Description
Book SynopsisThe Anglo-Saxon Literature Handbook presents an accessible introduction to the surviving works of prose and poetry produced in Anglo-Saxon England, from AD 410-1066.
- Makes Anglo-Saxon literature accessible to modern readers
- Helps readers to overcome the linguistic, aesthetic and cultural barriers to understanding and appreciating Anglo-Saxon verse and prose
- Introduces readers to the language, politics, and religion of the Anglo-Saxon literary world
- Presents original readings of such works as Beowulf, The Battle of Maldon, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Trade Review"(An) accessible, invaluable book. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-and upper-division undergraduates." (
Choice, 1 January 2014)
Table of ContentsPreface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Note on the Text xvii
List of Abbreviations xix
Part 1 Anglo-Saxon England: Backgrounds and Beginnings 1
Political History 3
Ecclesiastical History 11
Intellectual History 15
Linguistic History 20
Literary History 24
Traditions: Oral and Literate 27
A Note on Dating Anglo-Saxon Texts 30
Part 2 Anglo-Saxon Prose 33
The Writings of King Alfred the Great 35
Alfred’s Translation of Pope Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care 36
Alfred’s Translation of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy 42
Alfred’s Translation of St Augustine’s Soliloquies 47
Alfred’s Translations of the Prose Psalms of the Paris Psalter 51
Alfred’s Preface to Wærferth’s Translation of Pope Gregory’s Dialogues 54
The Vercelli Homilies 56
The Blickling Homilies 62
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 67
The Old English Orosius 72
Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People 78
Apollonius of Tyre 87
The Old English Martyrology 92
The Life of St Guthlac 96
The Wonders of the East, The Letter of Alexander to Aristotle, and The Life of St Christopher 99
Bald’s Leechbook and Leechbook III 105
The Writings of Wulfstan, Archbishop of York 109
The Writings of Ælfric of Eynsham 116
Catholic Homilies 122
Lives of Saints 126
Colloquy on the Occupations 127
Ælfric as Author 130
Part 3 Anglo-Saxon Poetry 135
The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Tradition 137
Cædmon’s Hymn 147
Bede’s Death Song 152
The Junius Manuscript 154
Genesis 155
Genesis A 156
Genesis B 157
Exodus 162
Daniel 167
Christ and Satan 170
The Poems of the Vercelli Book 176
Andreas 177
Fates of the Apostles 185
Soul and Body I (and II) 188
Homiletic Fragment I 192
The Dream of the Rood 192
Elene 197
The Exeter Book 202
The Advent Lyrics (Christ I) 203
The Ascension (Christ II) 206
Christ in Judgement (Christ III) 209
Life of St Guthlac 212
Guthlac A 213
Guthlac B 215
Azarias 219
The Phoenix 221
Juliana 225
The Wanderer 229
The Gifts of Men 233
Precepts 234
The Seafarer 235
Vainglory 237
Widsið 240
The Fortunes of Men 242
Maxims (I) 244
The Order of the World 246
The Rhyming Poem 247
The Panther, The Whale, The Partridge (The Old English Physiologus) 249
Soul and Body II (and I) 252
Deor 253
Wulf and Eadwacer 255
The Exeter Book Riddles 257
The Wife’s Lament 260
Judgement Day I 262
Resignation (A and B) 265
The Descent into Hell 267
Almsgiving 268
Pharaoh 269
The Lord’s Prayer I 270
Homiletic Fragment II 270
The Husband’s Message 271
The Ruin 273
The Poems of Cotton Vitellius A.xv 276
Beowulf 277
Judith 294
Poems from Various Manuscripts 300
The Metres of Boethius 300
The Metrical Psalms of the Paris Psalter 305
Solomon and Saturn I and II 307
The Menologium 311
The Rune Poem 313
The Poems of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 315
The Battle of Brunanburh 317
The Battle of Maldon 319
The Fight at Finnsburh 323
Waldere 326
Durham 329
Part 4 Critical Approaches 333
The Alterity of Anglo-Saxon Literature 335
Source Studies 339
Manuscript Studies 342
Grammatical and Syntactic Studies 343
Theoretical Perspectives 345
Part 5 Themes 361
Anglo-Saxon Thematics 363
Heroism 365
The End of the World 368
The Transitory Nature of Life 370
Fate 372
Wisdom 374
Otherness 376
Oral-Traditional Themes 378
Bibliography 381
Index 401
Index of Manuscripts 411
