Celts and Their Maritime Myths

Learn about Celts and their Maritime Myths with Joseph Nagy! The Celts of ancient Europe, especially those who ended up in Britain and Ireland, brought with them their age-old fascination with bodies of water and extended it to the sea as they encountered and in some cases came to depend on it. Medieval Irish and Welsh literature both reflect the lore of the sea that developed among the Celts of Northwestern Europe during the pre-Christian era and that adapted itself to the Christian era, as we can see, for example, in the Irish legends about St Brendan and his voyages, and in the stories about tragically “sunken cities” that circulated among British Celts (including the people of Brittany) until recent times. “Joseph Falaky Nagy, the Henry L. Shattuck Professor of Irish Studies, began teaching at Harvard in 2016. He received his B.A. in Folklore and Mythology in 1974, and his Ph.D. in Celtic Languages and Literatures in 1978, both from Harvard. Before coming to his current institution, Nagy was a Professor in the Department of English, the Indo-European Studies Program, and the Folklore and Mythology Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. The author of books and articles on medieval Irish literature and comparative mythology, Nagy was the founder and first editor of The Celtic Studies of North America Yearbook.” via the Harvard Dept of Celtic Languages and Literatures. $5/Person. Members get in free!