Author: Leslie A. Donovan
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 9780859915687
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
Translations of eight saints' lives, giving an insight into women's religious culture in Anglo-Saxon England. Devout, virtuous and independent, the heroines of Old English saints' lives (one of the most popular literary genres of the middle ages) provided exemplars of personal and public inspiration for medieval Christians. The eight lives translated here are the earliest known vernacular accounts of the biographies of Æthelthryth, Agatha, Agnes, Cecilia, Eugenia, Euphrosyne, Lucy, and Mary of Egypt. They depict women escaping unwanted marriages, communicating with male relatives, acquiring an education, living autonomously as hermits, and achieving positions of leadership; such lives document not only the importance of spiritual faith to early Christian women, but also testify to how these women (and their audience) employed faith as a tool for empowerment. Each life is preceded by a brief description of the saint's cult from its early Christian origins to its presence in Anglo-Saxon culture. The translationis accompanied by an introduction establishing the general background for the genre, the conventions of women saints' lives, and women's religious culture in Anglo-Saxon England; and an interpretive essay exploring the relationships between explicit presentations of the female body and the strength of spiritual authority as exhibited in these texts completes the volume. LESLIE A. DONOVAN is Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico.
Women Saints Lives in Old English Prose
Author: Leslie A. Donovan
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 9780859915687
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
Translations of eight saints' lives, giving an insight into women's religious culture in Anglo-Saxon England. Devout, virtuous and independent, the heroines of Old English saints' lives (one of the most popular literary genres of the middle ages) provided exemplars of personal and public inspiration for medieval Christians. The eight lives translated here are the earliest known vernacular accounts of the biographies of Æthelthryth, Agatha, Agnes, Cecilia, Eugenia, Euphrosyne, Lucy, and Mary of Egypt. They depict women escaping unwanted marriages, communicating with male relatives, acquiring an education, living autonomously as hermits, and achieving positions of leadership; such lives document not only the importance of spiritual faith to early Christian women, but also testify to how these women (and their audience) employed faith as a tool for empowerment. Each life is preceded by a brief description of the saint's cult from its early Christian origins to its presence in Anglo-Saxon culture. The translationis accompanied by an introduction establishing the general background for the genre, the conventions of women saints' lives, and women's religious culture in Anglo-Saxon England; and an interpretive essay exploring the relationships between explicit presentations of the female body and the strength of spiritual authority as exhibited in these texts completes the volume. LESLIE A. DONOVAN is Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico.
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 9780859915687
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
Translations of eight saints' lives, giving an insight into women's religious culture in Anglo-Saxon England. Devout, virtuous and independent, the heroines of Old English saints' lives (one of the most popular literary genres of the middle ages) provided exemplars of personal and public inspiration for medieval Christians. The eight lives translated here are the earliest known vernacular accounts of the biographies of Æthelthryth, Agatha, Agnes, Cecilia, Eugenia, Euphrosyne, Lucy, and Mary of Egypt. They depict women escaping unwanted marriages, communicating with male relatives, acquiring an education, living autonomously as hermits, and achieving positions of leadership; such lives document not only the importance of spiritual faith to early Christian women, but also testify to how these women (and their audience) employed faith as a tool for empowerment. Each life is preceded by a brief description of the saint's cult from its early Christian origins to its presence in Anglo-Saxon culture. The translationis accompanied by an introduction establishing the general background for the genre, the conventions of women saints' lives, and women's religious culture in Anglo-Saxon England; and an interpretive essay exploring the relationships between explicit presentations of the female body and the strength of spiritual authority as exhibited in these texts completes the volume. LESLIE A. DONOVAN is Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico.
Holy Men and Holy Women
Author: Paul E. Szarmach
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780585076072
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780585076072
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Writing Women Saints in Anglo-Saxon England
Author: Paul E. Szarmach
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442646128
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
The twelve essays in this collection advance the contemporary study of the women saints of Anglo-Saxon England by challenging received wisdom and offering alternative methodologies. The work embraces a number of different scholarly approaches, from codicological study to feminist theory. While some contributions are dedicated to the description and reconstruction of female lives of saints and their cults, others explore the broader ideological and cultural investments of the literature. The volume concentrates on four major areas: the female saint in the Old English Martyrology, genre including hagiography and homelitic writing, motherhood and chastity, and differing perspectives on lives of virgin martyrs. The essays reveal how saints' lives that exist on the apparent margins of orthodoxy actually demonstrate a successful literary challenge extending the idea of a holy life.
