
The peoples and languages of early Britain II
The written culture of medieval Wales
Early Welsh law
Taliesin and Aneirin
Saga poetry and later development in poesy
The Four Branches of the Mabinogi
Easter Monday – No lecture or tutorial
Culhwch ac Olwen and other prose narratives

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

24
Autonomous Student Learning

40
Lectures

24
Tutorial

12
Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures, supplemented by tutorials. Tutorial time will be devoted to close readings of primary texts and discussion of matters raised in the lectures.

Please note that you must NOT submit contents generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies as part of your assignment, assessment or thesis submitted to this module or degree..

This falls in line with the ‘RED’ category of the College of A&H’s ‘AI traffic light’ system. Further information on the traffic light system is on the College AI Futures website.
Apart from contents directly generated by AI, uses of AI technologies in the following fields are also not permitted in any assignment, assessment or thesis:

Correction: Correct spelling, grammar and punctuation
Translation: Translate passages of text
Citation: Arrange references according to a particular citation style
Improvement: Improve the style and tone of writing
Feedback: Get feedback on drafts
Unpacking: Unpack an assignment prompt to better understand it
Brainstorming: Brainstorm a topic to gather a range of approaches
Planning: Generate a research plan
Structuring: Devise a structure for a piece of writing based on an abstract, introduction, or general ideas
Revision: Revise a piece of writing

If you submit AI-generated content you may be in breach of the UCD Academic Integrity Policy.
If you are not sure whether your submission conforms to the school policy, please consult your module coordinator.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Equivalents:
British Celts (CCIV1903)


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Reflective Assignment: Tutorial preparation and contribution, and one 100-word learning journal on Brightspace each week Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
10
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): A document analysis related to the second part of this module Week 10 Graded No
30
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): short literature review essay on key scholarly work related to the first part of the module. Week 6 Graded No
30
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): An essay of 1,000 - 1,500 words long related to the third part of the module. Week 12 Graded No
30
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Oral or written/annotated feedback which can be face-to-face, on Brightspace or by email.

A reading list will be provided with the module handbook, and a topic-specific reading list will be provided with the lecture slides and other learning materials on Brightspace every week.

Name Role
Nathan Millin Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Fangzhe Qiu Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Courtney Selvage Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Mon 13:00 - 13:50
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 13:00 - 13:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 10:00 - 10:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 12:00 - 12:50
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