Demythologising urban landscapes in Andreas

Bintley, Mike (2009) Demythologising urban landscapes in Andreas. Leeds Studies in English, 40, 105-118.

Record type: Article

Abstract

Conceptions of the urban landscape changed dramatically over the course of the Anglo-Saxonperiod due to a number of socio-economic and socio-political factors, a fact which is mirroredto a certain extent by the changes in the way that these landscapes were depicted in Old English literature. By the close of the period, the towering ‘work of giants’ described in poemswhich appear to represent the state of urban foundations during the early Anglo-Saxon periodhad been supplanted by the sort of glorious cities, carved in wood and stone, that were centralto late Anglo-Saxon ideas of power and governance. This ideological shift was necessitatedin part by the Viking incursions that came, towards the end of the ninth century, to promptthe planned reoccupation and development of urban sites throughout Anglo-Saxon England.Successful mediation of this process required the guidance of steady hands, not only in surmounting many of the practical difficulties of urban regeneration and resettlement, but also inreimagining the city as a realm of virtue and good works. This paper argues that this processwas accomplished, in part, by works like the Old English Andreas, which may have served ahitherto unrecognised role in helping urban landscapes to shed many of the negative connotations which pertained in earlier Anglo-Saxon culture, reclaiming urban landscapes for thegood of God and man.

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