Writing power in Anglo-Saxon England: texts, hierarchies, economies
Writing power in Anglo-Saxon England: texts, hierarchies, economies
The formation and operation of systems of power and patronage in Anglo-Saxon England are currently the focus of concerted scholarly attention. This book explores how power is shaped and negotiated in later Anglo-Saxon texts, focusing in particular on how hierarchical, vertical structures are presented alongside patterns of reciprocity and economies of mutual obligation, especially within the context of patronage relationships (whether secular, spiritual, literal or symbolic). Through close analysis of a wide selection of sources in the vernacular and Latin (including the Guthlac poems of the Exeter Book, Old English verse epitaphs, the acrostic poetry of Abbo of Fleury, the Encomium Emmae Reginae and Libellus Æthelwoldi Episcopi), the study examines how texts sustain dual ways of seeing and understanding power, generating a range of imaginative possibilities along with tensions, ambiguities and instances of disguise or euphemism. It also advances new arguments about the ideology and rhetoric of power in the early medieval period
Old English literature, Anglo-Saxon culture, patronage, power
9781843843191
Clarke, Catherine A.M.
9b091d13-bf1c-4f13-9477-a7c94cfdca06
19 April 2012
Clarke, Catherine A.M.
9b091d13-bf1c-4f13-9477-a7c94cfdca06
Clarke, Catherine A.M.
(2012)
Writing power in Anglo-Saxon England: texts, hierarchies, economies
(Anglo-Saxon Studies),
Oxford, GB.
D.S. Brewer, 208pp.
Abstract
The formation and operation of systems of power and patronage in Anglo-Saxon England are currently the focus of concerted scholarly attention. This book explores how power is shaped and negotiated in later Anglo-Saxon texts, focusing in particular on how hierarchical, vertical structures are presented alongside patterns of reciprocity and economies of mutual obligation, especially within the context of patronage relationships (whether secular, spiritual, literal or symbolic). Through close analysis of a wide selection of sources in the vernacular and Latin (including the Guthlac poems of the Exeter Book, Old English verse epitaphs, the acrostic poetry of Abbo of Fleury, the Encomium Emmae Reginae and Libellus Æthelwoldi Episcopi), the study examines how texts sustain dual ways of seeing and understanding power, generating a range of imaginative possibilities along with tensions, ambiguities and instances of disguise or euphemism. It also advances new arguments about the ideology and rhetoric of power in the early medieval period
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Published date: 19 April 2012
Keywords:
Old English literature, Anglo-Saxon culture, patronage, power
Organisations:
English
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Local EPrints ID: 208939
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/208939
ISBN: 9781843843191
PURE UUID: 3a573afb-53a0-4057-8a03-3d8c7f1d06dc
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Date deposited: 03 Feb 2012 09:06
Last modified: 03 Jan 2024 16:07
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