The elegant festschrift for Anglo-Saxon scholar Paul Szarmach is edited by Blanton (English, University of Missouri, Kansas City) and Scheck (English, SUNY, Albany NY) with contributions from
Szarmach’s friends and former students, now some of the foremost scholars in Anglo-Saxon studies. Many of the essays are centered on linguistic choices and variant terms, prodding them to
release information about the people who wrote. The dating of vernacular work is problematic and an analysis of the language the only clue to the era (or eras) that the work represents.
Continental and Irish influences are discussed as is the translation of work from Latin to Anglo-Saxon and how the choice of words gives a glimpse into cultural assumptions made by the
translator. The ability of Anglo-Saxon monks to produce work in excellent classical Latin is noted. The lives of English queens Emma and Edith are treated in a look at the position of
Anglo-Saxon noble women. The book is divided into three parts: insular texts, insular culture and textual transmission. But, like good medievalists, the authors are not bound by
categorizations. Many of the essays pass through all these divisions as the topic demands. The final chapter tells of newly-found texts that scholars will certainly employ to further nuance
Anglo-Saxon culture. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
