Ericksen: Reading Old English Biblical Poetry

Ericksen: Reading Old English Biblical Poetry

Reading Old English Biblical Poetry considers the Junius 11 manuscript, the only surviving illustrated book of Old English poetry, in terms of its earliest readers and their multiple strategies of reading and making meaning. Junius 11 begins with the Creation story and ends with the final vanquishing of Satan by Jesus. The study is framed by particular attention to the materiality of the manuscript and how that might have informed its early reception, and it broadens considerations of reading beyond those of the manuscript’s compiler and possible patron. As a book, Junius 11 reflects a rich and varied culture of reading that existed in and beyond houses of God in England in the tenth and eleventh centuries, and it points to readers who had enough experience to select and find wisdom, narrative pleasure, and a diversity of other things within this orany book’s contents. “Ericksen’s full-length study of MS Junius 11 is a welcome addition to the body of scholarship, and it has applications for contemporary reading as well.”―Jodi Grimes, Dallas Baptist University, Christianity & Literature “Thorough, comprehensive, and accessible, Reading Old English Biblical Poetry will appeal to students; the writing is elegant and concise, and the discussions, while nuanced, are presented in such a way that even students coming to Old English literature for the first time will be able to follow them.”―Renée R. Trilling, Department of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "Reading Old English Biblical Poetry offers wholly new insights, including discoveries relating to the pervasive Fall-of-the-Rebel-Angels theme, the origin and provenance of the Junius manuscript, and the influence of neglected sources." ―Paul Remley, Department of English, University of Washington Janet Schrunk Ericksen is an associate professor of English and Medieval Studies at the University of Minnesota Morris.