This collection of essays examines the motifs of darkness, depression, and descent in both literal and figurative manifestations within a variety of Anglo-Saxon texts, including the Old English 'Consolation of Philosophy', 'Beowulf', 'Guthlac', The Junius Manuscript, 'The Wonders of the East', and 'The Battle of Maldon'. Essays deal with such topics as cosmic emptiness, descent into the grave, and recurrent grief. In their analyses, the essays reveal the breadth of this imagery in Anglo-Saxon literature as it is used to describe thought and emotion, as well as the limits to knowledge and perception. The volume investigates the intersection between the burgeoning interest in trauma studies and darkness and the representation of the mind or of emotional experience within Anglo-Saxon literature.
Author(s): Ruth Wehlau (ed.)
Series: Medieval Institute Publications. Richard Rawlinson Center Series for Anglo-Saxon Studies
Publisher: Western Michigan University
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: VIII+300
City: Kalamazoo
Preface vii
Introduction: Darkness in the Universe, Darkness in the Mind in Anglo-Saxon Literature / Ruth Wehlau, Queen’s University, Kingston, and Fabienne L. Michelet, University of Toronto 1
Part 1: Darkness 13
1. 'Sweart' as Sin: Color Connotation and Morality in Anglo-Saxon England / Amy W. Clark, University of California at Berkeley 15
2. 'The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors': Darkness, Terror, and Perception in Anglo-Saxon England / Gwendolyne Knight, Stockholm University 37
3. The Sinister Sound of Shadows in the Old English Poetics of the Dark / Filip Missuno, Oqaatsinik Pikkorissaavik (Language Centre), Sisimiut 61
4. Into the Darkness First: Neoplatonism and Neurosis in Old English Wisdom Poetry / Rafał Borysławski, University of Silesia in Katowice 93
5. Signs, Interpretation, and Exclusion in 'Beowulf' / Matthew Scribner, Carleton University 117
Part 2: Depression 133
6. Beowulf’s Dark Thoughts: Heremod, Hrethel, and Exempla of the Mind / Ruth Wehlau, Queen’s University, Kingston 135
7. The Fourth Fate of Men: Heremod’s Darkened Mind / James H. Morey, Emory University 155
8. Eating People and Feeling Sorry: Cannibalism, Contrition, and the Didactic Donestre in the Old English 'Wonders of the East' and Latin 'Mirabilia' / Matthew Roby, University of Oxford 167
Part 3: Descent 207
9. Darkness and Light in Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Junius 11 / Carl Kears, King’s College, London 209
10. Darkness Edible: Soul, Body, and Worms in Early Medieval English Devotional Literature / Haruko Momma, New York University 237
11. 'Stand Firm': The Descent to Hell in Felix’s 'Life of Saint Guthlac' / Daniel Anlezark, University of Sydney 255
12. The Heart of Darkness: Descent, Landscape, and Mental Projection in 'Christ and Satan' and 'The Wife’s Lament' / Francisco J. Rozano-García, National University of Ireland, Galway 277
Notes on Contributors 299
