The Old English Homily
Precedent, Practice, and Appropriation
A. J. Kleist (ed.)
XIV+534 p., 160 x 240 mm, 2007
ISBN: 978-2-503-51792-6
Languages: English
Hardback
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Online content: http://dx.doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.6.09070802050003050107090206
This volume compiles a broad range of essays on Anglo-Saxon homilies as they are being studied today.
The quarter-century that has passed since Paul Szarmach’s and
Bernard Huppé’s groundbreaking The Old English
Homily and its Backgrounds (1978) has seen staggering changes
in the field of Anglo-Saxon homiletics. Primary materials have
become accessible to scholars in unprecedented levels, whether
digitally or through new critical editions, and these have
generated in turn a flood of secondary scholarship. The articles in
this volume showcase and build on these developments. The first
five essays consider various contexts of and influences on
Anglo-Saxon homilies: patristic and early medieval Latin sources,
continental homiliaries and preaching practices, traditions of
Old Testament interpretation and adaptation, and the liturgical
setting of preaching texts. Six studies then turn to the sermons
themselves, examining style and rhetoric in the Vercelli homilies,
the codicology of the Blickling Book, sanctorale and
temporale in the works of Ælfric, and the challenges
posed by Wulfstan’s self-referential corpus. Finally, the
last entries take us past the Conquest to discuss the re-use of
homiletic material in England and its environs from the eleventh to
eighteenth century. Together, these articles offer medieval
scholars a new Old English Homily, one that serves both as
an introduction to key figures and issues in the field and as a
model of studies for the next quarter-century.
"[...] le médiéviste lira cet ouvrage fort bien
présenté avec le plus grand intérêt."
(P.-M. Bogaert in: Revue Bénédictine, 2008
1, 182)
Table of Contents
Introduction
Old English Homilies and Latin Sources - Charles D. Wright
Ælfric’s Manuscript of Paul the Deacon’s Homiliary: A Provisional Analysis - Joyce Hill
The Carolingian De festiuitatibus and the Blickling Book - Nancy M. Thompson
The Old Testament Homily: Ælfric as Biblical Translator - Rachel Anderson
The Liturgical Context of Ælfric’s Homilies for Rogation - Stephen J. Harris
Rereading the Style and Rhetoric of the Vercelli Homilies - Samantha Zacher
The Codicology of Anglo-Saxon Homiletic Manuscripts, Especially the Blickling Homilies - M. J. Toswell
Latin Sermons for Saints in Early English Homiliaries and Legendaries - Thomas N. Hall
Homiletic Contexts for Ælfric’s Hagiography: The Legend of Saints Cecilia and Valerian - Robert K. Upchurch
Ælfric’s or Not? The Making of a Temporale Collection in Late Anglo-Saxon England - Loredana Teresi
Wulfstan as Reader, Writer, and Rewriter - Andy Orchard
Old Wine in a New Bottle: Recycled Instructional Materials in Seasons for Fasting - Mary P. Richards
The Circulation of the Old English Homily in the Twelfth Century: New Evidence from Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 343 - Aidan Conti
Preaching Past the Conquest: Lambeth Palace 487 and Cotton Vespasian A. XXII - Mary Swan
Anglo-Saxon Homilies in their Scandinavian Context - Christopher Abram
Anglo-Saxon Homiliaries in Tudor and Stuart England - Aaron J. Kleist
Appendix: Anglo-Saxon Homiliaries as Designated by Ker
"Yes, the 200 or more homilies (...) are a big fraction of the extant corpus of writing in the pre-1100 English (...) and yes, there has been a lot of research in the past twenty years, with editions finally emerging after decades, or in some cases a century or more, of deferral and some really solid scholarship con contexts an history appearing, but it was still for me astonishing to see the range and quality of research on offer here." (The Review of English Studies), vol. 59, N° 240, June 2008)
"While effectively epitomizing the status quaestionis in the study of Old English homilies, the collection highlights new research paths and inspires future work, providing an invaluable tool for both the specialist and the novice in the field of Anglo-Saxon homiletics." (C. Di Sciacca in Journal of English and Germanic Philology, October 2009, p. 539-542)
"The Old English Homily is a handsome, weighty volume and the generous length of the essays gives space for in-depth studies. It offers an excellent statement of where we are in studying the Old English Homily but is far more than just an introduction to the area. (...) future work will build on this volume." (M. Clayton, in: The Medieval Review, 08.09.11)