In a circle of trees

A tree God set in paradise, and its fruit forbade to Adam and Eve. And him bi twegin beamas stodon þa wæron utan ofætes gehlædene, gewered mid wæstme, swa hie waldend god, heah heofoncyning handum gesette, þæt þær yldo bearn moste on ceosan godes and yfeles, gumena æghwilc, welan and wawan. Næs se wæstm gelic!…

Also found in Tiberius A. iii

Some medieval manuscripts have an obvious purpose.  It’s a psalter, a gospel-book, a collection of charters, a book of poetry.  Others … don’t.  London, British Library Cotton MS Tiberius A. iii is, first and foremost, a copy of the two most important Rules (guides on how to live and worship in the monastery) for use…

Faithful cross, gate of heaven

Today is Good Friday, the day which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  For today’s blogpost, I’ve decided simply to post and translate some Anglo-Saxon texts dedicated to the Holy Cross: a hymn, a poem, and two prayers.  As my research is all about how texts were adapted and reused in different contexts, in each…

Conference registration: The Rood in Medieval Britain and Ireland, c.900-c.1500

In a few weeks, I will be speaking on ‘Praying Before the Cross in the Late Anglo-Saxon Church’ at a two-day conference, ‘The Rood in Medieval Britain and Ireland, c.900-c.1500’, at the University of York (2nd-3rd September).  I will be speaking about prayer in front of crosses in a few of the manuscripts that I…

CFP: The Rood in Medieval Britain and Ireland c.900–c.1500 (University of York, 2–3 September 2016)

  Deadline: 30 March 2016 now extended to 18 April 2016 King’s Manor, University of York The rood – understood as the cross itself, and/or the image of Christ crucified – was central to the visual and devotional culture of medieval Christianity. By the late middle ages, a rood was present in monumental form, either…

Like, pray, share: Anglo-Saxon prayer memes

So you’re scrolling through your Facebook feed, and one of those memes pops up. You know what I mean. Either it’s a sick child who needs your prayers (‘1 like = 100 prayers!’), or a cursed photo of a hellwraith (‘like and share or you’ll die tonight!!’), or simply an inspirational image which will give…