LANGUAGE ARTS
The Department of Language Arts includes courses in languages and literature, mythology, legends, as well as creative writing and calligraphy. As a department of the Center it conceives writing, language, and literature as a single subject area and as an art.
LA 101. Introduction to Celtic Languages.
This course introduces the Celtic language families and focuses on the pronunciation of names and useful phrases in Welsh and Irish Gaeilge primarily, with some consideration of Gallic, Manx, and Scots Gaelic. Linguistic history and writing systems will be discussed along with Celtic calligraphy.
The idea of Celticism as it has emerged since the 19th century in literature, the arts, politics, and cultural studies. This course includes a range of poetry, prose, music, and films in an exploration of what "Celtic" means.
LA 103 Poetry Workshop
Study of poems and poetic forms combined with work on the art of writing poetry, especially in Bardic forms such as epic, ballad, triad, prayer, invocation, and incantation. Some consideration of ancient Welsh forms.
Intensive study of major ancient Irish myths and legends including the Book of Invasions, the Tain, and the Ulster Cycle. Attention will be given to the Irish Gaeilge and translation and to ways the old myths have been taken up by later 20th century writers. Close readings of the myths, a major critical paper and meditations based on the material will be among the assignments for assessment.
Core. Intensive study of the Welsh legends with emphasis on the Mabinogion. Discussion of Welsh language and translations as well as cultural and psychological methods of interpretation. Students will be required to write a major critical paper exploring mythic and spiritual themes and will engage in meditations based upon the stories of the four branches. Reading: Ford, trans. The Mabinogi. Evangeline Walton, The Mabinogion tetralogy. Caitlin Matthews, Mabon and the Mysteries of Britain.
LA 108. Introduction to Folkloristics
This class will cover a wide range of information about the academic study of folklore and how it relates to both practical Druidry and continued academic work in Pagan Studies. We will read a number of articles about folklore and collect actual folklore for our own study. Students' collections will be added to an online database to create the Avalon Center Folklore Archive to serve both the Center community and the wider folklore research community. The final paper will be an analysis of the folklore gathered by the students using one or more of the methods studied in this class.
LA 201, 202, 203. Welsh Sequence
Treating grammar and vocabulary of modern Welsh and many Welsh terms used in Druidry. Welsh legends and Barddas, along with modern Welsh literature will serves as texts for practice. Emphasis on verbal skills.
LA 204, 205, 206. Irish Gaeilge Sequence
Treating the history, grammar, and vocabulary of the Irish language both modern and ancient. Special attention to terms and phrases used in modern Druidry. Irish legends and modern literature will serves as texts for practice. Emphasis on verbal skills.
LA 207, 208, 209 Scots Gaelic Sequence
Treating the history, grammar, and vocabulary of Scots Gaelic both modern and ancient. Special attention to terms and phrases used in modern Druidry. Scottish legends and modern literature will serves as texts for practice. Emphasis on verbal skills.
A course in which students will work on poetry and share with each other. Special consideration of writing poetry to be sung or chanted. An Eisteddfod will be collected for the campus community at the conclusion of the term.
A creative writing and literary study of the genre of the epic in poetry and other long forms. Examples for reading will be from English poetry and translation. Texts to study may include, Homer's Illiad, Virgil's Aeneid, The Tain, Wordsworth's Prelude, Macpherson's Ossian poems. Lots of reading and writing. Students will work on (and hopefully finish) an original work of epic poetry and discuss their work in a workshop format with the rest of the class. Optionally, students may submit an analytical paper for their final project. An Eisteddfod of student work will be collected for the campus community at the conclusion of the term.
Close study of Iolo Morganwg's Barddas and the Welsh triads. The triadic form will be studied as a mnemonic and philosophical device and students will practice writing their own triads as well as memorizing the traditional material. Discussion of the ethical implications of the Welsh triads. Barddas will be considered critically alongside the scholarly controversy over its sources and the rejection of it by celtic reconstructionist druids.
Chrétien de Troyes had a huge impact on the formation of the cycle of Arthur and Roundtable stories with which many of us are familiar today. His Le Roman du Perceval ou le Conte du Graal, the earliest known version of the Grail legend, and Le Chevalier de la Charette form much of the base upon which Thomas Malory would later set his Le Morte D'Arthur. De Troyes introduced the figures of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Tables to French literature and is considered to have based his work on the legends told by both Welsh and Breton bards. For example, de Troyes’ Perceval seems to be a manifestation of Peredur, and as such a part of the Welsh Mabinogion. We will be examining and discussing his works in detail. We will also be attempting to set them in their historical context.
The most famous rendition of the Arthurian legends, Mallory's Le Morte D'Arthur, is the basis for most of the twentieth century adaptations in novel and film. It represents the culmination of a long history of Arthurian romances and fantastical history. Moreover, its values and images of chivalry, valor, and love have been the childhood reading of practically every great writer in the English language. We will examine this work from historical, cultural, and psychological perspectives. Emphasis will be placed on reading the texts and gaining a firm familiarity with the stories and their figures. Students will be encouraged to explore the symbolism of the characters in their own mediations and creative work.
LA 306. Taliesin and Ossian. Dr. Maertens (Alferian)
The figure and mythology of Taliesin will be studied in depth alongside poems attributed to him. James Macpherson's Ossian poems will be studied as products of the revival of interest in Celtic antiquities in the period of the early modern Druid renaissance. Suggested Reading: John Matthews, The Song of Taliesin and Taliesin: the Last Celtic Shaman. Macpherson, Poems of Ossian.
