Discovering literary treasures
St George’s legendary fight against the dragon is firmly embedded in England’s cultural history. But who was St George, and why has he become so famous? Little is known about the exact details of St George’s life, but he is believed to have been born in Cappadocia (an area in modern day Turkey), in the […]
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The fifteenth century saw the emergence of continental women’s mystical works appearing in England, facilitated by the early printed textual tradition of Wynkyn de Worde and William Caxton (Grisé Holy Women in Print 83). Indeed, the translation of the works of women such as St Catherine of Siena (1347-8), St Bridget of Sweden (c.1302/3-73), and […]
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In 970 AD, one of the UK’s greatest literary treasures was written: the Exeter Book. It is probably the oldest surviving book of poetry from Anglo-Saxon England, and contains a fascinating array of Old English works, from Christian and elegaic poems, to riddles! The book was bequeathed to Exeter Cathedral Library by the first bishop […]
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2016 marks the 70th anniversary of Penguin Classics and in order to celebrate, I’ve decided to compile a list of the Classics that I’ve found influential. Let me know which Penguin Classics you would include! The Odyssey, Homer (c.750-700 BC) Where better to start than with Homer’s Odyssey, the first Penguin Classics title published […]
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When I tell my friends I enjoy studying Anglo-Saxon literature, I am usually met with looks of shock and the response, “Why?” Considering the Anglo-Saxon period spanned over 600 years, from the fall of the Roman Empire around 410 AD to 1066, it is no surprise the literature from this era is so wide-ranging. […]
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