Preaching and Theology in Anglo-Saxon England : Ælfric and Wulfstan

In __Preaching and Theology in Anglo-Saxon England__, Professor Gatch deals with two aspects of the writings of Ælfric and Wulfstan that have been hitherto ignored by scholars of the period.

In Preaching and Theology in Anglo-Saxon England, Professor Gatch deals with two aspects of the writings of Ælfric and Wulfstan that have been hitherto ignored by scholars of the period.

First, he investigates the uses for which the two homilists prepared their sermons, analysing the homiliaries of the Carolingian church and its legislation concerning preaching and teaching, and showing that one should look not to the model of patristic preaching but to the development, in the place of exegetical preaching, of a vernacular catechetical office, the Prone. He also considers the evidence from England in the time of Ælfric and Wulfstan, distinguishing a number of uses which Ælfric intended for his homiletic materials, but questioning whether users of Ælfric's work (Wulfstan perhaps among them) understood or accepted the basic homiletic practices that the abbot had in mind.

Second, Gatch investigates the eschatological teaching of the homilists as specimen of the over-all content of their sermons and as indicator of their theological method. By throwing their work into relief against the background of the anonymous Old English homilists, he gives a more accurate picture than exists in textbook stereotypes of the beliefs of Ælfric and Wulfstan, and also of the general theological scene in England at the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries.

The first complete edition of Ælfric's Latin epitome of Julian of Toledo's Prognosticon futuri saeculi, one of the most important of Ælfric's theological sources, is appended to the text.

This interdisciplinary study is an important addition to our knowledge of Anglo-Saxon culture and medieval church history, and a major contribution to the study of Old English homilies. For the uninitiated, it is an excellent introduction to Old English preaching; for the initiated, it opens a new field for investigation.

Acknowledgments 7 Contents 9 Abbreviations 11 Part One. Ælfric and Wulfstan : an Introduction 17 ÆLfric And Wulfstan: An Introduction 17 1. Theological Tradition and Monastic Reform 18 2. Ælfric of Eynsham 26 3. Wulfstan II of York 32 Part Two: The Uses of the Old English Sermons 39 The Uses Of The Old English Sermons 39 4. Carolingian Preaching 41 5. The Preaching Materials of Ælfric of Eynsham 54 Part Three: The Eschatology of Ælfric and Wulfstan 75 The Eschatology Of Ælfric And Wulfstan 75 6. Ælfric On The Afterlife 80 7. Ælfric on the Last Times and the Judgment 91 8. Three Extended Eschatological Pieces by Ælfric 99 9. Some General Reflections on Ælfric's Eschatology 116 10. Wulfstan's Variations and Developments of the Antichrist Theme 119 Part Four: Ælfric and Wulfstan in Historical Perspective 133 Ælfric And Wulfstan In Historical Perspective 133 Appendix 143 Ælfric's Excerpts from Julian of Toledo, Prognosticon Futuri Saeculi 143 Hvnc sermonan ex mvltis excerpsimvs, de libro qvi dicitvr Pronosticon, † in Christi Nomine 148 Bibliography 161 Notes 181 Indices 263 1. Ælfric: Citations 263 2. Wulfstan: Citations 268 3. General Index 269