David
Callander
Works authored
Contributions to journals
This article examines the connections between Asser's Life of King Alfred and the tenthcentury Welsh poem Armes Prydein Vawr. It studies the use of the place-name Santwic ‘Sandwich’ in Armes Prydein, and presents evidence that this form derives from a written source. An investigation of the sources containing this place-name before the late tenth century raises the distinct possibility that Asser's Life was the source drawn upon by the Welsh poet. Examination of the context in which Sandwich occurs in Asser and Armes Prydein highlights striking similarities in usage, strengthening the argument for a connection between the two texts. Further correspondences between these works are noted before discussing the potential implications of this new finding for our understanding of Asser (and his reception) and Armes Prydein more generally.
This article examines the connections between Asser's Life of King Alfred and the tenthcentury Welsh poem Armes Prydein Vawr. It studies the use of the place-name Santwic ‘Sandwich’ in Armes Prydein, and presents evidence that this form derives from a written source. An investigation of the sources containing this place-name before the late tenth century raises the distinct possibility that Asser's Life was the source drawn upon by the Welsh poet. Examination of the context in which Sandwich occurs in Asser and Armes Prydein highlights striking similarities in usage, strengthening the argument for a connection between the two texts. Further correspondences between these works are noted before discussing the potential implications of this new finding for our understanding of Asser (and his reception) and Armes Prydein more generally.
Contributions to edited collections or authored works
This article examines how we can productively study and compare narrative length in the short poems of late medieval Wales. One of the key models for investigating narrative at a local level is that provided by William Labov. This article highlights the ways in which Labov’s model needs to be adapted in order for it to work most effectively with these medieval poems. Utilising and revising the narrative model first presented by Labov allows us to create some basic statistical data on narrative length which can contribute to our understanding of diachronic developments in narrativity. The adapted model is applied to the corpus of medieval Welsh poetry to saints, spanning the twelfth to sixteenth centuries, and shows that in certain periods there is a demonstrably greater potential for more extended narratives than in others. The use of progressive temporal markers is also examined and appears to follow the same pattern. The possible applications of this research are then discussed, including its use in dating anonymous Welsh poems and for investigating diachronic changes in narrativity in other literatures.
This article examines how we can productively study and compare narrative length in the short poems of late medieval Wales. One of the key models for investigating narrative at a local level is that provided by William Labov. This article highlights the ways in which Labov’s model needs to be adapted in order for it to work most effectively with these medieval poems. Utilising and revising the narrative model first presented by Labov allows us to create some basic statistical data on narrative length which can contribute to our understanding of diachronic developments in narrativity. The adapted model is applied to the corpus of medieval Welsh poetry to saints, spanning the twelfth to sixteenth centuries, and shows that in certain periods there is a demonstrably greater potential for more extended narratives than in others. The use of progressive temporal markers is also examined and appears to follow the same pattern. The possible applications of this research are then discussed, including its use in dating anonymous Welsh poems and for investigating diachronic changes in narrativity in other literatures.
