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The Old English History of the World: An Anglo-Saxon Rewriting of Orosius (Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library) Hardcover – October 31, 2016

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 13 ratings

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The Old English History of the World is a translation and adaptation of the Latin history known as the Seven Books of History against the Pagans, written by the Spanish cleric Paulus Orosius at the prompting of Saint Augustine after the sack of Rome in 410. To counter the pagan and republican narratives of Livy and other classical historians, Orosius created an account of the ancient world from a Christian and imperial viewpoint. His work was immensely popular throughout Europe in succeeding centuries, down to the end of the Middle Ages. Around the year 900, an Old English version was produced by an anonymous writer, possibly encouraged or inspired by King Alfred. The translator actively transformed Orosius’s narrative: cutting extraneous detail, adding explanations and dramatic speeches, and supplying a long section on the geography of the Germanic world. This volume offers a new edition and modern translation of an Anglo-Saxon perspective on the ancient world.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The greatest virtue of this volume is that it takes this important account of the history of world―a vital text to those scholars who work in the field of Anglo-Saxon studies, but which until now has remained relatively obscure to students and the wider public―and makes it far more accessible than it has been for more than a century.”Benjamin A. Saltzman, Speculum

About the Author

Malcolm R. Godden was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press; 1st edition (October 31, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 067497106X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674971066
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.16 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 13 ratings

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Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library
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The Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library presents original Byzantine Greek, medieval Latin, Old English and medieval Iberian texts with facing-page translations designed to make written achievements of Western medieval and Byzantine cultures available to English-speaking scholars and general readers.

Aimed at a global audience, it offers familiar classics of the medieval canon as well as lesser-known texts of literary and cultural value in accessible modern translations based on the latest research by leading figures in the field.

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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2017
    Interesting work. Good translation.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2022
    This is an interesting read and the book quality in terms of material production is top-notch ( hardcover book with dust cover, creamy, soft pages, attached thread bookmark & mirroring translation ) !

    However, the end notes are not keyed to the text and are mostly linguistic, expanding on translation issues from Old English or clarifying Old English vocabulary, details which are perfectly superfluous for the lay reader...

    The few historical end notes are brief & unassuming, but some denote a rather basic knowledge of ancient history, especially in its geographical aspect... By way of example, the translator does not identify the Fortunate Isles, when they have been amply referred to by ancient writers, among whom Strabo, who identifies them in his " Geography " with southern Spain ( the area around modern Cadiz ) or with islands situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Spain ( possibly the Canary Islands ). Likewise, the translator settles for an extremely vague location of Thule, declaring that it is " an island in the far north or north-west of the known world " ( end note I.32, p. 434 ). Or Thule was known to the Romans, who sailed around it, and is expressly mentioned by Tacitus in his " Agricola " (chapter 10), where he states it is visible from the Orcades, which are the Orkney Islands, off the northern coast of Britain. Being further up north, Thule Island is therefore identified with the Shetland Islands.

    One can infer from these examples that the translator's acquaintance with the ancient world is sketchy at best and that his interest in this English rewriting of Orosius is linguistic rather that historical. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, and Osric does include in his account a description of Germania and another of Norway, drawn from later sources, which are absent from Orosius' work - it's simply that for those who have a predilection for history, and therefore a craving for precision, the indefiniteness of the translator's textual interventions is dispiriting...

    History addicts will want to stick to Orosius' original account, which is abundantly annotated in A. T. Fear's edition for the Liverpool University Press, under the title " Orosius : Seven Books of History against the Pagans ", published in 2010.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • AliceInWonderland
    2.0 out of 5 stars Only for the English medievalist...
    Reviewed in Canada on April 25, 2022
    This is an interesting read and the book quality in terms of material production is top-notch ( hardcover book with dust cover, creamy, soft pages, attached thread bookmark & mirroring translation ) !

    However, the end notes are not keyed to the text and are mostly linguistic, expanding on translation issues from Old English or clarifying Old English vocabulary, details which are perfectly superfluous for the lay reader...

    The few historical end notes are brief & unassuming, but some denote a rather basic knowledge of ancient history, especially in its geographical aspect... By way of example, the translator does not identify the Fortunate Isles, when they have been amply referred to by ancient writers, among whom Strabo, who identifies them in his " Geography " with southern Spain ( the area around modern Cadiz ) or with islands situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Spain ( possibly the Canary Islands ). Likewise, the translator settles for an extremely vague location of Thule, declaring that it is " an island in the far north or north-west of the known world " ( end note I.32, p. 434 ). Or Thule was known to the Romans, who sailed around it, and is expressly mentioned by Tacitus in his " Agricola " (chapter 10), where he states it is visible from the Orcades, which are the Orkney Islands, off the northern coast of Britain. Being further up north, Thule Island is therefore identified with the Shetland Islands.

    One can infer from these examples that the translator's acquaintance with the ancient world is sketchy at best and that his interest in this English rewriting of Orosius is linguistic rather that historical. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, and Osric does include in his account a description of Germania and another of Norway, drawn from later sources, which are absent from Orosius' work - it's simply that for those who have a predilection for history, and therefore a craving for precision, the indefiniteness of the translator's textual interventions is dispiriting...

    History addicts will want to stick to Orosius' original account, which is abundantly annotated in A. T. Fear's edition for the Liverpool University Press, under the title " Orosius : Seven Books of History against the Pagans ", published in 2010.