Anglo-Saxon Metre and Literary Studies

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In the thirty years since the publication of R. D. Fulk’s A History of Old English Meter, metrical theory has been brought to bear on questions of poetic style, dating, linguistics and language history, editing practice, manuscript analysis and scribal practice. No longer viewed as an inner sanctum of detailed theory separable from the main work of Old English studies, the importance of metrical analysis to the broad work of textual criticism cannot be overstated.

This one-day workshop will feature twenty-minute papers on the study of Old English and/or Latin metre in Anglo-Saxon texts, with a focus on the application of metrical study to literary criticism and manuscript studies. Welcoming contributions from established metrists and new scholars, we aim to engage with current debate and invite new perspectives. The workshop will make clear the relevance and urgency of metrical studies for Anglo-Saxonist scholarship.

The workshop will be preceded by a graduate training course on October 29th. Attendees will test CLASP's new metrical teaching materials, and recieve a crash course in using Old English metre for literary critical work.

Further information and tickets can be found on the event page.

 

Oxford Medieval Studies