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Anonymous Old English Lives of Saints

Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
From early Christianity to the medieval period, saints' Lives served as inspirational narratives highlighting virtue and faith. This volume collects twenty-two anonymous Old English Lives of saints, originally preserved in 11th- and 12th-century manuscripts. Featuring figures such as the abbess Seaxburh, Saint Nicholas, and Michael the Archangel, these texts cover diverse settings from Antioch to Rome and explore themes including leadership, gender roles, devotion, education, and history.
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Format: Hardback
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This collection will appeal to students and scholars of medieval religion, Old English literature, hagiography, and early English history.

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Anonymous Old English Lives of Saints includes narratives from the eleventh and twelfth centuries about locally venerated saints like the abbess Seaxburh, as well as familiar ones like Nicholas and Michael the Archangel. This volume presents new Old English editions and modern English translations of twenty-two unattributed saints’ Lives.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

From the first centuries of Christianity, believers turned to the perfection modelled by saints for inspiration, and a tradition of recounting saints' Lives flourished. The Latin narratives followed specific forms, dramatizing a virgin's heroic resolve or a martyr's unwavering faith under torture.

In early medieval England, saints' Lives were eagerly received and translated into the vernacular. The stories collected here by unknown authors are preserved in manuscripts dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries. They include locally venerated saints like the abbess Seaxburh, as well as universally familiar ones like Nicholas and Michael the Archangel, and are set everywhere from Antioch to Rome, from India to Ephesus.

These Lives also explore such topics as the obligations of rulers, marriage and gender roles, private and public devotion, the environment, education, and the sweep of human history. This volume presents new Old English editions and modern English translations of twenty-two unattributed saints' Lives.

Series: Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Brandon W. Hawk praises this volume as "a welcome addition to the field," predicting it will become the standard edition for studying anonymous Old English saints' Lives, as noted in Speculum.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674244641

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 12 May 2020

Country: United States

Imprint: Harvard University Press

Contributors:

  • Edited and translated by Johanna Kramer
  • Edited and translated by Hugh Magennis
  • Edited and translated by Robin Norris

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 133.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 816

About the Author

Johanna Kramer is Associate Professor of English at the University of Missouri. Hugh Magennis is Professor Emeritus of English at Queen’s University Belfast. Robin Norris is Associate Professor of English at Carleton University.

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