A New Critical History of Old English Literature

by Stanley B. Greenfield, Daniel G. Calder

Anglo-Saxon prose and poetry is, without question, the major literary achievement of the early Middle Ages (c. 700-1100). In no other vernacular language does such a vast store of verbal treasures exist for so extended a period of time. For twenty years the definitive guide to that literature has been Stanley B. Greenfield's 1965 Critical History of Old English Literature. Now this classic has been extensively revised and updated to make it more valuable than ever to both the student and scholar.

Genres: Linguistics

388 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1986

Reviews

[Royce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it doesn't contain the most up-to-date critiques, it is a much more accessible book than the Fulk and Cain. It uses fewer obscure terms (and I mean literary terms, not Old English!) and often defines them when it does. This book is well organized, first by chronology (pre- and post-Viking disruption) and then by genre. Great summary and bibliography of all the 'standard' publications of the original and the translations so you know who to consult next!

[no · Rating 3 out of 5]

So here's the status quo. Competent, sober, okay. None of the whimsy, creativity, and risk that can make criticism, history, or critical history pleasurable. Nod, grunt, and mumble "I know." Lapidge's Anglo-Latin survey's novel and useful.

Takeaway:
"Perhaps we should take the description of the Exeter Book in the list of Leofric's donations to the Exeter Cathedral at its word: .i. mycel englisc boc be gehwilcum þingum on leoðwisan geworht, 'a large book about various subjects composed in verse,' and stop trying to impose our perspectives of generic commonality upon them."

[Mehr Ali]

good enough

[Mehr Ali]

wonderful