Alcuin and Old English Poetry
W. F. Bolton
alike risk both a serious misreading of the famous rhetorical question and total neglect contributions that study Alcuin can make to their understanding Old English poetry. In general those are his witness affinities between vernacular literature contemporary Latin writing; for our purposes, it may be convenient group them under headings 'concepts', 'phrases', 'topoi'.2 The first heading includes similarities thought involve no particular verbal parallels. second, by contrast, particularities diction, loci paralleli, span two languages. And third refers situations or ideas developed characteristic expression, an associated diction conventional shape lexical content (I avoid saying 'formula' simply because word is so often modified 'oral', while what we have here distinctly literate literary). A review Alcuin's concepts Beowulf in any detail would fill book; same remainder poetry another. I am process completing book on Beowulf, but rather than attempt another remaining verse offer some inceptive illustrative remarks has tell us about literary intellectual background six well known frequently studied poems: Wanderer, Seafarer, Dream Rood, Husband's Message, Battle Maldon, Genesis B. quote text from best available editions, enough this better Migne's nineteenth-century reprint Frobenius's eighteenth-century edition, omits Ingeld its version letter Hygbald Lindisfarne; identification Hinieldus with was not, consequently, made prior Janicke I872.3 How much, then, learn further part
Yearbook of English studies