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442646128
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
The twelve essays in this collection advance the contemporary study of the women saints of Anglo-Saxon England by challenging received wisdom and offering alternative methodologies. The work embraces a number of different scholarly approaches, from codicological study to feminist theory. While some contributions are dedicated to the description and reconstruction of female lives of saints and their cults, others explore the broader ideological and cultural investments of the literature. The volume concentrates on four major areas: the female saint in the Old English Martyrology, genre including hagiography and homelitic writing, motherhood and chastity, and differing perspectives on lives of virgin martyrs. The essays reveal how saints' lives that exist on the apparent margins of orthodoxy actually demonstrate a successful literary challenge extending the idea of a holy life.
The Discourse of Enclosure
Author: Shari Horner
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791490440
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 222
Book Description
2001 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Exploring Old English texts ranging from Beowulf to Ælfric's Lives of Saints, this book examines ways that women's monastic, material, and devotional practices in Anglo-Saxon England shaped literary representations of women and femininity. Horner argues that these representations derive from a "discourse" of female monastic enclosure, based on the increasingly strict rules of cloistered confinement that regulated the female religious body in the early Middle Ages. She shows that the female subjects of much Old English literature are enclosed by many layers—literal and figurative, textual, material, discursive, spatial—all of which image and reinforce the powerful institutions imposed by the Church on the female body. Though it has long been recognized that medieval religious women were enclosed, and that virginity was highly valued, this book is the first to consider the interrelationships of these two positions—that is, how the material practices of female monasticism inform the textual operations of Old English literature.
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791490440
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 222
Book Description
2001 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Exploring Old English texts ranging from Beowulf to Ælfric's Lives of Saints, this book examines ways that women's monastic, material, and devotional practices in Anglo-Saxon England shaped literary representations of women and femininity. Horner argues that these representations derive from a "discourse" of female monastic enclosure, based on the increasingly strict rules of cloistered confinement that regulated the female religious body in the early Middle Ages. She shows that the female subjects of much Old English literature are enclosed by many layers—literal and figurative, textual, material, discursive, spatial—all of which image and reinforce the powerful institutions imposed by the Church on the female body. Though it has long been recognized that medieval religious women were enclosed, and that virginity was highly valued, this book is the first to consider the interrelationships of these two positions—that is, how the material practices of female monasticism inform the textual operations of Old English literature.
Old English Literature
Author: John D. Niles
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118598830
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
This review of the critical reception of Old English literature from 1900 to the present moves beyond a focus on individual literary texts so as to survey the different schools, methods, and assumptions that have shaped the discipline. Examines the notable works and authors from the period, including Beowulf, the Venerable Bede, heroic poems, and devotional literature Reinforces key perspectives with excerpts from ten critical studies Addresses questions of medieval literacy, textuality, and orality, as well as style, gender, genre, and theme Embraces the interdisciplinary nature of the field with reference to historical studies, religious studies, anthropology, art history, and more
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118598830
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
This review of the critical reception of Old English literature from 1900 to the present moves beyond a focus on individual literary texts so as to survey the different schools, methods, and assumptions that have shaped the discipline. Examines the notable works and authors from the period, including Beowulf, the Venerable Bede, heroic poems, and devotional literature Reinforces key perspectives with excerpts from ten critical studies Addresses questions of medieval literacy, textuality, and orality, as well as style, gender, genre, and theme Embraces the interdisciplinary nature of the field with reference to historical studies, religious studies, anthropology, art history, and more
Aelfric's Lives of saints
Author: Aelfric
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Christian saints
Languages : en
Pages : 572
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Christian saints
Languages : en
Pages : 572
Book Description
The Christian Tradition in Anglo-Saxon England
Author: Paul Cavill
Publisher: DS Brewer
ISBN: 9780859918411
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 238
Book Description
Essays exploring a wide array of sources that show the importance of Christian ideas and influences in Anglo-Saxon England. A unique and important contribution to both teaching and scholarship. Professor Elaine Treharne, Stanford University. This is a collection of essays exploring a wide array of sources that show the importance ofChristian ideas and influences in Anglo-Saxon England. The range of treatment is exceptionally diverse. Some of the essays develop new approaches to familiar texts, such as Beowulf, The Wanderer and The Seafarer; others deal with less familiar texts and genres to illustrate the role of Christian ideas in a variety of contexts, from preaching to remembrance of the dead, and from the court of King Cnut to the monastic library. Some of the essays are informative, providing essential background material for understanding the nature of the Bible, or the distinction between monastic and cleric in Anglo-Saxon England; others provide concise surveys of material evidence orgenres; others still show how themes can be used in constructing and evaluating courses teaching the tradition. Contributors: GRAHAM CAIE, PAUL CAVILL, CATHERINE CUBITT, JUDITH JESCH, RICHARD MARSDEN, ELISABETH OKASHA, BARBARA C. RAW, PHILIPPA SEMPER, DABNEY BANKERT, SANTHA BHATTACHARJI, HUGH MAGENNIS, MARY SWAN, JONATHAN M. WOODING.
