Anonymous, Guthlac B

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. 970

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

Guthlac B, an Old English narrative poem dealing with the death of the English saint Guthlac (c. 674-714), follows on immediately in the Exeter Book after Guthlac A, another poem about the same saint, which is accepted to be the work of a different poet. In its present state Guthlac B is a poem of 560 lines but the text is incomplete, with material missing at the end due to the loss of a whole gathering from the manuscript at this point. The source of Guthlac B is the Latin Life of St Guthlac written by Felix of Crowland in the first half of the eighth century. The Old English poet focuses particularly on chapter 50 of the

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1083 words

Citation: Magennis, Hugh. "Guthlac B". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 June 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16910, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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