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t h e ca m b r i d g e h i s t o r y of
EARLY MEDIEVAL ENGLISH
LITERATURE
Informed by multicultural, multidisciplinary perspectives, The
Cambridge History of Early Medieval English Literature offers a new
exploration of the earliest writing in Britain and Ireland, from the
end of the Roman Empire to the mid-twelfth century. Beginning with
an account of writing itself, as well as of scripts and manuscript art,
subsequent chapters examine the earliest texts from England, Ireland,
Scotland and Wales, and the tremendous breadth of Anglo-Latin
literature. Chapters on English learning and literature in the ninth
century and the later formation of English poetry and prose also
convey the profound cultural confidence of the period. Providing a
discussion of essential texts, including Beowulf and the writings of
Bede, this History captures the sheer inventiveness and vitality of
early medieval literary culture through topics as diverse as the literature of English law, liturgical and devotional writing, the workings of
science and the history of women’s writing.
C L A R E A . L E E S is Professor of Medieval Literature and History of the
Language at King’s College London, where she currently directs the
Centre for Late Antique and Medieval Studies. She is known for her
work on the earliest English literature, gender and the history of
women’s writing, religious writing, and cultural studies, including
issues of place and landscape, relations between textual and material
culture, and reworkings of Anglo-Saxon literature by writers of
modern, contemporary literature. She is the editor of Medieval
Masculinities: Regarding Men in the Middle Ages (1994), and co-editor of
Gender in Debate from the Early Middle Ages to the Renaissance (with
Thelma Fenster, 2002) and A Place to Believe In: Locating Medieval
Landscapes (with Gillian R. Overing, 2006). She is the author of
Tradition and Belief: Religious Writing in Late Anglo-Saxon England
(1999) and co-author of Double Agents: Women and Clerical Culture in
Anglo-Saxon England (with Gillian R. Overing, 2001, 2009).
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THE NEW CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF
ENGLISH LITERATURE
The New Cambridge History of English Literature is a programme of reference works designed to offer a broad synthesis
and contextual survey of the history of English literature through
the major periods of its development. The organization of each
volume reflects the particular characteristics of the period covered,
within a general commitment to providing an accessible narrative
history through a linked sequence of essays by internationally
renowned scholars. The History is designed to accommodate the
range of insights and fresh perspectives brought by new
approaches to the subject, without losing sight of the need for
essential exposition and information. The volumes include valuable reference features, in the form of extensive primary and
secondary bibliographies and a full index.
The Cambridge History of Early
Medieval English Literature
edited by clare a. lees
The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature
edited by david wallace
The Cambridge History of Early Modern English Literature
edited by david loewenstein and janel mueller
The Cambridge History of English Literature, 1660–1780
edited by john richetti
The Cambridge History of English
Romantic Literature
edited by james chandler
The Cambridge History of Victorian Literature
edited by kate flint
The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century English Literature
edited by laura marcus and peter nicholls
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THE CAMBRIDGE
HISTORY OF
EARLY MEDIEVAL ENGLISH
LITERATURE
*
Edited by
CLARE A. LEES
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University Printing House, CambridgeiCB22 i8BS,iU nited Kingdom
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© Cambridge University Press 2013
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
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no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
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First published 2013
Reprinted 2015
Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc.
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
The Cambridge history of early medieval English literature / edited by Clare A. Lees.
pages cm. – (The new Cambridge history of English literature)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-521-19058-9 (hardback)
