The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

Rating:
Summary: An excellent guide for anyone interested in Old English
Review: Like the vast majority of people nowadays I discovered Old English as an undergraduate, rather than as a casual reader in my spare time. Initially I was bored and sceptical. "Oh my God this is like German, why do I have to study it?" I thought. However, the Anglo-Saxons began to grow on me after a while and one gains a valuable insight into their culture using this book. As well as treating of heroic themes in poems like Beowulf and the Christian ethos which inspired such poems as The Dream of the Rood, it also offers general overviews such as "Fatalism and the Millennium" (something very relevant!) and the role of saints in Anglo-Saxon England. This makes the poetry and prose of this alien society more accessible.

Nor is this book overly technical, so it is not daunting to approach. Although I read it in the context of a textbook, it could equally be appreciated by those merely reading Old English as a hobbie.

Strongly recommended.