So before I get this final post started, I'll let you listen to the first thing I started blasting in my car as I came home from a (in my opinion) fairly successful final exam. A great traditional Irish folk song as played by my favorite Irish rock band, Thin Lizzy. You can just let it play as you keep reading.
I can't believe it's over, it feels like it went by so fast even though we covered such a huge amount of material. I can say with confidence that I came out of this course with a lot more than I went in with. I feel like even if it's only rudimentary, I've got a pretty good grasp on the tail of the great bull that is Celtic literature. Four months ago if you had asked me what I knew about real Celtic culture (excluding all the shamrocks, leprechauns, and Guinness), I would've said that the names Cúchulainn and Finn McCool sounded familiar and then I probably would've gone on to play that Thin Lizzy song if I had my guitar with me. Now I've come away with a huge appreciation for the rich canon of work spanning centuries from the Taín Bo Cuailnge all the way up to the origins of Arthurian legend.
Who would've thought a giant, hairy, green knight came from Ireland?
Now of course I could do a google search for Celtic influences on modern culture and copy and paste every hurling team, metal band, and video game with a Celtic name, but I feel like that would be a disservice to the true value of the culture, which is in the stories themselves. Though the style was difficult to get used to (and in the case of 10-page-long name lists, tedious), the stories were as colorful and engaging as any of the Greek myths I grew up reading as a child. I see the Taín as Ireland's Iliad, the Voyage of Mael Duin's Boat its Odyssey.
Though only the Irish could come up with Macc Da Thó's Pig...
I think the only reason I was surprised at this revelation is the fact that we just don't hear too much about Celtic stories nowadays. The western world was built upon the work of the Greeks and Romans, but what nobody seems to understand is that we owe just as much to the Celts. Though they were originally never a cohesive nation, the original Celtic tribes of the early world have been around as long as the Egyptians and inhabited an area of Europe so widespread that Alexander the Great or Napoleon wouldn't have been too ashamed to own it. In fact, if every "Kiss Me I'm Irish" shirt read "Kiss Me I'm Celtic," there still wouldn't be that much kissing, but it would be a much more accurate statement since a lot more people have Celtic roots than they might think.
"Hey look! I'm being multicultural! Wait...what do you mean I'm still white?"
Ok, slightly better. At least they're being honest now.
Anyway, if there's anything this new appreciation for Celtic culture and literature has taught me, it's that we need more of this stuff in the modern world. Everyone knows about Patrick driving out the snakes, but that's not nearly as cool as when he burns pagan wizards, banishes demons, or makes the earth swallow up people who cross him. And why are we putting tiny, bearded, green-clad men everywhere on March 17th when we should be putting up posters of Cúchulainn going into a warp spasm and liquidating an army or two.
Maybe not the most family-friendly imagery...Probably just save this one for the taverns...
The point is, this is a big part of our western cultural history and it's something so few of us know about (though I do love knowing things that other people don't). I really am glad I got this opportunity to learn about a culture I didn't know much about and more importantly to read so many great stories. Now I feel obligated to keep it alive somehow. Maybe I'll name one of my kids Fergus. Or my dog. It's probably a better dog name. It'll have to be my second dog, though, because the first one is going to be named Strider for the double Tolkien/Led Zeppelin reference.
Anyway, there's not much left I wanted to say. I realize this is shorter and less comprehensive than my other entries have been, but I intended it to be a sort of farewell, fondly remembering all that we've been through this past semester. So with that in mind, I'll sign off this last entry with a beautiful song from another Irish rock band, this one with more of a Celtic flair to it. Gerald of Wales (despite coming off as fairly racist against the Irish) had one thing right when he said the Irish were good at their music.
As a short P.S. to my teacher, Thomas Goodmann, the only person of the three or four that follow this blog who will likely read this final post, I'd like to say thank you again for such a great class and let you know that I plan on hanging on to the knowledge I've taken away from it (though don't quiz me on it next time we meet, the one final exam was stressful enough). My personal favorite parts of the class were the Taín and the Mabinogion, the various group discussions and readings, and watching the Secret of Kels was a wonderful little interlude. Have a great winter break and I hope to see you again before I graduate next semester.