The politics of language : Byrhtferth, Ælfric, and the multilingual identity of the Benedictine reform

Old English literature thrived in late tenth-century England. Its success was the result of a concerted effort by the leaders of the Benedictine Reform movement to encourage both widespread literacy and a simple literary style. The manuscripts written in this era are the source for the majority of the Old English literature that survives today, including literary classics such as "Beowulf". Yet the same monks who copied and compiled these important Old English texts themselves wrote in a rarified Latin, full of esoteric vocabulary and convoluted syntax and almost incomprehensible even to the well-educated. Comparing works by the two most prolific authors of the era, Byrhtferth of Ramsey and Ælfric of Eynsham, Rebecca Stephenson explains the politics that encouraged the simultaneous development of a simple English style and an esoteric Latin style. By examining developments in Old English and Anglo-Latin side by side, "The Politics of Language" opens up a valuable new perspective on the Benedictine Reform and literacy in the late Anglo-Saxon period. Old English literature thrived in late tenth-century England. Its success was the result of a concerted effort by the leaders of the Benedictine Reform movement to encourage both widespread literacy and a simple literary style. The manuscripts written in this era are the source for the majority of the Old English literature that survives today, including literary classics such as Beowulf. Yet the same monks who copied and compiled these important Old English texts themselves wrote in a rarified Latin, full of esoteric vocabulary and convoluted syntax and almost incomprehensible even to the well-educated. Comparing works by the two most prolific authors of the era, Byrhtferth of Ramsey and Aelfric of Eynsham, Rebecca Stephenson explains the politics that encouraged the simultaneous development of a simple English style and an esoteric Latin style. By examining developments in Old English and Anglo-Latin side by side, 'The politics of language' opens up a valuable new perspective on the Benedictine Reform and literacy in the late Anglo-Saxon period Acknowledgments ix Introduction: The Literary Context of the Monastic Reform 3 Part One 1 Pedagogy of the "Enchiridion": Layout and Languages 39 2 Scapegoating the Secular Clergy: The Hermeneutic Style as a Form of Monastic Self-Definition 68 3 The Politics of English: Computus, Translation, and Monastic Self-Definition 102 Part Two 4 The Politics of Ælfric's Prefaces 135 5 Unravelling the Hermeneutic Style: Ælfric’s Latin Epitomes and English Translations 158 Conclusion 188 Bibliography 195 Index 211 Introduction : The Literary Context Of The Monastic Reform -- Pedagogy Of The Enchiridion : Layout And Languages -- Scapegoating The Secular Clergy : The Hermeneutic Style As A Form Of Monastic Self-definition -- The Politics Of English : Computus, Translation, And Monastic Self-definition -- The Politics Of Ælfric's Prefaces -- Unravelling The Hermeneutic Style : Ælfric's Latin Epitomes And English Translations. Rebecca Stephenson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.