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Andreas: An Edition

A new translation and analysis of an Old English classic

Richard North editor Michael Bintley editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Liverpool University Press

Published:3rd Dec '19

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Andreas: An Edition cover

This edition of Andreas offers a new translation and insightful commentary, making it accessible for both students and scholars.

The new edition of Andreas: An Edition presents a fresh translation of the Old English poem, accompanied by a comprehensive introduction, notes, and a glossary. This marks the first time in 55 years that Andreas has been published, offering a parallel presentation of the Anglo-Saxon text alongside a Modern English poetic translation. The aim is to provide both students and scholars with an updated text that reaffirms the poem's significance in the canon of Old English literature.

The introduction to Andreas: An Edition is extensive, situating the poem within the context of nearly sixty years of advancements in palaeography, sources, language, metrics, and literary criticism. The author posits that the poet hails from Mercia and suggests that the poem makes ironic references to Beowulf. Furthermore, it examines how the narrative of St. Andrew converting the Mermedonian cannibals is influenced by the historical backdrop of King Alfred’s conflicts with the Danes.

Presented in a split-page format, Andreas: An Edition allows readers of all levels to engage with the text in its nearly original form. The Modern English translation adheres to the poem’s word order and style, enabling contemporary readers to appreciate the imagination, ideology, and humor embedded in Andreas. Accompanied by a full set of notes and a glossary, this edition serves as a vital resource for understanding this important work of Old English literature.

Reviews 'Two major critical editions of [Andreas] were published during the twentieth century [...] but the new edition from Richard North and Michael D.J. Bintley is sure to displace them and become the standard edition cited in professional scholarship. An extraordinary amount of labor appears to have been invested in this massive work, which offers much more than its predecessors. […] An infectious enthusiasm for the poem and its possible connections to Anglo-Saxon intellectual and material culture pervades the book and is bound to spread to some of its readers. North and Bintley’s rich edition should stimulate a wave of new interpretations of Andreas and inspire new investigations into its date of composition and historical context. It is in many respects an exemplary edition, which could serve as a model for new editions of other Old English poems that have been satisfactorily edited before.'
Leonard Neidorf, Studia Neophilologica, June 2017
'A highlight of this new edition is the presence of a translation, in modern English, on the same page, the old-English text above, the translation down. Quite literally, the translation closely follows the original, making the rich vocabulary and complex syntax of the poem more accessible. ... The critical apparatus also includes a substantial glossary and a bibliography, supplemented by an index that covers both the introduction and the commentary. It is therefore an excellent edition that provides Anglicist medievalists with all the critical tools to both understand Andreas and follow the arguments of R.N. and M.B.' (Translated from French)
Leo Carruthers, Le Moyen Âge
'Learned and precise, Richard North and Michael Bintley's superb new edition will bring this often-bizarre, but always interesting composition to the next few generations of twenty-first century scholars. ... This new authoritative edition of Andreas is a triumph of scholarship.'
Andrew Scheil, The Medieval Review

ISBN: 9781789620726

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

392 pages

Bilingual edition