Bangor University's MA in Arthurian literature, the only one of its kind in the world, explores insular (Britain and Ireland) and Continental medieval traditions of Arthurian writing from the inception of the legend (perhaps as early as the 6th century) to the present day. Students may engage in deep comparative study of Latin, Welsh, Irish, Breton and English/French texts, with the additional advantage of studying other linguistic traditions, if necessary in modern English translation. 

Our experts teach on such subjects as Welsh and ‘Celtic’ mythology, including its dissemination and reception in modern mystical traditions and wider thought (Aled Llion Jones, Jerry Hunter, Peredur Lynch); the adaptation of Welsh material in modern fiction (Jerry Hunter, Andy Webb); the representation of women, sex and death in medieval literature (Sue Niebrzydowski); medieval English and French romance and chronicles and the medieval manuscript, and the adaptation of medieval motifs in the 19th c and beyond, including editing texts (Raluca Radulescu); Shakespeare, myth in the early modern period (Andrew Hiscock); adaptation of Welsh legend from the 16th to the 19th c. (Jerry Hunter), Romantic medievalism (Carol Tully), Victorian medievalism (Karin Koehler); and modern and contemporary literature (Andy Webb), and film (Greg Frame). Applicants may also work with one of our creative writers to include creative writing in their portfolio of work.

Current and past research students have engaged in higher degrees, teaching, research and librarianship in higher education, publishing, and a range of related activities. Kevin Whetter is now Associate Professor at Acadia University, Canada, and has co-edited Re-Viewing Le Morte Darthur (Cambridge: DS Brewer, 2005); Dr Takako Kato is Research Associate at the Centre for Textual Scholarship, De Montfort University, and her study Caxton’s ’Morte Darthur’: The Printing Process and the Authenticity of the Text, was published at Oxford in the Medium Aevum monograph series, in 2002; Professor Yuri Fuwa teaches at Keio University, Japan; Dr Michael Cichon is Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr John Joseph Doherty works in a US university library, and Dr Mark Adderley is Professor of English at Missouri Valley College.