SELIM. Journal of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature

Ælfric’s Preface to Genesis: Commentary with Text, Translation, Sources and Analogues and Parallel Passages in Ælfric’s Works

2024-02-22T15:58:50+01:00

The language of Genesis is simple, says Ælfric in his preface to his translation of it, but its meaning is complex. Exactly the same is true of his preface—which therefore calls out for detailed interpretation, just as, in his view, does this book of the Bible. The commentary given here attempts to clarify these difficulties. The text, translation, sources and analogues (with translation) and parallel passages are given as aids to this end. Finally, the text is given again with the sources, analogues and parallel passages displayed.

Imitative Translations of Beowulf: Tolkien, Lehmann, and McCully

2024-12-05T18:05:44+01:00

The Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf exists in numerous translations into prose and verse of various forms and styles. While some translators use accentual metre and alliteration to evoke the form of the original, few attempt to reproduce its metre and structure exactly. Focussing on lines 210–28, this essay examines three metrically imitative translations of Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien, Ruth Lehmann, and Chris McCully, alongside Tolkien’s later prose translation. In juxtaposing Old and modern English, these imitative translations provide the ideal site to test Paul Fussell’s claim that the Old English alliterative verse form is no longer practicable. Close reading a select passage from these translations against the Old English text highlights their correspondence to and divergence from the original. It also reveals key differences in the poetic style and linguistic characteristics of Old and modern English. Through comparative analysis, this study demonstrates how efforts to replicate Old English metre may undermine other stylistic features and poetic effects, ultimately distorting the original. In contrast, Tolkien’s prose translation suggests that prose, while less bound to formal imitation, may retain a double fidelity to both the sound and meaning of the original.

A Thought Too Far: A Case for a Corpus Approach to Bad Knowledge in Old English Literature

2025-03-24T07:09:50+01:00

This paper explores the results of a pilot study that made use of corpus linguistic and other big data tools to explore the literary and cultural function of knowledge in Old English literature. In particular, it focusses on Bad Knowledge, knowledge that lay outside the confines of social acceptability, and that was used to label people, objects or ideas as evil. Knowledge is a complicated idea in the medieval period, and the discourses around the moral qualitites of knowledge can be traced from antiquity, through to Ælfric of Eynsham, and beyond. However, there exists no easily discernible set of sources that describe epistemological attitudes in vernacular Early English writing. As such, this paper breaks from traditional close reading practices, and turns to a novel, data-based, computational methodology to examine nearly two hundred sentences from ninety-seven different texts, all of which are related to Bad Knowledge. In doing so, it attempts to piece together a framework for what Bad Knowledge may have looked like in the Early English period, and explore the broader relationship of the connections between knowledge, order, and authority. Additionally, it seeks to demonstrate the relevance of computational methods to Old English, and provide a launchpad for future work.

The Shift from Affix to Clitic in the History of the English Genitive: Evidence from John of Trevisa’s Polychronicon

2025-01-07T09:41:58+01:00

In this article I address the question of the change in grammatical nature for the English genitive from inflectional affix to clitic. I focus on the rise of the group genitive, a construction in which the mark for possession is not attached to the head of a possessor phrase but to the rightmost element of it—as in the king of England’s name—and the role the his genitive or separated genitive played in the whole process. In my argumentation I present prima facie evidence derived from the analysis of one of the first texts in the history of English where the presence of the group genitive is most noticeable while consistently using the his genitive: John of Trevisa’s translation of Ranulph Higden’s Polychronicon (dated around 1387). The results suggest that the his genitive may have played a major role in the rise of the group genitive in English, challenging Allen’s (1997, 2003, 2008) hypothesis that the group genitive developed after the generalisation of the inflectional genitive ending -(e)s to all noun classes as well as Janda’s (1980, 1981) theory that the old inflectional genitive was reanalysed as a clitic as a result of deflexion.

Acts of Consumption: Spiritual and Material Food in The Towneley Plays

2024-12-09T16:58:39+01:00

This discussion explores three plays from the Towneley collection, uniquely extant in San Marino, Huntington Library, HM 1, exploring their alimentary language within a context of late medieval holiday playing. Prima Pastorum, Secunda Pastorum and Mactacio Abel all contain verifiable references to a small area between modern Wakefield and Dewsbury. All feature language and imagery related to hunger, appetite, pleasure, satiation and digestion. Such references engage with the rituals of fasting, mass, procession and feasting which characterised feast-days, incorporating audiences’ somatic experiences into the devotional and didactic work demanded by Biblical drama. Two key aspects of the plays’ alimentary dramaturgy are discussed here: their use of food to produce feelings of spiritual joy, and their deployment of digestive metaphors to encourage thoughtful and engaged collective learning. As demonstrated below, this engagement with alimentation belies any polarising alignment of invisible food with the sacred and real food with the secular or profane.

