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This book is a study of the print cultures of the four principal Celtic languages - Irish, Welsh, Gaelic and Breton - in the crucial period between 1700 and 1900.
Over the past four centuries, the Celtic languages of northwest Europe have followed contrasting paths of maintenance and decline. This was despite their common lack of official recognition and use, and their common distance from the centres of political power. This volume analyses publishing, circulation and reading in the four languages, particularly at a popular level, showing the different levels of overall activity as well as the distinctions in the types of printed texts between regions. The approach is a broad one, considering all printed books down to very small cheap formats. It explores the interactions between the different regions and the continuation of print culture within diasporic communities.
This volume will appeal to book historians, to scholars of the four languages and their literature, and to students of Celtic studies.
List of contents
1. Questions, Approaches, Sources 2. Reading in the Celtic Languages - Its Nature and Measurement 3. Print in the Four Languages Before 1800 4. Print in the Four Languages After 1800 5. Readers, Subscriptions and Miscellanies in Welsh, Gaelic and Irish 6. Books of Psalms, Hymns and Religious Songs 7. Transnational Connections 8. The Print Cultures of the Celtic Languages in the Emigrant Communities in North America and Australia 9. Conclusion
About the author
Niall Ó Ciosáin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of History and Philosophy in the University of Galway. His research is in the areas of book history, literacy, education and language shift.
Summary
This book is a study of the print cultures of the four principal Celtic languages — Irish, Welsh, Gaelic and Breton — in the crucial period between 1700 and 1900.
