The Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church: A Study and Edition of the 'Durham Hymnal' (Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England, Series Number 17) - Hardcover

Milfull, Inge B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521462525 ISBN 13: 9780521462525

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1997

Synopsis

This book provides a study and critical edition of the corpus of hymns sung by monks and canons in their services in England before the Norman Conquest. An eleventh-century Latin manuscript known as the Durham Hymnal, with its accompanying Old English interlinear gloss, makes up the core of the edition. An introduction and commentary include descriptions of relevant extant manuscripts and discussions of sources, liturgical use and music, as well as the phonology and vocabulary of the Old English gloss. A translation of the Latin text is provided.

About this title

From the Back Cover

This book provides a study and critical edition of the corpus of hymns sung by monks and canons in their services in England before the Norman Conquest. When Christianity was introduced into Anglo-Saxon England at the end of the sixth century, the practice of singing hymns in the liturgy of the Office was already well established. The hymnal that the missionaries brought with them was replaced during the Benedictine Reform in the tenth century by another body of hymns, itself introduced from the Continent. This edition assembles textual evidence of these early hymns, some of it hitherto unpublished, based on all extant manuscripts. Of these, an eleventh-century Latin manuscript known as the 'Durham Hymnal' (and in particular its accompanying Old English interlinear gloss) provides the core of the edition and its base manuscript. An introduction and commentary include descriptions of the manuscripts concerned and discussions of the sources, liturgical use and music of the hymns, as well as the phonology and vocabulary of the Old English gloss. The text of the hymns is accompanied by a translation of the Latin into modern English prose.

Review

'Milfull's work should quickly become not only a useful specialized monograph but also a standard reference tool.' Early Medieval Europe

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0521462525
• ISBN 13: 9780521462525
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 512