The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature

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 Companion is aimed at students encountering Old English literature for the first time, who require clear guidance and orientation in an unfamiliar field. The first chapters describe briefly the political, social and ecclesiastical history of the period and how poetry and prose developed and flourished. A succinct account of Old English language provides beginners with a guide to grammar, syntax and vocabulary. Subsequent chapters explore such topics as Germanic legend and heroic ideals, paganism and fatalism, the cult of saints and responses to the Bible. Important prose texts, such as those by Bede, Alfred, Aelfric and Wulfstan, are covered under these thematic headings. Poems such as The Battle of Maldon, The Wanderer, The Seafarer and The Dream of the Rood, are discussed in detail, but in association with related texts, in prose as well as poetry. A separate chapter is devoted to Beowulf, but aspects of the poem are also discussed in other chapters. Finally a bibliography lists essential editions, reference works and critical studies.

List of contributors; Preface; Note on the text; 1. Anglo-Saxon society and its literature Patrick Wormald; 2. The Old English language Helmut Gneuss; 3. The nature of Old English verse D. G. Scragg; 4. The nature of Old English prose Janet Bately; 5. Germanic legend and Anglo-Saxon literature Roberta Frank; 6. Heroic ideals and Christian ethics Katherine O’Brien O’Keeffe; 7. Pagan survivals and popular belief John D. Niles; 8. Beowulf Fred C. Robinson; 9. Fatalism and the millenium Joseph B. Trahern, Jr; 10. Perceptions of transience Christine Fell; 11. Perceptions of eternity Milton McGatch; 12. Biblical literature: the Old Testament Malcolm Godden; 13. Biblical literature: the New Testament Barbara C. Raw; 14. The saintly life in Anglo-Saxon England Michael Lapidge; 15. The world of Anglo-Saxon learning Patrizia Lendinara; Further reading; Index.