Academic literature on the topic 'Wulfstan , -1023'

The article is devoted to the interplay of discourse and grammar in the formation of sentential units in the Anglo-Saxon homilies of the 9th-11th centuries, created by notable homilists, namely, Ælfric (955-1020 сa.), Wulfstan (death date 1023 ca.), as well as anonymous authors in the miscellany “The Blickling Homilies”. The material under consideration helped us offer two prior assumptions. Firstly, the body of homilies in the specified historical period (total number – 28 units) constitutes a distinct variety of performative texts, which share a set of specific features, and which, in aggregate, make up a homiletic type of discourse. Secondly, foregrounding of finite verb in Old English sentence is a genre-dependent phenomenon that has been attested in the preaching texts and the epic poetry. In this article, the term homily (sermon) is unfolded as a discursive phenomenon that establishes a close link between preacher and congregation, and, as such, serves as a medium of communication. This type of communication involves the dynamic interdependence of participants, the constant tension and continuity of the process, which results in the consolidation of spiritual and didactic principles of believers. Linguistically, it is represented by a number of grammatical phenomena shared by the homilies in question, which include formulaic initial addresses of the preacher to the audience, numerical tautological or parallel phrases, alliterative constructions, deictic elements, etc. Anglo-Saxon priest’s “fatherly conversation” can be described in didactic and Christian dogmatic terms, the spirit and letter of which were especially relevant in the context of the old Germanic ethnic groups’ existentia at the beginning of the second millennium.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to provide a synoptic view of what Patrick Wormald has aptly called the ‘rather odd’ history of Wulfstan scholarship. In doing so, it will also consider how our understanding of Wulfstan and his writings has been shaped by the historical reliance on stylistic analysis, both as an objective instrument to reconstruct his canon and as a methodological practice subject to personal biases, ideological trends and historical circumstances. Beginning with a discussion of ways that the study of Wulfstan’s style has framed our understanding of both his canon and authorial identity, this article then traces the evolution of Wulfstan scholarship from the sixteenth century to the present. It will conclude with a brief discussion of one of Wulfstan’s least-studied works, the homily On Various Misfortunes (Be mistlican belimpan), to suggest some possible avenues for future study.

Abstract Wulfstan, archbishop of York (1002–1023) and bishop of Worcester (1002–1016), occupies a pre-eminent place in the political history of eleventh-century England, yet surprisingly little is known of his life and career. The consequences of this ignorance are particularly acute for the years surrounding the Danish Conquest of 1016. The upheavals of this period led Wulfstan to compose his most well-known homily, the Sermo lupi ad Anglos (1014), resign from the see of Worcester (1016), and transfer his loyalty from the English king Æthelred to the Danish conqueror Cnut. Yet while the years 1013 to 1018 left discernible traces in Wulfstan’s thought, the particular circumstances that produced these traces can be perceived only dimly. The means by which Wulfstan maintained his status through the years of conquest are significant for more than just their impact on his career and evolving political vision. While his role as a leading legislator during the reigns of both Æthelred and Cnut has been taken as evidence that he managed to emerge from the Conquest relatively unscathed, Wulfstan’s influence at the royal court during these years was inconsistent at best and his success in navigating the change in power was not inevitable. Wulfstan’s approach to the complicated politics of the Conquest thus provides a useful case-study of the various ways in which the Church, its leaders as much as its institutions, balanced competing allegiances to king and conqueror.