This is a study of the 10th-century Blickling homiliary, one of the most important and least-studied collections of Latin/Anglo-Saxon sermon literature.

This is a study of the 10th-century Blickling homiliary, one of the most important and least-studied collections of Latin/Anglo-Saxon sermon literature.

The Blickling Homilies date from the end of the tenth century and form one of the earliest extant collections of English vernacular homiletic writings. The homiletic texts survive in a composite codex consisting of Municipal Entries for the Council of Lincoln (14th - 17th century), a Calendar (mid 15th century), Gospel Oaths (early 14th century), and the eighteen homiletic texts that are based on the yearly liturgical cycle. The Blickling Homilies are an important literary milestone in the early evolution of the English prose. The manuscript, in the collection of William H. Scheide housed in Princeton University Library (MS. 71, s.x/xi), was published in facsimile by Rudolph Willard in 1960 as Volume 10 of Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile, Copenhagen. It is the only Anglo-Saxon MS still in private ownership, and together with The Blickling Psalter are the only two Anglo-Saxon MSS in the Americas. The only previous edition of The Blickling Homilies is by Richard Morris, published in three volumes in 1874, 1876, & 1880 (reprinted as one volume in 1967). This new edition makes a number of corrections where Morris's manuscript reading is in error. The English translations are modernized and made more accurate. The original text and facing-page translation have been formatted into paragraphs, which are hoped to further and aid comprehension. Finally, the text and translation are accompanied by a general introduction, textual notes on each homiletic text, tables and charts, and a select bibliography.

Essays on the largest body of prose work in Old English, by Stafford, Gatch, Smetana, Goddin, HuppéLetson, Nichols, Tandy, Jurovics, Dalbey, Szarmach.

The articles in this volume explore from diverse but complementary perspectives the sources of Anglo-Saxon homilies, the homilies themselves, and their impact. The volume examines the anonymous homilies, as well as those by AElfric and Wulfstan.

The essays in this volume challenge prevailing views on the way in which apocalyptic concerns contributed to larger processes of social change at the first millennium. They should provoke new interest in and debate on the nature and causes of social change in early medieval Europe.

This volume illustrates some of the exciting paths of enquiry in Anglo-Saxon studies.