The Old English Physiologus and the Homiletic Tradition
Letson, D. R.
Florilegium, vol. 1 (1979)
Introduction
In a recent article I outlined in some detail the intimate relationship between the poet and the homilist in late Anglo-Saxon England. In that article I suggested that the Anglo-Saxon Christian poet and homilist shared common attitudes towards form and image, an imaginative convergence which is entirely natural since the Anglo-Saxon homilist was well aware of the instructive potential of poetry and since many well-known homilists in Anglo-Saxon England also composed poetry. Moreover, the clerical and popular audiences of the Anglo-Saxon homily were also inspired by vernacular Christian poetry. In common with the Anglo-Saxon homilists and their exemplars, the poet who shaped the old English Physiologus makes formal use of the pericope format, homiletic exegesis, and a host of moral images which would ave been as meaningful to the preacher’ congregations as to the poet’s audience. As a result, a didactic poem like the Old English Physiologus can be more meaningful to the modern reader when viewed in conjunction with the homiletic tradition.
The Old English Physiologus and the Homiletic Tradition
Letson, D. R.
Florilegium, vol. 1 (1979)
Introduction
In a recent article I outlined in some detail the intimate relationship between the poet and the homilist in late Anglo-Saxon England. In that article I suggested that the Anglo-Saxon Christian poet and homilist shared common attitudes towards form and image, an imaginative convergence which is entirely natural since the Anglo-Saxon homilist was well aware of the instructive potential of poetry and since many well-known homilists in Anglo-Saxon England also composed poetry. Moreover, the clerical and popular audiences of the Anglo-Saxon homily were also inspired by vernacular Christian poetry. In common with the Anglo-Saxon homilists and their exemplars, the poet who shaped the old English Physiologus makes formal use of the pericope format, homiletic exegesis, and a host of moral images which would ave been as meaningful to the preacher’ congregations as to the poet’s audience. As a result, a didactic poem like the Old English Physiologus can be more meaningful to the modern reader when viewed in conjunction with the homiletic tradition.
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