Scyld and Scef


Book Description

Scyld and Scef is the first comprehensive study of these heroic figures of Germanic legend, featured in much of the literature of the Middle Ages, including Beowulf, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Edda. The authors argue that this duo represent a way that medieval Germanic peoples defined themselves in their literature. Divided into two sections, this volume explores the specific cultures from which Scyld and Scef rose and the forty-one manuscripts in which they appear.




Scyld and Scef


Book Description

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.




Anglo-Saxon England: Volume 29


Book Description

The editorial policy of Anglo-Saxon England has been to encourage an interdisciplinary approach to the study of all aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture. This approach is pursued in exemplary fashion by many of the essays in this volume. Fresh light is thrown on the dating and form of Cynewulf's poem The Fates of the Apostles through a comprehensive study of the historical martyrologies of the Carolingian period on which Cynewulf is presumed to have drawn. The literary form of Ælfric's Preface to his translation of Genesis is illustrated through a wide-ranging study of the rhetorical genre of preface-writing in the early Middle Ages (the genre which subsequently was known as the ars dictaminis), and the problems which Ælfric faced and solved in composing a Life of St Æthelthryth are illustrated through detailed comparison of the sources which he utilized. The usual comprehensive bibliography of the previous year's publications in all branches of Anglo-Saxon studies rounds off the book.




Textual and Material Culture in Anglo-Saxon England


Book Description

Significant Anglo-Saxon papers, with postscripts, illustrate advances in knowledge of life and culture of pre-Conquest England. Thomas Northcote Toller, of the Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, is one of the most influential but least known Anglo-Saxon scholars of the early twentieth century. The Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies at Manchester, where Toller was the first professor of English Language, has an annual Toller lecture, delivered by an expert in the field of Anglo-Saxon Studies; this volume offers a selection from these lectures, brought together for the firsttime, and with supplementary material added by the authors to bring them up to date. They are complemented by the 2002 Toller Lecture, Peter Baker's study of Toller, commissioned specially for this book; and by new examinations ofToller's life and work, and his influence on the development of Old English lexicography. The volume is therefore both an epitome of the best scholarship in Anglo-Saxon studies of the last decade and a half, and a guide for the modern reader through the major advances in our knowledge of the life and culture of pre-Conquest England. , Contributors: RICHARD BAILEY, PETER BAKER, DABNEY ANDERSON BANKERT, JANET BATELY, GEORGE BROWN, ROBERTA FRANK, HELMUT GNEUSS, JOYCE HILL, DAVID A. HINTON, MICHAEL LAPIDGE, AUDREY MEANEY, KATHERINE O'BRIEN O'KEEFFE, JOANA PROUD, ALEXANDER RUMBLE.




Teutonic Mythology: The Gods and Goddesses of the Northland (Vol. 1-3)


Book Description

Viktor Rydberg's 'Teutonic Mythology: The Gods and Goddesses of the Northland (Vol. 1-3)' is a comprehensive study of the mythological beliefs of the ancient Germanic peoples. Rydberg delves into the rich tapestry of Norse mythology, exploring the stories of gods and goddesses, heroes and giants, and the cosmic battles that shape the fate of the world. Written in a scholarly yet accessible style, Rydberg's work provides insight into the cultural and literary context of these myths, shedding light on their significance and enduring appeal. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including the Eddas and Sagas, Rydberg presents a detailed and engaging account of the mythological landscape of the Northland. As a renowned Swedish writer, poet, and scholar, Viktor Rydberg's deep knowledge of Scandinavian folklore and literature informs his exploration of Teutonic mythology. His background in philology and mythology lends credibility to his interpretation of these ancient stories, making 'Teutonic Mythology' a valuable resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike. Rydberg's passion for the subject matter is evident in his meticulous research and thoughtful analysis, making this three-volume work a must-read for anyone interested in Norse mythology and Germanic culture. I highly recommend 'Teutonic Mythology: The Gods and Goddesses of the Northland' to readers seeking a comprehensive and insightful study of Norse mythological beliefs. Rydberg's masterful examination of these ancient stories offers a fascinating journey into the world of the gods and heroes of the North, showcasing the enduring power and complexity of Teutonic mythology.




The Barbarian North in Medieval Imagination


Book Description

This book examines the sustained interest in legends of the pagan and peripheral North, tracing and analyzing the use of an ‘out-of-Scandinavia’ legend (Scandinavia as an ancestral homeland) in a wide range of medieval texts from all over Europe, with a focus on the Anglo-Saxon tradition. The pagan North was an imaginative region, which attracted a number of conflicting interpretations. To Christian Europe, the pagan North was an abject Other, but it also symbolized a place from which ancestral strength and energy derived. Rix maps how these discourses informed ‘national’ legends of ancestral origins, showing how an ‘out-of-Scandinavia’ legend can be found in works by several familiar writers including Jordanes, Bede, ‘Fredegar’, Paul the Deacon, Freculph, and Æthelweard. The book investigates how legends of northern warriors were first created in classical texts and since re-calibrated to fit different medieval understandings of identity and ethnicity. Among other things, the ‘out-of-Scandinavia’ tale was exploited to promote a legacy of ‘barbarian’ vigor that could withstand the negative cultural effects of Roman civilization. This volume employs a variety of perspectives cutting across the disciplines of poetry, history, rhetoric, linguistics, and archaeology. After years of intense critical interest in medieval attitudes towards the classical world, Africa, and the East, this first book-length study of ‘the North’ will inspire new debates and repositionings in medieval studies.




Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem with a Discussion of the Stories of Offa and Finn


Book Description

After nearly a hundred years, this book is still one of the most comprehensive studies of the epic poem "Beowulf." The author of this book, Wilson Chambers, gives a detailed explanation of the poem and provides a reader with an interesting backstory about the main characters.




The Mythology of the Northland


Book Description

The Mythology of the Northland is a historical work by Swedish author Viktor Rydberg which deals with Germanic tradition and Norse mythology. One of Rydberg's mythological theories developed in this book is that of a vast World Mill which rotates the heavens, which he believed was an integral part of Old Norse mythic cosmology.




The Origins of Beowulf


Book Description

A detailed and passionate argument suggesting that Beowulf originated in the pre-Viking kingdom of 8th-century East Anglia. Where did Beowulf, unique and thrilling example of an Old English epic poem come from? In whose hall did the poem's maker first tell the tale? The poem exists now in just one manuscript, but careful study of the literary and historical associations reveals striking details which lead Dr Newton to claim, as he pieces together the various clues, a specific origin for the poem. Dr Newton suggests that references in Beowulf to the heroes whose names are listed in Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies indicate that such Northern dynastic concerns are most likely to have been fostered in the kingdom of East Anglia. He supports his thesis with evidence drawn from East Anglianarchaeology, hagiography and folklore. His argument, detailed and passionate, offers the exciting possibility that he has discovered the lost origins of the poem in the pre-Viking kingdom of 8th-century East Anglia. SAMNEWTON was awarded his Ph.D. for work on Beowulf.




Beowulf - The Tragedy of a Hero


Book Description

Beowulf may be the most important work in Old English literature, but the poem takes place in Denmark and southern Sweden. And it is Denmark where the poem was first published, and where some of the earliest literary criticism of the work saw the light of day.