Publisher: DS Brewer
ISBN: 9780859918411
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 238
Book Description
Essays exploring a wide array of sources that show the importance of Christian ideas and influences in Anglo-Saxon England. A unique and important contribution to both teaching and scholarship. Professor Elaine Treharne, Stanford University. This is a collection of essays exploring a wide array of sources that show the importance ofChristian ideas and influences in Anglo-Saxon England. The range of treatment is exceptionally diverse. Some of the essays develop new approaches to familiar texts, such as Beowulf, The Wanderer and The Seafarer; others deal with less familiar texts and genres to illustrate the role of Christian ideas in a variety of contexts, from preaching to remembrance of the dead, and from the court of King Cnut to the monastic library. Some of the essays are informative, providing essential background material for understanding the nature of the Bible, or the distinction between monastic and cleric in Anglo-Saxon England; others provide concise surveys of material evidence orgenres; others still show how themes can be used in constructing and evaluating courses teaching the tradition. Contributors: GRAHAM CAIE, PAUL CAVILL, CATHERINE CUBITT, JUDITH JESCH, RICHARD MARSDEN, ELISABETH OKASHA, BARBARA C. RAW, PHILIPPA SEMPER, DABNEY BANKERT, SANTHA BHATTACHARJI, HUGH MAGENNIS, MARY SWAN, JONATHAN M. WOODING.
Humour in Old English Literature
Author: Jonathan Wilcox
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487545703
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 294
Book Description
Humour in Old English Literature deploys modern theories of humour to explore the style and content of surviving writing from early medieval England. The book analyses Old English riddles, wisdom literature, runic writing, the deployment of rhymes, and humour in heroic poetry, hagiography, and romance. Drawing on a fine-tuned understanding of literary technique, the book presents a revisionist view of Old English literature, partly by reclaiming often-neglected texts and partly by uncovering ironies and embarrassments within well-established works, including Beowulf. Most surprisingly, Jonathan Wilcox engages the large body of didactic literature, pinpointing humour in two anonymous homilies along with extensive use in saints’ lives. Each chapter ends by revealing a different audience that would have shared in the laughter. Wilcox suggests that the humour of Old English literature has been scantily covered in past scholarship because modern readers expect a dour and serious corpus. Humour in Old English Literature aims to break that cycle by highlighting works and moments that are as entertaining now as they were then.
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487545703
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 294
Book Description
Humour in Old English Literature deploys modern theories of humour to explore the style and content of surviving writing from early medieval England. The book analyses Old English riddles, wisdom literature, runic writing, the deployment of rhymes, and humour in heroic poetry, hagiography, and romance. Drawing on a fine-tuned understanding of literary technique, the book presents a revisionist view of Old English literature, partly by reclaiming often-neglected texts and partly by uncovering ironies and embarrassments within well-established works, including Beowulf. Most surprisingly, Jonathan Wilcox engages the large body of didactic literature, pinpointing humour in two anonymous homilies along with extensive use in saints’ lives. Each chapter ends by revealing a different audience that would have shared in the laughter. Wilcox suggests that the humour of Old English literature has been scantily covered in past scholarship because modern readers expect a dour and serious corpus. Humour in Old English Literature aims to break that cycle by highlighting works and moments that are as entertaining now as they were then.
