It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of the Bible in the medieval world. For the Anglo-Saxons, literary culture emerged from sustained and intensive biblical study. Further, at least to judge from the Old English texts which survive, the Old Testament was the primary influence, both in terms of content and modes of interpretation. Though the Old Testament was only partially translated into Old English, recent studies have shown how completely interconnected Anglo-Latin and Old English literary traditions are. Old English Literature and the Old Testament considers the importance of the Old Testament from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, from comparative to intertextual and historical. Though the essays focus on individual works, authors, or trends, including the Interrogationes Sigewulfi, Genesis A, and Daniel, each ultimately speaks to the vernacular corpus as a whole, suggesting approaches and methodologies for further study.

These chapters on Old English Literature are intended to fill the gap between Professor Thomas’s valuable, but all too brief account in his English Literature before Chaucer, and longer works, such as those of Stopford Brooke and the Chapters in the first volume of the Cambridge History of English Literature. My primary object has, of course, been to make the works themselves known to my readers, but I have also tried to trace the development of prose and poetry during the period, showing in the poetry the modifications of the original Germanic character brought about by later influences of all kinds, and noting those forms or features which lead on to Middle English. In dealing with the many unsettled questions, I have given only the views which seem to me most important. Had I wished to do more, it would obviously have been impossible in the space which I have allowed myself; but references to other works are added for a student who may wish to make a more thorough investigation of such points for himself.

Excerpt from The Old English: Elene, Ph nix, and Physiologus The manuscript in which the Elene is found is No. CXVII of the library of the Cathedral of Vercelli, in Northern Italy, midway between Turin and Milan, and is hence known as the Codex Vercellensis, or Vercelli Book. It was discovered in 1822 by a German jurist, Friedrich Blume, who then and there copied out the poetical pieces; the result of his investigations in this and other Italian libraries was made known in his book Iter Italicum, the first volume of which was published in 1824. The manuscript belongs to the later decades of the tenth century. It contains 135 written leaves, and the average size of the written page is 91/2 by 6 inches, while that of the complete page approximates 121/4 by 8. It comprises twenty-three homilies and six interspersed poems, the arrangement of the latter being as follows: Andreas (fol. 29-52) and Fates of the Apostles (52-54), after the fifth homily; Address of the Soul to the Body (101-103), Falsehood of Men (104-104), Dream of the Rood (104-106), after the eighteenth; and Elene (121-133), after the twenty-second. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

One of the most popular and widely read books of the Middle Ages, Physiologus contains allegories of beasts, stones, and trees both real and imaginary, infused by their anonymous author with the spirit of Christian moral and mystical teaching. Accompanied by an introduction that explains the origins, history, and literary value of this curious text, this volume also reproduces twenty woodcuts from the 1587 version. Originally composed in the fourth century in Greek, and translated into dozens of versions through the centuries, Physiologus will delight readers with its ancient tales of ant-lions, centaurs, and hedgehogs—and their allegorical significance. “An elegant little book . . . still diverting to look at today. . . . The woodcuts reproduced from the 1587 Rome edition are alone worth the price of the book.”—Raymond A. Sokolov, New York Times Book Review

This interdisciplinary handbook provides extensive information about research in medieval studies and its most important results over the last decades. The handbook is a reference work which enables the readers to quickly and purposely gain insight into the important research discussions and to inform themselves about the current status of research in the field. The handbook consists of four parts. The first, large section offers articles on all of the main disciplines and discussions of the field. The second section presents articles on the key concepts of modern medieval studies and the debates therein. The third section is a lexicon of the most important text genres of the Middle Ages. The fourth section provides an international bio-bibliographical lexicon of the most prominent medievalists in all disciplines. A comprehensive bibliography rounds off the compendium. The result is a reference work which exhaustively documents the current status of research in medieval studies and brings the disciplines and experts of the field together.