DOCSLIB.ORG

The Art and Craft of Anglo-Saxon Verse

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Art and Craft of Anglo-Saxon Verse Journal of the British Academy, 8, 295–399 DOI https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/008.295 Posted 9 December 2020 Alcuin and Cynewulf: the art and craft of Anglo-Saxon verse Andy Orchard Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Lecture, read 11 April 2019. Abstract: The essentially bilingual nature of Anglo-Saxon poetry is explored through the verse of two of the most prolific poets from the period, namely Alcuin and Cynewulf, composing primarily in Latin and Old English, respectively, but each reflecting knowledge and appreciation of verse in both languages. Both Alcuin and Cynewulf are shown to have consciously copied the works of their predecessors, and both in turn had their own verse evidently echoed by contemporary and later poets in both Anglo-Latin and Old English, so much so that they seem to have been the centres of closely identifiable ‘schools’ of verse, active at around the same period, within a decade or two either side of the year 800, and sharing a similar background, attitude, and training. An Appendix considers the authorship and identity of Cynewulf, and suggests that, like Alcuin, he too may be best situated at the interface of orality and literacy in contemporary Northumbria. Keywords: Alcuin, Cynewulf, Anglo-Saxon, Old English, Anglo-Latin, literacy, orality, Northumbria. Note on the author: Andy Orchard is Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2015. [email protected] © The author(s) 2020. This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License 296 Andy Orchard Around 60,000 lines of Anglo-Saxon poetry survive, split almost evenly between Latin and Old English, the twin main literary languages of the period. Yet while the modern scholarly study of Old English verse has flourished continuously for over two hundred years, witnessed in hundreds of books and thousands of papers and presentations, there has been far less scrutiny of Anglo-Latin poetry, with several of the current editions of leading poets more than a century old, and comparatively few dedicated studies.1 This paper seeks to compare and contrast two of the most prolific of those poets whose works have survived, namely Alcuin of York (c. 735–804) and Cynewulf (750 × 850), and whose poetic backgrounds and training, it will be suggested, seem to have been somewhat similar. Alcuin wrote his verse mostly abroad and in Latin (though it seems clear that he had some knowledge of Old English verse),2 while 1 There are some notable exceptions, especially Michael Lapidge, Anglo-Latin Literature 600–899 (London, Hambledon, 1996) and Anglo-Latin Literature 900–1066 (London, Hambledon, 1993), here- after ALL I and II. W. F. Bolton, A History of Anglo-Latin Literature I. 597–740 (Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1967). See too R. Dérolez, ‘Anglo-Saxon Literature: “Attic” or “Asiatic”? Old English Poetry and its Latin Background’, English Studies Today, 2nd ser. (1961), 93–105; M. Lapidge, ‘Aldhelm’s Latin Poetry and Old English Verse’, Comparative Literature, 31 (1979), 209–31; M. Lapidge, ‘The Anglo-Latin Background’, in A New Critical History of Old English Literature, ed. S. B. Greenfield & D. G. Calder (New York, New York University Press, 1986), 5–37; M. Lapidge, ‘Poeticism in Pre- Conquest Anglo-Latin Prose’, in Aspects of the Language of Latin Prose (Proceedings of the British Academy, 129; 2005), 321–37; M. Lapidge, ‘Two Notes on the Medieval Hexameter’, in Ingenio Facilis. Per Giovanni Orlandi (1938–2007), ed. P. Chiesa, A. M. Fagnoni & R. E. Guglielmetti (Florence, SISMEL, 2017), 123–47. See too A. Orchard, ‘Latin and the Vernacular Languages: The Creation of a Bilingual Textual Culture’, in After Rome, ed. T. Charles-Edwards (The Short Oxford History of the British Isles, 1; Oxford, OUP, 2003), 191–219; A. Orchard, ‘Enigma Variations: The Anglo-Saxon Riddle- tradition’, in Latin Learning and English Lore: Studies in Anglo-Saxon Literature for Michael Lapidge, ed. K. O’Brien O’Keeffe & A. Orchard, 2 vols. (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2005), I, 284–304. 