The HELIAND is a ninth-century poem on the life of Christ by an unknown poet writing in the Germanic dialect known as Old Saxon. This book is the first English-language edition of this important poem which has begun to interest early medievalists specializing in Old English and Old Norse. Major studies by Ronald Murphy have been published during the last decade by Oxford University Press. James Cathey's "school edition" of the HELIAND include about 100 pages of text in Old Saxon drawn from thoughout the poem and presented in numbered, titled segments. Each segment of the text is provided its own commentary on the sources, interpretation, and other salient information about that portion of the poem. A full list of references is provided. Of major importance is the inclusion of a grammar of Old Saxon with a complete comparative apparatus with Old English. A glossary of every word in the poem is also provided. This book will be bought by all university and college libraries and may also enjoy modest course sales.
The HELIAND is a ninth-century poem on the life of Christ by an unknown poet writing in the Germanic dialect known as Old Saxon. This book is the first English-language edition of this important poem which has begun to interest early medievalists specializing in Old English and Old Norse. Major studies by Ronald Murphy have been published during the last decade by Oxford University Press. James Cathey's "school edition" of the HELIAND include about 100 pages of text in Old Saxon drawn from thoughout the poem and presented in numbered, titled segments. Each segment of the text is provided its own commentary on the sources, interpretation, and other salient information about that portion of the poem. A full list of references is provided. Of major importance is the inclusion of a grammar of Old Saxon with a complete comparative apparatus with Old English. A glossary of every word in the poem is also provided. This book will be bought by all university and college libraries and may also enjoy modest course sales.
James E. Cathey is Professor Emeritus of German and Scandinavian studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. His research interests include Germanic linguistics, Scandinavian languages, Finnish, and Old Saxon. He teaches several classes in these areas at the university, along with Swedish.
"As someone who has taught the Hêliand and had to go to unheard of
lengths of photocopying to bring together diverse and difficult to
find texts, I cannot tell you how genuinely helpful Cathey's work
will be. It will be the version for students in North America, and
quite probably abroad as well."
G. Ronald Murphy, Georgetown University"...a useful addition to
texts available for budding philologists."
Tom Shippey, The Times Literary Supplement"As a means of
introducing students to this fascinating world and challenging
text, Cathey's study should prove to be valuable, and one may hope
that its publication will indeed contribute to growth in the
interest of English speakers for the Old Saxon world."
John M. Jeep, Speculum
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