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The Idea of Anglo-Saxon England in Middle English Romance

Robert Rouse author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Boydell & Brewer Ltd

Published:19th May '05

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The Idea of Anglo-Saxon England in Middle English Romance cover

Investigation into the importance of the Anglo-Saxon past in medieval literature. As the point of origin, both real and imagined, of English law and group identity, the Anglo-Saxon past was important in the construction of a post-Conquest English society that was both aware of, and placed great stock in, its Anglo-Saxon heritage; yet its depiction in post-Conquest literature has been very little studied. This book examines a wide range of sources (legal and historiographical as well as literary) in order to reveal a "social construction" of Anglo-Saxon England that held a significant place in the literary and cultural imagination of the post-Conquest English. Using a variety of texts, but the Matter of England romances in particular, the author argues that theyshow a continued interest in the Anglo-Saxon past, from the localised East Sussex legend of King Alfred that underlies the twelfth-century Proverbs of Alfred, to the institutional interest in the Guy of Warwick narrative exhibited by the community of St. Swithun's Priory in Winchester during the fifteenth century; they are part of a continued cultural remembrance that encompasses chronicles, folk memories, and literature. Dr ROBERT ALLLEN ROUSE teaches in the Department of English, University of British Columbia.

A valuable contribution to the recently established field of Anglo-Saxonism and will no doubt inspire further work in this area. * ANGLIA *
Should be required reading for those studying Masters degrees on the literatures of this era and for anybody interested in the relationship between pre- and post-Conquest writing in the vernacular. * ENGLISH *
This detailed and well-argued study is a timely contribution to the debate on pre-modern Englishness, both literary and historic, which enlarges our understanding of late medieval literary culture and the effectiveness of romance in moulding perceptions of the past. * MEDIUM AEVUM *
The result of creative thinking and excellent writing. It is a rewarding read and a fine contribution to a scholarly discourse that aims to bridge the arbitrary divide of the Norman Conquest. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *
A welcome and thoroughly worthwhile study that repays careful reading. * TOEBI NEWSLETTER *
[A] nimbly written and solidly researched work on an absorbing topic, a neat and useful volume of the kind that D S Brewer is increasingly and commendably one of the few British publishers willing to produce. * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *

ISBN: 9781843840411

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 436g

188 pages