2 On Alcuin in general, see S. Allott, Alcuin of York: his Life and Letters (York, William Sessions, 1974); E. Dümmler, ‘Zur Lebensgeschichte Alchvins’, Neues Archiv, 18 (1892–3), 51–70; D. Bullough, ‘Alcuin and the Kingdom of Heaven: Liturgy, Theology and the Carolingian Age’, in Carolingian Essays, ed. U.-R. Blumenthal (Washington, DC, Catholic University of America Press, 1983), 1–69; idem, ‘Albuinus deliciosus Karoli regis: Alcuin of York and the Shaping of the Early Carolingian Court’, in Institutionen, Kultur und Gesellschaft im Mittelalter: Festschrift für Josef Fleckenstein, ed. L. Fenske, W. Rösener & T. Zotz (Sigmaringen, Thorbecke, 1984), 73–92; D. A. Bullough, Alcuin: Achievement and Reputation. Being Part of the Ford Lectures Delivered in Oxford Hilary Term 1980 (Leiden, Brill, 2003); Marie-Hélène Jullien & Françoise Perelman (eds), Clavis Scriptorum Latinorum Medii Aevi: Auctores Galliae 735–987. Tomus II: Alcuinus (Turnhout, Brepols, 1999); Mary Garrison, ‘The Emergence of Carolingian Latin Literature and the Court of Charlemagne (780–814)’, in Carolingian Culture: Emulation and Innovation, ed. R. McKitterick (Cambridge, CUP, 1994), 111–40; Mary Garrison, ‘Alcuin’s World through his Letters and Verse’, (unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cambridge, 1995); P. D. Scott, ‘Alcuin as Poet: Rhetoric and Belief in his Latin Verse’, University of Toronto Quarterly, 33 (1964), 233–57; J. del Fattore, ‘Alcuin as a Poet’, The Classical Bulletin, 53 (1976–7), 46–8. For more general background, see too G. J. B. Gaskoin, Alcuin: His Life and Work (London, C. J. Clay, 1904); E. S. Duckett, Alcuin, Friend of Charlemagne (New York, Macmillan, 1951); L. Wallach, Alcuin and Charlemagne: Studies in Carolingian History and Literature (New York, Cornell University Press, 1953); D. A. Bullough, The Age of Alcuin and Cynewulf: the art and craft of Anglo-Saxon verse 297 Cynewulf wrote only at home and in Old English (though certainly with knowledge of Latin, and specifically of Latin verse).3 Moreover, both embedded their names in their verse, using different techniques and in different forms, and both readily self- identify as poets:4 Cynewulf signs himself twice in runes in that spelling, and twice in runes as Cynwulf, while in his poetry Alcuin refers to himself variously as Alcuinus, Alc(h)uine, Albin, Albinus, and Flaccus.5 The contrast and comparison between these important and influential poets, whom current opinion places at most within half a century of each other (and whose lives may even have overlapped) is, it will be sug- gested, not simply a question of shared interest but shared impetus, indeed shared training, perhaps coming from the same or similar schools: both echoed the works of previous poets, up to and including their own near-contemporaries, both came up with idiosyncratic phrasing and poetic techniques of their own, which they richly repurposed, and both became in turn models for ready reference and recycling by their students and poetic heirs. In effect, both Alcuin and Cynewulf built on Latin Charlemagne (London, Elek, 1973); D. A. Bullough, Carolingian Renewal: Sources and Heritage (Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1991). 3 Several book-length monographs have been published devoted to Cynewulf: S. K. Das, Cynewulf and the Cynewulf Canon (Calcutta, University of Calcutta, 1942); M.