Language and History in Early England
Helmut Gneuss
Variorum Publishing
This first selection of studies by Helmut Gneuss focuses on language and its development in Anglo-Saxon England, and at the same time demonstrates the importance of such studies for historical scholarship. The first section deals with the standardization of Old English and the influence of Latin learning, whether in the form of lexical borrowings or the study of grammar and related disciplines. Professor Gneuss then turns to specific texts, as historical sources, such as the poem on the Battle of Maldon or the translation of the Rule of St Benedict, a key work of the 10th-century reform; and in the final articles looks at the work of Gerald of Wales and William Herebert.