Integrating tacit knowledge and material literacy into translation of textile and dress terminology in Old Irish — Kate Swan, University of Sydney · Asynchronous talk · 16 minutes · Captions available

Taking part. Watch at any time, then bring your questions, comments and disagreements to the discussion thread below. Kate will be checking in regularly until the symposium and during 28–29 September, and the thread stays open until 6 October. First-time commenters are held briefly for approval.

About this talk. Old Irish texts were composed, written and copied by individuals possessing an intimate familiarity with the material environment in which they lived, extending notably to textiles and items of dress. This form of material culture features heavily in descriptions of people as well as within legal texts; in matters of character, currency and tribute, the details matter. However, various words are translated into simple terms such as “tunic”, “cloak”, and any technique of decoration to “embroidery”, undercutting the significance of these textiles within their context, and further obscuring the richness of Irish textile manufacture and dress in the early medieval period for readers. This paper argues that material literacy gained through examination of archaeological textiles in combination with tacit knowledge from re-creative practice and experimental archaeology can be applied to aid the interpretation of such terminology in Old Irish.

Questions outside the thread: celticlanguageresearch@gmail.com