Typology of Enumeration in Old Irish, Welsh and Greek
Ana Galjanić
University of Zagreb
Abstract
The Old Irish and Welsh Triads are conspicuous for their repetitive structure and highly formulaic character. This paper compares some of the enumerative forms common in the Celtic tradition with a poetic genre known as the priamel and as such attested only in archaic Greek. Synchronic peculiarities are best understood when put into diachronic perspective: in this paper, I examine typology and structure of Old Irish and Welsh enumerative forms comparing them with similarly constructed passages in archaic Greek lyric and epic.