Proseminar: Old English Biblical Poetry
Fr. 14.00-16.00
Geb. 23.21 Raum U1.68                                                         Beginn: 18.10.2002
____________________________________________________________________T There is a rich choice of Old English biblical poetry, which Stanley B. Greenfield correctly subdivided into two groups in his Critical History of Old English Literature:

1. Old Testament Narrative Poetry,
2. Christ as Poetic Hero.

As a first step, we will present a survey of the extant Old English biblical poetry. We will then read and discuss selected examples which will help us understand Greenfield's categorization. Selections from Genesis, Exodus, and Christ will give us the opportunity to interpret the Anglo-Saxon way of adopting the Scriptures into their cultural environment and to reflect upon the poetic function which the biblical texts offer in the specific historical situation of tenth-century England.

Thus, the two major objectives of this seminar are evident: on the one hand we will need a solid knowledge of Anglo-Saxon history and on the other hand we will critically consider our approach to Old English literature in theoretical and methodological perspectives.

In the second part of the term we will read and discuss the Old English version of Judith as an example of a female biblical heroine. Though apocryphical and imperfect at the beginning, the Old English text of Judith (ca. 350 lines) will be the only complete biblical poem which we can read in this Proseminar.

Recommended reading:

1. Study the chapter(s) on biblical poetry in any history of Old English literature.
2. Read the chapters "The Age of Bede and Aethelbald" by Patrick Wormald and "The Age of Edgar" by Eric John in: The Anglo-Saxons, ed. by James Campbell. Oxford 1982:70-100 and160-191.
3. Judith, ed by B. J. Timmer. Exeter 1982. (or any other edition)

You can put your name down on the list of participants by contacting
holteir@phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de

Moreover, all students will be invited to the BSCW-Server
bscw.uni-duesseldorf.de ____________________________________________________________________

Voraussetzungen: Introduction to English Medieval Studies -
                           Part I: General und Part II: Old English
Leistungsnachweis: Abschlussprüfung (mündlich), Referat oder Hausarbeit
Veranstaltungstyp: Wahlpflicht M.A./Prom.; SII: B1,2.

Der Inhalt der Lehrveranstaltung ist geeignet für die Zwischenprüfung

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©  Rainer Holtei
last updated
20.09.2009

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