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Index

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2023

Harriet Soper
Harriet Soper
Affiliation:
University of Oxford

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Type
Chapter
Information
The Life Course in Old English Poetry , pp. 256 - 267
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Index

Abel (biblical character), 158
abilitysee disability; skill; strength
Adam (biblical character), 15, 16–17, 43, 58, 153
adolescence
age thresholds in archaeology, 18
definitions and terminology
adolescentia, 19, 44, 63, 68
cnihthad, 19, 63, 69
and procreation, 68
adulthood, 19, 20, 22, 61, 175
Ælfric of Eynsham on, 63, 68–69
age thresholds in archaeology, 18
in Andreas, 22, 62, 64, 65, 86–93, 97, 175
Augustine of Hippo on, 89
definitions and terminology, 62–63
fulfremeda wæstm (completed growth), 19, 63, 69
perfecta aetas (perfect age), 1, 63, 67, 89
gender and, 61–62, 65, 80
in Guthlac A, 22, 62, 64, 65, 73, 97, 140, 175
in Judith, 22, 62, 93–98, 140, 175
in Juliana, 22, 62, 64, 73, 79–86, 97, 140, 175
in Maxims I, 71–72, 73
rebellion in, 4, 74–86, 177
in The Rhyming Poem, 184–187
socialisation in, 80, 184–187
strength and, 1, 19, 68–69
as ‘unmarked category’, 61see also iuuentus; maturity
Ælfric of Eynsham, 19, 20, 43, 45, 47, 93
on adulthood, 63, 68–69
Colloquy, 70
De tribus ordinibus saeculi, 58
death in, 141
on drunkenness, 155
Homily on Judith, 93, 94
Natale Sancti Pauli Apostoli, 67
on old age, 185
Sanctorum Septem Dormientium, 146
on youth, 63
aenigmata (riddles), 14, 15, 36, 37, 38–39, 52see also Riddles (Exeter Book)
aetates hominissee ages of man
Æthilwald, 178
Africanus (father of Juliana), 81, 83–84
afterlife, 2, 5, 15, 144–145
heaven, 80
hell, 144–145
restored youth in, 89
sleep in, 152
of trees, as wooden objects, 56
age studies, 5–6
agency, 13, 152, 173
ages of man (aetates hominis), 1–2, 6–7, 19–20
Ælfric of Eynsham, 19–20, 43–45, 47, 63, 65, 68–69, 93, 185
asynchronous temporalities of, 6–7
Augustine of Hippo, 6–7, 22, 43–45, 47, 68, 89, 102, 179–180, 189
Bede, 6–7, 22, 43–45, 47, 65, 68, 179–180, 186, 189
Byrhtferth of Ramsey, 20, 62–63, 93
disruption of, 1–2, 43
Gregory the Great, 19, 68–69
Guthlac A and, 74
Riddles and, 42–47see also adolescence; infantia; perfecta aetas; pueritia
ages of the world, 6–7, 43–45, 68, 74, 102, 121, 189
Alcuin, 1, 68, 120–121, 149
Carmen 9 (De clade Lindisfarnensis monasterii), 121, 122
Carmen 23 (O mea cella), 120–121, 122
Carmen 40, 120
Carmen 61 (De luscinia), 132
Aldhelm, 14, 15, 26, 40, 52, 178
Aenigma 17 (Perna), 10–11
Aenigma 22 (Acalantis), 133
Aenigma 33 (Lorica), 38
Aenigma 44 (Ignis), 38
Aenigma 83 (Iuuencus), 49
Aenigma 87 (Clipeus), 52, 53
Aenigma 100 (Creatura), 38, 167
alliteration, 178, 182
Andreas, 22, 64, 153, 165, 175
anthrophagy in, 12
Cynewulf, poetic similarity to, 64
dating of, xiv, 64
death song in, 127
influences on, xiii
lifelong learning in, 86–93
nonlinear growth in, 22, 62, 97
animals, 9–12, 22, 26
bears, 30
carrion feeders, 169–171
cattle/oxen, 49–50, 55–56, 65–68
deer, 31–32
horses, 185
infant formation, 29–34
lions, 29, 30
oysters, 9–10, 11–12
snakes/serpents, 31
wolves, 32–34see also birds
anthropocentrism, 13
anthropomorphism, 8, 9, 11, 12–14
anthropophagy, 12
antithesis, see contrasts
Ariès, Philippe, 25, 26
assonance, 180–181
Augustine of Hippo
on adolescence, 44
on adulthood, 89
on ages of man, 6, 22, 44, 68, 179, 189
on early life, 43, 44, 47, 179–180
on old age, 106
authority, 83, 186
in old age, 100, 118, 126, 131, 133, 140
of poet, 118, 126, 128, 131, 133
Bald’s Leechbook, 39
baptism, 32, 44
Bataille, Georges, 23, 165–166, 168
battle, 52, 53, 58, 149
poems on, 15, 149
spirituality of, 58
