!±8± Religion and Literature in Western England, 600-800 (Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England)

Brand : | Rate :

| Price :
Post Date : Feb 08, 2012 02:42:04 | N/A

Even the Venerable Bede knew little about the two Anglo-Saxon kingdoms described in this book. In the sixth and seventh centuries the pagan peoples of the Hwicce and Magonsaetan occupied the frontier from Stratford-upon-Avon as far as the Welsh kingdoms west of Offa's Dyke. They retained their own kings, aristocracy and independent monasteries into the eighth century. Using archaeological, place-name and historical sources, Dr Sims-Williams describes the early conversion to Christianity of these people, the origins of the dioceses of Worcester and Hereford, and the precocious growth of Anglo-Saxon monasticism. Drawing on many neglected documents he reveals a wide range of Continental, Irish and Anglo-Saxon influences on the church and shows that the monasteries were as varied in character as the Northumbrian foundations described by Bede.

First Years Gentle Vibrations 3-in-1 Crib Soother Grand Sale

Monday, October 3, 2011

Irish Influence on Medieval Welsh Literature

!±8± Irish Influence on Medieval Welsh Literature

Brand : | Rate :

| Price :
Post Date : Oct 04, 2011 05:33:14 | N/A

Irish Influence on Medieval Welsh Literature

In the Middle Ages Ireland's extensive and now famous literature was unknown outside the Gaelic-speaking world of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man - with Wales an important exception. Irish emigrants had settled in Wales from the fifth century onwards, Irish scholars worked in Wales in the ninth century, and throughout the Middle Ages there were ecclesiastical, mercantile, and military contacts across the Irish Sea. From this standpoint, it is not surprising that the names ofIrish heroes such as C--uacute--; Ro--iacute--;, C--uacute--; Chulainn, Finn, and Deirdre became known to Welsh poets, and that Irish narratives influenced the authors of the Welsh Mabinogion. Yet the Welsh and Irish languages were not mutually comprehensible, the degree to which the two countries still shared a common Celticinheritance is contested, and Latin provided a convenient lingua franca. Could some of the similarities between the Irish and Welsh literatures be due to independent influences or even to coincidence? Patrick Sims-Williams provides a new approach to these controversial questions, situating them in the context of the rest of medieval literature and international folklore. The result is the first comprehensive estimation of the extent to which Irish literature influenced medieval Welshliterature. This book will be of interest not only to medievalists but to all those concerned with the problem of how to recognize and evaluate literary influence.