Description
Book Synopsis* Introduces Old English texts and considers their relation to Anglo--Saxon culture. * Responds to renewed emphasis on historical and cultural contexts in the field of medieval studies. * Treats virtually the entire range of textual types preserved in Old English.
Trade Review“Now the oldest English texts have a literary history for the twenty-first century. One of the chief virtues of
A History of Old English Literature is the rich elaboration of contexts, extending from the manuscripts to the literary and intellectual world of Anglo-Saxon England, to the early modern criticism, and to the most recent critical reception.”
Professor Daniel Donoghue, HarvardUniversity
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations vi
Preface vii
Introduction
Anglo-Saxon England and Its Literature: A Social History 1
1 The Chronology and Varieties of Old English Literature 36
2 Literature of the Alfredian Period 48
3 Homilies 70
4 Saints’ Legends, by Rachel S. Anderson 87
5 Biblical Literature 106
6 Liturgical and Devotional Texts 120
7 Legal, Scientific, and Scholastic Works 148
8 Wisdom Literature and Lyric Poetry 164
9 Germanic Legend and Heroic Lay 193
Conclusion
Making Old English New: Anglo-Saxonism and the Cultural Work of Old English Literature 225
Notes 235
Works Cited 269
Index 339
