Aelfric and the Cult of Saints in Late Anglo-Saxon England: (Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England)
By
Mechthild Gretsch (Author)
Hardback
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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. Of these Lives, AElfric is the most important author, and his saints' Lives have never previously been explored in their contemporary setting. In this study, Gretsch analyses AElfric's Lives of five important saints in the light of their cults in Anglo-Saxon England. This gives the reader fascinating glimpses of 'AElfric at work': he adapts the cults and rewrites the received Latin hagiography of the five saints, with the result that each of their English Lives conveys a distinct message to the contemporary political elite and to a lay audience at large.
About the Author
Mechthild Gretsch is Professor in the Department of English at Gottingen University. Her previous books include The Intellectual Foundations of the English Benedictine Reform (also in the Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England series, 1999), and she has published articles in various English and German journals, including Anglo-Saxon England.
More Details
- Contributor: Mechthild Gretsch
- Imprint: Cambridge University Press
- ISBN13: 9780521855419
- Number of Pages: 276
- Packaged Dimensions: 152x229x19mm
- Packaged Weight: 580
- Format: Hardback
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press
- Release Date: 2006-01-19
- Series: Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England
- Binding: Hardback
- Biography: Mechthild Gretsch is Professor in the Department of English at Gottingen University. Her previous books include The Intellectual Foundations of the English Benedictine Reform (also in the Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England series, 1999), and she has published articles in various English and German journals, including Anglo-Saxon England.
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