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Swallows and Humans in Wales: historical and modern feeding strategies

Lee Raye

Medieval Animal Data-Network

Swansea University Author: Lee Raye

Abstract

The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica ) is a highly successful species of bird found on every continent. It is commensal with humans and has a long history of exploiting human industry for its home and food. After a very brief species history, this article provides a modern case study, looking at the be...

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Published in: Medieval Animal Data-Network
Published: 2017
Online Access: https://mad.hypotheses.org/972
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa37395
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Abstract: The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica ) is a highly successful species of bird found on every continent. It is commensal with humans and has a long history of exploiting human industry for its home and food. After a very brief species history, this article provides a modern case study, looking at the behaviour of swallows at Cardiff University in Wales to inform a new reading of the metaphor of the swallow and the sea-swallow in the medieval Welsh ‘Culhwch ac Olwen’.
Item Description: This is a note on The Medieval Animal Data-Network, a peer-reviewed blog.
Keywords: commensal, Culhwch ac Olwen, medieval Welsh, species history, swallow
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences