La vie d'Edouard le Confesseur, by a nun of Barking Abbey / Jane Bliss.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bliss, Jane, author.

Series:

Exeter medieval texts and studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Edward, King of England, approximately 1003-1066--Romances.

Edward.

Edward, King of England, approximately 1003-1066.

Genre:

Romances.

Physical Description:

x, 239 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Liverpool : Liverpool University Press, 2014.

Summary:

The twelfth-century Anglo-Norman verse Life of King Edward the Confessor is presented here in modern English for the first time, and with a full introduction and notes. Its author, an anonymous Nun of Barking Abbey, offers a many-faceted and absorbing portrait of the celebrated king and saint, together with legendary material found in no other version of this hagiographic narrative. There is also a wealth of detail about Edward's times as well as about the twelfth-century context in which the Nun was writing, making the poem of great interest to historians as well as to literary scholars. This is among the earliest texts in French known to be by a woman, and so will also be of great value to scholars investigating medieval female authorship. Long neglected, perhaps because mistakenly thought to be a mere translation of Aelred of Rievaulx's Vita in Latin, it proves to be remarkably independent of its main source and raises questions about the freedom and originality of medieval 'transposition' or translation. Book jacket.

Contents:

The Life of Edward the Confessor

Prologue (1-10) 55

The Introduction to Edward (11-68) 57

1 Of his Lineage (69-142) 59

2 Edward is chosen King (143-266) 61

3 The young Edward (267-354) 64

4 Brihtwald's Vision (355-510) 68

5 Exile and Return (511-850) 71

6 Description of Edward (851-978) 77

7 Edward's Treasure (979-1080) 80

8 Edward and Edith (1081-462) 83

9 The Vision of the Ships (1463-640) 90

10 Edward's Pilgrimage (1641-2018) 94

11 Pope Leo's Letter (2019-108) 100

12 Saint Peter and the Hermit (2109-284) 102

13 Gille Michel the Cripple (2285-480) 105

14 Mellit and the Fisherman (2481-696) 110

15 A Visit to Pope Nicholas (2697-960) 114

16 Edward and Lievrich (2961-3074) 119

17 The King's Evil (3075-256) 122

18 A Blind Man sees Edward's Beard (3257-438) 126

19 The Blind Man of Lincoln (3439-500) 129

20 The Blinded Woodcutter (3501-628) 131

21 Seven Blind Eyes (3629-92) 134

22 The Fate of Godwin's Sons (3693-766) 136

23 The Fate of Godwin (3767-932) 138

24 The Seven Sleepers (3933-4164) 142

25 King Edward and the Ring (4165-476) 146

26 Edward's Last Illness (4477-638) 153

27 The Vision of the Tree (4639-912) 156

28 The Tree Explained (4913-5016) 163

29 Edward's Death (5017-295) 165

30 Of the Nun Herself (5296-335) 170

31 Ralph the Norman Cured (5336-453) 172

32 Thirteen Blind Eyes (5454-501) 174

33 The Prophecy about Harold Fulfilled (5502-601) 175

34 The Bell-ringer (5602-69) 177

35 Saint Ulstan (5670-949) 179

36 The Saint's Body Uncorrupted (5950-6071) 184

37 The Sewing-Girl (6072-243) 187

38 Osbert's Fever (6244-371) 191

39 Gerins Cured Likewise (6372-441) 194

40 A Nun of Barking Healed (6442-545) 196

41 A Triple Cure (6546-685) 199.

Notes:

"The twelfth-century Life of King Edward the Confessor, in Anglo-Norman verse, is here presented in modern English for the first time. Its author, an anonymous nun of Barking Abbey, offers a many-faceted and absorbing portrait of the celebrated king and saint, together with legendary material found in no other version of this hagiographic narrative."--Page 1.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-230) and indexes.

ISBN:

184631951X

9781846319518

OCLC:

878299476