Text, Image, Interpretation: Studies in Anglo-Saxon Literature and its Insular Context in Honour of Éamonn Ó Carragáin

by Jane Roberts, Alastair J. Minnis (Editor)

In emulation of Professor Éamonn O Carragáin, who has, over the last few decades, demonstrated how words and images together join in that extraordinary cultural achievement which is the Ruthwell Cross, the volume seeks to transcend the established methods of the single discipline. The twenty-six essays draw together insights from fields as diverse as archaeology, art history, and liturgy to reflect on the literature and material culture of the Anglo-Saxons. The first section looks outwards from the insular context, to medieval Rome, more generally to western Europe, and backwards to the world-geography of the ancient world; its illustrations include colour plates to illumine the hangings, clothing and vestments extant from Anglo-Saxon England. A range of texts is considered in the central section, Latin, English, and Old Norse. The third section focuses on sculpture, buildings and the insular landscape, juxtaposing the sculptured stonework of Northern Britain with early Christian monuments and remains from Ireland; among the illustrations are striking coloured photographs of Irish ecclesiastical sites. The contributors are from Canada, the United States, Italy, Britain, and Ireland.

574 pages, Hardcover

First published December 30, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Dame Priscilla Jane Stephanie Roberts, The Hon. Lady Roberts, DCVO has been the Curator of the Print Room at Windsor Castle since 1975 and the Royal Librarian since 2002 until her retirement in July 2013.