{"product_id":"old-english-literature-isbn-9780631220572","title":"Old English Literature","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eExamines the notable works and authors from the period, including \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e, the Venerable Bede, heroic poems, and devotional literature\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eReinforces key perspectives with excerpts from ten critical studies\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eAddresses questions of medieval literacy, textuality, and orality, as well as style, gender, genre, and theme\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eEmbraces the interdisciplinary nature of the field with reference to historical studies, religious studies, anthropology, art history, and more\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e Preface and Acknowledgements viii \u003cp\u003eAbbreviations xii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart I Main Currents in Twentieth-Century Criticism 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 Old English Studies 1901–1975 3\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Earlier Twentieth-Century 4\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLiterary Criticism: A Slow Start 8\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTwo Scholars Representative of their Eras 10\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNew Directions after the Second World War 16\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChanging Currents in Beowulf Studies 20\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKey Works from the Early Seventies 32\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart II Anglo-Saxon Lore and Learning 41\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2 Literacy and Latinity 43\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnglo-Latin Literature: Background or Mainstream? 44\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducation in Two Languages 52\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Student in the Classroom 55\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Venerable Bede 58\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 62\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExcerpt: Joyce Hill, ‘Learning Latin in Anglo-Saxon England: Traditions, Texts and Techniques, (2003) 64\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3 Textuality and Cultural Transformations 76\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Anglo-Saxon Book: Icon or Pragmatic Object? 78\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWriterly Self-Reflexivity 81\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReading Old English Texts in their Manuscript Context 85\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthors and Scribes: The Flux of Texts 88\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom Latin to Old English: Translation or Transformation? 92\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSource Studies and the Culture of Translation 96\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 100\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExcerpt: M.B. Parkes, ‘The Palaeography of the Parker Manuscript of the Chronicle, Laws, and Sedulius, and Historiography at Winchester in the Late Ninth and Tenth Centuries’ (1976) 101\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4 Orality 112\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eParry, Lord, and their Legacy 116\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOral Poetics and Noetics 120\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 126\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelection: Donald K. Fry, ‘The Memory of Cædmon’ (1981) 127\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5 Heroic Tradition 136\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eShort Poems on Legendary Themes 139\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrunanburh, Maldon, and the Critics 142\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeowulf and the Critics 149\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndeterminacy and its Discontents 167\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 171\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelection: Ernst Leisi, ‘Gold and Human Worth in Beowulf ’, first published as ‘Gold und Manneswert im Beowulf ’ (1952) 173\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart III Other Topics and Approaches 185\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6 Style 187\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 192\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelection: J.R. Hall, ‘Perspective and Wordplay in the Old English Rune Poem’ (1977) 194\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7 Theme 203\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 207\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelection: Hugh Magennis, ‘Images of Laughter in Old English Poetry, with Particular Reference to the Hleahtor Wera of The Seafarer’ (1992) 209\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e8 Genre and Gender 222\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGenre 223\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender 227\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 230\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelection: Lisa M.C. Weston, ‘Women’s Medicine, Women’s Magic: The Old English Metrical Childbirth Charms’ (1995) 232\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e9 Saints’ Lives and Christian Devotion 246\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 254\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelection: Edward B. Irving, Jr, ‘Crucifixion Witnessed, or Dramatic Interaction in The Dream of the Rood ’ (1986) 256\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e10 Ælfric 267\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 274\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExcerpt: Malcolm Godden, ‘Apocalypse and Invasion in Late Anglo-Saxon England’ (1994) 276\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e11 Translating, Editing, and Making it New 290\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTranslating 290\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEditing 295\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaking it New 297\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Selection from the Criticism 299\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelection: Joshua Byron Smith, ‘Borges and Old English’ 301\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfterword 319\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelection Bibliography 321\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex of Modern Authors Cited 329\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGeneral Index 336\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn D. Niles\u003c\/b\u003e is the Frederic G. Cassidy Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Professor Emeritus of English at the University of California, Berkeley. A former President of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, he is the author or editor of a dozen books on Old English literature and related topics, including \u003ci\u003eThe Idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066­1901: Remembering, Forgetting, Deciphering, and Renewing the Past\u003c\/i\u003e (Wiley Blackwell, 2015) and \u003ci\u003eBeowulf: The Poem and Its Tradition \u003c\/i\u003e(1983).\u003c\/p\u003e  The Anglo-Saxons produced a stunning array of writings both in Latin and, importantly, in the English language of their time.  By the end of the Middle Ages, however, Old English literature had fallen into oblivion.  It was not until the Renaisance and later times that shcolars began to bring many of these works back to light.  Today they are a precious part of the world's literary heritage, even while provoking a wide range of critical responses, the laws, chronicles, and other writings of Anglo-Saxon England have  had a lasting influence on modern social institutions.  \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAngl-Saxon Studies\u003c\/i\u003e offers readers a fascinating account of the sometimes contentious process by which knowledge of the literature of this period was recovered, and how Anglo-Saxon England became and remains a \"useful past\" for scholars, artists, creative writers and thinkers.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe book thus offers a wide-ranging assessment of the history of Anglo-Saxon studies as a discipline, starting from its post-Conquest beginnings and continuing to the present day.  After establishing the earlier history of the field, the book delves into an analysis of the recent criticism of Old English literature, featuring excerpts from ground-breaking essays that illustrate the most important critical trends of the past fifty years, and show the field's continuing dynamic evolution.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnglo-Saxon Studies\u003c\/i\u003e provides a valuable critical overview for anyone interested in early medieval literature and culture.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"John D. Niles has long been one of the most intelligent and creative readers of Old English literature; wherever his wide-ranging interest turns, he writes with a poet’s heart, a scholar’s sharp insight, and a sure grasp of critical history. One could hardly ask for a livelier or more inspiring guide to the current state of Old English studies.\" -\u003ci\u003eRoy M. Liuzza, University of Tennessee\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003e\"Old English Literature\u003c\/i\u003e is authoritative, comprehensive, reflective and wise, reflecting the author’s breadth of understanding of his subject and his secure appreciation of the wider context of literary studies in the twentieth and twenty-first century. The book will be seen as an indispensable guide to Anglo-Saxon literary studies, complementing Niles’s \u003ci\u003eThe Idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066-1901\u003c\/i\u003e.” -\u003ci\u003eHugh Magennis, Queen’s University Belfast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This is a wide-ranging survey of critical studies on Old English literature that effectively maps out a complete field, all described in the engaged voice of a toiler in that field who is as generous as he is well-informed in his  assessments. Accounts of important studies are leavened with brief biographies of influential critics that facilitate understanding critical movements in their full context, while reprinted key essays provide an added bonus. Through crafting this highly ambitious guide, Niles has provided a service for anyone interested in the study of Old English literature as it has been practiced over the last forty or so years.\"\u003ci\u003e  -Jonathan Wilcox, University of Iowa\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47989711438053,"sku":"NP9780631220572","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780631220572.jpg?v=1761785204","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/old-english-literature-isbn-9780631220572","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}