Description
Book SynopsisCotton Claudius B.iv, an illustrated Old English Hexateuch that is among the treasures of the British Library, contains one of the first extended projects of translation of the Bible in a European vernacular. Its over four hundred images make it one of the most extensively illustrated books to survive from the early Middle Ages and preserve evidence of the creativity of the Anglo-Saxon artist and his knowledge of other important early medieval picture cycles. In addition, the manuscript contains the earliest copy of Ælfric’s Preface to Genesis, a work that discusses issues of translation and interpretation.
Table of ContentsManuscript Sigla
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: Aspects and Approaches by Rebecca Barnhouse and Benjamin C. Withers
The Preface as Admonition: Ælfric's Preface to Genesis by Melinda J. Menzer
Translation by Committee? The “Anonymous” Text of the Old English Hexateuch by Richard Marsden
Shaping the Hexateuch Text for an Anglo-Saxon Audience by Rebecca Barnhouse
Assessing the Liturgical Canticles from the Old English Hexateuch by Sarah Larratt Keefer
Fragmentary Versions of Genesis in Old English Prose: Context and Function by Mary P. Richards
A Program of Illumination in the Old English Illustrated Hexateuch: “Visual Typology”? by David F. Johnson
The Anglo-Saxon Genesis: Text, Illustration, and Audience by Catherine E. Karkov
The First Laugh: Laughter in Genesis and the Old English Tradition by Jonathan Wilcox
Early Modern Users of Claudius B. iv: Robert Talbot and William L'Isle by Timothy Graham
A Sense of Englishness: Claudius B. iv, Colonialism, and the History of Anglo-Saxon Art in the Mid-Twentieth Century by Benjamin C. Withers
Index of Manuscripts
General Index
