Biblical poetry, written between the fourth and eleventh centuries, is an eclectic body of literature that disseminated popular knowledge of the Bible across Europe. Composed mainly in Latin and subsequently in Old English, biblical versification has much to tell us about the interpretations, genre preferences, reading habits, and pedagogical aims of medieval Christian readers.
"Biblical Epics in Late Antiquity and Anglo-Saxon England" provides an accessible introduction to biblical epic poetry. Patrick McBrine's erudite analysis of the writings of Juvencus, Cyprianus, Arator, Bede, Alcuin, and more reveals the development of a hybridized genre of writing that informed and delighted its Christian audiences to such an extent it was copied and promoted for the better part of a millennium. The volume contains many first-time readings and discussions of poems and passages which have long lain dormant and offers new evidence for the reception of the Bible in late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Author(s): Patrick McBrine
Series: Toronto Anglo-Saxon Series, 27
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Year: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 398
Preface ix
Abbreviations xi
1. Introduction 3
2. Juvencus’ "Euangeliorum Libri Quattuor" (c. 330 CE) 22
3. Cyprianus’ "Heptateuch" (c. 400–425 CE) 57
4. Sedulius’ "Carmen Paschale" (c. 425–450 CE) 93
5. Avitus’ "Historia Spiritalis" (c. 500 CE) 124
6. Arator’s "Historia Apostolica" (c. 544 CE) 173
7. Reading Biblical Epics in Anglo-Saxon England: Aldhelm, Bede, Alcuin 210
8. Old English Biblical Verse: "Genesis A", "Genesis B", "Exodus" 270
9. Conclusion 347
Appendix 1: Outline of the "Carmen Paschale" 353
Appendix 2: Miracles in Book One of the "Carmen Paschale" 356
Bibliography 357
Index 379