Battle of Brunanburh, The, xiv, 149
Battle of Maldon, The, xiii, xiv, 149
Beauvoir, Simone de, 108, 113
Bede, 6, 20, 22, 44, 47, 157
ages of man, 44, 45, 68, 186
Bede’s Death Song, xiv, 124, 144
De die iudicii (attr), 152
De temporum ratione, 43, 44, 180
In Genesim, 43–44, 180
In proverbia Salomonis (Commentary on Proverbs), 157
beginnings, 16–17
Benedictine Rule, 29, 150–151
Bennett, Jane, 13
Beowulf (character), 116–118
death song of, 116–118, 124–125, 126
funeral of, 15
youth of, 72–73, 116–117
Beowulf (text), 3, 7, 23, 64, 165
Æschere (character), 162
anthrophagy in, 12
blæd (glory) in, 97–98
carrion animals in, 169–170
Creation in, 16
dating of, xii, xiv
death in, 97–98, 101, 107–118, 140, 148, 149, 162
Grendel (character), 12, 149, 162
Hrothgar (character), 108–112, 117, 134, 140, 162
influence of, xiii
influences on, xiii
Last Survivor (character), 112, 114–116, 140
old age in, 97–98, 101, 105, 108–118
Ongentheow (character), 113–114
sleep in, 150
socialisation in, 185
spiritual decline in, 188
trauma in, 103, 110–111
waste in, 168
youth in, 16, 72–73, 116–117
Berlant, Lauren, 25
Bern Riddles, 26, 40
dating of, 38
violence in, 52
Bible, 163
Adam and Eve, 15, 16–17
allusions, in Exeter Book Riddles, 15
Cain and Abel, 158
David, 186–187
Flood and Noah’s Ark, 43–44
Genesis, 23, 43, 112–113, 157–160, 180
Holofernes, 94, 96
Job (book), 184
Job (character), 127, 129–130
Lot, 159
Magi, 33
Matthew, 151
Noah, 157–160
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, 19, 69, 163
Proverbs, 151, 157
Psalms, 14–15, 31, 53
Sarah, 101, 112–113
Solomon, 127
1 Thessalonians, 147, 150, 151, 155see also Exodus; Genesis A; Genesis B; Judith
birds, 35–37, 172
barnacle geese, 46–47
chickens/hens, 36–37
Christ as, 127
cuckoos, 35–36
nightingales, 102, 131–135, 176, 177
phoenixes, 42, 128–130, 131
as poets, 135–136
ravens, 170–171
birth, 10, 16–17, 44
of Christ, 16, 33
death and, 39
definitions and terminology, 37–38
in the Exeter Book Riddles, 26–27
in The Fortunes of Men, 28
gendered knowledge of, 39
hatching from eggs, 36–37
medical literature on, 39–40
Metrical Charm 6 (‘For Delayed Birth’), 39–40
blæd (glory/vitality), 73, 75, 76, 84
loss of, 97–98, 140
Blickling Homily XIX, 87, 88
bodies
control of, 27, 71–72, 96, 146–161, 168, 170–171
after death, 137–140, 142–173
destruction of, 164–165
formation of, 28–34, 35
‘knot-body’, 27
souls and, 40, 41–42, 143–144
threats to, 168
Boethius (text), 58, 69–71, 93
dating of, xiv
Metre 10, 144
Boethius (writer), De consolatione philosophiae, 102, 121
Bourdieu, Pierre, 55
building, metaphors of, 59, 78–79, 85–86
burial, 18, 50, 143–145, 146, 156
Byrhtferth of Ramsey, 1, 20, 63, 93
Cædmon’s Hymn, 16
Cain (biblical character), 158, 159
care, 22, 25, 26, 28–34, 35, 50
Cassian, John, 150
Certeau, Michel de, 163
chastity, 4, 80, 81
childhood, 1, 6, 22, 25
Ælfric of Eynsham on, 20
age thresholds in archaeology, 18
Augustine of Hippo on, 43, 44, 47, 179–180
definitions and terminology, 1–2, 19–20, 42–44, 47, 50, 59, 63
in Exeter Book Riddles, 11–12, 26–27, 34–51, 59–60, 174–175
food and nourishment in, 48–51
in The Fortunes of Men, 184
in models of the ages of man, 1–2, 19, 43–44, 47, 63
in The Rhyming Poem, 179–180, 183–184
space and, 27
vulnerability in, 4see also infancy; infantia; pueritia; youth
children
burial of, 50
care for, 25, 50
death of, 18, 25, 44, 141
poetic words for, 59
Christ, 67
in Andreas, 87–93
as a bird, 127
birth of, 16, 33
death of, 153–155
Christ and Satan, 145
Christ I (The Advent Lyrics), 16
Christ II (The Ascension), xiv, 16, 126–128, 134, 181–182
Christ III (Christ in Judgement), 23, 139, 151–153
dating of, xiv
composition
definitions and terminology, 121–122, 129
description of, 108–112, 118–119, 131–133
teaching of, 14
concealment, 31–32, 143–146, 156
confession, 123
conflict, 52, 179, 183
battles/warfare, 15, 52, 53, 58, 149
consciousness, 52, 108, 138
after death, 123, 138
consolation, 100, 122
consumption
death as, 12, 167, 169–172
in early life, 48–51
fedan (to feed/nourish/sustain), 11, 48, 49
contemplation
in creativity, 121–122
of death, 123–124, 144
of old age, 112, 113–114
contingencies, 24, 112, 174, 175, 176
in Beowulf, 4, 112
in The Fortunes of Men, 3
in The Rhyming Poem, 178, 179
contrasts, 179, 181, 182
death and midlife, 140
death and strength, 138, 146–161
formal emphasis of, 183
of light and dark, 180
of youth and age, 48–49, 50, 55
cosmology, 6–7, 68, 136
Creation, 16, 44, 68, 167, 179–180
creativity, 45, 46, 186–187
contemplation in, 121–122
description of, 118–119
Cuthbert, Epistola Cuthberti de obitu Bedae, 124
Cynewulf, 8, 64, 118, 128
Beowulf, influence of, xiii
Christ II (The Ascension), xiv, 16, 126–128, 134, 181–182
Elene
antithesis in, 180–181
beginning of time in, 16
dating of, xiv
fear in, 83
influence of, xiii, 64, 187
poetic craft in, 118–122, 134
epilogues, 15, 23, 80
old age in, 101, 118–128
Fates of the Apostles, The, xiv, 124, 125–126, 129
Guthlac B, 15, 144, 146
beginnings in, 16–17
dating of, xiv
on death, 138, 141, 143–144
death-songs in, 127
Juliana, 22, 73, 80, 85–86, 97, 123–125, 184
dating of, xiv, 64
death in, 80, 85, 123–124, 144
growth in, 62
old age in, 93
youth in, 64, 65, 79–86, 97, 175, 184
Daniel, 141
David (biblical character), 186–187
death, 2, 5, 23, 137, 176
birth and, 39
as bitter, 141–142
blæd (glory/vitality), negation of, 97–98, 140
burial and graves, 18, 50, 143–145, 146, 156
of Christ, 153–155
cognate conditions/experiences, 138–139, 143
blindness, 69–71, 91, 98, 162
disability, 138, 162–163, 171
drunkenness, 155–161
exile, 188
idleness, 162–165, 188
sleep, 146–155
consciousness after, 123, 138
as consumption, 12, 167, 169–172
consumption after, 171–173
definitions and terminology, 140–142, 146–147, 153, 163
as deviant, 140–141
illness, equated with, 140
indiscriminate nature of, 156
inevitability of, 166
infant mortality, 25, 44
as intrusion, 188
as journey, 40, 124, 126, 129, 130, 188
judgement after, 2, 15, 79, 80, 124, 137, 144–145, 189
life course, impact on, 139–142
life, restoration to, 88–89
as loss of possessions, 145
martyrdom, 52, 171–173
midlife, contrast to, 140
old age, parallel to, 140
premature, 140, 141
reflections before, 116–118
ripeness metaphors for, 141–142
secrecy and, 143–146
sin and, 141
strength, antithesis of, 138, 146–161
threats of, 47
trauma of witnessing, 100, 104–108, 110–111, 114, 136, 175
vulnerability of, 153
as waste, 98, 142, 163–169
weariness and, 149
Death of Edward, The, xiv, 141–142, 163
death-day (deaþ-dæg), 139
death songs, 116–118, 123–130
in Beowulf, 124–125, 126
fus-leoð (dirge), 127
in Guthlac B, 127
decline
drunkenness and, 158
in old age, 2, 20, 100, 129
of skill, 119–122
spiritual, 43, 74–75, 159, 187–188
dependency, 11, 26
desire, 79
despair, 52–53, 103, 138, 140
destruction, 139, 163–169, 176
deterioration, see decline
disability, 20, 69–71, 97–98, 177
blindness, 70, 91, 98, 162
death as a form of, 138, 162–163, 171
disability studies, 5, 20–21
dislocation, temporal, 103
disobedience, 22, 62, 74–86, 93, 97, 177
disruption, 174
of hierarchies, 81–82
of identity, 4, 73, 104
of models of ages of man, 43
of narrative, 2–3, 134
distractions, 102, 103
Doomsdaysee Judgement Day
Dream of the Rood, The, 14, 15, 56, 154
drinking, 49–50
drunkenness, 23, 138, 155–161, 168, 176
Durham Proverbs, 55
duty (nytt), 162, 163
eating, 12
in early life, 48–51
fedan (to feed/nourish/sustain), 11, 48, 49
fretan (eating/devouring), 12
of human flesh, 12, 169–172
ecocriticism, 6