LA 307. Merlin. Dr. Maertens (Alferian)
This course examines the figure of Merlin or Myrddin in Welsh literature, Arthurian Romance, and modern fantasy novels and films. Students will be asked to explore the myth and reality of Merlin critically and through meditation.
LA 308. Magical Alphabets.
Advanced study of magical alphabets and codes including Welsh Coelbren, Runes, Oghams, Enochian letters, Theban, and other writing systems used in magical work.
LA 309. Morgan Le Fay and Ladies of the Lake.
This course examined the figure of Morgan Le Fay from Arthurian Romance and other Ladies of the Lake. We will explore how these literary figures find their roots in the gods and myths of ancient Ireland and Britain, then look at two or three modern literary treatments of Morgan/Morgaine. Students will be asked to explore the myth and reality of Morgan (and the Morrigan) critically and through meditation.
LA 401. Romantic and Visionary Poetry.
Study in depth of the poems of William Wordsworth, William Blake, and William Butler Yeats. Their relationship to the Druid revival, pantheism, Nature spirituality, and the Celtic renaissance. Blake will be considered as a past chief of the Ancient Druid Order and as a Bard. Yeats's treatment of Irish legend and fairy lore will be set alongside his involvement as a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Students will be asked to consider the relationship between poetry and the modern search for a new spirituality. The role of the visionary in religion and art will also be considered.
LA 402. The Grail Quest.
Further study in the literature of Arthurian legend with a special focus on the Grail materials and their esoteric interpretation by various authors. Students will read, enact, and engage with the symbolism of the stories in meditation. Special ritual work with the Grail legends will be included. Students who actually find the Holy Grail will be given extra credit. Readings: Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival. E. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, The Grail Legend. Loomis, The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol.
LA 403. Norse and Germanic Legends and Sagas.
To complement the Celtic myths and legends, students will be invited to study and learn much of the Norse material available. Odin and Yggdrasil, the revelation of the runes, the worlds of the world-tree are all considered in relation to the teachings of the Druids and as a powerful cultural literature of the Teutonic tribes. The relationships historically between Celts and Teutons, cultural cross-fertilization and conquest. Meditations and performances based on the Norse pantheon and legends will complement critical study and memorization of the tales.
LA 404. Modern Bards.
Modern poetry from Walt Whitman to the present will be considered in the light of the Bard's role in society as critic and keeper of memory. Folk songs and poems of cultural criticism, nature, and mysticism will be considered along with modern Celtic songwriters and musicians. Students will be encouraged to make and perform their own compositions.
LA 405. Storytelling. Tsis'detsi Tsigoti
The Bardic art of story and expression will be considered not only in relationship to the art of oral storytelling and song, but in relationship to all the arts. Students will have, by this time, developed a sense of their own creative forms and will be encouraged in this course to find their own voice whether it is in poetry, song, drama, painting, sculpture, or any other artistic medium. Emphasis in the course will be on practice. Discussions will focus on the applicability to the Bardic spirit to all forms of self expression and on the relationship between self-expression and the expression of the wisdom of the tribe.
LA 406. The Romance of Arthur.
A course in some of the many novels that have treated the Arthurian legends. Readings may include: Rosemary Sutcliff, The Sword at Sunset. Mary Stewart, The Crystal Cave. Tennyson, Idylls of the King. Monaco, Parsival. Bradshaw, Hawk of May. Bradley, Mists of Avalon.
LA 407. The Esoteric Arthur.
Readings in the works of scholars interpreting the mythic and esoteric value of the Arthurian legends and romances. Reading: John Matthews, Gawain and The Song of Arthur. C. Matthews, Arthur and the Sovereignty of Britain. Jesse Weston, From Ritual to Romance. Gareth Knight, The Secret Tradition in Arthurian Legend.
LA 408. The Mists of Avalon.
Few other books have had such profound and lasting influence on Neopaganism and especially in its relation to Goddess spirituality. Bradley expresses in Mists a female centered view of the Arthurian Romances woven with historical knowledge of the Dark Ages and mystical traditions of Druidry and the Lost Continent of Atlantis. This course will take the novel, critical articles, and resources on Goddess spirituality to delve deeply into this key work of modern mythmaking
LA 410. The Lord of the Rings.
Reading and Discussion of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, including the Appendices! Students will delve deeply into the story, its characters and themes reading critical articles and material on Tolkien's creative process.
LA 411. The Silmarillion.
Examination of Tolkien's pre-LOTR myths of the Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Students will read the Silmarillion and related tales and will be encouraged to research deeply into Tolkien's mythology of prehistoric Europe and the idea of Faerie. Attention will be given to Tolkien's creative process as a mythmaker and to the spiritual implications of his creation and origin myths.
LA 412. Tolkien's Elvish Languages.
A course examining the creative and inspirational work of language creation (or reconstruction) in the context of Tolkien's fiction and myth-making. Students can expect to learn at least one of Tolkien's languages with a focus on Sindarin and Quenya. Students will read resources and studies by linguists on these languages and consider the uses of invented languages in general.
LA 500. W. B. Yeats.
A seminar on the poetry of W.B. Yeats including his inspired book,
A Vision. Yeats is one of the giants of Irish literature, co-founder of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. He was also a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Yeats' poetry ranges from anient Irish myths to twentieth-century Irish politics and the Celtic Renaissance. Students will read a selection of the poetry and one Yeats biography.
LA 501. William Blake.
Seminar on the poetry and visionary engravings and paintings of the early Romantic poet William Blake. His artwork and mythological, prophetic books developed a religion of the Divine Imagination. Students will read a selection of Blake's poetry, a biography of the poet, and some of the wealth of Blake criticism, considering Blake's legacy and the legend of his involvement in the Druid Revival.
