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Languages, Literatures, & Cultures

Dr Ciaran Arthur

BA, MA, PhD

Biography

Ciaran comes to the Department of Classics at NUIG for his second postdoctoral project on 'Intentional Obscurity and "Divine Speech" in Early English Texts', funded by the Irish Research Council Individual Postdoctoral Research Fellowship scheme. His first project, 'Obscurity and Textual Concealment in Early Medieval England' (2017-2020), was funded by The Leverhulme Trust's Early Career Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, and was hosted by Queen's University Belfast

In this time, Ciaran has published his first monograph ‘Charms’, Liturgies, and Secret Rites in Early Medieval England (Boydell, 2018), and is now working on publishing a second, provisionally entitled O Ineffabile: Intentional Obscurity in Early Medieval England. His second book seeks to reconsider the nature of early medieval ‘gibberish’ writing in the context of biblical, Patristic, and medieval hermeneutic and exegetical traditions and interests in obscurity. He is also co-editing a collection of essays, entitled Creating Knowledge in the Early Medieval Book: Practices of Collecting and Concealing, with Dr Sinead O'Sullivan (QUB), and he has published on various aspects of early medieval history, literature, and manuscript studies.

Having obtained BA Hons (English & Philosophy) and MA (Medieval Studies) degrees at Queen's University Belfast, Ciaran completed his PhD in the University of Kent (Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies) in 2015 on 'The Liturgy of “Charms” in Anglo-Saxon England’ (supervised by Dr Helen Gittos), which formed the basis of his first book.

Research Interests

Ciaran's main research interests lie in medieval manuscript studies, monastic culture, liturgy, medical and remedial practices, constructions of magic and paganism, theologies of language and translation, and hermeneutic traditions from England, Ireland, and the Continent.

Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2021)	'The Heliand in Tenth-Century England: Translation, Transmission, and Turbulence' Ciaran Arthur (2021) 'The Heliand in Tenth-Century England: Translation, Transmission, and Turbulence'. Journal Of Medieval History, [Details]
	(2013)	'Ex Ecclesia: Salvific Power beyond Sacred Space in Anglo-Saxon Charms' Ciaran Arthur (2013) 'Ex Ecclesia: Salvific Power beyond Sacred Space in Anglo-Saxon Charms'. Incantatio: An International Journal on Charms, Charmers, and Charming, 3 :9-32 [Details]
	(2019)	'The Gift of the Gab in Post-Conquest Canterbury: Mystical 'Gibberish' in London, British Library, MS Cotton Caligula A. xv' Ciaran Arthur (2019) 'The Gift of the Gab in Post-Conquest Canterbury: Mystical 'Gibberish' in London, British Library, MS Cotton Caligula A. xv'. Journal Of English And Germanic Philology, 118 (2):177-210 [Details]
	(2015)	'Three Marginal Notes in London, British Library, MS Cotton Caligula A. vii' Ciaran Arthur (2015) 'Three Marginal Notes in London, British Library, MS Cotton Caligula A. vii'. Notes And Queries, 62 (2):211-217 [Details]
	(2014)	'Ploughing through Cotton Caligula A VII: Reading the Sacred Words of the Heliand and the Æcerbot' Ciaran Arthur (2014) 'Ploughing through Cotton Caligula A VII: Reading the Sacred Words of the Heliand and the Æcerbot'. Review Of English Studies, 65 (268):1-17 [Details]
	(2013)	'Postural Representations of Holofernes in the Old English Judith: The Lord who was Laid Low' Ciaran Arthur (2013) 'Postural Representations of Holofernes in the Old English Judith: The Lord who was Laid Low'. English Studies, 94 (8):9-32 [Details]
	(2013)	'Giving the Head’s Up in Ælfric’s Passio Sancti Edmundi: Postural Representations of the Old English Saint' Ciaran Arthur (2013) 'Giving the Head’s Up in Ælfric’s Passio Sancti Edmundi: Postural Representations of the Old English Saint'. Philological Quarterly, 92 (3):315-314 [Details]

Books

	Year	Publication
	(2018)	'Charms', Liturgies, and Secret Rites in Early Medieval England. Ciaran Arthur (2018) 'Charms', Liturgies, and Secret Rites in Early Medieval England. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer. [Details]

Edited Books

	Year	Publication
	(2022)	Sinead O'Sullivan and Ciaran Arthur (Ed.). (2022) Creating Knowledge in the Early Medieval Book: Practices of Collecting and Concealing Turnhout: Brepols. [Details]

Electronic Publication

	Year	Publication
	(2020)	Ciphers, Codes, and Notes: Crafting Knowledge in the Medieval and Modern Worlds. Sinead O'Sullivan and Ciaran Arthur (2020) Ciphers, Codes, and Notes: Crafting Knowledge in the Medieval and Modern Worlds. Belfast: Electronic Publication [Details]

Encyclopedia Entry

	Year	Publication
	(2020)	Bethulia, Bethulie. Ciaran Arthur (2020) Bethulia, Bethulie. Encyclopedia Entry [Details]

Honours and Awards

	Year	Title	Awarding Body
	2020	Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Individual Fellowship	Irish Research Council
	2017	The Leverhulme Trust Early Career Postdoctoral Fellowship	The Leverhulme Trust

Teaching Interests

Ciaran's teaching experience has spanned English and History departments in both the University of Kent and QUB at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His teaching interests include early medieval intellectual, cultural, and religious history, medieval understandings of identity, nations, and nationalism, biblical history, and medieval vernacular languages and literatures.