Old Age in Early Medieval England: A Cultural History Contributor(s): Porck, Thijs (Author) |
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ISBN: 1783273755 ISBN-13: 9781783273751 Publisher: Boydell Press OUR PRICE: $109.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: February 2019 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Medieval - History | Europe - Medieval |
Dewey: 940.1 |
LCCN: 2018275561 |
Series: Anglo-Saxon Studies |
Physical Information: 0.69" H x 6.14" W x 9.21" (1.28 lbs) 288 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453) |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: How did Anglo-Saxons reflect on the experience of growing old? Was it really a golden age for the elderly, as has been suggested? This first full survey of the Anglo-Saxon cultural conceptualisation of old age, as manifested and reflected in the texts and artwork of the inhabitants of early medieval England, presents a more nuanced and complicated picture. The author argues that although senescence was associated with the potential for wisdom and pious living, the Anglo-Saxons also anticipated various social, psychological and physical repercussions of growing old. Their attitude towards elderly men and women - whether they were saints, warriors or kings - was equally ambivalent. Multidisciplinary in approach, this book makes use of a wide variety of sources, ranging from the visual arts to hagiography, homiletic literature and heroic poetry. Individual chapters deal with early medieval definitions of the life cycle; the merits and downsides of old age as represented in Anglo-Saxon homilies and wisdom poetry; the hagiographic topos of elderly saints; the portrayal of grey-haired warriors in heroic literature; Beowulf as a mirror for elderly kings; and the cultural roles attributed to old women. |