Aelfric, Preface to Genesis

Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.01: English Writing and Culture: Old English, 500-1066.
Vol. editors: Richard William Dance (University of Cambridge), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 992

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Commentary / Criticism (literary)
Essays/ Lectures (any)

Resources

The Preface to Genesis is a work in Old English prose, of about 1400 words, by the Anglo-Saxon monk and leading churchman Ælfric of Eynsham (c. 955-c. 1010), in which the writer reflects on the problems and dangers of translating the Bible, specifically the Book of Genesis, into English. Ælfric, is celebrated as the most prolific Old English writer, producing homilies, saints' lives, letters, and other works, as well as biblical translations, all forming part of his concerted project of providing sound Christian teaching for the English people, based on Latin scholarship and in line with the principles of the “Benedictine reform” of which he was a product and a leading light. The Preface, along with the …

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969 words

Citation: Magennis, Hugh. "Preface to Genesis". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 April 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16741, accessed 01 November 2024.]

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