Pride and Prodigies : Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf Manuscript

In this series of detailed studies, Andy Orchard demonstrates the changing range of Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards the monstrous by reconsidering the monsters of __Beowulf__ against the background of early medieval and patristic teratology and with reference to specific Anglo-Saxon texts.

Monsters and the monstrous, whether from the remote pagan past or the new world of Christian Latin learning, haunted the Anglo-Saxon imagination in a variety of ways. In this series of detailed studies, Andy Orchard demonstrates the changing range of Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards the monstrous by reconsidering the monsters of Beowulf against the background of early medieval and patristic teratology and with reference to specific Anglo-Saxon texts.

The immediate manuscript context of the monsters in Beowulf is analysed, shedding light on the poet's treatment of the theme of the monstrous and its integration into his work, and a series of parallel discussions consider a range of medieval treatments of the same theme in a variety of analogous texts (all provided with translation), in Latin, Old English, Middle Irish, and Old Icelandic.

The twin themes of pride and prodigies are suggested by tracing changing attitudes towards the concept of pride and establishing a close link between the proud pagan warriors depicted in Christian tradition and the monsters they fight, and with whom they become increasingly identified.

An appendix contains new editions and translations (some for the first time in English) of the Liber Monstrorum, The Letter of Alexander to Aristotle, and The Wonders of the East.

Originally published in 1995 by Boydell & Brewer.

Monsters and the monstrous, whether from the remote pagan past or the new world of Christian Latin learning, haunted the Anglo-Saxon imagination in a variety of ways. In this series of detailed studies, Andy Orchard demonstrates the changing range of Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards the monstrous by reconsidering the monsters of Beowulf against the background of early medieval and patristic teratology and with reference to specific Anglo-Saxon texts.The immediate manuscript context of the monsters in Beowulf is analysed, shedding light on the poet's treatment of the theme of the monstrous and its integration into his work, and a series of parallel discussions consider a range of medieval treatments of the same theme in a variety of analogous texts (all provided with translation), in Latin, Old English, Middle Irish, and Old Icelandic.The twin themes of pride and prodigies are suggested by tracing changing attitudes towards the concept of pride and establishing a close link between the proud pagan warriors depicted in Christian tradition and the monsters they fight, and with whom they become increasingly identified.An appendix contains new editions and translations (some for the first time in English) of the Liber Monstrorum, The Letter of Alexander to Aristotle, and The Wonders of the East.Originally published in 1995 by Boydell et Brewer CONTENTS 5 Preface to the Revised Edition 7 Preface 9 Abbreviations 11 I The Beowulf-Manuscript 15 II Psychology and Physicality: the Monsters of Beowulf 42 III The Kin of Cain 72 IV The Liber monstrorum 100 V The Alexander-Legend in Anglo-Saxon England 130 VI Grettir and Grendel Again 154 Postscript 183 Appendices: Texts, Translations, and Sources 187 Introduction 187 I.a The Wonders of the East: Latin Text 189 I.b The Wonders of the East: Old English Text 197 I.c The Wonders of the East: Translation 199 II.a The Letter of Alexander to Aristotle: Latin Text 218 II.b The Letter of Alexander to Aristotle: Old English Text 238 II.e The Letter of Alexander to Aristotle: Translation 239 III.a Liber monstrorum: Latin Text 268 III.b Liber monstrorum: Translation 269 III.c Liber monstrorum: Sources and Analogues 332 Bibliography 335 General Index 357