Anonymous, Athelston

Helen Young (University of Sydney)

Ed. by Corinne Saunders, University of Durham
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1370

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

Athelston is a Middle English tail-rhyme romance, probably from the South-East Midlands. It is found uniquely in MS 175 of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, which dates from approximately 1420. It is likely that the poem itself was originally composed some decades earlier, between 1370 and 1390. The poem is conventionally classed as a ‘Matter of England’ romance, and is set during the Anglo-Saxon period of the English past. Unlike many Middle English romances it does not have an existing French language source, and there is no evidence that there was one.

It tells the story of four messengers who meet at a cross-roads and swear an oath of brotherhood. One, Athelston, is of royal blood and ascends to the …

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1588 words

Citation: Young, Helen. "Athelston". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 April 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23233, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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