Edward the Confessor, 141–142
elegies, 14, 102, 179
Elene (Cynewulf)
antithesis in, 180–181
beginning of time in, 16
dating of, xiv
fear in, 83
influence of, xiii, 64, 187
poetic craft in, 118–122, 134
embryology, 40–42
endings, 15
epilogues, 15, 23, 80, 101, 118–128
ensoulment, 40, 41–42
Epicurus, 147
Eusebius
Aenigma 37 (De uitulo), 49
Aenigma 38 (De pullo), 37
Eve (biblical character), 15, 43
excess, 23, 165–169see also Bataille, Georges; waste
Exeter Book, xiii, 8, 9, 14, 16, 35, 45, 64, 79, 82, 102, 157
exhaustion, 138, 146, 149, 154, 188
Exodus, xiii, xiv, 12, 15, 105, 140, 168
experience
as basis for skill/wisdom, 102, 128, 133
individual, 2–3, 4, 5
nonhuman, 9
temporal, 11
Fall, the, 15, 56, 156, 159, 167
old age as a consequence of, 105–106
postlapsarian world, 56, 58, 106, 127
family, 26, 83
fathers/fatherhood, 81, 82, 83–84, 87
mothers/motherhood, 26, 30–34, 39
Fates of the Apostles, The, (Cynewulf), xiv, 124, 125–126, 129
fathers/fatherhood, 81, 82, 83–84, 87
fatigue, 138, 142, 146, 149, 154, 188
fear, 77, 82–83
Felix, Vita S. Guthlaci, 74
flourishing, 62, 64, 165–167, 184 see also vitality
food, 11, 12
in early life, 48–51
fedan (to feed/nourish/sustain), 11, 48, 49
in grave goods, 50
metaphors of, 141–142
form, xiii, 14–15, 128
alliteration, 178, 182
anagogic, 15
assonance, 180–181
homeoteleuton, 180, 182
Latin aenigmata, 14
Latinate, 119
metre, 71, 178
prosopopoeia, 8, 10, 11
rhyme, 24, 119
end-rhyme, 178, 179, 180–182
self-rhyme, 183
see also narrative; wisdom catalogues
formation
foetal, 40–42
infant, 28–34, 35
Formation of the Foetus, The, 41
Fortunes of Men, The
contingency in, 3
dating of, xiv
death in, 2, 23, 139, 169, 170–171, 172
drunkenness in, 160–161
early life in, 16, 27–34, 184
violence in, 58
Franks Casket, 32–34
fruit, 7, 37, 68, 75, 140, 141
function, socialsee usefulness
gender, 128, 177
and adulthood, 61–62, 65, 80
hagiographies and, 65
knowledge of birth and, 39
maturity thresholds and, 18
old age and, 101–102, 112–113
‘one-sex’ model, 20
poetic skill and, 135–136
Genesis A, xiii, 41–42, 59, 168
dating of, xiv
death in, 12, 145
drunkenness in, 157–160
old women in, 101, 112–113
Genesis B, 105
Gifts of Men, The, 51, 78
glory (blæd), 73, 75, 76, 84
loss of, 97–98, 140
God, 151
appeals to, 82
creative power of, 167, 179–180
devotion to, 75, 80, 84, 94
punishments from, 58, 156, 164
wisdom of, 92
governance, 186
graves, 18, 50, 143–145, 146, 156
Gregory the Great, 19, 69, 127
Gregory of Tours, Vitae Patrum, 76
grief, 23, 52, 99–104, 114, 135–136
nonhuman, 136
growth
ateleological, 22, 62, 97
building metaphors for, 59
fulfremeda wæstm (completed growth), 19, 63, 69
gradual, 5, 19–20, 22, 26–27, 34–51, 59, 63, 71–72, 93, 174
learning and, 69–70
lifelong, 90
post-traumatic, 23
spiritual, 53–54, 102
through death, 171–173
in old age, 189
unpredictability of, 71–73, 93
weaxan (to grow), 19, 49
Guthlac A, 176, 184
adulthood in, 22, 62, 73, 74–79, 97
dating of, xiv, 64
death in, 15
Juliana, relationship with, 64
old age in, 93
unruly youth in, 64, 93, 97, 175
Guthlac B, 15, 144, 146
beginnings in, 16–17
dating of, xiv
on death, 138, 141, 143–144
death-songs in, 127
hagiographies, 22, 62, 64–65, 143–146see also Guthlac A; Guthlac B; Juliana
hapax legomena, 49
happiness, 26, 82, 183–184
Hávamál, 162–163
Helvius Vindicianus, Gynaecia, 41
heroism, 15, 52
and death, 148, 154
pseudo/mock, 53
hierarchies
disruption of, 81–82
establishment of, 94
of servitude, 95, 96
Holofernes (biblical character), 94, 96
homeoteleuton, 180, 182
humoural theory, 20
hunger, 49
hurt/hurting, 27, 52–54, 56–57
Husband’s Message, The, 16, 45
identity, 177
before/after life, 23, 137, 172–173
discontinuous, 4, 72, 73, 74, 75–
familial, 83
and homemaking, 85–86