-M. Dubois, Les éléments latins dans la poésie religieuse de Cynewulf (Paris, E. Droz, 1943); C. Schaar, Critical Studies in the Cynewulf Group (Lund Studies in English, 17; Lund, C. W. K. Gleerup,1949); D. G. Calder, Cynewulf (Twayne’s English Authors Series, 327; Boston, MA, Twayne Publishers, 1981); E. R. Anderson, Cynewulf: Structure, Style and Theme in his Poetry (Rutherford, NJ, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1983); A. H. Olsen, Speech, Song, and Poetic Craft: the Artistry of the Cynewulf Canon (New York, Peter Lang, 1984); J. D. Wine, Figurative Language in Cynewulf: Defining Aspects of a Poetic Style (Studies in Old Germanic Languages and Literatures; New York, Peter Lang, 1993). Special mention should be made of the important set of collected papers edited by R. E. Bjork, Cynewulf: Basic Readings (Basic Readings in Anglo-Saxon England 4; New York and London, Routledge, 1996), and of translations by C. W. Kennedy The Poems of Cynewulf (London and New York, George Routledge, 1910); Robert E. Bjork (ed. and trans.), The Old English Poems of Cynewulf (Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 23; Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2013). 4 For a useful analysis, see Emily Thornbury, Becoming a Poet in Anglo-Saxon England (Cambridge, CUP, 2014), 27–34. In the closing line of his metrical Life of Willibrord (Carm. 3.34.83), Alcuin, uniquely spell- ing his name Alcuine in the Old English style, describes himself using the nonce-compound carmiger (‘song-bearer’) evidently modelled on the fairly common compound armiger (‘weapon-bearer’; in fact, Alcuin never uses the term in his verse), but perhaps equally modelled on the Old English term woð-bora (‘speech-bearer’; ‘orator’; ‘song-bearer’; ‘poet’), witnessed some seven times, predominantly in verse (ChristA 302b; Ridd31 24a; Ridd80 9a; Gifts 35a; OrWorld 2a; DEdg 33a; also once in a gloss, glossing rhetoribus). 5 More than 130 poems by Alcuin survive, mostly in E. Dümmler (ed.), Alcuini Carmina, ed. MGH PLAC 1 (Berlin, 1880), 160–351, but also scattered through several of his letters, which are compiled in E. Dümmler, ed., Epistolae Karolini Aevi, MGH, Epist. 4.2 (Berlin, 1895), 1–481. In just under half of those poems, Alcuin names himself, most often as Albinus (thirty-three times), Flaccus (twenty-three tmes), Alc(h)uinus (eight times); Alc(h)uine (five times; only one of which is Alcuine, in the closing line of his metrical Life of Willibrord [Carm.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Saint Patrick: Issues of Translation & His Enduring
    SAINT PATRICK: ISSUES OF TRANSLATION & HIS ENDURING PASTORAL MESSAGE A dissertation submitted to the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies Drew University in partial fulfillment of The requirements for the degree, Doctor of Letters Christina Isabella McGrath Drew University Madison, New Jersey May 2021 Copyright © 2021 by Christina Isabella McGrath All Rights Reserved Abstract Saint Patrick: Issues of Translation and His Enduring Pastoral Message Doctor of Letters Dissertation by Christina Isabella McGrath The Caspersen School of Graduate Studies Drew University May 2021 This dissertation attempts to discover the reason(s) for the worldwide interest in Saint Patrick of Ireland by focusing on the numerous translations of his two writings, the Confessio (The Confession of Saint Patrick) and the Epistola (The Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus). By analyzing seven specific twentieth century translations of the saint’s fifth century writings, the reader will discern subtle differences in each end product, leading to a unique message from Patrick. Working with the assertions that every translation is a political act of some kind and that the translator becomes part of the translation, specific passages from the saint’s writings are examined and discussed through the lens of translation theory along with survey responses from accessible translators. After delving into Patrician scholarship, the historical sources presenting Saint Patrick’s letters have been called into question, due to the personal agendas and biases of his seventh century biographers. Over the past 1500 years, both political and religious factions have usurped him for their own agendas. The end result of this exploration led to the discovery of a man who went to the end of his world to preach the Gospel, to convert the Irish to Christianity, and to share the love of his God with the place and people who once enslaved him.
