The intellectual foundations of the English Benedictine reform
By: Mechthild Gretsch.
Series: Cambridge studies in Anglo-Saxon England ; 25
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: Mar 13, 1999
Place of publication: Cambridge, U.K. ; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 471
Subjects: Aethelwold, Saint, Bishop of Winchester, ca. 908-984.; Aldhelm, Saint, 640?-709., De laudibus virginitatis.; Benedictines - England - Winchester - History - To 1500.; Bible., O.T., Psalms - Interlinear translations, English.; Royal Psalter.; English language -- Old English, ca. 450-1100 -- Lexicography.; Manuscripts, English (Old) -- England -- Winchester.; England -- Intellectual life -- To 1066
Description: "This book explores the foundations of the intellectual renaissance in tenth-century England, which is marked by the Benedictine reform and the establishment of the most influential school in late Anglo-Saxon England by Aethelwold, bishop of Winchester (963-84). The vital early stages of Aethelwold's scholarly career are traced for the first time, particularly his formative years in King Aethelstan's (924-39) entourage and his period of study, together with the new Benedictines, at Glastonbury. After assessing a wide range of evidence from the fields of philology, history, liturgy, textual criticism, palaeography and art history, Mechthild Gretsch definitively assigns to Aethelwold and his circle two influential texts: an interlinear translation of the psalter and a vast corpus of Old English glosses to Aldhelm's prose De uirginitate. These glosses are shown to have played a pivotal role in the development of English as a medium for scholarly discourse. New light is also shed on the contribution which King Aethelstan's cosmopolitan court culture made to intellectual and spiritual life in late Anglo-Saxon England."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p.437-450) and indexes.

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