The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature
(Cambridge Companions to Literature)
Malcolm Godden (Editor), Michael Lapidge (Editor)
Paperback: 376 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (2 May 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0521154022
ISBN-13: 978-0521154024
This book introduces students to the literature of Anglo-Saxon England, the period from 600-1066, in a collection of fifteen specially commissioned essays. The chapters are written by experts, but designed to be accessible to students who may be unfamiliar with Old English. The emphasis throughout is on placing texts in their contemporary context and suggesting ways in which they relate to each other and to the important events and issues of the time. With the help of maps and a chronological table of events the first chapters describe briefly the political, social and ecclesiastical history of the period and how poetry and prose in Latin and in the vernacular developed and flourished. A succinct account of Old English provides beginners with a handy guide to the rules of spelling, grammar and syntax. Subsequent chapters explore the range of Anglo-Saxon writing under different thematic headings. A final bibliography gives guidance on further reading.
Table of Contents:
1 – Anglo-Saxon society and its literature by Patrick Wormald
2 – The Old English language by Helmut Gneuss
3 – The nature of Old English verse by Donald G. Scragg
4 – The nature of Old English prose by Janet Bately
5 – Germanic legend in Old English literature by Roberta Frank
6 – Heroic values and Christian ethics by Katherine O’Brien O’Keeffe
7 – Pagan survivals and popular belief by John D. Niles
8 – Beowulf by Fred C. Robinson
9 – Fatalism and the millennium by Joseph B. Jr Trahern
10 – Perceptions of transience by Christine Fell
11 – Perceptions of eternity by Milton McC. Gatch
12 – Biblical literature by Malcolm Godden
13 – Biblical literature by Barbara C. Raw
14 – The saintly life in Anglo-Saxon England by Michael Lapidge
15 – The world of Anglo-Saxon learning by Patrizia Lendinara
Further reading
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pp. 282-291
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