Cannibalism in High Medieval English Literature: Conquest and Identity in High Medieval England (The New Middle Ages)

This book reads the surprisingly widespread representations of cannibals and cannibalism in medieval English literature as political metaphors that were central to England's on-going process of articulating cultural and national identity. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Cannibal Narratives: An Introduction....Pages 1-13 Self-Eaters: The Cannibal Narrative of Andreas....Pages 15-33 Eotonweard: Watching for Cannibals in the Beowulf-Manuscript....Pages 35-58 Cannibal Kings: Communion and Community in Twelfth-Century England....Pages 59-80 Tartars and Traitors: The Uses of Cannibalism in Matthew Paris’s Chronica Majora....Pages 81-104 The Flesch of a Sarazeyn: Cannibalism, Genre, and Nationalism....Pages 105-131 Postscript....Pages 133-137 Back Matter....Pages 139-202 Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Title 6 Copyright 7 Dedication 8 Contents 9 Acknowledgments 10 Cannibal Narratives: An Introduction 11 1. Self-Eaters: The Cannibal Narrative of Andreas 24 2. Eotonweard: Watching for Cannibals in the Beowulf-Manuscript 43 3. Cannibal Kings: Communion and Community in Twelfth-Century England 67 4. Tartars and Traitors: The Uses of Cannibalism in Matthew Paris's Chronica majora 89 5. The Flesch of a Sarazeyn: Cannibalism, Genre, and Nationalism 113 Postscript 140 Notes 145 Bibliography 188 Index 204