Andrew Breeze
Andrew Breeze | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | English |
Citizenship | United Kingdom |
Known for | Historical linguistics Philology of Celtic languages Onomastics, especially place-names |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Cambridge, University of Oxford |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Linguistics[1] |
Institutions | University of Navarra (previously at Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies) |
Andrew Breeze FRHistS FSA (born 1954), has been profesor de filología at the University of Navarra since 1987.[2]
Early life[]
Breeze was born in 1954 and educated at Sir Roger Manwood's School, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.[3] He is married with six children.[citation needed]
Work[]
Besides numerous research papers on the philology of many Celtic languages, he is the author of Medieval Welsh Literature (1997)[4] and The Origins of the "Four Branches of the Mabinogi" (2009). He is also co-author with Professor Richard Coates of Celtic Voices, English Places (2000).
Breeze has written about Mabinogi studies, and The Mabinogion research, especially addressing historical and political parallels.[5] In 1997 he published the controversial 'Did a woman write the Four Branches of the Mabinogi?',[6][7] proposing a woman composer for this leading literary work of British/ Welsh heritage. Breeze's theory rests on the unusual lack of warlike or fighting heroics compared to preceding literature; the high quantity of material on mothering, besides complex, in depth portraits of Mabinogi women.[8] This much has been supported or tolerated by some scholars, but there has been discussion regarding Breeze's preferred candidate Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd. Since the 1997 article Breeze has provided further publications on this topic.[5]
In 2015, he published "The Historical Arthur and Sixth-Century Scotland",[9] which locates King Arthur's battles from the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, placing them all in Scotland and Northern England, with the exception of Mount Badon in the year 493, located at a hillfort east of Braydon Forest, Wiltshire, but having nothing to do with Arthur. Using these identifications, he suggested that Arthur was a Briton from the Kingdom of Strathclyde who fought other Britons, rather than Anglo-Saxons.[10] Other scholars have questioned his findings, which they believe are based on coincidental resemblances between place-names.[11][12] Nicholas Higham comments that it is difficult to justify identifying Arthur as the leader in northern battles listed in the Historia Brittonum, but rejecting the implication in the same work that they were fought against Anglo-Saxons, and that there is no textual justification for separating Badon from the other battles.[13]
Andrew Breeze's British Battles 493-937: Mount Badon to Brunanburh was published in 2020 by Anthem Press. It gives new locations for various early conflicts. Amongst them are Mount Badon in 493 at Braydon, near Swindon, Wiltshire; those of Arthur in 536-7 in southern Scotland and northern England; Degsastan in 603 near , on the River Tweed, Scottish Borders; the Battle of Maserfield in 642 at Forden, Powys (and not Oswestry, Shropshire); and Brunanburh in 937 on the River Browney near Lanchester, County Durham (and not Bromborough in Cheshire/Merseyside). This work aims to provide a blueprint for locating a range of battles fought during this early period of British history.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1997 and of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1996.[3]
Books[]
- 1997 Medieval Welsh Literature, Four Courts Press (ISBN 1-85182-229-1).
- 2000 (with Richard Coates; including a contribution by David Horovitz) Celtic Voices, English Places: Studies of the Celtic Impact on Place-Names in England, Stamford: Shaun Tyas; (ISBN 1 900289 41 5).
- 2008 The Mary of the Celts, Gracewing (ISBN 978 0 85244 682 9)
- 2009 The Origins of the "Four Branches of the Mabinogi", Gracewing (ISBN 978 0 85244 553 2)
- 2020 British Battles 493-937: Mount Badon to Brunanburh, Anthem (ISBN 1 78527 223 3)
References[]
- ^ "Andrew Breeze's publications", indexed by Google Scholar
- ^ "Profesorado. Departamento de Filología. Universidad de Navarra" (PDF). www.unav.edu. University of Navarra. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b University of Navarra: Andrew Breeze, CV
- ^ Breeze, Andrew, Medieval Welsh Literature (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1997)
- ^ Jump up to: a b The Mabinogi Bibliography holds 24 Breeze entries, whereas most scholars have 5 or fewer.
- ^ Breeze, Andrew Charles, Studi Medievali, Vol. 38, 2, pp. 679-705.
- ^ Dobson, Roger (11 January 1997). "Is this Welsh princess the first British woman author?". The Independent. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ There is an interesting study of Mabinogi women, with conclusions very different from those reached by Breeze, in Roberta Valente's ‘"Merched y Mabinogi": Women and the Thematic Structure of the Four Branches’ (unpub. PhD thesis, Cornell University, 1986)
- ^ Andrew Breeze, "The Historical Arthur and Sixth-Century Scotland", Northern History 52:2:158-181 (2015)
- ^ "King Arthur 'was real, wasn't a king... and lived in Strathclyde'". The Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Was king Arthur from Scotland?". Lost Kingdom Fantasy Writing, Roleplaying and Worldbuilding Resources. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Academia up in arms over King Arthur's Glasgow roots". www.thenational.scot. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ Higham, Nicholas J. (2018). King Arthur: The Making of the Legend. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. pp. 262–63. ISBN 978-0-300-21092-7.
External links[]
- Andrew Breeze publications indexed by Google Scholar
- University of Navarra: Andrew Breeze, CV listing publications
- Living people
- 1954 births
- Toponymists
- English toponymy
- Linguists from England
- People from Flitwick
- Alumni of the University of Oxford
- Fellows of the Royal Historical Society
- University of Navarra faculty
- English expatriates in Spain