Aelfric and the Cult of Saints in Late Anglo-Saxon England (Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England) [Hardcover]

Mechthild Gretsch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521855411 | ISBN-13: 978-0521855419 | Publication Date: March 20, 2006

The literature of Anglo-Saxon England is unique among contemporary European literatures in that it features a vast amount of saints' lives in the vernacular. This study analyzes the most important author Aelfric's lives of five important saints in the light of their cults in Anglo-Saxon England, providing the reader fascinating glimpses of 'Aelfric at work'. He adapts the cults and rewrites the received Latin hagiography so that each of their lives conveys a distinct message to the contemporary political elite as well as to a lay audience at large.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a masterly review of these five selected vitae by a scholar who has immersed herself deeply in the literature of the tenth-century Winchester reform movement. Its greatest achievements are the unfolding, through patient analysis of sources that were or could have been available to Aelfric..., of the varying strategies employed by Aelfric to commemorate his subjects and...the reinforcement of our appreciation of the importance of Aelfric of upholding the principles of the monastic reform of Aethelwold and of pastoral response to current events. Gretsch's facility in contemporary English is superb."
-Milton McC. Gatch, Union Theological Seminary, Journal of Medieval Studies

Book Description

The cult of saints was one of the most important aspects of life in the Middle Ages, and it often formed the nucleus of developing group identities in a town, a province or a country. The literature of Anglo-Saxon England is unique among contemporary European literatures in that it features a vast amount of saints' Lives in the vernacular. Aelfric is the most important author of these Lives. In this study, Mechthild Gretsch analyzes Aelfric's Lives of five important saints in the light of their cults in Anglo-Saxon England.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (March 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521855411
• ISBN-13: 978-0521855419
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,067,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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