The Mabinogi

The Mabinogi PDF Author: Charles William Sullivan
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780815314820
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Culture in Practice collects the academic and political writings from the 1960sthrough the 1990s of anthropologist Marshall Sahlins. More than a compilation, Culture in Practiceunfolds as an intellectual autobiography. The book opens with Sahlins's early general studies ofculture, economy, and human nature. It then moves to his reportage and reflections on the war inVietnam and the antiwar movement, the event that most strongly affected his thinking about culturalspecificity. Finally, it offers his more historical and globally aware works on indigenous peoples,especially those of the Pacific islands.Sahlins exposes the cultural specificity of the West,developing a critical account of the distinctive ways that we act in and understand the world. Thebook includes a play/review of Robert Ardrey's sociobiology, essays on "native" consumption patternsof food and clothes in America and the West, explorations of how two thousand years of Westerncosmology affect our understanding of others, and ethnohistorical accounts of how cultural orders ofEuropeans and Pacific islanders structured the historical experiences of both. Throughout, Sahlinsoffers his own way of thinking about the anthropological project. To transcend critically our nativecategories in order to understand how other peoples have historically constructed their modes ofexistence--even now, in the era of globalization--is the great challenge of contemporaryanthropology.

The Mabinogi

The Mabinogi PDF Author: Charles William Sullivan
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780815314820
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Get Book Here

Book Description
Culture in Practice collects the academic and political writings from the 1960sthrough the 1990s of anthropologist Marshall Sahlins. More than a compilation, Culture in Practiceunfolds as an intellectual autobiography. The book opens with Sahlins's early general studies ofculture, economy, and human nature. It then moves to his reportage and reflections on the war inVietnam and the antiwar movement, the event that most strongly affected his thinking about culturalspecificity. Finally, it offers his more historical and globally aware works on indigenous peoples,especially those of the Pacific islands.Sahlins exposes the cultural specificity of the West,developing a critical account of the distinctive ways that we act in and understand the world. Thebook includes a play/review of Robert Ardrey's sociobiology, essays on "native" consumption patternsof food and clothes in America and the West, explorations of how two thousand years of Westerncosmology affect our understanding of others, and ethnohistorical accounts of how cultural orders ofEuropeans and Pacific islanders structured the historical experiences of both. Throughout, Sahlinsoffers his own way of thinking about the anthropological project. To transcend critically our nativecategories in order to understand how other peoples have historically constructed their modes ofexistence--even now, in the era of globalization--is the great challenge of contemporaryanthropology.

Welsh Mythology

Welsh Mythology PDF Author: Jonathan Miles-Watson
Publisher: Cambria Press
ISBN: 1604976209
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
A little-known lecture by Lévi-Strauss is the inspiration for this work. In this lecture, he intuitively suggested that in medieval Europe there once existed a set of myths, centred on the grail, which are structurally the opposite of the goatsucker myths that he famously analyzed in his mythologiques series. This work uses Lévi-Strauss' inspirational lecture as a launchpad for an exploration of a group of related medieval Welsh myths, two of which have been briefly considered previously by Lévi-Strauss himself. The root of the methodological approach this book employs throughout is the Structuralism of Claude Lévi-Strauss; however, it has been modified to incorporate the suggestions of later neo-Structuralists. This analysis tool is applied to a group of myths, which have become conveniently--if somewhat erroneously--known as the Mabinogion. The name Mabinogion appears as part of a colophon at the end of one of the myth of Pwyll and it was later adopted first by Pugh (1835), and then by Lady Charlotte Guest (1838) as a title for their now famous translations of Welsh mythology. Consequently, the title has stuck to describe the material that is contained within their translations and, while it is a somewhat inaccurate way to describe the myths, it has the virtues of being both a succinct and widely recognised signifier. The term has come to signify eight myths, or perhaps more accurately eight groups of myths, which are all present in the late fourteenth-century manuscript Llyfr Coch Hergest (The Red Book of Hergest), and all but one of which can be found in the slightly earlier Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch (The White Book of Rhydderch). As such, the Mabinogion is the key collection of medieval Welsh mythology and an important source for early Arthurian material. Although Structuralism and the Mabinogion have attracted a good deal of attention from the academic world, there has been never been a sustained attempt to follow Levi-Strauss' intuitive insights with a methodical Structuralist analysis of this material. In the year of Lévi-Strauss' centenary celebrations, this work is the first sustained attempt to follow his intuitive suggestions about several Mabinogion myths with a detailed Structuralist analysis of the Mabinogion. This work is therefore a unique anthropological presentation and analysis of the Mabinogion, which argues for a radical, new interpretation of these myths in light of the existence of a central system of interlocking symbols that has the Grail at its heart. Through the analysis, the book reveals a logical organizational principle that underlies a body of material that has previously been viewed as disparate and confusing. This underlying structure is demonstrated to be, as Lévi-Strauss suggested it may, the opposite of that which Lévi-Strauss himself uncovered in the Americas. The revelation of this new form of underlying structure leads to a rethinking of some important aspects of Structuralism, including the Canonical formula, at the same time as acting as a tribute to the farsightedness of Lévi-Strauss. This book makes important contributions to the fields of Arthurian studies, anthropology, Celtic studies, cultural studies, medieval studies, mythology and religious studies.