    [Show full text]
  • Widsith Beowulf. Beowulf Beowulf
    CHAPTER 1 OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE The Old English language or Anglo-Saxon is the earliest form of English. The period is a long one and it is generally considered that Old English was spoken from about A.D. 600 to about 1100. Many of the poems of the period are pagan, in particular Widsith and Beowulf. The greatest English poem, Beowulf is the first English epic. The author of Beowulf is anonymous. It is a story of a brave young man Beowulf in 3182 lines. In this epic poem, Beowulf sails to Denmark with a band of warriors to save the King of Denmark, Hrothgar. Beowulf saves Danish King Hrothgar from a terrible monster called Grendel. The mother of Grendel who sought vengeance for the death of her son was also killed by Beowulf. Beowulf was rewarded and became King. After a prosperous reign of some forty years, Beowulf slays a dragon but in the fight he himself receives a mortal wound and dies. The poem concludes with the funeral ceremonies in honour of the dead hero. Though the poem Beowulf is little interesting to contemporary readers, it is a very important poem in the Old English period because it gives an interesting picture of the life and practices of old days. The difficulty encountered in reading Old English Literature lies in the fact that the language is very different from that of today. There was no rhyme in Old English poems. Instead they used alliteration. Besides Beowulf, there are many other Old English poems. Widsith, Genesis A, Genesis B, Exodus, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, Wife’s Lament, Husband’s Message, Christ and Satan, Daniel, Andreas, Guthlac, The Dream of the Rood, The Battle of Maldon etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Jordan of Bristol: from the Catacombs of Rome to College
    THE BRISTOL BRANCH OF THE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION LOCAL HISTORY PAMPHLETS SAINT JORDAN OF B�ISTOL: FROM THE CATACOMBS OF ROME Hon. General Editor: PETER HARRIS TO COLLEGE GREEN AT BRISTOL Assistant General Editor: NORMA KNIGHT Editorial Advisor: JOSEPH BETTEY THE CHAPEL OF ST JORDAN ON COLLEGE GREEN Intercessions at daily services in Bristol Cathedral conclude with the Saint Jordan of Bristol: from the Cataconibs of Rome to College Green at following act of commitment and memorial: Bristol is the one hundred and twentieth pamphlet in this series. We commit ourselves, one another and our whole life to Christ David Higgins was Head of the Department of Italian Studies at the our God ... remembering all who have gone before us in faith, and University of Bristol until retirement in 1995. His teaching and research in communion with Mary, the Apostles Peter and Paul, Augustine embraced the political, cultural and linguistic history of Italy in its and Jordan and all the Saints. Mediterranean and European contexts from the Late Roman Period to the Patron Saints of a city, as opposed to a country, are a matter of local Middle Ages, while his publications include Dante: The Divine Comedy choice and tradition - in England he or she is normally the patron saint (Oxford World's Classics 1993) as well as articles in archaeological journals of the city's Cathedral: St Paul (London), St Augustine (Canterbury), St Mary on the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods of the Bristol area, and in this and St Ethelbert (Hereford); while St David of Wales and St Andrew of series The History of the Bristol Region in the Roman Period and The· Scotland gave their names to the cities in question.
    [Show full text]
  • The Eccesiastical History of the English Nation (And Lives of Saints and Bishops) [1916]
    The Online Library of Liberty A Project Of Liberty Fund, Inc. Saint Bede, The Eccesiastical History of the English Nation (and Lives of Saints and Bishops) [1916] The Online Library Of Liberty This E-Book (PDF format) is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a private, non-profit, educational foundation established in 1960 to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. 2010 was the 50th anniversary year of the founding of Liberty Fund. It is part of the Online Library of Liberty web site http://oll.libertyfund.org, which was established in 2004 in order to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. To find out more about the author or title, to use the site's powerful search engine, to see other titles in other formats (HTML, facsimile PDF), or to make use of the hundreds of essays, educational aids, and study guides, please visit the OLL web site. This title is also part of the Portable Library of Liberty DVD which contains over 1,000 books and quotes about liberty and power, and is available free of charge upon request. The cuneiform inscription that appears in the logo and serves as a design element in all Liberty Fund books and web sites is the earliest-known written appearance of the word “freedom” (amagi), or “liberty.” It is taken from a clay document written about 2300 B.C. in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash, in present day Iraq. To find out more about Liberty Fund, Inc., or the Online Library of Liberty Project, please contact the Director at [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Purgatoire Saint Patrice, Short Metrical Chronicle, Fouke Le Fitz Waryn, and King Horn
