Pride and Prodigies

Pride and Prodigies PDF Author: Andy Orchard
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 9780802085832
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
In this series of detailed studies, Andy Orchard demonstrates the changing range of Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards the monstrous by reconsidering the monsters of Beowulf against the background of early medieval and patristic teratology and with reference to specific Anglo-Saxon texts.

Pride and Prodigies

Pride and Prodigies PDF Author: Andy Orchard
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 9780802085832
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
In this series of detailed studies, Andy Orchard demonstrates the changing range of Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards the monstrous by reconsidering the monsters of Beowulf against the background of early medieval and patristic teratology and with reference to specific Anglo-Saxon texts.

Water and fire

Water and fire PDF Author: Daniel Anlezark
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526162652
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
Noah’s Flood is one of the Bible’s most popular stories, and flood myths survive in many cultures today. This book presents the first comprehensive examination of the incorporation of the Flood myth into the Anglo-Saxon imagination. Focusing on literary representations, it contributes to our understanding of how Christian Anglo-Saxons perceived their place in the cosmos. For them, history unfolded between the primeval Deluge and a future – perhaps imminent – flood of fire, which would destroy the world. This study reveals both an imaginative diversity and shared interpretations of the Flood myth. Anglo-Saxons saw the Flood as a climactic event in God’s ongoing war with his more rebellious creatures, but they also perceived the mystery of redemption through baptism. Anlezark studies a range of texts against their historical background, and discusses shifting emphases in the way the Flood was interpreted for diverse audiences. The book concludes with a discussion of Beowulf, relating the epic poem’s presentation of the Flood myth to that of other Anglo-Saxon texts.

The Anglo Saxon Literature Handbook

The Anglo Saxon Literature Handbook PDF Author: Mark C. Amodio
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118286502
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 438

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Book Description
The Anglo-Saxon Literature Handbook presents an accessible introduction to the surviving works of prose and poetry produced in Anglo-Saxon England, from AD 410-1066. Makes Anglo-Saxon literature accessible to modern readers Helps readers to overcome the linguistic, aesthetic and cultural barriers to understanding and appreciating Anglo-Saxon verse and prose Introduces readers to the language, politics, and religion of the Anglo-Saxon literary world Presents original readings of such works as Beowulf, The Battle of Maldon, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Cannibalism in High Medieval English Literature

Cannibalism in High Medieval English Literature PDF Author: H. Blurton
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137115793
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
This book reads the surprisingly widespread representations of cannibals and cannibalism in medieval English literature as political metaphors that were central to England's on-going process of articulating cultural and national identity.

Teaching “Beowulf”

Teaching “Beowulf” PDF Author: Larry Swain
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 1501511904
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
Beowulf is by far the most popular text of the medieval world taught in American classrooms, at both the high school and undergraduate levels. More students than ever before wrestle with Grendel in the darkness of Heorot or venture into the dragon’s barrow for gold and glory. This increase of attention and interest in the Old English epic has led to a myriad of new and varying translations of the poem published every year, the production of several mainstream film and television adaptations, and many graphic novel versions. More and more teachers in all sorts of classrooms, with varying degrees of familiarity and training are called upon to bring this ancient poem before their students. This practical guide to teaching Beowulf in the twenty-first century combines scholarly research with pedagogical technique, imparting a picture of how the poem can be taught in contemporary American institutions.

Reading the Runes in Old English and Old Norse Poetry

Reading the Runes in Old English and Old Norse Poetry PDF Author: Thomas Birkett
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317070984
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Reading the Runes in Old English and Old Norse Poetry is the first book-length study to compare responses to runic heritage in the literature of Anglo-Saxon England and medieval Iceland. The Anglo-Saxon runic script had already become the preserve of antiquarians at the time the majority of Old English poetry was written down, and the Icelanders recording the mythology associated with the script were at some remove from the centres of runic practice in medieval Scandinavia. Both literary cultures thus inherited knowledge of the runic system and the traditions associated with it, but viewed this literate past from the vantage point of a developed manuscript culture. There has, as yet, been no comprehensive study of poetic responses to this scriptural heritage, which include episodes in such canonical texts as Beowulf, the Old English riddles and the poems of the Poetic Edda. By analysing the inflection of the script through shared literary traditions, this study enhances our understanding of the burgeoning of literary self-awareness in early medieval vernacular poetry and the construction of cultural memory, and furthers our understanding of the relationship between Anglo-Saxon and Norse textual cultures. The introduction sets out in detail the rationale for examining runes in poetry as a literary motif and surveys the relevant critical debates. The body of the volume is comprised of five linked case studies of runes in poetry, viewing these representations through the paradigm of scriptural reconstruction and the validation of contemporary literary, historical and religious sensibilities.

The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in 'Beowulf'

The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in 'Beowulf' PDF Author: Edward Pettit
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
ISBN: 1783748303
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
The image of a giant sword melting stands at the structural and thematic heart of the Old English heroic poem Beowulf. This meticulously researched book investigates the nature and significance of this golden-hilted weapon and its likely relatives within Beowulf and beyond, drawing on the fields of Old English and Old Norse language and literature, liturgy, archaeology, astronomy, folklore and comparative mythology. In Part I, Pettit explores the complex of connotations surrounding this image (from icicles to candles and crosses) by examining a range of medieval sources, and argues that the giant sword may function as a visual motif in which pre-Christian Germanic concepts and prominent Christian symbols coalesce. In Part II, Pettit investigates the broader Germanic background to this image, especially in relation to the god Ing/Yngvi-Freyr, and explores the capacity of myths to recur and endure across time. Drawing on an eclectic range of narrative and linguistic evidence from Northern European texts, and on archaeological discoveries, Pettit suggests that the image of the giant sword, and the characters and events associated with it, may reflect an elemental struggle between the sun and the moon, articulated through an underlying myth about the theft and repossession of sunlight. The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in 'Beowulf' is a welcome contribution to the overlapping fields of Beowulf-scholarship, Old Norse-Icelandic literature and Germanic philology. Not only does it present a wealth of new readings that shed light on the craft of the Beowulf-poet and inform our understanding of the poem’s major episodes and themes; it further highlights the merits of adopting an interdisciplinary approach alongside a comparative vantage point. As such, The Waning Sword will be compelling reading for Beowulf-scholars and for a wider audience of medievalists.

The Mark of the Beast

The Mark of the Beast PDF Author: Debra Hassig
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135660387
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
The medieval bestiary was a contribution to didactic religious literature, addressing concerns central to all walks of Christian and secular life. These essays analyze the bestiary from both literary and art historical perspectives, exploring issues including kinship, romance, sex, death, and the afterlife.

The Ashgate Research Companion to Monsters and the Monstrous

The Ashgate Research Companion to Monsters and the Monstrous PDF Author: Asa Simon Mittman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351894315
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 626

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Book Description
The field of monster studies has grown significantly over the past few years and this companion provides a comprehensive guide to the study of monsters and the monstrous from historical, regional and thematic perspectives. The collection reflects the truly multi-disciplinary nature of monster studies, bringing in scholars from literature, art history, religious studies, history, classics, and cultural and media studies. The companion will offer scholars and graduate students the first comprehensive and authoritative review of this emergent field.

A Critical Companion to Beowulf

A Critical Companion to Beowulf PDF Author: Andy Orchard
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 0859917665
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
This is a complete guide to the text and context of the most famous Old English poem. In this book, the specific roles of selcted individual characters, both major and minor, are assessed.