What do we know of medieval childhood? Were boundaries always clear between childhood and young adulthood? Was medieval childhood gendered? Scholars have been debating such questions over half a century. Can evidence from imaginative literature test the conclusions of historians? Phyllis Gaffney's innovative book reveals contrast and change in the portrayal of childhood and youth by looking at vernacular French narratives composed between 1100 and 1220. Covering over sixty poems from two major genres - epic and romance - she traces a significant evolution. While early epics contain only a few stereotypical images of the child, later verse narratives display a range of arguably timeless motifs, as well as a growing awareness of the special characteristics of youth. Whereas juvenile epic heroes contribute to the adult agenda by displaying precocious strength and wisdom, romance children are on the receiving end, requiring guidance and education. Gaffney also profiles the intriguing phenomenon of enfances poems, singing the youthful deeds of established heroes: these 'prequels' combine epic and romance features in distinctive ways. Approaching the history of childhood and youth through the lens of literary genre, this study shows how imaginative texts can both shape and reflect the historical development and cultural construction of emotional values.

Constructions of Childhood and Youth in Old French Narrative

Literature & Fiction

Gaffney, Phyllis

History & Criticism

Routledge

The first historical overview of the study of languages in Ireland from an expert in the area. How history shifts languages and languages in turn shape history is a deep-rooted, dynamic process manifest in Victorian Ireland. In Foreign Tongues, Phyllis Gaffney sheds new light on this period of Irish history, exploring how continental influences that predated the Penal Laws were reinvigorated in the wake of the French Revolution. An influx of foreign teachers and religious orders created institutions for an emerging élite, and University education expanded. At the same time, civil service reforms opened careers across the British Empire to graduates from all religions. The result is that Ireland's Victorian colleges embraced language study--ancient and modern, Irish and European--more eagerly than their British counterparts. An adaptive, fast-changing academic landscape laid the groundwork for today's Ireland--culturally confident, open to Europe and the world--while the dramatic rise of the Gaelic League forged a bond between language, education, and politics with pervasive effects on Irish identities in the twentieth century. None of that was plain sailing. Gaffney's profiles of individual professors reveal pioneering scholarship, precarious careers, sudden scandals, and denunciations and dismissals linked to local conflicts and foreign wars. On the positive side, the advance of women's education cleared the path for a cohort of notable female professors across modern languages. This wide-ranging, detailed study draws on multiple sources to cast a fresh light on aspects of Irish history, viewed through the complex lens of language education. &nbsp;

Foreign Tongues: Victorian Language Learning and the Shaping of Modern Ireland

Reference

Foreign Language Study & Reference

University College Dublin Press

Physical description; xi, 176p. : ill., facsims., frontis., maps, plan, ports. ; 24cm. Subjects; Beckett, Samuel 1906-1989. - Capital of the ruins. Irish Red Cross.

Healing amid the ruins: The hôpital irlandais, Saint-Lô, 1945-46

A&A Farmar

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