Anonymous, Saint Erkenwald

Johannes Wolf (University of Oxford)

Ed. by Jamie McKinstry, 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. 1386 - c. 1386

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

St. Erkenwald is a 350-line religious Middle English poem written in alliterative verse. Whilst it is usually dated to the late fourteenth century on the basis of both external and stylistic evidence, it is preserved in a single manuscript (British Library MS Harley 2250) which dates from the last quarter of the fifteenth century. Harley 2250 is a compilation of mostly religious texts, including excerpts from the Stanzaic Life of Christ, the South English Legendary, the Speculum Christiani and Mirk’s Festial, copied in a Northwest Midlands dialect that these poems share with the poems of British Library MS. Cotton Nero a.x which include Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and …

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2570 words

Citation: Wolf, Johannes. "Saint Erkenwald". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 January 2018 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38768, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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