The Old English Bede: English Ideology or Christian Instruction?

Molyneaux, George

doi:10.1093/ehr/cep345

Cited by 40 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Once one recognises that this text is not concerned with promoting any notion of the English as a single special people, the argument that other instances of the word Angelcynn indicate a programme of nation-building and unification tenth-century english kings dissolves. 76 That Edgar was content to recognise Scottish authority over Lothian implies that English unification was not a priority, since Lothian had been part of the old Northumbrian kingdom and long continued to be seen as in some sense 'English': Adam of Dryburgh, writing in what is now the Scottish Borders in 1179/80, regarded himself as living 'in the land of the English (terra Anglorum) and in the kingdom of the Scots (regno Scotorum)'. 77 The aim of Alfred and his tenth-century successors was not to create a kingdom of all the English, but to contain, subdue and ultimately expel the Scandinavian potentates who had gravely threatened Wessex.…”

Section: Tenth-century English Kingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Were Some Tenth-Century English Kings Presented as Rulers of Britain?

Molyneaux¹

2011

Trans. R. Hist. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. Some tenth-century English kings, especially AEthelstan and Edgar, were commonly presented as rulers of Britain. The basic reason for this is that they had a loose but real hegemony over the other rulers on the island. This hegemony did not collapse in subsequent centuries, but English kings were less often described as rulers of Britain. The intensification of royal rule within the English kingdom in the second half of the tenth century made kings' power inside the kingdom increasingly unlike their power elsewhere in Britain: it consequently became harder to think of Britain as a single political unit.In this year [927] appeared fiery lights in the northern part of the sky, and Sihtric died, and King AEthelstan gained the Northumbrian kingdom (feng to Nor›hymbra rice); and he had power over (gewylde) all the kings who were on this island: first Hywel, king of the West Welsh, and Constantine, king of the Scots, and Owain, king of the people of Gwent, and Ealdred son of Eadwulf of Bamburgh. And they established peace (fryfl) with pledge and oaths (mid wedde 7 mid aflum) in the place which is called Eamont [near Penrith] on 12 July and renounced all idol-worship (deofolgeld) and afterwards departed with friendship (mid sibbe). 1

show abstract

Section: Tenth-century English Kingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Were Some Tenth-Century English Kings Presented as Rulers of Britain?

Molyneaux¹

2011

Trans. R. Hist. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Works Cited

2013

A History of Old English Literature

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Royal Authority in the Biblical Quotations of the Old English Pastoral Care

Faulkner

2017

Neophilologus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Old English Pastoral Care, a late-ninth-century translation of Gregory the Great's Regula pastoralis attributed to Alfred the Great, is a text without a clear authorial voice. Gregory's authorial presence is hinted at in the metrical preface and epilogue to the translation, but is curiously absent from the prose preface. Here, at the very beginning of the text, the authorial voice is that of King Alfred. Whether or not Alfred was actually responsible for translating the Regula pastoralis, as the prose preface claims, his voice and presence resonate throughout the translation. The king's persona re-voices not only Gregory's words, but the many biblical quotations that Gregory relies upon to support his argument. The royal authority natural to a king is compounded with the textual authority that comes through translating and therefore re-voicing a canonical text such as the Regula pastoralis, and this is nowhere more significant than in the translations of biblical quotations. Here, the Alfred-persona re-voices biblical figures such as King David, King Solomon, the evangelists and Christ Himself. In the translations of these quotations, Alfred's royal authority is shored up by the echoes of these voices from Scripture. This article finds examples of where the wording of these translated quotations represents ideology, and even phraseology, found elsewhere in Alfredian documents. Through appropriation of scriptural voice, Alfredian ideals such as wisdom, moderate use of resources and a ruler's humility are given unquestionable authoritative backing.

show abstract

The Old English Bede: English Ideology or Christian Instruction?

Cited by 40 publications

References 0 publications

Why Were Some Tenth-Century English Kings Presented as Rulers of Britain?

Why Were Some Tenth-Century English Kings Presented as Rulers of Britain?

Works Cited

Royal Authority in the Biblical Quotations of the Old English Pastoral Care

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About