1. English literature – Middle English, 1100–1500 – History and criticism. I. Lees, Clare A.
pr255.c347 2012
820.90 001–dc23
2012039595
isbn 978-0-521-19058-9 Hardback
isbn 978-1-107-03503-4 V
7 olume set
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Contents
List of illustrations page x
List of contributors xii
Acknowledgements xiii
List of abbreviations xiv
Introduction: literature in Britain and Ireland to 1150 1
c l a r e a. l e es
i
WORD, SCRIPT AND IMAGE
1 . Writing in Britain and Ireland, c. 400 to c. 800
ju l ia m . h. s m it h
2 . The art of writing: scripts and scribal production
ju l ia cri ck
19
50
3 . Art and writing: voice, image, object 73
catherine e. karkov
4 . Of Bede’s ‘five languages and four nations’: the earliest
writing from Ireland, Scotland and Wales 99
m á ir e n ı́ m h a o n a i g h
5 . Insular Latin literature to 900
r o s a l in d l o v e
120
vii
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Contents
6 . Bede and the northern kingdoms
s. m. rowley
158
ii
EARLY ENGLISH LITERATURE
7 . Across borders: Anglo-Saxon England and the Germanic world
ro lf h . br em m e r, jr
185
8 . English literature in the ninth century 209
s u s a n ir v i n e
9 . The writing of history in the early Middle Ages: the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle in context 232
r e n é e r . t r il l i n g
10 . The literary languages of Old English: words, styles, voices
j o s hu a d a v i e s
11 . Old English poetic form: genre, style, prosody
haruko momma
12 . Beowulf: a poem in our time
gillian r. overing
257
278
309
13 . Old English lyrics: a poetics of experience 332
k a t h le e n d a v i s
14 . Literature in pieces: female sanctity and the relics
of early women’s writing 357
diane watt
381
15 . Saintly lives: friendship, kinship, gender and sexuality
l. m. c. weston
16 . Sacred history and Old English religious poetry 406
andrew scheil
viii
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427
17 . Performing Christianity: liturgical and devotional writing
c h r i s t o p h e r a . jo n e s
18 . Riddles, wonder and responsiveness in Anglo-Saxon literature
p at r i c i a d a il e y
451
iii
LATIN LEARNING AND THE LITERARY VERNACULARS
19 . In measure, and number, and weight: writing science
r. m. liuzza
475
20 . Legal documentation and the practice of English law
li si o li v e r
499
21 . Latinities, 893–1143 530
david townsend
22 . The authority of English, 900–1150 554
elaine treharne
23 . Crossing the language divide: Anglo-Scandinavian language and
literature 579
russell poole
24 . European literature and eleventh-century England 607
t h o m a s o ’ d o nn e l l , m a t t h e w t o w n en d a n d el i z a b et h m . t y le r
25 . Gaelic literature in Ireland and Scotland, 900–1150 637
thomas owen clancy
26 . Writing in Welsh to 1150: (re)creating the past, shaping the future
s i o n e d d a v ie s
660
Bibliography 687
Index of manuscripts 762
Index 766
ix
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Illustrations
page 32
1.1 Incised slate with Latin and ogam. Plate from Christopher Lowe,
Inchmarnock: An Early Historic Island Monastery and its Archaeological
Landscape, reproduced by permission of the Society of Antiquaries of
Scotland (Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2008), Fig. 6.21.
© Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd
1.2 Codex Amiatinus (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, MS
34
Amiatino 1), fol. 11r. With permission of the Ministero per i Beni e le
Attività Culturali and the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence
38
1.3 The cultural provinces of early medieval Britain. Main map after Blair,
Church in Anglo-Saxon Society; river names after Kenneth Jackson,
Language and History in Early Britain (Edinburgh University Press, 1953).
1.4 The Springmount Bog tablets. Detail from E. C. R. Armstrong and R. A. 41
S. Macalister, ‘Wooden Book with Leaves Indented and Waxed Found
near Springmount Bog, Co. Antrim’, Journal of the Royal Society of
Antiquaries of Ireland, 6th Ser., 10 (1920), 160–6, plate xiv. Reproduced by
permission of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
2.1 British Library Additional Charter 19791 (Sawyer 1281). Wærferth, bishop 62
of Worcester, leases lands to his reeve, at Aston Magna, Gloucestershire,
in ad 904. © The British Library Board
69
2.2 Harley Charter 43.C.7 (Sawyer 1379). Æscwig, bishop of Dorchester,
grants five hides at Cuxham, Oxfordshire, to his man Ælfstan, ad 995 (for
994). © The British Library Board
3.1 Durham Gospels, Crucifixion (Durham Cathedral Library, MS A.II.17),
75
fol. 38v. Reproduced by permission of the Dean and Chapter, Durham
Cathedral
3.2 The Red Book of Darley (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 422), 82
Part ii, pp. 52–3. Reproduced by permission of The Parker Library,
Cambridge
3.3 The Ruthwell Cross, original south side. Reproduced by permission of
86
the author (Catherine E. Karkov)
3.4 a and b The Franks Casket, front and back panels. Reproduced by
91
permission of the British Museum
x
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List of illustrations
3.5 Portrait of the scribe Eadwine, from the Eadwine Psalter (Cambridge, Trinity
College, MS R.17.1), fol. 283v. Reproduced by permission of the Master and
Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge
6.1 St John the Evangelist, with runic letters, from the Lindisfarne Gospels
(London, British Library, MS Cotton Nero D. IV), fol. 209v. © The British
Library Board
19.1 Diagram ‘mundus-annus-homo’, with the four elements, the four seasons and the
four temperaments (London, British Library, MS Royal C. I, fol. 7r). © The
British Library Board
22.1 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, MS A (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 173), fol.
