ARWEN - Amatory and Romantic Language in Welsh Panegyric Poetry

This post-doctoral project analyzes the use of amatory language and a pseudo-romantic relationship posited between the poet and patron in medieval Welsh praise poetry. While scholars have noted these trends in the praise poetry of medieval Ireland since 1950, a similar tradition amongst the Welsh bards, in which the language of love positions the poet as spouse of his patron, remains unexplored. Drawing on new models of Celtic masculinity developed for my earlier research, particularly the liminal and transgressive figure of the bard, this project aims to determine the origins and development of this trope throughout the middle ages. It will consider the participation of the professional bardic class and the role of gender in cultural myth-making and collective nostalgia for an idealized past 'golden age', as well as the influence of greater Classical and European trends. By examining both native and crosscultural perspectives, it will critique long-held assumptions of heroism and challenge established notions of medieval masculinity in a warrior culture.