From the Viking mead drinking in Valhalla to the unending punishments of the Greek underworld, the afterlife has always been an imaginative place. In this blog post, I survey how the afterlife was conceptualised in early medieval England, in particular with reference to 'old age'. Heaven is a place without old age The prime place … Continue reading Heaven is a place without old age: Age and the afterlife in early medieval England
An Old English love poem from 1879
In 1879, a Dutch student tried to woo his sweetheart with an Old English love poem. Learn more about "Se glēo-mann" [The minstrel]!
A Burgundian king in an Old English poem: The Germanic past in Widsith
What is a fifth-century Burgundian king doing in an Anglo-Saxon poem? Learn more about Gundahari (d. 437)
The Freoðuwebbe and the Freswael: A Comic Strip Reconstruction of the Finnsburg Fragment and Episode
One of the most intriguing stories referred to in Old English heroic poetry is whatever happend at Finnsburg, between Hnæf , Finn and Hengest. The story is referred to in Beowulf, the so-called Finnsburg Fragment, and Widsith, but the events are rather difficult to piece together. For all who have ever struggled making sense of Finnsburg, … Continue reading The Freoðuwebbe and the Freswael: A Comic Strip Reconstruction of the Finnsburg Fragment and Episode