The Benedictine Reform in Anglo-Saxon England

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Institute for Medieval Studies, Univ. of New Mexico

Organizer Name

Jonathan Davis-Secord

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of New Mexico

Presider Name

Jonathan Davis-Secord

Paper Title 1

Recognizing Women's Cultural Production during the Anglo-Saxon Benedictine Reform: Manuscripts, Memes, and Cultural Mobility

Presenter 1 Name

Helene Scheck

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. at Albany

Paper Title 2

Lost and (Not) Found: Evidence for Saints' Lives Produced to Augment and Celebrate the Anglo-Saxon Benedictine Reform

Presenter 2 Name

Virginia Blanton

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City

Paper Title 3

Representing the Female Body in Late Anglo-Saxon Hagiography

Presenter 3 Name

Shari Horner

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Shippensburg Univ.

Start Date

9-5-2014 10:00 AM

Session Location

Fetzer 1010

Description

The Benedictine Reform in Anglo-Saxon England transformed not just prominent monastic centers but also the literary culture of the period. Some of the most important Anglo-Latin works were composed during the period, and the movement produced Ælfric, the most prolific author of Old English. Moreover, a huge number of the surviving Old English texts—even some composed centuries before the reform—have linguistic and manuscript histories related to the reform, with the sole copy of some texts hailing from the period. This session will bring greater attention to this fundamental period of Anglo-Saxon literary history, and the participants will explore in particular the role of women in the reform movement.

Timothy C. Graham