    ROMANCES COPIED BY THE LUDLOW SCRIBE: PURGATOIRE SAINT PATRICE, SHORT METRICAL CHRONICLE, FOUKE LE FITZ WARYN, AND KING HORN A dissertation submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Catherine A. Rock May 2008 Dissertation written by Catherine A. Rock B. A., University of Akron, 1981 B. A., University of Akron, 1982 B. M., University of Akron, 1982 M. I. B. S., University of South Carolina, 1988 M. A. Kent State University, 1991 M. A. Kent State University, 1998 Ph. D., Kent State University, 2008 Approved by ___________________________________, Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Susanna Fein ___________________________________, Members, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Don-John Dugas ___________________________________ Kristen Figg ___________________________________ David Raybin ___________________________________ Isolde Thyret Accepted by ___________________________________, Chair, Department of English Ronald J. Corthell ___________________________________, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Jerry Feezel ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………viii Chapter I. Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Significance of the Topic…………………………………………………..2 Survey of the State of the Field……………………………………………5 Manuscript Studies: 13th-14th C. England………………………...5 Scribal Studies: 13th-14th C. England……………………………13 The Ludlow Scribe of Harley 2253……………………………...19 British Library
    [Show full text]
  • The Intertextuality of Beowulf, Cynewulf and Andreas1
    The departure of the hero in a ship: The intertextuality of Beowulf , Cynewulf and Andreas 1 Francis Leneghan University of Oxford This article identifies a new Old English poetic motif, ‘The Departure of the Hero in a Ship’, and discusses the implications of its presence in Beowulf , the signed poems of Cynewulf and Andreas , a group of texts already linked by shared lexis, imagery and themes. It argues that the Beowulf -poet used this motif to frame his work, foregrounding the question of royal succession. Cynewulf and the Andreas -poet then adapted this Beowulfian motif in a knowing and allusive manner for a new purpose: to glorify the church and to condemn its enemies. Investigation of this motif provides further evidence for the intertextuality of these works. Keywords : Old English poetry; Beowulf , Cynewulf; Andreas ; Anglo-Saxon literature 1. Introduction Scholars have identified a number of ‘motifs’, ‘themes’ or ‘type scenes’ in Old English poetry. Two of the best-known such motifs are ‘the beasts of battle’, typically featuring the carrion eagle, wolf and raven, anticipating or rejoicing in slaughter (Magoun 1955, Bonjour 1957, Griffith 1993), and ‘the hero on the beach’, wherein a hero is depicted with his retainers in the presence of a flashing light, as a sea-journey is completed (or begun), usually at dawn 1 I would like to thank Daniel Anlezark, Hugh Magennis, Richard North, Andy Orchard, Rafael Pascual and Daniel Thomas for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this article. Francis Leneghan, Selim24 (2019): 105 –132. ISSN 1132-631X / DOI https://doi.org/10.17811/selim.24.2019.105-134 106 Francis Leneghan (Crowne 1960: 368; Fry 1966, 1971).2 Broadening the focus to consider both Old English verse and prose, Mercedes Salvador Bello identified the ‘leitmotif’ of ‘the arrival of the hero in a ship’ in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf , featuring “a recurrent thematic pattern which presents the story of the heroes (or the hero) who arrive from northern lands in a boat and become the ancestors of Anglo-Saxon dynasties” (1998: 214).
    [Show full text]
  • Kent Academic Repository Full Text Document (Pdf)
    Kent Academic Repository Full text document (pdf) Citation for published version Gallagher, Robert and TINTI, FRANCESCA (2018) Latin, Old English and documentary practice at Worcester from Wærferth to Oswald. Anglo-Saxon England . ISSN 0263-6751. (In press) DOI Link to record in KAR https://kar.kent.ac.uk/72334/ Document Version Author's Accepted Manuscript Copyright & reuse Content in the Kent Academic Repository is made available for research purposes. Unless otherwise stated all content is protected by copyright and in the absence of an open licence (eg Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher, author or other copyright holder. Versions of research The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record. Enquiries For any further enquiries regarding the licence status of this document, please contact: [email protected] If you believe this document infringes copyright then please contact the KAR admin team with the take-down information provided at http://kar.kent.ac.uk/contact.html Latin, Old English and documentary practice at Worcester from Wærferth to Oswald ROBERT GALLAGHER AND FRANCESCA TINTI ABSTRACT This article analyses the uses of Latin and Old English in the charters of Worcester cathedral, which represents one of the largest and most linguistically interesting of the surviving Anglo-Saxon archives. Specifically focused on the period encompassing the episcopates of Wærferth and Oswald (c. 870 to 992), this survey examines a time of intense administrative activity at Worcester, contemporaneous with significant transformations in the political and cultural life of Anglo-Saxon England more generally.