old age, disrupted by, 104
social, 23, 72, 79, 137–138, 143, 145–146, 171–172
spiritual, 73–79, 137, 172–173
idleness, 139, 152, 162–165
illness, 177
imagery
of building, 59, 78–79, 85–86
cosmological, 68
for death, 141–142
of food, 141–142
of plants, 44, 166
of water, 43–45, 46–47, 165
implement trope, 101–104
improvement, 3, 20, 22, 62, 68
incompleteness, 29–30
infancy, 6, 16, 22, 174–175
animal metaphors for, 7
Augustine of Hippo on, 43, 44, 47, 179–180
in Beowulf, 16
Creation, aligned with, 43, 179–180
Flood, parallel with, 43
formation in, 28–34
in The Fortunes of Men, 16, 27, 184
nourishment in, 48–51
in The Rhyming Poem, 179–180, 183–184
space and, 47
vulnerability in, 4, 11, 26, 43, 175see also infantia; pueritia
infant mortality, 18, 25, 44
infantia, 42–47, 63
Instructions for Christians, 41
interiority, 81–83
absence of, 102, 134
intrusion, 188
irregularity, 24, 174, 175, 176
Isidore of Seville, 3, 30, 31, 36, 44, 63
on adolescence, 63
on death, 141, 163
on iuuentus, 67–68
on old age, 99
isolation, 112, 114, 138
isomorphisms, 9, 13, 34
iuuentus, 1, 19, 69, 186
relation to youth, 63, 67–68
usefulness in, 67–68
Jerome, 68
Jesus Christsee Christ
Job (biblical character), 127, 129–130
journeys, 186
death as, 130
end of childhood as, 51, 54–55
joy, 26, 82, 183–184
Judgement Day (eschatological event), 127, 139, 169, 179–189
Judgement Day I, 144
Judgement Day II, 23
dating of, xiv
death in, 139
sleep in, 152–153
judgement, after death, 2, 15, 79, 80, 108, 118–122, 124, 137, 144–145, 189
Judith, 22, 96–98
adulthood in, 22, 62, 93–98, 140, 175
dating of, xiv, 64
death in, 15, 94, 95, 157
drunkenness in, 157
influence of, xiii
influences on, xiii, 64
Julian of Toledo, 89, 141
Juliana, 22, 73, 97, 184
dating of, xiv, 64
death in, 80, 85–86, 123–125, 144
growth in, 62
old age in, 93
youth in, 64, 65, 79–86, 97, 175, 184
Junius Manuscript, xiii, 159
Kolk, Bessel van der, 103
labour, 26, 51, 52, 55–56, 58, 66–72, 78–79, 126, 152, 163, 175
Lacnunga (compendium), 39
Lactantius
Carmen de aue phoenice, 128, 129
De ira Dei, 76
laments, 14–15, 52, 53, 54, 111
language acquisition, 44, 45–46
Latin-English Proverbs, 7, 182, 183
learning, 69–70, 86–93, 133
Lévi-Strauss, Claude, 11
life course
archeological/historical constructions of, 18–19
of communities, 6, 121, 145, 187
of the cosmos, 6–7, 9, 24, 102, 136, 139, 143–146, 169, 189, 190
definitions of, 4–5
river metaphor for, 4, 5
within single poem, 15–17, 23–24, 179–189 see also adolescence; adulthood; childhood; death; infancy; maturity; midlife; models of ages of man; old age; youth
life cycle, 5
lifespan, 115
as number of days, 2, 139
typical, in pre-Conquest England, 18
light, 179–180
liquidity, 11
metaphors of, 43–45, 46–47
milk, 49–50
loneliness, 112, 114, 138
loss, 5, 52, 130
of blæd (glory/vitality), 97–98, 140
in old age, 99–104, 107–108, 135–136
of possessions, 145
social, 104, 161
of strength, 146–161
Lot (biblical character), 159
love
endearments, 26
parental, 25–26, 28
romantic, 46
Lucretius, 147
Malabou, Catherine, 4, 105, 174
manuscripts
CCCC MS, 87, 88, 198
CCCC MS 201, xiii
Exeter, Cathedral Library MS 3501 (Exeter Book), xiii, 9, 14, 16, 35, 45, 64, 79, 82, 102, 157
London, British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius B.i, xiii
London, British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius C.i, xiii, 19
London, British Library, Cotton MS Vitellius A.xv (Nowell Codex), xiii, 64
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Junius 11, xiii, 159
Vercelli, Biblioteca Capitolare MS CXVII (Vercelli Book), xii, 138
marriage, 18, 80, 81, 85, 175
martyrdom, 52, 171–173
Mary, Virgin, 33
maturity, 5
age thresholds in archaeology, 18
in Andreas, 22, 62, 64, 65, 86–93, 97, 175
as flourishing, 62
