A beautiful and informative exploration of the illuminated manuscripts of the Bible over a millennium and across the globe, shedding new light on some of the most significant, yet rarely seen, paintings of the Middle Ages

This study proposes a new view of glossing as a universal phenomenon. Starting from the Psalter, a centrepiece of devotion and education in early medieval Europe, it combines historical sociolinguistics, comparative philology, manuscript studies and cultural history in order to assess and compare the interface of Latin with Old Irish, Old English, Old Frisian, Old Saxon and Old High German within the context of its multilingual and textual culture. The close study of thirteen glossed manuscripts, such as the Anglo-Saxon Vespasian Psalter and the Old Irish Milan Glosses, reveals when and why scribes switched from Latin into the vernacular, how the vernacular was used in studying Latin, how glosses interact with construe marks and punctuation, and how such manuscripts were intended to be read in a period covering the seventh to the twelfth centuries and in an area stretching from Ireland to Central Europe. The book is an essential textbook for specialists in the growing field of glossing, and also reaches out to scholars of early medieval liturgy, education, palaeography and Christian literature.

An examination of how The Book of Psalms shaped medieval thought and helped develop the medieval English literary canon. The Book of Psalms had a profound impact on English literature from the Anglo-Saxon to the late medieval period. This collection examines the various ways in which they shaped medieval English thought and contributed to the emergence of an English literary canon. It brings into dialogue experts on both Old and Middle English literature, thus breaking down the traditional disciplinary binaries of both pre- and post-Conquest English and late medieval and Early Modern, as well as emphasizing the complex and fascinating relationship between Latin and the vernacular languages of England. Its three main themes, translation, adaptation and voice, enable a rich variety of perspectives on the Psalms and medieval English literature to emerge. TAMARA ATKIN is Senior Lecturer in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance Literature at Queen Mary University of London; FRANCIS LENEGHAN is Associate Professor of OldEnglish at The University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford Contributors: Daniel Anlezark, Mark Faulkner, Vincent Gillespie, Michael P. Kuczynski, David Lawton, Francis Leneghan, Jane Roberts, Mike Rodman Jones, Elizabeth Solopova, Lynn Staley, Annie Sutherland, Jane Toswell, Katherine Zieman.

The Anglo-Saxon period stretches from the arrival of Germanic groups on British shores in the early 5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. During these centuries, the English language was used and written down for the first time, pagan populations were converted to Christianity, and the foundations of the kingdom of England were laid. This richly illustrated new book - which accompanies a landmark British Library exhibition - presents Anglo-Saxon England as the home of a highly sophisticated artistic and political culture, deeply connected with its continental neighbours. Leading specialists in early medieval history, literature and culture engage with the unique, original evidence from which we can piece together the story of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, examining outstanding and beautiful objects such as highlights from the Staffordshire hoard and the Sutton Hoo burial. At the heart of the book is the British Library's outstanding collection of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, the richest source of evidence about Old English language and literature, including Beowulf and other poetry; the Lindisfarne Gospels, one of Britain's greatest artistic and religious treasures; the St Cuthbert Gospel, the earliest intact European book; and historical manuscripts such as Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. These national treasures are discussed alongside other, internationally important literary and historical manuscripts held in major collections in Britain and Europe. This book, and the exhibition it accompanies, chart a fascinating and dynamic period in early medieval history, and will bring to life our understanding of these formative centuries.

The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in Britain vereint erstmals wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse zu Multilingualität und Interkulturalität im mittelalterlichen Britannien und bietet mehr als 600 fundierte Einträge zu Schlüsselpersonen, Zusammenhängen und Einflüssen in der Literatur vom fünften bis sechzehnten Jahrhundert. - Einzigartiger multilingualer, interkultureller Ansatz und die neuesten wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse. Das gesamte Mittelalter und die Bandbreite literarischer Sprachen werden abgedeckt. - Über 600 fundierte, verständliche Einträge zu Schlüsselpersonen, Texten, kritischen Debatten, Methoden, kulturellen Zusammenhängen sowie verwandte Terminologie. - Repräsentiert die gesamte Literatur der Britischen Inseln, einschließlich Alt- und Mittelenglisch, das frühe Schottland, die Anglonormannen, Nordisch, Latein und Französisch in Britannien, die keltische Literatur in Wales, Irland, Schottland und Cornwall. - Beeindruckende chronologische Darstellung, von der Invasion der Sachsen bis zum 5. Jahrhundert und weiter bis zum Übergang zur frühen Moderne im 16. Jahrhundert. - Beleuchtet die Überbleibsel mittelalterlicher britischer Literatur, darunter auch Manuskripte und frühe Drucke, literarische Stätten und Zusammenhänge in puncto Herstellung, Leistung und Rezeption sowie erzählerische Transformation und intertextuelle Verbindungen in dieser Zeit.

Made in Rome around A.D. 400, the Vatican Vergil is the most famous and the most attractive illustrated book surviving from classical antiquity. David H. Wright introduces this masterpiece of late antique art and shows why it is such an impressive example of the new form of book, the codex, that replaced the traditional papyrus roll and permitted more elaborate illustrations. Here are thirty-two of the most interesting illustrations from the Vatican Vergil, reprinted in full color from the 1980 facsimile published in Graz, Austria, in collaboration with the Vatican Library. Facing each reproduction is the appropriate text from Vergil, in Latin and in English, together with explanatory comments. Wright discusses how the manuscript was made, describing the style of the capital script and of the illustrations as well as their sources in older classical traditions. He examines the Vatican Vergil as an example of the revival of classical culture in pagan circles in Rome at a time when Christian authority was systematically suppressing pagan religion. Finally, he surveys the "afterlife" of the codex, tracing how the work was studied and copied first in the Carolingian era and then in the Italian Renaissance. All the illustrations not reproduced in color are given at full size in black and white in a concluding list of the illustrations that have survived in this unique masterpiece. Made in Rome around A.D. 400, the Vatican Vergil is the most famous and the most attractive illustrated book surviving from classical antiquity. David H. Wright introduces this masterpiece of late antique art and shows why it is such an impressive example of the new form of book, the codex, that replaced the traditional papyrus roll and permitted more elaborate illustrations. Here are thirty-two of the most interesting illustrations from the Vatican Vergil, reprinted in full color from the 1980 facsimile published in Graz, Austria, in collaboration with the Vatican Library. Facing each reproduction is the appropriate text from Vergil, in Latin and in English, together with explanatory comments. Wright discusses how the manuscript was made, describing the style of the capital script and of the illustrations as well as their sources in older classical traditions. He examines the Vatican Vergil as an example of the revival of classical culture in pagan circles in Rome at a time when Christian authority was systematically suppressing pagan religion. Finally, he surveys the "afterlife" of the codex, tracing how the work was studied and copied first in the Carolingian era and then in the Italian Renaissance. All the illustrations not reproduced in color are given at full size in black and white in a concluding list of the illustrations that have survived in this unique masterpiece.

This book explores the intellectual foundations of the Benedictine reform in tenth-century England. It examines the importance of the vernacular at Bishop Æthelwold's influential Winchester school. Æthelwold's early career is also examined, showing the influence King Æthelstan's court had on intellectual and spiritual thought.