Books in the Anglo-Saxon Studies series

A radical new interpretation of the Anglo-Saxon episcopate, bringing to light previously unused evidence.

An examination of the Old English medical collections, arguing that these texts are products of a learned intellectual culture.Four complete medical collections survive from Anglo-Saxon England. These were first edited by Oswald Cockayne in the nineteenth century and came to be known by the names Bald's Leechbook, Leechbook III, the Lacnunga, and the Old English Pharmacopeia. Together these works represent the earliest complete collections of medical material in a western vernacular language. This book examines these texts as products of a learnedliterary culture. While earlier scholarship tended to emphasise the relationship of these works to folk belief or popular culture, this study suggests that all four extant collections were probably produced in major ecclesiasticalcentres. It examines the collections individually, emphasising their differences of content and purpose, while arguing that each consistently displays connections with an elite intellectual culture. The final chapter considers the fundamentally positive depiction of doctors and medicine found within literary and ecclesiastical works from the period and suggests that the high esteem for medicine in literate circles may have favoured the study and translation of medical texts. EMILY KESLING gained her DPhil from the University of Oxford; she is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo.

A strikingly original approach to Beowulf, linking its structure to the dynastic life-cycle.

First full-length study of the notion and concept of old age in early medieval England.

An exploration of Anglo-Saxon charters, bringing out their complexity and highlighting a range of broad implications.

Examinations of the date of Beowulf have tremendous significance for Anglo-Saxon culture in general.

An examination of the liturgical rituals of the high festivals of the year and their reflection in the secular church.

Analysis of a group of images of kingship and queenship from Anglo-Saxon England explores the implications of their focus on books, authorship and learning.

A history of monastic foundations in East Anglia, from the middle Anglo-Saxon period to the Normans.

A full and accessibly-written survey of Bede and his works, including a chapter on his legacy for subsequent history.

A consideration of the theme of demons as teachers in early English literature.

The role of pastoral care reconsidered in the context of major changes within the Anglo-Saxon church.

A wide-ranging study of the significance of swords throughout the whole Anglo-Saxon period, offering valuable insights into the meaning of and attitude towards swords.

Fresh perspectives on the English clergy, their books, and the wider Anglo-Saxon church.

Drawing on sources from archaeology and written texts, the author brings out the full significance of trees in both pagan and Christian Anglo-Saxon religion.

Essays on the depiction of animals, birds and insects in early medieval material culture, from texts to carvings to the landscape itself.

An examination of the linguistic and cultural construction of one of the texts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

Essays examining how punishment operated in England, from c.600 to the Norman Conquest.

A fresh approach to the implications of obtaining, preparing, and consuming food, concentrating on the little-investigated routines of everyday life.

Argues for a new reading of Beowulf in its contemporary context, where honour and violence are intimately linked.

A powerful exploration of trees in both the real and the imagined Anglo-Saxon landscape.

The origins of England's regional cultures are here shown to be strongly influenced by the natural environment and geographical features.