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Anglo-Saxon Prose
Handed down through generations of storytellers, these popular tales herald the birth of a national literature in the vernacular. From stories of saints to land grants and wills, these texts authored by kings, scribes and saints illuminate Anglo-Saxon Britain. Included in this collection are King Alfred's translation of seafarers' adventures in the Arctic, herbal remedies prescribed by Bald's Leechbook, advice to estate managers, and the love story Apollonius of Tyre, as well the famous Life of Saint Guthlac.
268 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Michael James Swanton
15 books6 followersMichael James Swanton is a British polymath: historian, linguist, literary critic, translator, archaeological metallurgist and architectural historian specialising in Old English literature and the Anglo-Saxon period.
Born a Bow-bell Cockney in the opening days of World War II, Michael emerged from blitz-stricken London dockland wholly depressed. A disadvantaged, epileptic child, he was socially excluded and persistently bullied (see Keith Richards, Life, 2010, p. 55). He failed the selective 11+ exams but was educated at a series of South London state schools: Secondary Modern, Technical and Grammar; then student of the University of Durham (elected Chairman of the students' union, and of the Standing Congress of Northern Student Unions) and later student of Bath, gaining research degrees in both arts and science and a higher doctorate, D. Litt., Dunelm. He taught English at the University of Manchester, then Linguistics at the Universities of Giessen in Germany, and of Lausanne in Switzerland, and finally Medieval Studies at Exeter, where he also acted as the university's Public Orator for several years. During the 1960s–70s he was Honorary Editor of The Royal Archaeological Institute, and in 1971 founded the Exeter Medieval Texts & Studies series (seventy-five titles to date). Reckoned an authority on Anglo-Saxon England, he was elected Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. In retirement he remains Emeritus Professor of Medieval Studies at Exeter University. Now single, he lives in Devonshire writing creatively.
Wide-ranging personal published work includes translations of Beowulf, the Gesta Herewardi (a life of Hereward the Wake), Vitae duorum Offarum (The Lives of Two Offas), and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as well as books on early English literature, art, architecture, and archaeology.
Born a Bow-bell Cockney in the opening days of World War II, Michael emerged from blitz-stricken London dockland wholly depressed. A disadvantaged, epileptic child, he was socially excluded and persistently bullied (see Keith Richards, Life, 2010, p. 55). He failed the selective 11+ exams but was educated at a series of South London state schools: Secondary Modern, Technical and Grammar; then student of the University of Durham (elected Chairman of the students' union, and of the Standing Congress of Northern Student Unions) and later student of Bath, gaining research degrees in both arts and science and a higher doctorate, D. Litt., Dunelm. He taught English at the University of Manchester, then Linguistics at the Universities of Giessen in Germany, and of Lausanne in Switzerland, and finally Medieval Studies at Exeter, where he also acted as the university's Public Orator for several years. During the 1960s–70s he was Honorary Editor of The Royal Archaeological Institute, and in 1971 founded the Exeter Medieval Texts & Studies series (seventy-five titles to date). Reckoned an authority on Anglo-Saxon England, he was elected Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. In retirement he remains Emeritus Professor of Medieval Studies at Exeter University. Now single, he lives in Devonshire writing creatively.
Wide-ranging personal published work includes translations of Beowulf, the Gesta Herewardi (a life of Hereward the Wake), Vitae duorum Offarum (The Lives of Two Offas), and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as well as books on early English literature, art, architecture, and archaeology.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 15, 2012
A much needed modern English translation of these often neglected prose works. Contains translations of works such as the Old English version of Apollonius of Tyre, Life of Saint Guthlac, Christian homilies, sermons, wills, charters and the Alfredian prefaces.
August 22, 2018
Very interesting selection of prose in Old English. Particularly enjoyed the parts relating to law or connections to the Norse/Vikings.
May 1, 2012
I really loved the homilies and hagiographical writings in this book. I was unfamiliar with the life of St. Guthlac of Crowland, but this book has endeared me to him (Also known as the St. Anthony the Great of England). The account of St. Edmund the Martyr was also moving. As far as the fragments of informational text, they are probably more interesting to a historian. Whatever the case, this book is definitely worth reading if only for the life of St. Guthlac.
August 11, 2014
I read this in high school and it sparked my interest in all things Anglo-Saxon.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews