1st Edition
Longman Anthology of Old English, Old Icelandic, and Anglo-Norman Literatures
The Longman Anthology of Old English, Old Icelandic and Anglo-Norman Literatures provides a scholarly and accessible introduction to the literature which was the inspiration for many of the heroes of modern popular culture, from The Lord of the Rings to The Chronicles of Narnia, and which set the foundations of the English language and its literature as we know it today.
Edited, translated and annotated by the editors of Beowulf and Other Stories, the anthology introduces readers to the rich and varied literature of Britain, Scandinavia and France of the period in and around the Viking Age. Ranging from the Old English epic Beowulf through to the Anglo-Norman texts which heralded the transition Middle English, thematically organised chapters present elegies, eulogies, laments and followed by material on the Viking Wars in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Vikings gods and Icelandic sagas, and a final chapter on early chivalry introduces the new themes and forms which led to Middle English literature, including Arthurian Romances and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
Laying out in parallel text format selections from the most important Old English, Old Icelandic and Anglo-Norman works, this anthology presents translated and annotated texts with useful bibliographic references, prefaced by a headnote providing useful background and explanation.
Biography
Richard North teaches Old and Middle English at University College London, and is author of Heathen Gods in Old English Literature (1997) and The Origins of aEURO~BeowulfaEURO (TM) (2006). Joe Allard teaches at the University of Essex. He translates and publishes contemporary Icelandic poetry and fiction, and has written extensively on medieval Icelandic prose and poetry. Patricia Gilliesis a lecturer at the University of Essex with research interests in Medieval French, Old and Middle English Literature and Old Icelandic literature.
