A Beowulf Handbook (Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0859896218 ISBN 13: 9780859896214

Publisher: University of Exeter Press, 1997

Synopsis

The most revered work composed in Old English, Beowulf is a landmark of European literature. This handbook supplies a wealth of insights into all major aspects of this wondrous poem and its scholarly tradition and offers both a rapid survey of trends in the study of Beowulf and a more sustained exploration of selected problems. Each chapter begins with a brief summary of its contents followed by a chronology of the most important books and articles on the particular topic it treats. The book has been written to accommodate the needs of a broad audience, from non-specialists who wish simply to read and enjoy Beowulf, to scholars at work on their own research, and students of Old English. This is a volume in the acclaimed series Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies, and will prove an indispensable guide for many years to come. The acclaimed and comprehensive 1988 edition of Beowulf edited by C. L. Wrenn and W. F. Bolton is also available in the series.

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Review

This valuable compendium covers the main areas of scholarly inquiry into the poem in eighteen short chapters, followed by lengthy bibliographies and an index. Each chapter is prefaced by a summary of its contents and a detailed, annotated chronology of major contributions to the area treated . . . It is of course immensely convenient to have all the major issues relating to Beowulf treated between one set of covers, by acknowledged experts in their fields, and A Beowulf Handbook can be recommended with enthusiastic confidence for use by undergraduates and advanced students alike. * Parergon, Vol. 17, No 2 * A Beowulf Handbook presents an impressively detailed digest and assessment of the history of the perceived major areas of Beowulf scholarship and criticism, as they have developed from the earliest days of the recovery of the poem to the 1990s, and it gives an informed overview of the current state of scholarly debate about the poem. * English Studies Volume 80 Number 2 * This is a good book for scholars and graduate students working on Beowulf at any level and should become one of the poem's standard research tools. ... a must for every university library where study of Old English is pursued. It would serve extremely well as recommended reading for any seminar in Beowulf, and appropriate parts of it should be required wherever serious attention is given to textual and philological investigation of the poem. * Arthuriana, Vol. 8, No. 2, Summer * This work fills a need long felt by students of Beowulf. In its eighteen well-organized, clear, and concise chapters, A Beowulf Handbook outlines major moments in scholarship on a wide variety of issues pertaining to the study of Beowulf . . . it is able to serve as both a reference work and an introduction. * Envoi, Fall 1997, Vol. 6.2) *

Synopsis

The most revered work composed in Old English, "Beowulf" is a landmark of European literature. This handbook offers insights into all major aspects of this poem and its scholarly tradition, offering both a survey of scholarly trends in the study of "Beowulf" and a more sustained exploration of selected problems. Each chapter begins with a brief summary of its contents followed by a chronology of the most important books and articles on the particular topics it treats. The main part of the chapter covers the history of scholarly interest in the topic under consideration, a synthesis of present knowledge and opinion, and an analysis of scholarly work that remains to be done.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Exeter Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0859896218
• ISBN 13: 9780859896214
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 478
• Editor: Bjork Robert E., Niles John D.