SIR JOHN RHYS MEMORIAL LECTURE

Gaelic in medieval Scotland: advent and expansion

Professor Thomas Clancy

Wednesday 4 March 2009, 5.30pm

Early 7th century records show that the Gaelic language and people were confined to the region of Argyll, yet, by the 12th century, most parts of what is now Scotland (and indeed parts of northern England) either had or had had communities of Gaelic speakers. This vast expansion of the language happened during one of the least well-evidenced times in Scotland's history, and the timing and mechanisms of this expansion have been much theorised and debated. The primary evidence illuminating these processes is that of toponyms, and, as such, place-names form the bedrock of this lecture’s investigation. This lecture will review the evidence for Gaelic's arrival and expansion in the various different regions of Scotland in the Middle Ages, examining in particular a number of different nodes of controversy, where paradigms have been shifting over recent years, including the advent of Gaelic in northern Britain; the dominance of Gaelic in the kingdom of Alba; and Gaelic in the south-west, the Western Isles, and the far north. What will emerge is a much more complex, nuanced series of interlocking episodes in Scotland's linguistic history.

About the speaker

Professor Thomas Clancy is Chair of Celtic at the University of Glasgow. His research interests include the development of Christianity in early medieval Scotland, the poetry of early medieval Scotland, medieval Gaelic narrative, especially Christian literature, Scottish place-names and saints’ dedications, medieval Welsh narrative, and the northern Britons. He contributed to the preparation of Celtic Culture: An Encyclopedia (2006).

More about the Sir John Rhys Memorial Lectures