gender and, 18, 80
in Guthlac A, 22, 62, 64, 65, 73, 74–79, 97, 140, 175
in Judith, 22, 62, 65, 93–98, 140, 175
nonlinear qualities of, 62
reproductive ability, 1, 44, 68
as strength, 1, 67–72, 91, 138, 146–161, 185–186
as usefulness, 65–73, 97
of women, 93–94
Maxims I, 23, 51, 73
adulthood in, 71–72, 73
birth in, 35
dating of, xiv
death in, 139, 142, 145–146, 166
old age in, 105, 136
Maxims II, 15, 23, 51, 135
dating of, xiv
death in, 139, 144
Melbury Bubb font, 22, 30–32
memory, 43, 103, 116–117, 137
men
boys, 18
fathers/fatherhood, 81, 82, 83–84, 87
maturity, age thresholds in archaeology, 18
rebellion/disobedience of, 22, 74–79, 93, 97
warriors, 57–58
metamorphosis, 172, 182
metaphors
of building, 59, 78–79, 85–86
cosmological, 68
for death, 141–142
food, 141–142
for infancy, 7
of plants, 44, 166
of water, 4, 43–45, 46–47, 165
metre, 71, 178
Metrical Charm 6 (‘For Delayed Birth’), 39–40
midlife, 1, 68
death as contrast to, 140
definitions and terminology, 62
midferhð, 70 see also adulthood; maturity; perfecta aetas
mindfulness, at end of life, 124
mobility, 103
psychological, 73, 103
travel, 10, 51, 54, 56, 186
modesty, 118, 122, 126
monasticism, 29, 66, 75, 150–151
moon, 68
mortality, infant, 18, 25, 44
mothers/motherhood, 26, 30–34, 39
mourning, 107
nonhuman, 136
for youth, 120–121, 122
movement
bodily, 27
repetitive, 114–115
see also mobility
music, 126–128, 129, 131, 132, 186–187
‘mute group’ theory, 19
narrative
in death songs, 116–118, 123–130
discontinuity and disruption in, 2–3, 134
first-person, by nonhuman objects, 8, 10, 16, 45–47, 52
formation, 28–34
sequential, 2
structures, 189
trauma and, 103, 110–111, 117–118, 134–135
new materialisms, 6, 12–14, 21
Noah (biblical character), 157–160
nonhuman, the, 6, 8–10
and ageing, 7
and agency, 13
and death, 139, 142
and early life, 29–34
grief/mourning of, 136
human, relationship with, 8, 10, 12–14
narrative voices of, 8, 10, 16, 45–47, 52
old age and, 135–136
see also animals; birds; plants
nourishment, 11, 26
in early life, 48–51
in grave goods, 50
of humans, by animals, 32–34
Nowell Codex, xiii, 64
nurture, 22, 25, 26, 28–34, 35
obedience, 66–67, 68
lack of, 22, 62, 74–86, 93, 97, 177
old age, 1, 22–23, 99, 175–176
Ælfric of Eynsham on, 185
‘aged author’ topos, 118, 119, 120–121
ambivalence towards, 99
Augustine of Hippo on, 106
authority in, 100, 140
in Beowulf, 101, 105, 108–118
death, compared with, 140, 157
death-songs, 101, 123–130
as decline/deterioration, 2, 20, 100, 129, 187–188
definitions and terminology, 100, 107, 112, 185
blanden-feax (grey-haired), 108, 113–114
decrepita (very old age), 19
eald (old), 100, 133–134
forwerode ealdnyss (worn-out age), 19
frod (old/wise), 100, 111
gomel (old), 111
senectus (old age), 1, 19
yldo (old age), 100, 107, 112, 140, 185
destructive violence of, 107
gender and, 101–102, 112–113, 131–135, 177
in Guthlac A, 93
Isidore of Seville on, 99
in Juliana, 93
in Maxims I, 105, 136
in models of the ages of man, 1, 3, 19, 44–48, 177
nonhuman, 135–136
observation/contemplation of, 112, 113–114
in The Phoenix, 86, 101, 123, 128–130, 131
as postlapsarian state, 105–106
as psychological condition, 107–108
in The Rhyming Poem, 187–188
skill in, 122, 132–134
social context of, 112–113
in Solomon and Saturn II, 106–107, 135, 176
as survival/outliving, 23, 104–108, 112, 114–118, 136
trauma and, 23, 100, 101–104, 108, 110–111, 115, 117, 134, 135, 175
vulnerability in, 113, 120–121
in The Wanderer, 102–103, 105
wisdom and, 23, 86, 91–93, 99–104, 107, 117, 125, 134, 135–136
youth, mourning for, 120–121, 122
Old English Hexateuch, 159–160
Old English poetry
as corpus, xii, xiii, 177
dating of, xii
influences between poets, xiii
Old Norse literature, 7, 20, 116, 124–125, 162–163
oppositionssee contrasts
Order of the World, The, 15
pain, 27, 52–54, 56–57
Panther, The, 154–155
parents, 28–34, 35–36
fathers/fatherhood, 81, 82, 83–84, 87
mothers/motherhood, 26, 30–34, 39
Partridge, The, 15
Paul, Saint, 140, 150, 155
penitence, 123, 130
perfecta aetas (perfect age), 1, 63, 67, 89
Persius, Satires, 131–132
Phoenix, The, 42, 101, 131
dating of, xiv
death in, 15, 123, 143
old age in, 128–130
sleep in, 152
youth in, 82, 86
plants, 45–46, 184–185
blossom/flowers, 184
metaphors of, 44, 166
sedge, 57–58
trees, 42, 48–49, 56–57, 142
Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 29–30, 31, 133
poets
first-person address by, 129
old age of, 23, 118, 126, 131, 133
representations of, 108–112, 118–119, 126, 135–136
power
mægen (power), 185
patriarchal, 81–82, 83–84
spiritual, 82see also strength
Praxeis Andreou kai Mattheia eis tēn polin tōn anthrōpophagōn, 87, 88
Precepts, 16
prenatal life, 5, 6, 22, 40–42
procreation, capability for, 1, 44, 68
productivity, 44, 65, 68, 186
prosopopoeia, 8, 10, 11
pseudo-Bede, 36
pseudo-Symphosius, Aenigma 1, 39
pueritia, 1, 19, 43–44, 47, 63
death and, 44
formation in, 43
water metaphors for, 46–47
queer theory, 1, 5
rebellionsee disobedience
regeneration, 32, 88–89
religion
baptism, 32, 44
conversion, 75
martyrdom, 52, 171–173
monks and monasticism, 29, 66, 75, 150–151
priesthood, 67
songs and singing, 132
Virgin Mary, 33see also Bible; Christ; God; spirituality
reproduction, capability for, 1, 44, 68
resurrection, 88–89
rhyme, 24, 119
end-rhyme, 178, 179, 180–182
self-rhyme, 183
rhetoric
anaphora, 111
prosopopoeia, 8, 10, 11
Rhyming Poem, The, 23–24, 182, 188–190
adulthood in, 184–187
dating of, xiv, 178
early life in, 179–180, 183–184
old age in, 187–188
riddles (aenigmata), 14, 15, 36, 37, 38–39, 52
Riddles (Exeter Book), 7–15, 20, 22, 167–168, 173, 174–175
ages of man in, 45–47
anthropomorphism, 8, 9, 11
birth and, 10, 11, 22, 26–27, 34
dating of, xiv, 8
death in, 15, 139
early life in, 11, 22, 25, 184
form and style in, 14–15
love in, 26
violence in, 59–60
Riddles (Exeter Book), individual riddles
Riddle 1, 15, 167
Riddle 3, 14, 52–53
Riddle 4, 54
Riddle 6, 102, 135–136
Riddle 7, 26, 35–36, 42, 47, 48, 54, 184
Riddle 8, 36, 42, 46–47
Riddle 11, 15, 36–37
Riddle 12, 51
Riddle 13, 26, 47
Riddle 15, 54
Riddle 24, 51, 139, 171–173
Riddle 25, 139, 155–157, 168
Riddle 32, 47, 184
Riddle 33, 38
Riddle 36, 49, 184
Riddle 37, 15
Riddle 38, 15, 38, 167
Riddle 41, 105
Riddle 48, 38–39
Riddle 51, 42, 48–49, 56
Riddle 54, 15, 54
Riddle 58, 42, 45–46, 51, 57, 184
Riddle 69, 57–58
Riddle 70, 26, 49–50, 51, 55–56, 66
Riddle 71, 42, 48–49
Riddle 74, 9–10, 42, 47, 48
Riddle 80, 38–39
Riddle 84, 14, 42, 51, 53–54
Riddle 89, 14
Romulus and Remus, 32–34
Rorty, Amélie, 4, 174
Ruin, The, 139, 163–165
rumination, 123, 124
Rune Poem, The, xiv, 15, 58, 140, 146
sacrifice, 168–169
Sarah (biblical character), 101, 112–113
sculpture, 30–34
Seafarer, The, xiv, 15, 104–105
senectus (old age), 1, 19
servitude, 8, 94, 95, 96
sex and sexuality, 4, 79, 80, 81
Shakespeare, William, Hamlet, 148
shelter, 26, 33
sinfulness, 119, 123, 130
death and, 141
drunkenness as, 157–160
sleep as, 150–151
skill, 20
definitions and terminology
cræft, 69–70, 91–93
word-cræft, 122
diminished, 118, 119, 122
and gender, 135–136
in old age, 122
poetic, 119–122, 135–136
in singing, 127, 129, 130
in speech, 107
spiritual, 91–93
sleep, 23, 137, 138, 176
benefits of, 147–148
death as, 146–155
definitions and terminology, 152–153, 154
as sin, 150–151
social structures, 68
maturity and, 76–77
socialisation, 11, 45, 46, 184–185
death as end of, 144, 162
necessity for, 72, 76
rejection of norms of, 86
Solomon (biblical character), 127
Solomon and Saturn II, 23, 139
