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This innovative and intriguing introduction to Old English literature is structured around what the author calls ‘figures’ from Anglo-Saxon culture: the Vow, the Hall, the Miracle, the Pulpit, and the Scholar. An innovative and intriguing introduction to Old English literature. Structured around ‘figures’ from Anglo-Saxon culture: the Vow, the Hall, the Miracle, the Pulpit, and the Scholar. Situates Old English literary texts within a cultural framework. Creates new connections between different genres, periods and authors. Combines close textual analysis with historical context. Based on the author’s many years experience of teaching Old English literature. The author is co-editor with Seamus Heaney of Beowulf: A Verse Translation (2001) and recently published with Blackwell Lady Godiva: A Literary History of the Legend (2003).
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Old English Literature A Short Introduction
Daniel Donoghue
By the same author Lady Godiva: A Literary History of the Legend Also available from Blackwell Publishing Introduction to Old English Peter S. Baker A History of Old English Literature Robert D. Fulk & Christopher M. Cain The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England Edited by Michael Lapidge, John Blair, Simon Keynes & Donald Scragg A Guide to Old English Sixth Edition Bruce Mitchell & Fred C. Robinson An Invitation to Old English and Anglo-Saxon England Bruce Mitchell Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: A Short Introduction Heather O’Donoghue A Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature Edited by Phillip Pulsiano & Elaine M. Treharne Old and Middle English c.890–c.1400: An Anthology Second Edition Edited by Elaine M. Treharne Old and Middle English Poetry Edited by Elaine M. Treharne & Duncan Wu
Old English Literature A Short Introduction
Daniel Donoghue
© 2004 by Daniel Donoghue 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Daniel Donoghue to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2004 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Donoghue, Daniel, 1956– Old English literature : a short introduction / Daniel Donoghue. p. cm. — (Blackwell introductions to literature) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-631-23485-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-631-23486-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. English literature—Old English, ca. 450–1100—History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series. PR173.D66 2004 829'.09—dc22 2003018469 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 10/13pt Meridian by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by TJ International Ltd, Padstow Cornwall For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com
to my mentors
Allie
Contents
List of Illustrations Introduction List of Abbreviations
viii ix xvi
1 The Vow
1
2 The Hall
29
3 The Miracle
56
4 The Pulpit
80
5 The Scholar
100
Notes
126
Further Reading
131
Index
135
Illustrations
A charter from early eleventh-century Herefordshire A reconstructed Viking Fyrkat royal hall in Denmark The beginning of Deor in the Exeter Book The runic letters incorporated