The political writings of Archbishop Wulfstan of York

by Andrew Rabin (Translator)

Archbishop Wulfstan of York (d. 1023) is among the most important legal and political thinkers of the early Middle Ages. A leading ecclesiastic, innovative legislator, and influential royal councilor, Wulfstan witnessed firsthand the violence and social unrest that culminated in the fall of the English monarchy before the invading armies of Cnut in 1016. In his homilies and legal tracts, Wulfstan offered a searing indictment of the moral failings that led to England’s collapse and formulated a vision of an ideal Christian community that would influence English political thought long after the Anglo-Saxon period had ended. These works, many of which have never before been available in modern English, are collected here for the first time in new, extensively annotated translations that will help readers reassess one of the most turbulent periods in English history and re-evaluate the career of Anglo-Saxon England’s most important political visionary.

264 pages, Hardcover

First published December 10, 2014

About the author

Andrew Rabin is a professor of English at the University of Louisville.

Reviews

[James Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at the religious based legal codes written shortly before the Norman invasion.