Verbal Encounters : Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse Studies for Roberta Frank

The essays in __Verbal Encounters__ are not merely a fitting tribute to Roberta Frank, but also strong contributions to current scholarship on medieval literature and culture. CONTENTS 5 PREFACE 7 ABBREVIATIONS 9 NOTES ON EDITIONS 11 Introduction 13 Roberta Frank: Bibliography, 1970–2003 17 Part I — On Words 27 1. Early Medieval Chaos 27 2. Composing and Joining: How the Anglo-Saxons Talked about Compounding 51 3. Cennan, 'to cause to be born'/ 'to cause to know': Incarnation as Revelation in Old English Literature 67 4. Pride, Courage, and Anger: The Polysemousness of Old English Mōd 89 Part II — On Anglo-Latin and Old English Prose 103 5. Desipere in loco: Style, Memory, and the Teachable Moment 103 6. Courtroom Drama and the Homiletic Monologues of The Vercelli Book 117 Part III — On Old English Poetry 139 7. 'Him þæs grim lean becom': The Theme of Infertility in Genesis A 139 8. Odd Characters: Runes in Old English Poetry 157 9. The Education of Beowulf and the Affair of the Leisure Class 175 10. Articulate Contact in Juliana 195 Part IV — On Old Norse Literature 215 11. The Refracted Beam: Einarr Skúlason's Liturgical Theology 215 12. Beardless Wonders: 'Gaman vas Sǫxu (The Sex Was Great) 235 13. Prophetic Dreams and Visions in the Sagas of the Early Icelandic Saints 14. Claiming Kin Skaldic-Style 269 Russell Poole 259 14. Claiming Kin Skaldic-Style 281 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 297 INDEX 299

Due to conquests and colonialism through the centuries, it is not unusual for languages and cultures to be influenced by other, foreign languages and cultures. The modern English language, for example, owes many of its words to Old Norse and Latin, debts dating from contacts made during the Middle Ages. Verbal Encounters is a collection of papers on the cultural and linguistic exchange in Old Norse, Old English, and medieval Latin literature written in honour of Roberta Frank, former University Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto.

The essays feature new scholarship in the field, on topics such as the integral position of Anglo-Latin within Anglo-Saxon culture and literature, constructions of feminine strength and effectiveness in Anglo-Saxon literature, the rise of Latin-based learning in twelfth-century Iceland, medieval Icelandic religious poetry, and the conversion to Christianity in medieval Scandinavia.

The essays in Verbal Encounters are not merely a fitting tribute to Roberta Frank, but also strong contributions to current scholarship on medieval literature and culture.

"Lively exchanges, both political and cultural, with Europe and Scandinavia put speakers of the Old English language in contact with Latin and early forms of Danish and Norwegian. Verbal Encounters is a collection of essays on these contracts and exchanges, written in honour of Roberta Frank, former University Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto. The essays focus on the fields of Old English, medieval Latin, and Old Norwegian and Icelandic."--Résumé de l'éditeur