'Childhood and Adolescence in Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture' counters the generally received wisdom that early medieval childhood and adolescence were an unremittingly bleak experience. The contributors analyse representations of children and their education in Old English, Old Norse and Anglo-Latin writings, including hagiography, heroic poetry, riddles, legal documents, philosophical prose and elegies. Within and across these linguistic and generic boundaries some key themes emerge: the habits and expectations of name-giving, expressions of childhood nostalgia, the role of uneducated parents, and the religious zeal and rebelliousness of youth. After decades of study dominated by adult gender studies, 'Childhood and Adolescence in Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture' rebalances our understanding of family life in the Anglo-Saxon era by reconstructing the lives of medieval children and adolescents through their literary representation.
Author(s): Susan Irvine, Winfried Rudolf (eds.)
Series: Toronto Anglo-Saxon Series, 28
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 348
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction / Susan Irvine and Winfried Rudolf
1. Childhood and Adolescence: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Archaeological and Documentary Evidence / Sally Crawford
2. Naming Children in Anglo-Saxon England: Ethnic Identity and Cultural Change / Leonard Neidorf
3. Anglo-Saxon Preaching on Children / Winfried Rudolf
4. Tender Beginnings in the Exeter Book 'Riddles' / Shu-han Luo
5. Parenting and Childhood in 'The Fortunes of Men' / Stacy S. Klein
6. Children and the Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons in Bede's 'Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum' / Andreas Lemke
7. Childhood in the Lives of Anglo-Saxon Saints / Joyce Hill
8. Alcuin's Educational Dispute: The Riddle of Teaching and the Teaching of Riddles / Andy Orchard
9. Foster-Relationships in the Old English 'Boethius' / Susan Irvine
10. Hrothulf's Childhood and Beowulf's: A Comparison / Richard North
11. Of Boys and Men: Anglo-Saxon Literary Adaptations of the Book of Daniel / Daniel Anlezark
12. 'Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth': Parent-Child Litigation in Anglo-Saxon England / Andrew Rabin
Bibliography 291
Contributors 323
Index 325
