Medieval Literature and Society, a Tutorial for Historians

By the end of this tutorial, which examines the vernacular literatures of medieval Ireland and Wales (circa 1000–1500), you will have the tools to read medieval Irish and Welsh texts critically and situate them within their cultural, social, and manuscript contexts. These literatures are part of extensive oral and written traditions, including heroic sagas, bardic poetry, saints’ lives, genealogies, and historical tracts. Although they have often overshadowed in scholarship by Latin and French texts, or reframed by Romantic or nationalist narratives, these works reward careful attention: reading them in context illuminates recurring narrative strategies, social concerns, and literary networks that connect Ireland, Wales, and the broader Insular world. By approaching these texts with attention to authorship, genre, manuscript provenance, and performative or oral traditions, you will gain methods applicable not only to Celtic literatures but to medieval vernacular texts more broadly.