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Living Through Conquest: The Politics of Early English, 1020-1220
Oxford Textual Perspectives is a new series of informative and provocative studies focused upon literary texts (conceived of in the broadest sense of that term) and the technologies, cultures and communities that produce, inform, and receive them. It provides fresh interpretations of fundamental works and of the vital and challenging issues emerging in English literary studies. By engaging with the materiality of the literary text, its production, and reception history, and frequently testing and exploring the boundaries of the notion of text itself, the volumes in the series question familiar frameworks and provide innovative interpretations of both canonical and less well-known works.
Living through Conquest is the first ever investigation of the political clout of English from the reign of Cnut to the earliest decades of the thirteenth century. It focuses on why and how the English language was used by kings and their courts and by leading churchmen and monastic institutions at key moments from 1020 to 1220. English became the language of choice of a usurper king; the language of collective endeavour for preachers and prelates; and the language of resistance and negotiation in the post-Conquest period. Analysing texts that are not widely known, such as Cnut's two Letters to the English of 1020 and 1027, Worcester's Confraternity Agreement, and the Eadwine Psalter, alongside canonical writers like AElfric and Wulfstan, Elaine Treharne demonstrates the ideological significance of the native vernacular and its social and cultural relevance alongside Latin, and later, French.
While many scholars to date have seen the period from 1060 to 1220 as a literary lacuna as far as English is concerned, this book demonstrates unequivocally that the hundreds of vernacular works surviving from this period attest to a lively and rich textual tradition. Living Through Conquest addresses the political concerns of English writers and their constructed audiences, and investigates the agenda of manuscript producers, from those whose books were very much in the vein of earlier English codices to those innovators who employed English precisely to demonstrate its contemporaneity in a multitude of contexts and for a variety of different audiences.
Living through Conquest is the first ever investigation of the political clout of English from the reign of Cnut to the earliest decades of the thirteenth century. It focuses on why and how the English language was used by kings and their courts and by leading churchmen and monastic institutions at key moments from 1020 to 1220. English became the language of choice of a usurper king; the language of collective endeavour for preachers and prelates; and the language of resistance and negotiation in the post-Conquest period. Analysing texts that are not widely known, such as Cnut's two Letters to the English of 1020 and 1027, Worcester's Confraternity Agreement, and the Eadwine Psalter, alongside canonical writers like AElfric and Wulfstan, Elaine Treharne demonstrates the ideological significance of the native vernacular and its social and cultural relevance alongside Latin, and later, French.
While many scholars to date have seen the period from 1060 to 1220 as a literary lacuna as far as English is concerned, this book demonstrates unequivocally that the hundreds of vernacular works surviving from this period attest to a lively and rich textual tradition. Living Through Conquest addresses the political concerns of English writers and their constructed audiences, and investigates the agenda of manuscript producers, from those whose books were very much in the vein of earlier English codices to those innovators who employed English precisely to demonstrate its contemporaneity in a multitude of contexts and for a variety of different audiences.
236 pages, Hardcover
First published July 5, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 26, 2024
If I had a time machine I would travel back to early 2024 and stop myself from taking Old English by any means necessary
October 15, 2012
In this book, Elaine Treharne offers both a lamentation about scholarly reception of eleventh- and twelfth-century English literature as well as a corrective analyses of key issues and texts. In this, she does not stop short with only critique; she provides insights of remedy that cannot be ignored. Throughout much of the book I found myself agreeing and cheering, since she challenges previous misconceptions and models new approaches to the subject. The result is an excellent work that moves from introduction to the issues at stake toward case studies that tackle the main questions at hand. Thus, history and texts receive fresh readings and new ways of understanding the period covered in the book (c.1020-1220).
The individual chapters may be essentially divided into two main topics: examinations of texts in the period after the Danish conquest of England (1013); and examinations of texts in the period following the Norman conquest of England (1066). As Treharne points out, the earlier conquest has received little sustained study; indeed, eleventh and twelfth century literature has (until recently) generally suffered from lack of attention. Treharne turns her attention to this lack of study and supplies a much needed intervention. She especially offers many insights on topics of religious texts--most prominently, manuscripts, sermons, and the psalms in the post-conquest period. Scholars working on these subjects in medieval England will be well informed by her insights.
As Treharne admits, there remains an iceberg of evidence to consult, and she examines only bits from the tip; yet her approach also encourages further study to be undertaken in the future. This is perhaps the place to level my greatest criticism: that the book is short enough that it offers only a taste of the topic and possible readings of the evidence; though perhaps this displays my own gluttony for further study of the subjects discussed throughout Treharne's work.
The individual chapters may be essentially divided into two main topics: examinations of texts in the period after the Danish conquest of England (1013); and examinations of texts in the period following the Norman conquest of England (1066). As Treharne points out, the earlier conquest has received little sustained study; indeed, eleventh and twelfth century literature has (until recently) generally suffered from lack of attention. Treharne turns her attention to this lack of study and supplies a much needed intervention. She especially offers many insights on topics of religious texts--most prominently, manuscripts, sermons, and the psalms in the post-conquest period. Scholars working on these subjects in medieval England will be well informed by her insights.
As Treharne admits, there remains an iceberg of evidence to consult, and she examines only bits from the tip; yet her approach also encourages further study to be undertaken in the future. This is perhaps the place to level my greatest criticism: that the book is short enough that it offers only a taste of the topic and possible readings of the evidence; though perhaps this displays my own gluttony for further study of the subjects discussed throughout Treharne's work.
July 30, 2013
What I like best about Elaine Treharne is the deep affection and respect she never fails to show for the manuscripts she is studying. She really listens to what the text is saying, and steadfastly refuses to embroider her own ideas onto what is before her or to settle for someone else's interpretations. In doing so, she proves time and time again that the actual messages the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts have for us are always more interesting than those we assign them.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews