Apostolic discourse and Christian identity in Anglo-Saxon literature

“Apostolic Discourse and Christian Identity in Anglo-Saxon Literature” argues that Anglo-Saxon religious writers used traditions about the apostles to inspire and interpret their peoples’ own missionary ambitions abroad, to represent England itself as a center of religious authority, and to articulate a particular conception of inspired authorship. This study traces the formation and adaptation of apostolic discourse (a shared but evolving language based on biblical and literary models) through a series of Latin and vernacular works including the letters of Boniface, the early vitae of the Anglo-Saxon missionary saints, the Old English poetry of Cynewulf, and the anonymous poem Andreas. This study demonstrates how Anglo-Saxon authors appropriated the experiences and the authority of the apostles to fashion Christian identities for members of the emerging English church in the seventh and eighth centuries, and for vernacular religious poets and their readers in the later Anglo-Saxon period.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2010

Author dc:creator

• Godlove, Shannon N.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Wright, Charles D.
• Trilling, Renee
• Barrett, Robert W.
• Kalinke, Marianne E.

• Anglo-Saxon
• Old English Literature
• Apostles in Literature
• Anglo-Latin Literature
• Cynewulf
• Boniface
• Andreas

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2010 Shannon N. Godlove

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16965

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/16965