    [Show full text]
  • University of California, Los Angeles Invisible Labor In
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES INVISIBLE LABOR IN THE MEDIEVAL WORLD A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS BY ANGIE RODRGUEZ ADVISOR: MATTHEW FISHER LOS ANGELES, CA MARCH 11, 2020 ABSTRACT INVISIBLE LABOR IN THE MEDIEVAL WORLD BY ANGIE RODRIGUEZ This thesis explores invisible labor, which is a conteMporary term, as written in Old English literature. This thesis contends that invisible labor refers to labor that is ignored, underpaid, oftentiMes spans across social hierarchies and is socially constructed. The first part of this thesis goes into the conteMporary understanding of invisible labor, how this understanding leads to recognition of invisible labor in Old English literature and shows that this labor is not gender specific. The second part of this thesis goes into peace-weaving as invisible labor, which had been culturally considered women’s work and economically devalued, as depicted by the actions of Wealhtheow when she serves mead and speaks up for her sons in Beowulf and heroic actions of killing Holofernes by Judith in Judith. The third part of this thesis explores peaceMaker as invisible labor, as depicted by Wiglaf serving “water” in Beowulf, Widsith taking Ealhhild to her new king in Widsith, Constantine taking advice from the Angel as depicted in Cynewulf’s Elene, the soldiers standing by King Athelstan and defeating the Scots in “The Battle of Brunburgh,” and the men being faithful to AEthelred against the Vikings in “The Battle of Maldon.” In analyzing invisible labor as depicted in Old English literature, what may be viewed in conteMporary terms as “ordinary” work of service that is easily disMissed and unrecognized, will bring insight into how invisible labor was seen in Old English literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England
    Bede©s Ecclesiastical History of England Author(s): Bede, St. ("The Venerable," c. 673-735) (Translator) Publisher: Description: The Ecclesiastical History of England examines the religious and political history of the Anglo-Saxons from the fifth century to 731 AD. St. Bede©s historical survey opens with a broad outline of Roman Britain©s geography and history. St. Bede pays special attention to the disagreement between Roman and Celtic Christians, the dates and locations of significant events in the Christian calendar, and political upheaval during the 600©s. St. Bede collected information from a variety of monasteries, early Church and government writings, and the oral histories of Rome and Britain. This book is useful to people looking for a brief survey of religious and political fig- ures and events in Anglo-Saxon history. Readers should re- cognize that St. Bede©s religious and political biases are subtly reflected in his historiography, diminishing its objectiv- ity. Nonetheless, his Ecclesiastical History of England is one of the most important texts of the Anglo-Saxon history. The book©s historical import is evidenced by the fact that nearly 200 hand written copies were produced in the Middle Ages. St. Bede©s text has since been translated into several different languages. Emmalon Davis CCEL Staff Writer Subjects: Christianity History By Region or Country i Contents Title Page 1 Preface 2 Introduction 3 Life of Bede 11 The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation 18 Book I 18 I. Of the Situation of Britain and Ireland, and of their ancient inhabitants 19 II. How Caius Julius Caesar was the first Roman that came into Britain.
