Sign-In
Cart
Felix's Life of St Guthlac and Its Two Old English Versions
Hardcover
Series: Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies
Medieval & Renaissance HistoryLiterary CriticismGeneral Christianity
ISBN13: 9781805967323
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Published: Jun 5 2026
Pages: 528
Weight: 2.01
Height: 1.13 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Felix's Vita Sancti Guthlaci, composed towards the middle of the eighth century at the request of King lfwald of East Anglia (r. 713-49), is the earliest substantial literary work from the middle kingdoms of pre-Viking England. Written in Latin and modelled on the ornate style of Aldhelm, the Vita offers a vivid account of Guthlac, a Mercian noble turned hermit who died at Crowland in 714. It stands as both a literary landmark and an important historical source for early Anglo-Saxon life.
The Vita also shaped the development of vernacular hagiography, notably inspiring two major Old English poems preserved in the Exeter Book. Though the original Mercian translation is lost, its legacy endures in the 'Gates of Hell' sequence reworked in the Vercelli Book, in the fuller Life at the end of a collection of lfric's writings, and in entries both for Guthlac and his sister Pege in the Old English Martyrology.
This volume presents, for the first time, a complete text of Felix's Vita together with the Old English Homily and Life, offering a comprehensive view of Guthlac's cult across languages and centuries. It is essential reading for scholars of early medieval history and literature. All the texts are accompanied by translations and commentaries.
Also in
Medieval & Renaissance History
The Power of Place: Rulers and Their Palaces, Landscapes, Cities, and Holy Places
Rollason, David
Hardcover
The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace
Moses, Paul
Hardcover
Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us about Living
Jones, Peter
Hardcover
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Greenblatt, Stephen
Hardcover
The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume II: The Modern and Contemporary West
Guelzo, Allen C.
Hankins, James
Hardcover
Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It
Ramirez, Janina
Paperback
Alchemy: An Illustrated History of Elixirs, Experiments, and the Birth of Modern Science
Ball, Philip
Hardcover
The Surgeon, the Midwife, the Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England
Skuse, Alanna
Hardcover
The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
Mortimer, Ian
Paperback
Irish History & Mythology: Exploring The History, Celtic Myths, Folklore, Sagas, Traditions of Ireland
Brought Alive, History
Paperback
Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe
Gabriele, Matthew
Perry, David M.
Paperback
The Wolf Age: The Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Battle for the North Sea Empire
Skeie, Tore
Paperback
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time
Kelly, John
Paperback
Stone Lands: A Journey of Darkness and Light Through Britain's Ancient Places
Robertson, Fiona
Hardcover
What God Kept for Himself: Atheism, Sodomy, and Radical Dissent in Renaissance Italy
Grassi, Umberto
Hardcover
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Greenblatt, Stephen
Paperback
Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide To Siege Weapons And Tactics
Nossov, Konstantin
Paperback
A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
Manchester, William
Paperback
Our Island Story: A History of the Kings, Queens and Battles of England, Scotland and Britain for Boys and Girls
Marshall, H. E.
Paperback
When Asia Was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the Riches of the East
Gordon, Stewart
Paperback
The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade
Bauer, Susan Wise
Hardcover
The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews Under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain
Fernandez-Morera, Dario
Hardcover
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire
Weatherford, Jack
Paperback
The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts
de Hamel, Christopher
Paperback
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys Into the Medieval World
de Hamel, Christopher
Paperback
Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane
Starr, S. Frederick
Paperback
Cryptic: From Voynich to the Angel Diaries, the Story of the World's Mysterious Manuscripts
Shaw, Garry J.
Hardcover
Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It
Ramirez, Janina
Hardcover
The Battle of Yarmuk: An Assessment of the Immediate Factors behind the Islamic Conquests
Ibrahim, Raymond
Paperback
The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople
Bauer, Susan Wise
Hardcover
In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire
Holland, Tom
Paperback
The Magic Books: A History of Enchantment in 20 Medieval Manuscripts
Lawrence-Mathers, Anne
Hardcover
The Birth of the Anglo-Saxons: Three Kings and a History of Britain at the Dawn of the Viking Age
Adams, Max
Hardcover
Venice and the Mongols: The Eurasian Exchange That Transformed the Medieval World
Di Cosmo, Nicola
Pubblici, Lorenzo
Hardcover
Financial Vipers of Venice: Alchemical Money, Magical Physics, and Banking in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Farrell, Joseph P.
Paperback
Urban Infrastructure in Medieval England: Sustainability and Resilience
Magnusson, Roberta J.
Paperback
This Earthly Globe: A Venetian Geographer and the Quest to Map the World
Di Robilant, Andrea
Paperback
Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction to the Language of the Sagas
Byock, Jesse
Gordon, Randall
Paperback
Women in the Middle Ages: The Lives of Real Women in a Vibrant Age of Transition
Gies, Joseph
Gies, Frances
Paperback
Il Fior di Battaglia by Fiore dei Liberi Facsimile: With translation by Guy Windsor
Windsor, Guy
Hardcover
The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance
Al-Khalili, Jim
Paperback
The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance
King, Ross
Paperback
The Prince (Royal Collector's Edition) (Annotated) (Case Laminate Hardcover with Jacket)
Machiavelli, Niccolò
Hardcover
Elucidation of Necromancy Lucidarium Artis Nigromantice Attributed to Peter of Abano: Including a New Translation of His Heptameron or Elements of Mag
Peterson, Joseph H.
Abano, Peter Of
Hardcover