Documents for "Miscellaneous European Literature":

• Belgian literature For literature in Flemish (Dutch), see Dutch and Flemish literature. The writings of French-speaking Belgians, of whom the chief are Maeterlinck and Verhaeren , belong to French literature. See...

• Breton literature in the Celtic language of Brittany. Although there are numerous allusions in other literatures of the 12th to 14th cent. to the "matter of Brittany," which includes the stories of Tristan and King Arthur, no Breton texts remain from this period. The earliest ones date from the 15th cent. Until the 19th cent., texts included songs, stories, and...

• carmina burana see Goliardic songs.

• Catalan literature like the Catalan language, developed in close connection with that of Provence. In both regions the rhymed songs of the troubadours flourished as an art form from the 11th to the 14th cent. In the...

• Celtic literature see Breton literature ; Cornish literature ; Gaelic literature ; Welsh literature.

• Cornish literature The literature of the Celtic language of Cornwall, which has been spoken only by bilingual speakers since the late 18th cent. The surviving pre-1800 literature consists largely of a few miracle plays...

• Dutch and Flemish literature literary works written in the standard language of the Low Countries since the Middle Ages. It is conventional to use the term Dutch when referring to the language spoken by the people of the modern...

• Dutch literature see Dutch and Flemish literature.

• eisteddfod [Welsh,=session], Welsh competitive festival. Contests traditionally are held in all the arts and crafts, with special emphasis on music and poetry. The National Eisteddfod is held annually for one...

• Fenian Cycle see Gaelic literature.

• Fingal see Finn mac Cumhail.

• Finn mac Cumhail   Fionn mac Cumhail, or Finn MacCool , semimythical Irish hero. His exploits are recorded in long narrative poems by Ossian and in many ballads, called Fenian ballads after the Fenians, or Fianna, professional fighters whom Finn was said to have headed in the 3d cent. Certain tales involve such events as Finn's pursuit...

• Flemish literature see Dutch and Flemish literature.

• Gaelic literature literature in the native tongue of Ireland and Scotland. Since Scots Gaelic became separate from Irish Gaelic only in the 17th cent., the literature is conventionally divided into Old Irish (before...

• Goliardic songs Late Latin poetry of the "wandering scholars," or Goliards. The Goliards included university students who went from one European university to another, scholars who had completed their studies but were unable to buy benefices (ecclesiastical...

• Greek literature, modern literature written in Greek in the modern era, primarily beginning during the period of rebellion against the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

• Irish literature see Gaelic literature.

• Jeux Floraux, Académie des [Fr.,=academy of floral games], one of the oldest known literary societies. It was founded (c.1323) at Toulouse, France, by seven troubadours to uphold the traditions of courtly lyricism. It...

• Mabinogion title given to a collection of medieval Welsh stories. Scholars differ as to the meaning of the word mabinogion: some think it to be the plural of the Welsh word mabinogi, which means "youthful career" ; others think it derives from the Welsh word mabinog, meaning "aspirant to bardic honor." The stories in the Mabinogion are found in two manuscripts, the White Book of Rhydderch (c.1300-1325) and the Red Book of Hergest (c.1375-1425). The first four tales, which are called collectively The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, are divided into Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan, and Math; their connecting link, now obscured by many accretions, is the story of Prince Gwri or, as he is later called, Pryderi. In the first tale he is born and fostered, inherits the kingdom and marries;...

• Romanian literature the literature of Romania. Until the 16th cent. most writing by Romanians was in Slavonic. In 1541 a catechism in Romanian was issued at Sibiu, and from 1560 liturgical works were published in...

• Swiss literature The literature of Switzerland is written in German, French, Italian, and Romansh, with German predominating. The extensive literature in Romansh dialect (see Rhaeto-Romanic ) is little known outside Switzerland. During the Middle Ages the larger monasteries, notably St. Gall, were known as cultural centers. Among the monks of considerable literary achievements were Notker Balbulus , Notker Labeo , Ulrich Boner , and several monks called Ekkehard. These men wrote mainly in Middle High German, but at the same time High German and Swiss regional dialects came into literary use. Religious writing was established by the great reformer, Zwingli , as well as by Calvin, who lived in Geneva for a time. Later writers in this tradition were, in the 19th cent., Jeremias Gotthelf , and, in the 20th cent., the priest and novelist Heinrich Federer (1866-1928) and Albert Steffen, leader of the anthroposophical movement. The celebrated French writers Jean Jacques Rousseau and...

• Ulster cycle see Gaelic literature.

• Welsh literature literary writings in the Welsh language.