The idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066-1901
Subtitle: remembering, forgetting, deciphering, and renewing the past
By: John D. Niles
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Chichester, UK; Hoboken, NJ
Language: eng
Number of pages: 425
ISBN-13: 9781118943328
Subjects: Historiography; Anglo-Saxons; English philology; History
Description: *The Idea of Anglo Saxon England, 1066-1901 presents the first systematic review of the ways in which Anglo-Saxon studies have evolved from their beginnings to the twentieth century * Tells the story of how the idea of Anglo-Saxon England evolved from the Anglo-Saxons themselves to the Victorians, serving as a myth of origins for the English people, their language, and some of their most cherished institutions * Combines original research with established scholarship to reveal how current conceptions of English identity might be very different if it were not for the discovery and invention of the Anglo-Saxon past * Reveals how documents dating from the Anglo-Saxon era have greatly influenced modern attitudes toward nationhood, race, religious practice, and constitutional liberties * Includes more than fifty images of manuscripts, early printed books, paintings, sculptures, and major historians of the era.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The impact of the Norman conquest; title: The discovery of Anglo-Saxon England in Tudor times; title: British antiquaries and the Anglo-Saxon past; title: The founding of a discipline 1600-1700; title: A period of consolidation 1700-1800; title: The Romantics and the discovery of Old English verse; title: The triumph of philology; title: Old English studies in North America; title: Anglo-Saxon England and the empire.