An examination of Edward Lhwyd’s journey to Scotland in 1699 with particular reference to folk culture and language

This thesis examines the work of Edward Lhwyd, pioneer in the field of Celtic Studies, from the perspective of his journey to Scotland in 1699/1700. Lhwyd was at this time Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and his wide-ranging interests included natural history, botany, fossils, linguistics, antiquarianism and folklore. He visited Scotland as part of a tour of the Celtic nations to gain first-hand experience for his proposed publication Archaeologia Britannica. What he learned from his encounters there was supplemented by his development of a wide-ranging network of correspondents, whose knowledge and skills he used extensively alongside his own fieldwork in Glossography, the first and only volume of Archaeologia Britannica he was to publish. Drawing both on his published work and remaining source material (notebooks, drawings and above all correspondence) this dissertation assesses his methodology, output and contribution to Celtic studies, using his Scottish work as an exemplar. His own letters and those of his contacts are appraised in detail. This appraisal shows both how collaborative knowledge networks were established and used in this period and how Lhwyd stood out in having a distinctively empirical and unprejudiced perspective. Lhwyd’s travels are contextualized with reference to the political and cultural situation at this time and the experiences of Martin and Thomas Pennant, respectively a contemporary and a later traveller in Scotland. Finally, his contribution to Scottish Gaelic linguistics and his Scottish findings in the areas of antiquarianism, natural history and ethnography are reviewed and I suggest some areas where further work may be merited.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

ma

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Shillaker, Jane C.

• AM Amgueddfeydd (Cyffredinol). Casglwyr a chasglu (Cyffredinol)
• DA Prydain Fawr
• GR Llên gwerin
• P Ieitheg. Ieithyddiaeth

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:1869