Bjork, Robert E. 2024. Old English Studies and its Scandinavian Practitioners: Nationalism, Aesthetics, and Spirituality in the Nordic Countries, 1733 to 2023. Anglo-Saxon Studies 50. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. Pp. xv + 336. ISBN 9781843847274.

2025-03-24T13:03:47+01:00

Book review of Bjork, Robert E. 2024. Old English Studies and its Scandinavian Practitioners: Nationalism, Aesthetics, and Spirituality in the Nordic Countries, 1733 to 2023. Anglo-Saxon Studies 50. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. Pp. xv + 336. ISBN 9781843847274.

Coker, Matthew D. 2023. Supernatural Speakers in Old English Verse. Leeds: Arc Humanities Press. Pp. 154. ISBN 9781641894128.

2025-01-26T10:43:31+01:00

Book review of Coker, Matthew D. 2023. Supernatural Speakers in Old English Verse. Leeds: Arc Humanities Press. Pp. 154. ISBN 9781641894128.

Griffith, Mark. 2024. The Battle of Maldon: A New Critical Edition. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. Pp. xiv + 308. ISBN 9781835538067.

2025-05-31T07:13:08+02:00

Book review of Griffith, Mark. 2024. The Battle of Maldon: A New Critical Edition. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. Pp. xiv + 308. ISBN 9781835538067.

Hudson, Harriet. 2023. William Caxton’s "Paris and Vienne" and "Blanchardyn and Eglantine." Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications. Pp. x + 342. ISBN 9781580445573.

2024-08-22T14:09:29+02:00

Book Review of Hudson, Harriet. 2023. William Caxton’s “Paris and Vienne” and “Blanchardyn and Eglantine.” Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications. Pp. 352. ISBN 9781580445566.

Johnston, Michael. 2023. The Middle English Book: Scribes and Readers, 1350–1500. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. xvi + 288. ISBN 9780192871770.

2024-09-23T11:38:11+02:00

Book review of Johnston, Michael. 2023. The Middle English Book: Scribes and Readers, 1350–1500. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. xvi + 288. ISBN 9780192871770.

Kano, Koichi, ed. 2022. An Invitation to Chaucer’s Cosmos. チョーサー巡礼:古典の遺産と中世の新しい息吹きに導かれて. Tokyo: Yushokan. Pp. xvi + 548. ISBN 9784865820478.

2024-10-01T03:22:41+02:00

Book review of Kano, Koichi, ed. 2022. An Invitation to Chaucer’s Cosmos. チョーサー巡礼:古典の遺産と中世の新しい息吹きに導かれて. Tokyo: Yushokan. Pp. xvi + 548. ISBN 9784865820478.

Lucas, Peter J. 2024. Old English Poetry from Manuscript to Message. Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy 58. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. xviii + 398. ISBN 9782503600314.

2025-03-26T12:09:55+01:00

Book review of Lucas, Peter J. 2024. Old English Poetry from Manuscript to Message. Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy 58. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. xviii + 398. ISBN 9782503600314.

Lucas, Peter J. 2024. Printing Anglo-Saxon from Parker to Hickes and Wanley. With a Catalogue of Early Printed Books Containing Anglo-Saxon 1566–1705. Library of the Written World 105. Leiden: Brill. Pp. xxiv + 708. ISBN 9789004516977.

2025-01-31T09:33:41+01:00

Book review of Lucas, Peter J. 2024. Printing Anglo-Saxon from Parker to Hickes and Wanley. With a Catalogue of Early Printed Books Containing Anglo-Saxon 1566–1705. Library of the Written World 105. Leiden: Brill. Pp. xxiv + 708. ISBN 9789004516977.

Martín Arista, Javier, ed., Sara Domínguez Barragán, Luisa Fidalgo Allo, Laura García Fernández, Yosra Hamdoun Bghiyel, Miguel Lacalle Palacios, Raquel Mateo Mendaza, Carmen Novo Urraca, Ana Elvira Ojanguren López, Esaúl Ruiz Narbona, Roberto Torre Alonso, Marta Tío Sáenz, and Raquel Vea Escarza. 2024. “Nerthusv5. Interface of textual, lexicographical and secondary sources of Old English.” www.nerthusproject.com.

