"Heliand", the Old Saxon poem based on the life of Christ in the Gospels, has become more available to students of Anglo-Saxon culture as its influence has reached into a wider range of fields from history to linguistics, literature, and religion. In "Perspectives on the Old Saxon 'Heliand'", Valentine Pakis brings together recent scholarship that both addresses new turns in the field and engages with the relevant arguments of the past three decades. Furthering the ongoing critical discussion of both text and culture, this volume also reflects on the current state of the field and demonstrates how it has evolved since the 1970s.
Author(s): Valentine A. Pakis (ed.)
Series: Medieval European Studies, 12
Publisher: West Virginia University Press
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: X+336
City: Morgantown
Preface / Valentine A. Pakis vii
I. Introductions to the "Heliand" and its Language
The Historical Setting of the "Heliand", the Poem, and the Manuscripts / James E. Cathey 3
The Old Saxon "Heliand" / G. Ronald Murphy 34
An Overview of Old Saxon Linguistics, 1992–2008 / Marc Pierce 63
II. The Diatessaronic Tradition
The Parable of the Fisherman in the "Heliand": The Old Saxon Version of Matthew 13:47-50 / Tjitze Baarda 93
(Un)Desirable Origins: The "Heliand" and the Gospel of Thomas / Valentine A. Pakis 120
III. Orality and Narrative Tradition
Was the "Heliand" Poet Illiterate? / Harald Haferland (Translated by Valentine A. Pakis) 167
The Hatred of Enemies: Germanic Heroic Poetry and the Narrative Design of the "Heliand" / Harald Haferland (Translated by Erik Baumann) 208
IV. The Portrayal of the Jews in the "Heliand"
The Jews in the "Heliand" / G. Ronald Murphy 237
Jesus Christ between Jews and Heathens: The Germanic Mission and the Portrayal of Christ in the Old Saxon "Heliand" / Martin Friedrich (Translated by Ariane Fischer and James Pasternak) 254
V. The Discovery of the Leipzig Fragment (2006)
A New "Heliand" Fragment from the Leipzig University Library / Hans Ulrich Schmid (Translated by Valentine A. Pakis) 281
Plates
1. Leipzig, Universitätsbibliothek, Thomas 4073 (MS), outer side 303
2. Leipzig, Universitätsbibliothek, Thomas 4073 (MS), inner side 304
Works Cited 305
