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IMC 2004: Sessions

Session 1201: Reworking the Past in Anglo-Saxon England: Tradition, Memory, and Hagiography

Wednesday 14 July 2004, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:Medieval Research Centre, University of Leicester
Organiser:Greg Walker, Department of English, University of Leicester
Moderator/Chair:Greg Walker, Department of English, University of Leicester
Paper 1201-aThe Reworking of Tradition: Contemporary Concerns in Old English Hagiography
(Language: English)
Claire L. Watson, School of English, University of Leicester
Index terms: Hagiography, Language and Literature - Old English, Monasticism
Paper 1201-bThe Dissemination of Cultural Concepts in Anglo-Saxon Hagiography: Saints, Society, and the Written Word
(Language: English)
Chloé A. Edwards, Department of History, University of Winchester
Index terms: Hagiography, Language and Literature - Old English, Women's Studies
Paper 1201-cSocial Memory and the Anglo-Saxon Past: Remembrance or Reinvention?
(Language: English)
Paula Frances Tarratt Warrington, Department of English, University of Leicester
Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Literacy and Orality, Mentalities
Abstract

These three papers approach the issue of cultural change and the transmission of new ideas and concepts in Anglo-Saxon England from three different angles. The first paper addresses the adaptation of Latin texts by Old English hagiographers to make them more relevant to their contemporary audiences. The adaptation theme is taken up by the second paper which focuses upon Anglo-Saxon hagiographies and the development of saints' cults in an era of marked religious and secular upheaval. The final paper discusses the transmission of both literary and oral culture in Anglo-Saxon England, examining the importance, reliability and function of social memory.