26r. © The British Library Board
22.2 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, MS F (London, British Library, MS Cotton Domitian A.
viii), bilingual text, fol. 69r. © The British Library Board
22.3 Eadwine Psalter (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS R. 17. 1), fol. 6r. Reproduced
by permission of the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge
96
163
490
568
569
576
xi
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Contributors
R O L F H . B R E M M E R , J R University of Leiden
T H O M A S O W E N C L A N C Y University of Glasgow
J U L I A C R I C K King’s College London
P A T R I C I A D A I L E Y Columbia University
J O S H U A D A V I E S King’s College London
S I O N E D D A V I E S Cardiff University
K A T H L E E N D A V I S University of Rhode Island
S U S A N I R V I N E University College London
C H R I S T O P H E R A . J O N E S Ohio State University
C A T H E R I N E E . K A R K O V University of Leeds
R . M . L I U Z Z A University of Tennessee, Knoxville
R O S A L I N D L O V E University of Cambridge
M A´ I R E N ´I M H A O N A I G H University of Cambridge
H A R U K O M O M M A New York University
T H O M A S O ’ D O N N E L L Fordham University
L I S I O L I V E R Louisiana State University
G I L L I A N R . O V E R I N G Wake Forest University
R U S S E L L P O O L E University of Western Ontario
S . M . R O W L E Y Christopher Newport University
A N D R E W S C H E I L University of Minnesota
J U L I A M . H . S M I T H University of Glasgow
M A T T H E W T O W N E N D University of York
D A V I D T O W N S E N D University of Toronto
E L A I N E T R E H A R N E Stanford University
R E N E´ E R . T R I L L I N G University of Illinois
E L I Z A B E T H M . T Y L E R University of York
D I A N E W A T T University of Surrey
L . M . C . W E S T O N California State University
xii
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Acknowledgements
Putting together a book like this is very much a collaborative effort, so I wish
to thank all the contributors, who have worked so productively to bring it to
fruition and who have taught me so much along the way. Thanks especially to
David Wallace for suggesting the project in the first place and for his support
and encouragement thereafter; to the anonymous readers for the Press for
their insights and helpful contributions; and to Sarah Stanton and her team at
Cambridge University Press for editorial wisdom and good sense. Invitations
to present papers at Oxford and Queen Mary College, London, provided
valuable opportunities to try out material and ideas; King’s College London
hosted a preliminary planning conference for the contributors to share work
and formulate approaches. I owe particular debts of gratitude to Sharon
Rowley and Josh Davies. Thanks also to Carl Kears, for his excellent work
on the bibliography, his scholarly instincts, pragmatism and critical energy.
Barbara Hicks and Dave Dayes helped me focus when I most needed it, and
Noreen O’Connor, wise woman indeed, kept me steady. Gillian Overing, dear
friend and invaluable colleague, offered informal editorial advice and counsel
whenever needed and was supported by Wake Forest University. One of the
great pleasures of working with early medieval literature is sharing its riches
and I am lucky in my students at King’s College London, whose fresh
perspectives and insights continue to offer me new ways to think about this
old material. This book is for them, for Maureen Duffy, who studied Old
English at King’s before me, and for Gillian, fellow student. To Julian, Jacob,
Cora and Pauline: look, I did it!
Clare A. Lees
King’s College London
xiii
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Abbreviations
ACMRS
ANS
ASE
ASPR
CCSL
ChLA
CLA
CMCS
CSASE
DOE
EEMF
EETS
EHR
ELN
EME
ES
HBS
HE
HEL
ÍF
JEGP
JMH
JML
JTS
L
MÆ
MP
MS
MGH
N&Q
NM
ODNB
OE
OEN
Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Anglo-Norman Studies
Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records, ed. Krapp and Dobbie
Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina
Chartae Latinae antiquiores, ed. Bruckner and Marichal
E. A. Lowe (ed.), Codices latini antiquiores
Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies (later Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies)
Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England
Dictionary of Old English (University of Toronto)
Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile
Early English Text Society
English Historical Review
English Language Notes
Early Medieval Europe
English Studies
Henry Bradshaw Society
Bede, Historia ecclesiastica, ed. Colgrave and Mynors
Hofmann, Nordisch-englische Lehnbeziehungen
Íslenzk Fornrit
Journal of English and Germanic Philology
Journal of Medieval History
Journal of Medieval Latin
Journal of Theological Studies
Latin
Medium Ævum
Modern Philology
Mediaeval Studies
Monumenta Germaniae Historica
Notes and Queries
Neuphilologische Mitteilungen
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Old English
Old English Newsletter
xiv
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List of abbreviations
ON
PIMS
PL
PBA
PMLA
RB
RES
Skj
SN
SP
TPS
TRHS
Old Norse
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
Patrologia Latina, ed. J. P. Migne (Paris, 1844–64)
Proceedings of the British Academy
Publications of the Modern Language Association of America
Revue bénédictine
Review of English Studies
Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning, ed. Jónsson
Studia Neophilologica
Studies in Philology
Transactions of the Philological Society
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
xv
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