Medieval Women's Writing
Author: Diane Watt
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 074565763X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 229
Book Description
Medieval Women's Writing is a major new contribution to our understanding of women's writing in England, 1100-1500. The most comprehensive account to date, it includes writings in Latin and French as well as English, and works for as well as by women. Marie de France, Clemence of Barking, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, and the Paston women are discussed alongside the Old English lives of women saints, The Life of Christina of Markyate, the St Albans Psalter, and the legends of women saints by Osbern Bokenham. Medieval Women's Writing addresses these key questions: Who were the first women authors in the English canon? What do we mean by women's writing in the Middle Ages? What do we mean by authorship? How can studying medieval writing contribute to our understanding of women's literary history? Diane Watt argues that female patrons, audiences, readers, and even subjects contributed to the production of texts and their meanings, whether written by men or women. Only an understanding of textual production as collaborative enables us to grasp fully women's engagement with literary culture. This radical rethinking of early womens literary history has major implications for all scholars working on medieval literature, on ideas of authorship, and on women's writing in later periods. The book will become standard reading for all students of these debates.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 074565763X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 229
Book Description
Medieval Women's Writing is a major new contribution to our understanding of women's writing in England, 1100-1500. The most comprehensive account to date, it includes writings in Latin and French as well as English, and works for as well as by women. Marie de France, Clemence of Barking, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, and the Paston women are discussed alongside the Old English lives of women saints, The Life of Christina of Markyate, the St Albans Psalter, and the legends of women saints by Osbern Bokenham. Medieval Women's Writing addresses these key questions: Who were the first women authors in the English canon? What do we mean by women's writing in the Middle Ages? What do we mean by authorship? How can studying medieval writing contribute to our understanding of women's literary history? Diane Watt argues that female patrons, audiences, readers, and even subjects contributed to the production of texts and their meanings, whether written by men or women. Only an understanding of textual production as collaborative enables us to grasp fully women's engagement with literary culture. This radical rethinking of early womens literary history has major implications for all scholars working on medieval literature, on ideas of authorship, and on women's writing in later periods. The book will become standard reading for all students of these debates.
Woman As Hero In Old English Literature
Author: Jane Chance
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1597522600
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
The first comprehensive study of heroic women figures in Anglo-Saxon literature investigates English secular and religious prose and poetry from the seventh to the eleventh centuries. Given the paucity of surviving literature from the Anglo-Saxon period, the works which feature major women characters -- often portrayed as heroes -- seem surprisingly numerous. Even more striking is the strength of the female characterizations, given the medieval social ideal of women as peaceful, passive members of society. The task of this study is to examine the existing sources afresh, asking new questions about the depictions of women in the literature of the period. Particular attention is focused on the failed, possibly adulterous women of 'The Wife's Lament' and 'Wulf and Eadwacer', the monstrous mother of Grendel in 'Beowulf', and the chaste but heroic figures and saints Judith, Juliana, and Elene. The book relies for its analysis on recent and standard texts in Anglo-Saxon studies and literature, as well as a thorough grounding in Latin and vernacular historical documents and Anglo-Saxon writings other than the focal literary texts.
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1597522600
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
The first comprehensive study of heroic women figures in Anglo-Saxon literature investigates English secular and religious prose and poetry from the seventh to the eleventh centuries. Given the paucity of surviving literature from the Anglo-Saxon period, the works which feature major women characters -- often portrayed as heroes -- seem surprisingly numerous. Even more striking is the strength of the female characterizations, given the medieval social ideal of women as peaceful, passive members of society. The task of this study is to examine the existing sources afresh, asking new questions about the depictions of women in the literature of the period. Particular attention is focused on the failed, possibly adulterous women of 'The Wife's Lament' and 'Wulf and Eadwacer', the monstrous mother of Grendel in 'Beowulf', and the chaste but heroic figures and saints Judith, Juliana, and Elene. The book relies for its analysis on recent and standard texts in Anglo-Saxon studies and literature, as well as a thorough grounding in Latin and vernacular historical documents and Anglo-Saxon writings other than the focal literary texts.