The Power of Words

The ‘Power of Words’ refers to three linked projects:

1. The University of Ulster project Celtic Cosmology and the Power of Words [more]

2. The University of Amsterdam project The Power of Words in Medieval Ireland [more]

3. The international interdisciplinary research network The Power of Words in Traditional European Cultures [more].

1. Celtic Cosmology and the Power of Words
Project leader: Dr Jacqueline Borsje
Organising Committee: Prof. Dr Séamus Mac Mathúna, Prof. Dr Gregory Toner, Dr Maxim Fomin, Dr Grigory Bondarenko, and  Dr Jacqueline Borsje.
Website: Natalia Abelian
Funding organisations: the British Academy, the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute for the Study of Irish History and Civilization of University College Dublin and the Research Institute for Irish and Celtic Studies of the University of Ulster.
Project description
All peoples of the world have created cosmologies, which are defined as belief complexes of pre-scientific ideas concerning the empirical and meta-empirical 'reality', Universe or Nature. This project aims to uncover what world views were held by the inhabitants of those parts of continental Europe, Britain and Ireland who spoke a Celtic language. Evidence for Celtic cosmology comes mainly from Classical sources, Celtic inscriptions (sometimes pre-Christian) and texts dating from the period after the arrival of Christianity in Celtic languages and in Celtic Latin.
Because it was Christianity that brought literacy to the Celts, it is not surprising that the overall cosmological scheme as found in Celtic literature is the one introduced by Christianity which in turn inherited ideas and views from Jewish, Hellenistic and other religions. According to the Christian worldview, God created the universe. Various narratives reflect this view, stemming from both canonical and non-canonical texts. Most famous are the two Creation accounts in Genesis 1:1-2:3 and Genesis 2:4-25. The first account depicts a creation accomplished by the verbal power of God: God speaks and the words become reality.
Various temporal and spatial elements from Christian Cosmology are also found in Celtic and Celtic Latin documents: reference is made, for instance, to the earth, Hell or the Underworld, and Heaven, to which Purgatory is added from the twelfth century onwards. How do we disentangle peculiar Celtic elements in such cosmological descriptions? Is it possible at all to reconstruct a common Celtic cosmology, or should we be satisfied with collecting various, multiform textual witnesses? What can we deduce from place-name traditions? What witnesses of cosmological ideas can we discover in human constructions?
A Colloquium on Celtic Cosmology and the Power of Words will take place from 14-16 February 2008 in Coleraine in order to map various ideas about the Cosmos transmitted in Celtic languages and in Celtic Latin. The colloquium will bring together research from experts from several related disciplines (linguistics, philology, literary history and mythology) in order to explore Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and Continental Celtic data. Texts in Celtic languages and Celtic Latin will be included in the study. The colloquium has been organised with an awareness of the need for a fresh study of this subject that embraces the recent insights in Celtic Studies and brings the results up to date with contemporary debates, particularly with reference to post-nativism.
The colloquium seeks entrance to this vast domain of thought through the concept of 'the power of words'. There is a ubiquitous human belief in powerful speech acts: words that are believed to influence reality in a material sense although not through empirically verifiable methods (cp. the above-mentioned example of the creative word of God). According to such belief, these words are influential either through some intrinsic power that they possess or through the agency of a supernatural entity (see C. Fanger, 'Things Done Wisely by a Wise Enchanter: Negotiating the Power of Words in the Thirteenth Century', Esoterica 1, 1999, 97-131: 98). Secondly, it is through words that we know of these traditional worldviews; words were used to map the world and to pass on traditional knowledge of the cosmos.

2. The Power of Words in Medieval Ireland
Project leader: Dr Jacqueline Borsje
PhD student: Vacant
Assistants: Iris van ‘t Veer (MA); Dorus Fransen (BA)
Funding organisations: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research & the University of Amsterdam
Project description:
This research project studies medieval Irish ‘words of power’ – words which were believed to influence and transform reality. These words were uttered for good or for evil: for example, to protect, to harm, to exert power, to heal and to inflict diseases. Such words are commonly known as e.g. curses, blessings, spells, charms, incantations, and prayers.
The aim of this project is to supply a survey and analysis of medieval Irish forms of ‘words of power’, by way of philological, diachronic and multidisciplinary study. A sample of the various forms, based on medieval Irish classifications, will be analysed with regard to 1) the contemporary use and context of the words; and 2) the ideology involved in world-views reflected in the texts and in the terminology used. Two sub-projects are envisaged: 1) on the words themselves; 2) on the users of the words.
Medieval Irish words of power have been neglected in modern studies of medieval European ‘magic’. Within Celtic Studies they have posed a challenge from the early years of the discipline that has thus far not yet been taken up. These ambiguous verbal expressions challenge the dichotomies imposed by modern research. They cannot be classified as either pre-Christian or Christian; they are often seen as a popular phenomenon and yet the elite preserved them in manuscripts. Because they usually are an intricate mix of religious elements, they cannot simply be seen as ‘reconstructions of the pre-Christian past’ either. A fresh study of this fascinating material is needed for the full picture of the diversity in belief and the complexity of the literary inheritance of medieval Ireland; the results will contribute to our knowledge of medieval European culture.

3. The Power of Words in Traditional European Cultures
Initiator: Professor Tatyana Mikhailova (Moscow State University)
Project leader: Dr Jacqueline Borsje
Teams and team leaders:
Team 1: University of Utrecht: Dr J. Borsje
Team 2: University of Ulster: Prof. Dr S. Mac Mathúna
Team 3: University of Helsinki, Finland: Dr T. Sjöblom
Team 4: University of Wales, Lampeter: Dr J. Wooding
Team 5: National University of Ireland, Cork: Dr J. Carey
Team 6: Moscow State University: Prof. Dr T. Mikhailova
Team 7: Russian State University for the Humanities: Prof. Dr A. Toporkov
Team 8: Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy: Dr I. Sedakova
Team 9: Institute for Linguistic Studies, St Petersburg: Dr A. Falileyev
Project description:
This research project studies European ‘words of power’ – words which are believed to influence and transform reality. These curses, blessings, spells, charms, incantations, and prayers are uttered for good or for evil: for example, to protect, to harm, to exert power, to heal and to inflict diseases. The aim of this project is to supply a survey and analysis of European forms of ‘words of power’, by way of philological, diachronic and multidisciplinary study. This will contribute greatly to our knowledge of the European history of ideas: these words give insight into traditional ideas on health, safety, happiness and society, and the belief of how life can be influenced by having recourse to the supernatural. The main target of this research network will be charting the history and the historiography of the power of words in Europe by studying types of cultural continuity and religious interchange in periods of cultural transition when political and religious interests are most likely to be in conflict.
From the common secularised perspective, ‘words of power’ belong to the periphery of European culture, as part of private and small-scale spheres. From an existential point of view, however, they belong to the heart of human existence: people have recourse at ‘words of power’ when life becomes difficult and when problems seem to transcend our capacity to solve them. ‘Words of power’ are furthermore part of European cultural heritage, often challenging from a philological point of view and linking languages and cultures. This project will deepen our knowledge not only of the literary and religious history of European culture but also of related academic study. European ‘folklore’ accounts of the power of words were collected within the surge of nationalism and under the influence of Romanticism at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century in Europe. The theoretical frameworks of that period were formulated within this paradigm as well. The areas of investigation for the network thus include not only the history of the ‘words of power’ themselves, but also the history of the discourse on this subject, thereby contributing to knowledge on the European history of ideas.
Research activities include textual study and fieldwork (editing, translating, describing, analysing). The research results will be presented and discussed at a power of words conference, and published in book form and will be made available on a website.