Legends from the Ancient North: Five classics of Norse literature that inspired J. R. R. Tolkien's epic vision in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Legendary fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien s
Beowulf is the best known and most closely studied literary work surviving from Anglo-Saxon England, and the modern reader is faced with a bewildering number and variety of interpretations about such
The breadth of learning and insight he brings to bear on the poem, and his balanced approach to numerous points of controversy, will make this book an indispensable tool for beginner and advanced sch
Aldhelm of Malmesbury has been described as 'the first English man of letters'. He was the first Germanic author to compose extensively in Latin metrical verse, and his Latin works were amongst the most influential in Anglo-Saxon England. Aldhelm can also be considered the best-read of Anglo-Saxon poets, in both senses of the phrase: he read most and was most read. In this first book-length study of Aldhelm's poetic art Andy Orchard traces the sources and models for Aldhelm's idiosyncratic style, as well as the nature and extent of his influence on later Anglo-Latin verse. Aldhelm's innovations in Latin verse technique are emphasized, in particular his special debt to the specific techniques of Old English vernacular verse.
Monsters and the monstrous, whether from the remote pagan past or the new world of Christian Latin learning, haunted the Anglo-Saxon imagination in a variety of ways. In this series of detailed stud
The greatest source of knowledge of Viking lore. The mythology surrounding ancient Norse gods and heroes has inspired countless writers and artists, including Tennyson, Wagner, William Morris, Tolkie
New Readings in the Vercelli Book addresses central questions concerning the manuscript's intended use, mode of compilation, and purpose, and offers a variety of approaches on such topics as orthograp
Throughout the Anglo-Saxon period, Latin and Old English were, to large extent, alternative literary languages. Latin Learning and English Lore is a collection of essays examining the complex co-exist
