| Description |
1 online resource (xi, 226 pages) : illustrations |
| Series |
Anglo-Saxon studies, 1475-2468 ; 8 |
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Anglo-Saxon studies ; 8.
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| Contents |
FOREWORD; ABBREVIATIONS; INTRODUCTION; 1. A Medieval Scandinavian Context; 2. The Earliest Anglo-Saxon Evidence; 3. Female Elves and Beautiful Elves; 4. Ælfe, Illness and Healing (1): The 'Elf-Shot' Conspiracy; 5. Ælfe, Illness and Healing (2): Ælfsīden; 6. Anglo-Saxon Myth and Gender; 7. Believing in Early-Medieval History; APPENDIX 1: The Linguistic History of Elf; APPENDIX 2: Two Non-Elves; WORKS CITED; INDEX |
| Summary |
Anglo-Saxon elves (Old English ælfe) are one of the best attested non-Christian beliefs in early medieval Europe, but current interpretations of the evidence derive directly from outdated nineteenth- and early twentieth-century scholarship. Integrating linguistic and textual approaches into an anthropologically-inspired framework, this book reassesses the full range of evidence. It traces continuities and changes in medieval non-Christian beliefs with a new degree of reliability, from pre-conversion times to the eleventh century and beyond, and uses comparative material from medieval Ireland and Scandinavia to argue for a dynamic relationship between beliefs and society. In particular, it interprets the cultural significance of elves as a cause of illness in medical texts, and provides new insights into the much-discussed Scandinavian magic of seidr. Elf-beliefs, moreover, were connected with Anglo-Saxon constructions of sex and gender; their changing nature provides a rare insight into a fascinating area of early medieval European culture |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-219) and index |
| Notes |
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL |
|
Online resource; title from PDF title page (ProQuest Ebook Central, viewed March 2, 2021) |
|
digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL |
| Subject |
Elves.
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Anglo-Saxons -- Religion
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Civilization, Anglo-Saxon.
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Civilization, Medieval.
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Paganism -- England
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Paganism -- Europe
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SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Folklore & Mythology.
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HISTORY -- Medieval.
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Anglo-Saxons -- Religion
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Civilization, Anglo-Saxon
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Civilization, Medieval
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Elves
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Paganism
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Elfe.
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Heidentum.
|
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England
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Europe
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Angelsachsen.
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England.
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| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9781846155376 |
|
1846155371 |
|
