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Welcome to the Readings in Prose page for the Advanced Old English Series in which students explore, in alternating months, a work of prose and then a work of poetry to introduce students to the breadth and depth of Old English texts available for study. Each month Dr. Swain surveys the group to see what they want to tackle next from month to month.
Required Texts
For this month's module we will explore The Old English Life of St Mary of Egypt. A Saint's Life was a very popular genre both in oral and in written literary traditions. Sometimes these were translated from Latin, sometimes they were written in the vernacular. Some of them are downright weird. This tale begins with a prostitute who is curious why a group of men is going to Bethlehem and attaches herself to them, and her adventures thereafter. It is a delightful little tale that proved to be very popular in Early Medieval England.
Required Text: Old English Life of St Mary of Egypt: An Edition of the Old English Text with Modern English Parallel-Text Translation (Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies LUP).
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Days and Times
Meeting Mondays & Thursdays at 7:00 PM Eastern for eight 1-hour sessions on October 30, November 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, (skip 23), 27