Sacred Underground (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Sacred Underground
Author: Lisa Bitel
Abstract: Invited scholarly workshop including scholars of religion, history, and archaeology from across the US and Britain.
Date Range: Oct 22, 2022
Location: University of Southern California

Stuck in the Iron Age: The Buried Otherworld of Early Medieval Ireland (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Stuck in the Iron Age: The Buried Otherworld of Early Medieval Ireland
Author: Lisa Bitel
Abstract: An analysis of three 7th-8th-century Irish texts concerning Christian burials, the archaeological evidence for sacred sites from before and after Christian influence in Ireland, and stories of the underground Otherworld. My thesis: Christian scholars of the early Christian period in Ireland (and probably elsewhere in northern Europe) were concerned not only to baptize souls but also to sanctify the landscape and purify it of non-Christian supernatural significance.
Date: 10/22/2022
Conference Name: Sacred Underground

Converting the Religious Supernatural: A Fairy Tale (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Converting the Religious Supernatural: A Fairy Tale
Abstract: The paper addresses the persistence of the Otherworld in ancient literature and modern folklore, as well as graphic and digital media. In Ireland and elsewhere believers continue to encounter the aos síthe (folk of the Otherworld) and similar “small gods” and to exploit them for both tourism and religion. These small gods, by way of Wales, also became French fairies (Fée); while the faeries of post-Norman England eventually became a lucrative modern business in fantasy literature, garden decor, and other popular media. I examine this co-evolution of story and Otherworld over the long haul, asking: Why do some forms of the supernatural and their veneration survive major religious shifts while others disappear?
Author: Lisa Bitel
Date: 06/02/2023
Location: Boston University

Otherworld: Tales of Wonder and Romance from Medieval Ireland (Book)
Title: Otherworld: Tales of Wonder and Romance from Medieval Ireland
Author: Lisa Bitel
Abstract: Nine stories produced between 700 and 900 CE by anonymous Irish writers, all of which treat relations between humans and immortal supernatural citizens of the non-Christian Otherworld. These enchanting stories are unknown to the general reading public but are as entertaining and important as more familiar medieval literature, such as "Beowulf" or "El Cid." The interactive translation includes contextual and interpretative materials drawn from other medieval sources.
Year: 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Type: Translation
Translator: Lisa Bitel

Permalink: https://apps.neh.gov/publicquery/products.aspx?gn=FEL-273265-21