The essays in the first volume are concerned with the earliest period of literary activity in England. Following a general essay which surveys the field as a whole, the essays begin with the arrival of Theodore and Hadrian in the late-7th century and with the establishment of their school at Canterbury, investigating the range of Greek and Latin learning which they brought to bear on the study of the Bible and other curriculum texts. The achievements of their student Aldhelm are also examined. Evidence is presented for the English origin of two other anonymous works from this period, the "Liber monstrorum" and an Isidorian florilegium called "De diversis rebus". The poetic achievement of Bede is seen in a new light, as is that of Aediluulf, an early ninth-century Northumbrian poet. Finally, two essays consider the evidence for books and learning in ninth-century England, a period which saw the interruption of scholarly activity in the face of Viking onslaughts, and the subsequent re-establishment of learning through the energies of King Alfred.
- ISBN10 1852850116
- ISBN13 9781852850111
- Publish Date 1 July 1996
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 25 July 2011
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Hambledon Continuum
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 520
- Language English