Medieval
Aldhelm and the Two Cultures of Anglo-Saxon Poetry
By , University College London (July 2007)
Sections: Medieval
Subjects: Literature, Cultural Studies, Anglo-Saxon Literature, Medieval Literature.
Periods: 1 - 999 CE, 500 - 999 CE.
Key Topics: Beowulf manuscript, poetry, literary history, medievalism.
Abstract
Old English literature dominates the study of Anglo-Saxon culture as a whole, to the extent that ‘Anglo-Saxon’ and ‘Old English’ were for a long time considered synonymous. The Anglo-Saxons, however, also produced a large body of texts in Latin. In this survey, I examine the often false dichotomy sometimes made between Old English and Anglo-Latin literary aesthetics and textual production as they are revealed through Anglo-Saxon poetry, and discuss the post-medieval intellectual contexts that produce and sustain this dichotomy. The figure and work of Aldhelm (c.639 ce–709 ce) is used as an example of how Anglo-Saxon poets often occupied a liminal position between Latinate and Germanic culture. I argue that a proper understanding of Anglo-Saxon culture (and poetry’s place within it) requires us to disassemble the artificial barriers that have been erected between Old English and Anglo-Latin verse.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-4113.2007.00483.x
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