THE BRITISH ACADEMY,
established by Royal Charter in 1902, champions and supports the humanities and social sciences. It is an independent, self-governing fellowship of scholars elected for their distinction and achievement.
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Thinking in threes: the Old Irish triads
This lecture took place on 09 October 2003
Professor Fergus Kelly, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
The arrangement of ideas in groups of three is common in the literatures of the Celtic-speaking peoples. This lecture concentrates on the most extensive collection to be found in the Irish language, which consists of over 200 triads. It was composed (or adapted from other sources) about the ninth century AD by an anonymous author – probably a cleric – and includes observations on law, nature, geography, the Church, and human behaviour in general. The author is notably for his imaginative use of paradox, and for his lyrical interpretation of everyday life and of natural phenomena.
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