References to weaving and binding are ubiquitous in Anglo-Saxon literature. Several hundred instances of such imagery occur in the poetic corpus, invoked in connection with objects, people, elemental forces, and complex abstract concepts.
"Weaving Words and Binding Bodies" presents the first comprehensive study of weaving and binding imagery through intertextual analysis and close readings of "Beowulf," riddles, the poetry of Cynewulf, and other key texts. Megan Cavell highlights the prominent use of weaving and binding in previously unrecognized formulas, collocations, and type-scenes, shedding light on important tropes such as the lord-retainer "bond" and the gendered role of "peace-weaving" in Anglo-Saxon society. Through the analysis of metrical, rhetorical, and linguistic features and canonical and neglected texts in a wide range of genres, "Weaving Words and Binding Bodies" makes an important contribution to the ongoing study of Anglo-Saxon poetics.
Author(s): Megan Cavell
Series: Toronto Anglo-Saxon Series, 19
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Year: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 358
Acknowledgments vii
Abbreviations ix
Editions xi
Construction and Constriction: Introducing Human Experience in Old English Poetry 3
Part I – Webs and Rings: Experiencing Objects 15
1. The Material Context of Weaving 17
2. The Woven Mail-Coat 47
3. The Material Context of Structural Binding 68
Part II – Fetters and Chains: Experiencing Bondage 93
4. Binding in Nature 95
5. Imprisonment and Hell 120
6. Slavery and Servitude 157
Part III – Patterns and Nets: Experiencing the Internal and the Abstract 193
7. The Body and Mind 195
8. Language and Knowledge 231
9. Creation, Magic, and Fate 251
10. Peace 280
Weaving and Binding: Conclusions on Human Experience and World View 296
Bibliography 303
Index 333
