Aldhelm's rejection of the Muses and the mechanics of poetic inspiration in early Anglo-Saxon England
Emily V. Thornbury
Abstract In the metrical preface to his Enigmata , Aldhelm of Malmesbury denies that he has had anything do with Muses. While this gesture connects him Christian Latin predecessors (and, less directly, pagan poets as well), unique elements Aldhelm's poem suggest is also drawing upon a native tradition poetry valued technical skill above lofty subject-matter. By portraying Muses within Germanic framework useless, rather than dangerous, rejection enabled successors employ Muses, and other Classical allusions, harmless decorative in their verse.
Anglo-Saxon England