03.25.09
Literature or Weird History?
If you have dipped into Gerald of Wales’ The History and Topography of Ireland, you may be wondering where this fits into a course on Medieval Literature.
It’s a cross between geography, history, anthropology, and theological commentary — all presented in medieval style. It stands in a long line of such works dating from Herodotus, the Greek geographer who wrote in the fifth century BCE. Much that is outlandish here, Gerald either accepts as truth or nods toward its veracity for its effect upon readers.
For a number of reasons this text is an important part of a medieval literature course. First, it provides cultural background for the medieval Irish, as questionable as it may be. Second it illuminates the attitudes of the invading Welsh/Normans. Finally, this is an important representation of a popular intellectual genre during the middle ages. The modern distinction of Literature was not yet clearly made, but if it were, the medieval mind would have certainly included works of geography such as this.
As much as anything we have read, this is medieval literature — not Anglo Saxon, not medieval Irish, but 12th-century Latin, which in many ways was a transnational literature. Most of the intellectual heavy lifting of the day, whether religious or not, was done in Latin.
If you get the chance, note sections 8-10, on pages 38-42. Watch how Gerald, who is ostensibly describing the physical traits of Irish eagles, cranes, and barnacle geese, moves the conversation toward the theological. The screed against the jews that derives from his discussion of barnacle geese is a particularly interesting demonstration of a 12th-century cleric’s/scholar’s mind.