Research Catalog

Ancient privileges : Beowulf, law and the making of Germanic antiquity / by Stefan Jurasinski.

Title: Ancient privileges : Beowulf, law and the making of Germanic antiquity / by Stefan Jurasinski.
Author: Jurasinski, Stefan.
Publication: Morgantown : West Virginia University Press, 2006.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Request in advance	PR1586 .J873 2006	Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

183 p.; 23 cm.

Summary

"One of the great triumphs of nineteenth-century philology was the development of the wide array of comparative data that underpins the grammars of the Old Germanic dialects, such as Old English, Old Icelandic, Old Saxon, and Gothic. These led to the reconstruction of Common Germanic and Proto-Germanic languages. Many individuals have forgotten that scholars of the same period were interested in reconstructing the body of ancient law that was supposedly shared by all speakers of Germanic. Stefan Jurasinski's Ancient Privileges: Beowulf, Law, and the Making of the Germanic Antiquity recounts how the work of nineteenth-century legal historians actually influenced the editing of Old English texts, most notably Beowulf, in ways that are still preserved in our editions. This situation has been a major contributor to the archaizing of Beowulf. In turn, Jurasinski's careful analysis of its assumptions in light of contemporary research offers a model for scholars to apply to a number of other textual artifacts that have been affected by what was known as the historische Rechtsschule. At the very least, it will change the way you think about Beowulf."--Publisher's website.

Series Statement

Medieval European studies ; 6

Uniform Title

Project Muse UPCC books
Medieval European studies ; 6.

Subject

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.
History

Note

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind., 2003.
"This study considers the influence of nineteenth-century legal historians on the editing and interpretation of Beowulf"--Preface.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-179) and index.

Processing Action (note)

committed to retain

Contents

"The forests of Germany" -- Jakob Grimm, legal formalism, and the editing of Beowulf -- "Public land," Germanic egalitarianism, and nineteenth-century philology -- The ectasy of vengance -- Accidental homicide and the Hrethel episode -- Law and the archaism of Beowulf

ISBN

093705898X (pbk. : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2005937638

OCLC

70077718

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library