2025-06-03T09:57:30+02:00

Review of Martín Arista, Javier, ed., Sara Domínguez Barragán, Luisa Fidalgo Allo, Laura García Fernández, Yosra Hamdoun Bghiyel, Miguel Lacalle Palacios, Raquel Mateo Mendaza, Carmen Novo Urraca, Ana Elvira Ojanguren López, Esaúl Ruiz Narbona, Roberto Torre Alonso, Marta Tío Sáenz, and Raquel Vea Escarza. 2024. “Nerthusv5. Interface of textual, lexicographical and secondary sources of Old English.” www.nerthusproject.com.

Piercy, Hannah. 2023. Resistance to Love in Medieval English Romance: Negotiating Consent, Gender and Desire. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. Pp. xi + 275. ISBN 9781843846727.

2025-06-04T09:13:23+02:00

Book review of Piercy, Hannah. 2023. Resistance to Love in Medieval English Romance: Negotiating Consent, Gender and Desire. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. Pp. xi + 275. ISBN 9781843846727.

Poveda-Balbuena, Miguel Luis, and José Belda-Medina. 2023. Armamento medieval inglés (1100–1500): Estudio lingüístico-histórico. Granada: Comares. Pp. 148. ISBN 9788413695983.

2025-06-09T15:05:13+02:00

Book review of Poveda-Balbuena, Miguel Luis, and José Belda-Medina. 2023. Armamento medieval inglés (1100–1500): Estudio lingüístico-histórico. Granada: Comares. Pp. 148. ISBN 9788413695983.

Sawyer, Daniel. 2024. How to Read Middle English Poetry. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 240. ISBN 9780198895237.

2025-01-15T17:39:55+01:00

Book review of Sawyer, Daniel. 2024. How to Read Middle English Poetry. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 240. ISBN 9780198895237.

Tolkien, J. R. R. 2024. “Sir Gawain y el Caballero Verde” junto con “Perla” y “Sir Orfeo” editado por Christopher Tolkien. Translated by Jorge Luis Bueno Alonso. Barcelona: Minotauro. Pp. 445. ISBN 9788445009802.

2025-06-10T11:05:46+02:00

Book Review of Tolkien, J. R. R. 2024. “Sir Gawain y el Caballero Verde” junto con “Perla” y “Sir Orfeo” editado por Christopher Tolkien. Translated by Jorge Luis Bueno Alonso. Barcelona: Minotauro. Pp. 445. ISBN 9788445009802.

Wilcox, Jonathan. 2023. Humour in Old English Literature: Communities of Laughter in Early Medieval England. Pp. vii + 343. ISBN 9781487545307.

2025-06-13T21:38:14+02:00

Book Review of Wilcox, Jonathan. 2023. Humour in Old English Literature: Communities of Laughter in Early Medieval England. Pp. vii + 343. ISBN 9781487545307.

On Ælfric and Old English Metrical Theory

2024-08-02T06:12:18+02:00

In 2016, Thomas A. Bredehoft wrote a reply to my criticism of his theory of Old English metre, according to which Ælfric's rhythmical compositions ought to be considered verse rather than prose. Here, I provide an answer to some of the points and some of the objections raised in his 2016 essay. I conclude that Bredehoft's criticism of traditional Old English metrical theory is unwarranted, and that Ælfric appears to have regarded his rhythmical style as a special manner of prose composition. The piece ends in a positive note, commending Bredehoft for his work on Laȝamon's Brut and Chronicle verse.

Pseudo-Hippocratic Zodiacal Lunaries in the Hunterian Collection: A Comparative Study of the Manuscript Context of Glasgow University Library Hunter MS 461 and Hunter MS 513

2024-11-04T22:14:44+01:00

Manuscript catalogues are rarely comprehensive. Thus, brief texts and/or treatises incorporated by later hands may have gone unnoticed. This is the case of two medieval manuscripts housed at Glasgow University Library—Hunter MS 461 and Hunter MS 513—which contain the same medical astrological tract, known as Astrologia Ypocratis in Latin or Þe boke of ypocras in English. Hunter MS 461 is an astrological and mathematical compendium written mainly in Latin in the thirteenth century and Hunter MS 513 is a medical miscellany in English dating from the fifteenth century. Close and direct reexamination of the contents gathered in both medieval manuscripts will uncover treatises, notes and later insertions which have passed unperceived by the eyes of scholarship so far. This study will provide a more detailed map of the context in which the medical astrological tract under consideration was copied during the Middle Ages and will also offer some new insights regarding the evolution of the status this tract enjoyed from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries.