Ælfric of Eynsham

**Ælfric of Eynsham** (/ˈælfrɪʧ əv ˈɛnʃəm/; c. 955 – c. 1010) was an English Benedictine monk, priest, and abbot, and a student of Æthelwold of Winchester.  He is also known as *Ælfric of Cerne*, *Ælfric the Grammarian* (*Alfricus Grammaticus*), and *Ælfric the Homilist*.

Ælfric was one of the most important authors of Anglo-Saxon literature. He produced many religious and educational texts in Old English and several texts in Latin. He wrote over 160 homilies (biblical commentaries) and hagiographies (biographies of saints). Later he translated the Book of Genesis and other parts of the Bible from Latin. He also wrote three books to help young monks learn Latin: the bilingual *Grammar* and *Glossary*, and the Latin *Colloquy*.

## Life 
Little is known about Ælfric’s early life. He was born around the year 955, most likely in the region of Wessex. This was at the time of the unified Kingdom of England, before it became a part of the North Sea Empire.

In 987, Ælfric was sent from Winchester to the newly established Cerne Abbey – located in Cerne Abbas (sometimes referred to as Cernel) in the county of Dorset. Mostly, Ælfric only played the role of the translator, because most of his works were written in Old English. In the Preface to his Homilies, he stresses that most religious texts of the time were written in Latin, which made them inaccessible to common people. Quite surprisingly, in the preface to *Grammar* Ælfric explains to his students that the book is intended to teach both Latin and English. This, however, has become a dispute among scholars, who generally agree that the text does not, in fact, teach any English.

The *Colloquy*, meaning ‘conversation’, was written in the form of a dialogue between a teacher and his students who occupied different professions, such as a hunter, a ploughman, or a merchant. It was written for schoolchildren aged seven and above. The characters describe their jobs and lives, thus offering a glimpse into the activities of “the middle and lower classes of Anglo-Saxon society – a picture which is rarely found in Old English literature." It is also a valuable document in terms of language - although it was intended for Latin practice, one manuscript also included continuous Old English translations and glosses.

Old English Hexateuch (the first six books of the Bible), created in the 11th century, is the earliest example of an English translation of these texts. Ælfric wrote the preface and translated a part of Genesis.  It is not clear who Ælfric collaborated with for this translation. Peter Clemoes proposed that the rest of the manuscript was compiled by Byrhtferth of Ramsey, while Peter Baker claims that it was done by an anonymous author. The work contained over 400 illustrations of important biblical events. Notable is the use of Old English as opposed to Latin, for this translation, suggesting that intended recipients of this translation were not only the highly educated, but also the common people. This translation includes two accounts of the granting of the Ten Commandments, which, together with the law codes, provided a framework for the early English law. Instead, he created “an elegant and balanced prose, using simpler vocabulary and structures." In the words of Benjamin Thorpe, Ælfric’s works were expressed in “language which may be pronounced a pure specimen of our noble, old, Germanic mother-tongue”.

## References 
## Other websites 
# Ælfric of Eynsham. ''''. Edited by Julius Zupitza. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1880.