The Intellectual Foundations of the English Benedictine Reform

This book explores the foundations of the intellectual renaissance in tenth-century England including both the English Benedictine reform and the establishment by Æthelwold Bishop of Winchester (963–84) of the most influential school in late Anglo-Saxon England. The vital early stages of Æthelwolds scholarly career are explored for the first time particularly his formative years in King Æthelstans entourage and his period of study at Glastonbury. Light is shed on the contribution which Æthelstans cosmopolitan court made to intellectual and spiritual life. Based on a wide range of evidence Dr Gretsch assigns to Æthelwold two influential texts: an interlinear translation of the psalter and a vast corpus of Old English glosses to Aldhelms prose De virginitate. These glosses are shown to have played a pivotal role in the development of the vernacular as a medium for scholarly discourse....See More