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Asnac

It is my great ambition to be able to do the Anglo Saxon Norse and Celtic course at Cambridge the only University which offers it. :smile:

However i'm not sure which A levels they look for in candidates or which colledges are most useful for this subject. Does anyone have any advice i'd be really grateful? :confused:

Reply 1

Cacambo

According to the prospectus, languages/humanities subjects are preferred at A-level. I'd say that a combination including History, English Lit, Geography and German, for example, would be perfect for the course as the course seems to combine elements of history, literature, languages and archaeology.

Reply 2

Minta

5

You've come to the right place, Vivian! Both myself and Oldthrashbarg are starting ASNC this October, so hopefully between us we can try and offer some helpful info. I did English Lit, Classical Civilisation and RS A level, with History AS. However, I got rejected from St Catherine's in 2002 because, amongst other things, I wasn't doing a language A level. It therefore seems that languages are highly desirable, so if you're not currently studying a language, it might be a good idea to teach yourself one or do a language evening course, possibly at UCL (an inflected language would be most useful; especially Icelandic, as it is very similar to Old Norse.)

Otherwise, it doesn't seem that there are any particular preferences, although an essay subject which develops critical skills eg English and History, would probably be appreciated. As regards college choice, this is perhaps less vital (or so the members of the department would have you believe) than in larger subjects, as the intercollegiate pool supposedly operates well in such a small subject. However, having spoken to someone who graduated last year, it might be a good idea to apply to a college where Simon Keynes or David Dumville are the Director of Studies - Keynes is the Head of Department and so has a lot of clout when it comes to admissions, and also (in the words of this graduate) 'does whatever Dumville tells him to!' Bear in mind that this is pure hearsay, and I have no idea if it's actually true! People get in for ASNC at all the colleges (see the blue course booklet produced by the department), so in reality it is probably more important to choose one you like.

However, consider that people might target a college which clearly lets in lots of ASNCs - the booklet chart identifies Girton, Trinity, St John's and Newnham as being such colleges. When choosing a college in 2003, I looked for a college which wasn't an obvious 'ASNC college' target, but that had recently let in a good number of students, so showing it was ASNC friendly (New Hall let in 3 students in 1998). If you are a very strong applicant, trying to play the numbers game probably doesn't matter too much, though. I also wouldn't worry too much about matching your interests with the DoS, as when I applied to New Hall where Maire Ni Mhaonaigh, who specialises in Celtic material, is the DoS, Richard Dance also sat in on the interview so that there was also an expert present on the Germanic aspects which I had discussed in my Personal Statement. One final note about college choice - some admissions tutors don't like taking people for ASNc, as they suspect people are attempting to use it as an easy way into Cambridge (justifiably so in some cases). I heard from another ASNC graduate who applied to Corpus Christi circa 1997/8 that the admissions tutor for that year was dismissive of the subject, and apparently the college didn't take anyone for ASNC that year (this graduate was then pooled to Girton and Newnham). It could therefore be wise to go on college open days and check who will be the admissions tutor for next year, and perhaps try and talk to them and gauge whether they have a positive attitude towards ASNC (although you may not even end up being interviewed by them - at New Hall I was interviewed by a Classics Fellow, not the admissions tutor, who was a biochemist)

Independent research is important in order to show your passion for the subject and convince the tutors that your interest can be sustained over 3 years and is not just a passing fancy. I'd recommend engaging with the primary sources upon which the course is based eg Icelandic sagas, Beowulf, King Alfred's preface to St Gregory's Pastoral Care and making connections between themes within them eg conversion to Christianity is prominant in Beowulf and Grettir's Saga. Also try and visit archaeological sites in Britain and Scandinavia such as Sutton Hoo, the Viking Ship museum in Oslo, Thingvellir in Iceland - this is excellent for gaining an imediacy of experience which books alone cannot convey, and also distinguishes you as a candidate who is willing to go that extra mile to pursue your interest. If you'd like to get an idea of what ASNC interviews are like, check out the profiles at http://oa.waveflex.com - refer to Bug at Emmanuel, Helen and Michelle at St Catharine's, and Michelle (moi again!) at New Hall. Hope this is helpful, and please don't hesitate to PM me if you have any further questions :smile:

Reply 3

H&E

3

Vivian

It is my great ambition to be able to do the Anglo Saxon Norse and Celtic course at Cambridge the only University which offers it. :smile:

However i'm not sure which A levels they look for in candidates or which colledges are most useful for this subject. Does anyone have any advice i'd be really grateful? :confused:

The two main ASNAC tutors are Simon Keynes and David Dumbville. Both are full professors and very eminent scholars. Keynes is at Trinity, Dumbville is at Emmanuel (you should check this, I'm not 100% sure). Those colleges r v hard 2 get in2, so you may also look at other colleges where Dumbville or Keynes will tutor you (from memory, each of them was in charge of 3/4 colleges).

As for A-levels: I think candidates with neither English or History will be at a disadvantage, but both are not necessary. The course is about history, literature and old languages, so anything which shows interest in that will be useful.

btw, how carefully have you looked into the course? I thought about it at one point, but found that while at first glance it was very attractive, a closer look revealed a far less interesting course.

