Lecture Series “Chronicles of the British Isles” started on October 2. Opening lecture by Prof. Tatyana A. Mikhailova “Medieval Irish Literature: A Variety of Genres and Forms”
On October 2, 2024, the “Chronicles of the British Isles” public lecture series on philological and cultural studies was officially launched. The event began with welcome speeches by Elizaveta V. Sokolova, Head of the Department of Literary Studies, and Olga V. Kuleshova, Head of the Department of Cultural Studies. In their opening remarks, Ekaterina I. Kolosova, head of the public lecture series, and Anna E. Kalkaeva, project coordinator, expressed their hopes that the lecture series would serve as a platform for a meaningful exchange of ideas and perspectives between renowned experts – philologists, specialists in cultural studies, art historians, and other members of academia – and the interested public. As its title suggests, “Chronicles of the British Isles” aims to promote knowledge and expand awareness of the history and cultural heritage of the British Isles.
The opening lecture in the series was delivered by Dr. habil., Prof. Tatyana A. Mikhailova, who gave a talk titled “Medieval Irish Literature: A Variety of Genres and Forms.” Prof. Mikhailova began by posing a thought-provoking question: What qualifies as literature in the realm of medieval Irish texts? Can political documents, resolutions, and decrees be classified as such? Or perhaps historical chronicles and hagiographies? The lecturer argued that all these genres do, indeed, fall under the heading of medieval literature.
In the medieval tradition, the creation of prose texts received particular attention, while poetry was represented across various genres:
- Poetic inclusions within prose texts.
- Mnemonic verses (9th-10th centuries), often termed “historical,” which recorded the names of kings, their battles, and burial sites.
- Later bardic poetry (12th-13th centuries), which praised the generosity and majestic appearance of kings, with fewer references to their military achievements.
Lyrical poetry, produced mainly within monastic contexts, often appeared as marginalia, written in the margins or between the lines of diverse manuscripts. Prof. Mikhailova cited the example of the poem “Pangur Bán” which intertwines scholarly activities with the relentless hunting of a cat named Pangur. This poem permits a dual interpretation: it is likely that the white cat symbolizes the Holy Spirit in feline form, and instead of hunting mice, it seeks to capture human souls for conversion to Christianity.
The lecturer then turned to the sagas, highlighting their fundamental differences from lyrical poetry. Whereas poems usually imply an anonymous author, sagas, by their nature, lack authorship and are rich in character descriptions. These works are classified based on reference words, shaping the readers’ horizon of expectation. Unlike Icelandic sagas, the poetic elements in Irish sagas are not the product of a poet’s creativity; rather, they serve to express the characters’ emotional states, record prophecies, perditions, etc.
The lecturer emphasized the traditional use of the term “scél” with reference to Irish sagas to distinguish them from Icelandic sagas. However, this is not entirely accurate: “scél,” similar to the French “nouvelle,” denotes both “story” in a broad sense and “news” or “event.”
With the adoption of Christianity, Ireland experienced a cultural flourishing marked by the spread of biblical traditions and exposure to ancient literature. This has led contemporary researchers to believe that there was no oral tradition, which was supposedly maintained by the Filid. This belief has given rise to the “nativism” versus “anti-nativism” debate in modern scholarship. Nativists assert that medieval Irish literature, particularly the epic and other texts, is rooted in an ancient oral tradition. In contrast, anti-nativists contend that the origins of Irish literature lie in the monastic context (post-fifth century), influenced by the Old Testament and other Christian texts. Prof. Mikhailova proposes a more balanced perspective, suggesting that while biblical and ancient motifs were certainly integrated into Irish tradition, some native Irish themes have retained their independence.
During the discussion that followed the lecture, Prof. Mikhailova addressed questions from the audience. Further details can be found in the event video.
