The iconography of the Utrecht Psalter and the Old English Descent into Hell
Jessica Brantley
The Old English Descent into Hell fits uneasily the poetic corpus remaining to us from Anglo-Saxon England. poem is an oddity both thematically and genetically, (insofar as it has attracted any attention at all) history of its criticism been unrewarding search for sources. presents a sourcing problem most basic, parts are so disparate that difficult even construct horizon expectations which read work. I hope suggest here new analogue, well way thinking about sources analogues in literary studies, may prove fruitful. more rewarding context comparative study not textual, but pictorial; argue visual exegesis psalms reveals source nature connection between poem's two primary topics. In particular, iconography derived enormously influential Utrecht Psalter (Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, 32) provides structural model, if composition text direct sense, then certainly medieval modern understanding it.
Anglo-Saxon England