    [Show full text]
  • Apostolic Discourse and Christian Identity in Anglo-Saxon Literature
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository APOSTOLIC DISCOURSE AND CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IN ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE BY SHANNON NYCOLE GODLOVE DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2010 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Charles D. Wright, Chair Associate Professor Renée Trilling Associate Professor Robert W. Barrett Professor Emerita Marianne Kalinke ii ABSTRACT “Apostolic Discourse and Christian Identity in Anglo-Saxon Literature” argues that Anglo-Saxon religious writers used traditions about the apostles to inspire and interpret their peoples’ own missionary ambitions abroad, to represent England itself as a center of religious authority, and to articulate a particular conception of inspired authorship. This study traces the formation and adaptation of apostolic discourse (a shared but evolving language based on biblical and literary models) through a series of Latin and vernacular works including the letters of Boniface, the early vitae of the Anglo- Saxon missionary saints, the Old English poetry of Cynewulf, and the anonymous poem Andreas. This study demonstrates how Anglo-Saxon authors appropriated the experiences and the authority of the apostles to fashion Christian identities for members of the emerging English church in the seventh and eighth centuries, and for vernacular religious poets and their readers in the later Anglo-Saxon period. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to many people for their help and support throughout the duration of this dissertation project.
    [Show full text]
  • Cynewulf's Juliana
    CYNEWULF’S JULIANA: AN ANNOTATED MODERN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY Rosetta M. Berger A Study Presented to the Faculty of Wheaton College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation with Departmental Honors in English Norton, Massachusetts May 11, 2015 i Ic wille secgan ealles þonc, eow þe me geholpen hæfdon geara gongum, þæt ic æfre stande æghwæs onsund: To my parents: Mom and Dad, for always being there and supporting me every step of the way; To my siblings: Sara and Lewis, for love, laughs, and lifelong friendship; To my heorðgeneatas: Nina Forrest, for every day of making the world a better place together; Namiko Hitotsubashi, for many late nights and every paper written together; To all of my friends and family who have given me love and support along the way—you have all of my love and gratitude; To my fellow thesis writers: Elizabeth Peterson, for all the times we’ve shared from Young 3rd to Meneely 2nd; Jonathan Gerkin, for his theological contributions; And to my thesis committee: Professor Thomas Dolack, за четыре года поддержки и отличного преподавания; Professor Sam Coale, for his love of his students and of life; And last, but most certainly not least, Professor Michael Drout, for being an incredible, supportive, and inspiring professor, mentor, colleague, and friend throughout my college career. Wesað ge ealle hale. ii Contents Introduction 1 The Legend of Juliana ............................... 2 Manuscript and Text ............................... 7 Dialect ....................................... 8 Notes on Translation ............................... 10 1 Cynewulf’s Juliana: A Modern English Translation 17 Modern English .................................. 18 Old English .................................... 45 Bibliography 73 iii Introduction Although there has been and continues to be much scholarship on the relationship between Old English and Middle English literature, there has been very little discussion about the relationship between the Old English and Middle English versions of the saint’s life of Juliana.
    [Show full text]
  • A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
    426 CATALOGUE OF MANUSCRIPTS [i82- Vellum, ii£x8, ff. 179+1, 29 lines to a page. Cent, xv, clearly written in a rather current hand. Collation: i flyleaf, I8 (6, 7 of cent, xvi) 2" (1-6 of cent, xvi) 38-228 (6-8 of cent, xvi) 23 (three). f. i a is finely bordered in gold and colour in characteristic English style and has decorative initial on gold ground, somewhat rubbed. Contents: Here begynneth a booke in Englissh tonge called Brute of Englonde or the cronicles of Englonde compilinge and treatynge of the saide lande etc. f. I —conteynyng cc and xxxvij chapiters. The pr(o)loge of this booke declareth and tellith howe }>is lande was furst callid Albioun —and slowe many of hem Sum tyme in the noble lande of Surr'. A fragment of the original fol. 6 (see collation above) is inserted after f. 60. At f. 151 (ch. 239: death of Edward III) is a note by Parker: hie terminatur unus liber (a reference to no. 174). Ends with ch. 245: restid him in the castell tille the toun was sette in Rule and Goueranase (!). Colophon (xvi). Expl. usque ad annum 7m Henrici quinti. The last edition is by Dr F. Brie (E. E. T. S.). On a fly-leaf is a Parkerian note from Goscelin's Life of St Augustine, and the Scala Chronica. 183. BEDAE VITA CUTHBERTI. J Under D. 5 GENEALOGIAE ETC. \ T. James 369 Codex membranaceus in 4*°, vetustioribus literis Saxonicis Latine scriptus, in quo continentur, Vellum, 11^ x 7^, ff.
    [Show full text]