Finding the right words : Isidore's Synonyma in Anglo-Saxon England / Claudia Di Sciaccia.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Di Sciacca, Claudia, author.

Series:

Toronto Old English series ; 19.

Toronto Old English Series ; 19

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Isidore, of Seville, Saint, -636. Synonyma.

Isidore.

Devotional literature, Latin (Medieval and modern)--England--History and criticism.

Devotional literature, Latin (Medieval and modern).

Devotional literature, Latin (Medieval and modern)--Translations into English.

English prose literature--Old English, ca. 450-1100--History and criticism.

English prose literature.

Spirituality--England--History--Middle Ages, 600-1500.

Spirituality.

England.

Genre:

Critiques litteraires.

Literary criticism.

History.

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (343 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Toronto, [Ontario] ; Buffalo, [New York] ; London, [England] : University of Toronto Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Isidore of Seville (circa 570-636) was the author of the Etymologiae,. the most celebrated and widely circulated encyclopaedia of the western Middle Ages. In addition, Isidore's Synonyma were very successful and became one of the classics of medieval spirituality. Indeed, it was the Synonyma that were to define the so-called 'Isidorian style,' a rhymed, rhythmic prose that proved influential throughout the Middle Ages.Finding the Right Words is the first book-length study to deal with the transmission and reception of works by Isidore of Seville in Anglo-Saxon England, with a particular focus on the Synonyma. Beginning with a general survey of Isidore's life and activity as a bishop in early seventh-century Visigothic Spain, Claudia Di Sciacca offers a comprehensive introduction to the Synonyma, drawing special attention to their distinctive style. She goes on to discuss the transmission of the text to early medieval England and its 'vernacularisation,' that is, its translations and adaptations in Old English prose and verse. The case for the particular receptiveness of the Synonyma in Anglo-Saxon England is strongly supported by both a close reading of primary sources and an extensive selection of secondary literature. This rigorous, well-documented volume demonstrates the significance of the Synonyma to our understanding of the literary pretensions and pedagogical practices of Anglo-Saxon England, and offers new insights into the interaction of Latin and vernacular within its literary culture.

Contents:

1. Isidore of Seville: His Life and Culture

2. Synonyma: Their Structure, Style, and Sources

3. Isidore and the Synonyma in the British Isles

4. Vernacularization of the Synonyma: The Case of Vercelli xxii

5. Vernacularization of the Synonyma: The ubi sunt Topos

6. Synonyma in Anglo-Latin Literature

7. Synonyma in Anglo-Saxon England: Some Conclusions

Index of Manuscripts

Index of Passages Cited and Discussed.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4426-9123-9

1-4426-8811-4

OCLC:

635461070