Reply 4

Vivian

OP

Thanks everyone especially Minta :smile:

I really hope you enjoy the course.

It is really the course I want to do I find the history and culture of the Anglo Saxons fascinating ditto the Celts. Is it useful to have a knowledge of Latin, because mine is very very limited?

Thanks for all the help everyone :smile:

Reply 5

H&E

3

Vivian

Thanks everyone especially Minta :smile:

I really hope you enjoy the course.

It is really the course I want to do I find the history and culture of the Anglo Saxons fascinating ditto the Celts. Is it useful to have a knowledge of Latin, because mine is very very limited?

Thanks for all the help everyone :smile:

It's absolutely not necessary. There are so many options to do, you can either do almost no languages, or almost no history. And even if you do a lot of languages, you can do Old English and Norse and even Irish and stuff, and just avoid the Latin.

It could be useful (particularly for reading primary sources such as Asser in the original), but it's not essential.

Reply 6

Minta

5

Latin can also be useful if you want to do the Palaeography paper, as you have to transcribe the texts ie copy out what they say. Sometimes words which come at the end of one line are continued on the next, so it helps to know enough Latin to be able to tell that 'omnibus' if split over 2 lines is not 2 separate words eg 'omni' and 'bus'. I intend to take this paper and don't even have Latin to GCSE, only to Year 9 standard, but I am hopeful that this won't cause serious problems.

Reply 7

oldthrashbarg

7

First of all, I should say that I'm not British, so I can't help you specifically with you choice of A-levels. I can however try to indicate the sort of skills that are likely to go down well with an admissions committee. You are also welcome to PM me.

I think the most important thing is to tailor your choices to the principle underlying the ASNC course. It is interdisciplinary, in that it doesn't focus on a particular discipline, but rather on culture, and then uses a variety of disciplines to study culture. Choose subjects that are interrelated, (and which will be relevant when studying early medieval culture) e.g. history, languages, literature, archaeology, and philosophy.

Since the history and literature covered in ASNC are rarely studied in depth at school, you need to show positively that you are knowledgeable about it, and that you have a real interest in it. I also think that ASNC is one of the courses where extra-curricular activities are most important. I would suggest reading at least some Icelandic sagas, Bedes Historia Ecclesiastica, Beowulf, and the Mabinogion. Think about their value as historical sources, and their value as literary products of the relevant cultures.

Good Luck!

Reply 8

Vivian

OP

Thanks for all the advice :smile:

Reply 9

ASNaC

H&E

The two main ASNAC tutors are Simon Keynes and David Dumbville. Both are full professors and very eminent scholars. Keynes is at Trinity, Dumbville is at Emmanuel (you should check this, I'm not 100% sure). Those colleges r v hard 2 get in2, so you may also look at other colleges where Dumbville or Keynes will tutor you (from memory, each of them was in charge of 3/4 colleges).

As for A-levels: I think candidates with neither English or History will be at a disadvantage, but both are not necessary. The course is about history, literature and old languages, so anything which shows interest in that will be useful.

btw, how carefully have you looked into the course? I thought about it at one point, but found that while at first glance it was very attractive, a closer look revealed a far less interesting course.

First of all Dumville (very important not to call him Dumbville) ONLY interviews for Girton and nowhere else, though Keynes interviews at a number of colleges including Trinity, where I am presently a 1st, soon to be 2nd, year ASNaC. Other interviewers who you may come up against are Maire, Richard Dance, Ros Love, David Pratt (who unfortunately is rather appropriately named), Judy Quin or Paul Russel. If you ahve any ideas about colleges let me know - some colleges don't seem to like ASNaC (beware of Christ's, they've only accepted one in recent years and he was deferred for a year). Basically let me know what you're up to and I can provide advice based on what I know about who will lecture you (in the case of many of them), or what my friends have told me in other cases.

But anyways, despite the discouraging comments some might make I can only offer encouragement - it is the best course at the university. I, unlike most my friends here enjoy study as much as socliasing (or at least almost as much...).

Reply 10

oldthrashbarg

7

ASNaC

Other interviewers who you may come up against are Maire, Richard Dance, Ros Love, David Pratt (who unfortunately is rather appropriately named)

Reply 11

Minta

5

Aha! A chance to finally find out how to pronounce Maire's surname whilst saving myself the embarrassment of actually asking her! Is it ni-mi-vway-nig or ni-mi-vaugh-nig or neither?

Reply 12

ASNaC

The first sounds basically right. To be honest I can't properly pronounce her name, and she is my dissertation advisor! It is quite entertaining at departmental functions when Keynes has to introduce her, because he doesn't know how to pronounce her name either :biggrin:

.

Reply 13

roxy potter

13

Minta

Aha! A chance to finally find out how to pronounce Maire's surname whilst saving myself the embarrassment of actually asking her! Is it ni-mi-vway-nig or ni-mi-vaugh-nig or neither?

is it spelt ni mhaonigh? if it is its pronounced ni won-ig

Reply 14

ASNaC

Spelt Ní Mhaonaigh.

Reply 15

roxy potter

13

ASNaC

Spelt Ní Mhaonaigh.

yeah. i think im right so it could be ni wane ig but id say ni won ig. it sort of depends what dialect you use.