Research Catalog

Title

Darkness, depression, and descent in Anglo-Saxon England / edited by Ruth Wehlau.

Publication

Kalamazoo : Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, [2019]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Wehlau, Ruth

Description

vi, 300 pages; 24 cm.

Summary

This collection of essays examines the motifs of darkness, depression, and descent in both literal and figurative manifestations within a variety of Anglo-Saxon texts, including the Old English Consolation of Philosophy, Beowulf, Guthlac, The Junius Manuscript, The Wonders of the East, and The Battle of Maldon. Essays deal with such topics as cosmic emptiness, descent into the grave, and recurrent grief. In their analyses, the essays reveal the breadth of this imagery in Anglo-Saxon literature as it is used to describe thought and emotion, as well as the limits to knowledge and perception. The volume investigates the intersection between the burgeoning interest in trauma studies and darkness and the representation of the mind or of emotional experience within Anglo-Saxon literature.

Series Statement

Richard Rawlinson Center series

Uniform Title

Richard Rawlinson Center Series for Anglo-Saxon Studies.

Subjects

• Light and darkness in literature
• English literature > Old English, ca. 450-1100 > History and criticism
• English literature > Old English
• 450-1100
• Criticism, interpretation, etc

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references.

Contents

Preface -- Introduction: darkness in the universe, darkness in the mind in Anglo-Saxon literature / Ruth Wehlau and Fabienne L. Michelet. Part 1 Darkness : Sweart as sin: color connotation and morality in Anglo-Saxon England / Amy W. Clark -- "The night is dark and full of terrors": darkness, terror, and perception in Anglo-Saxon England / Gwendolyne Knight -- The sinister sound of shadows in the Old English poetics of the dark / Filip Missuno -- Into the darkness first: neoplatonism and neurosis in Old English wisdom poetry / Rafał Borysławski -- Signs, interpretation, and exclusion in "Beowulf" / Matthew Scribner. Part 2 Depression : Beowulf's dark thoughts: Heremod, Hrethel, and Exempla of the mind / Ruth Wehlau -- The fourth fate of men: Heremod's darkened mind / James H. Morey -- Eating people and feeling sorry: cannibalism, contrition, and the didactic donestre in the Old English "Wonders of the East" and Latin "Mirabilia" / Matthew Roby. Part 3 Descent : Darkness and light in Oxford, Bodlein Library, MS Junius 11 / Carl Kears -- Darkness edible: soul, body, and worms in early medieval English devotional literature / Haruko Momma -- "Stand firm": the descent to hell in Felix's "Life of Saint Guthlac" / Daniel Anlezark -- The heart of darkness: descent, landscape,a nd mental projection in "Christ and Satan" and "The Wife's Lament" / Francisco J. Rozano-García. Notes on contributors.

Call Number

JFE 19-9218

ISBN

• 1580443672
• 9781580443678

OCLC

1089003422

Title

Darkness, depression, and descent in Anglo-Saxon England / edited by Ruth Wehlau.

Publisher

Kalamazoo : Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, [2019]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Richard Rawlinson Center series

Richard Rawlinson Center Series for Anglo-Saxon Studies.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references.

Chronological Term

450-1100

Added Author

Wehlau, Ruth, editor.

Research Call Number

JFE 19-9218