Rural Space in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age

Rural Space in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age PDF Author: Albrecht Classen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110285428
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 932

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Book Description
Older research on the premodern world limited its focus on the Church, the court, and, more recently, on urban space. The present volume invites readers to consider the meaning of rural space, both in light of ecocritical readings and social-historical approaches. While previous scholars examined the figure of the peasant in the premodern world, the current volume combines a large number of specialized studies that investigate how the natural environment and the appearance of members of the rural population interacted with the world of the court and of the city. The experience in rural space was important already for writers and artists in the premodern era, as the large variety of scholarly approaches indicates. The present volume signals how much the surprisingly close interaction between members of the aristocratic and of the peasant class determined many literary and art-historical works. In a surprisingly large number of cases we can even discover elements of utopia hidden in rural space. We also observe how much the rural world was a significant element already in early-medieval mentality. Moreover, as many authors point out, the impact of natural forces on premodern society was tremendous, if not catastrophic.

The Mabinogion

The Mabinogion PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Tales
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description


Report on Manuscripts in the Welsh Language: pt. 1. The Welsh manuscripts of Lord Mostyn at Mostyn Hall, Co. Flint

Report on Manuscripts in the Welsh Language: pt. 1. The Welsh manuscripts of Lord Mostyn at Mostyn Hall, Co. Flint PDF Author: Great Britain. Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Manuscripts, Welsh
Languages : en
Pages : 742

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Book Description


The Epic Hero

The Epic Hero PDF Author: Dean A. Miller
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 080187792X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 529

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Book Description
Selected by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title From Odysseus to Aeneas, from Beowulf to King Arthur, from the Mahâbhârata to the Ossetian "Nart" tales, epic heroes and their stories have symbolized the power of the human imagination. Drawing on diverse disciplines including classics, anthropology, psychology, and literary studies, this product of twenty years' scholarship provides a detailed typology of the hero in Western myth: birth, parentage, familial ties, sexuality, character, deeds, death, and afterlife. Dean A. Miller examines the place of the hero in the physical world (wilderness, castle, prison cell) and in society (among monarchs, fools, shamans, rivals, and gods). He looks at the hero in battle and quest; at his political status; and at his relationship to established religion. The book spans Western epic traditions, including Greek, Roman, Nordic, and Celtic, as well as the Indian and Persian legacies. A large section of the book also examines the figures who modify or accompany the hero: partners, helpers (animals and sometimes monsters), foes, foils, and even antitypes. The Epic Hero provides a comprehensive and provocative guide to epic heroes, and to the richly imaginative tales they inhabit.

The Mabinogion, from the Llyfr coch o Hergest, and other ancient Welsh MSS., with an Engl

The Mabinogion, from the Llyfr coch o Hergest, and other ancient Welsh MSS., with an Engl PDF Author: Mabinogion
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Book Description


The Mabinogi (Routledge Revivals)

The Mabinogi (Routledge Revivals) PDF Author: C. W. Sullivan III
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317519787
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
The purpose of this collection, which was first published in 1996, is to provide both an overview of the major critical approaches to the Four Branches of the Mabinogi and a selection of the best essays dealing with them. The essays examine the origins of the Mabinogion, comparative analyses, and structural and thematic interpretations. This book is ideal for students of literature and Medieval studies.

Queens of the Wild

Queens of the Wild PDF Author: Ronald Hutton
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300265271
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
A concise history of the goddess-like figures who evade both Christian and pagan traditions, from the medieval period to the present day In this riveting account, renowned scholar Ronald Hutton explores the history of deity-like figures in Christian Europe. Drawing on anthropology, archaeology, literature, and history, Hutton shows how hags, witches, the Fairy Queen, and the Green Man all came to be, and how they changed over the centuries. Looking closely at four main figures—Mother Earth, the Fairy Queen, the Mistress of the Night, and the Old Woman of Gaelic tradition—Hutton challenges decades of debate around the female figures who have long been thought versions of pre-Christian goddesses. He makes the compelling case that these goddess figures found in the European imagination did not descend from the pre-Christian ancient world, yet have nothing Christian about them. It was in fact nineteenth-century scholars who attempted to establish the narrative of pagan survival that persists today.

Wales and the Britons, 350-1064

Wales and the Britons, 350-1064 PDF Author: T. M. Charles-Edwards
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198217315
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 816

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Book Description
The most detailed history of the Welsh from Late-Roman Britain to the eve of the Norman Conquest. Integrates the history of religion, language, and literature with the history of events.