afterlife in, 149
dating of, xiv
old age in, 106–107, 135, 176
travel in, 55
songs and singing, 126–128, 129, 131, 132, 186–187
sorrow, 149
Soul and Body I and II, 42, 138, 144
Soul’s Address to the Body, 40
souls, 40, 41–42, 189
and bodies, 40, 41–42, 143–144
location after death, 144–145
space
childhood and, 27
home, 78–79, 82, 85–86
infancy and, 47
shelter, 26, 33
social, 45
speech
skills in, 107
about trauma, 103, 117, 120, 121, 136
spirituality
growth in
through death, 171–173
through decay, 102
in old age, 189
of warfare, 58
Strawson, Galen, 3
strength, 1, 19, 22, 68–71
death and, 138, 157
definitions and terminology, 185–186
cræft, 69, 91–93
mægen (power), 185
human and nonhuman, 21 see also power
style, xiii, 14–15
subservience, 56
suffering, 56
after death, 144–145
hurt/pain, 27, 52–54, 56–57
maturity, concomitant with, 52–54
sun, 68
survival, 26, 58
old age as, 23, 104–108, 112, 114–118, 136
tameness/taming, 12
teleology, lack of, 3, 22, 62, 97
temporalitysee time
Tertullian, 147–148
Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, Laterculus Malalianus, 40–41
time/temporality
asynchronous, 6
cosmological, 6–7
linear, 1, 6
narrative and, 2–3, 111
nonlinear, 6–7
seasons, 7, 20
sequential experience of, 11
units of, 2, 3, 7
Tolkien, J. R. R., 7
transformation, 172, 182
trauma, 108–109
death, witnessing of, 110–111
growth after, 23
healing from, 103–104
speech/verbalisation of, 103, 117, 120, 121, 136
trauma theory, 5, 23, 100–101, 117–118, 135
travel, 51, 54–56, 186
trees, 42, 48–49, 56–57, 142
unpredictability, 2–4, 63, 71–73, 93, 175
until
oþþæt, 2–3, 48–49, 50, 55
pattern of, 2–3, 71
usefulness, 65–73, 186
cræft, 69–70, 91–93
maturity as, 51, 65–73, 97
participation in violence as, 54, 59
productivity, 44, 65, 68, 186
social, 27, 51
see also skill; strength
uselessness, 23, 96, 98, 115, 139, 162–169, 173
variability, 24, 174, 175, 176
variation, poetic, 133–134, 182
Vercelli Book, xii
Vercelli Homily 9, 138
violence, 22, 59–60
economy of, 174
hurts/wounds from, 52–54, 56–57
inevitability of, 58
infliction of, 54, 57–58
nature, inflicted on, 57
of old age, 107
usefulness through participation in, 54, 59
weapons, 56–57
Virgil, Aeneid, 32–33
Virgin Mary, 33
virginity, 4, 80, 81
vitality, 74–75, 76
blæd, 73, 75, 76, 84, 97–98, 140
loss of, 97–98, 140
possessions, association with, 145
vocationsee labour
vulnerability, 13, 28, 175
drunkenness and, 158
in infancy, 4, 11
in old age, 113, 120–121
through sleep, 151–152
Wanderer, The
dating of, xiv
death/destruction in, 136, 144
judgement in, 15
laments in, 14, 53, 59, 111
old age in, 102–103, 105
sleep in, 150
waste in, 165
warfare, 52
poems on, 15, 149
spirituality of, 58
warriors, 57–58
waste, 23, 139, 163–169, 176
in Beowulf, 168
death as, 98, 142
destruction, 139, 163–169, 176
drunkenness as, 161
in The Wanderer, 165
water, metaphors of, 43–45, 46–47, 165
weakness, 120–121, 157
weapons, 56–58
weariness, 138, 146, 149, 154, 188
Whale, The, 15, 82
Widsith, 15, 55
Wife’s Lament, The, 14, 16
wildness, taming of, 12
wisdom, 104, 129
in old age, 101–102, 112–113
trauma and, 135
wisdom catalogues, 15, 23, 28, 51, 58, 135
death in, 139, 142, 145–146
women, 74–86, 177
daughters, 81–82, 83–84
home, association with, 85
maidenhood, 80
maturity of, 18, 22, 62, 64, 73, 79–86, 93–98, 140, 175, 177
mothers/motherhood, 26, 30–34, 39
old age and, 100, 101–102, 118, 131–135, 177
rebellion/disobedience of, 22, 79–86, 177
virginity/chastity, 4, 80, 81
youth of, 18, 65, 79–86
work, 94–95, 163
world
creation of, 16, 44, 68, 167, 179–180
destruction of, 164, 169
world ages, 6–7, 102, 120–121
youth, 1, 5, 16
Ælfric of Eynsham on, 63
age, contrasted with, 48–49, 50, 55
in Andreas, 22, 62, 64, 65, 86–93, 97, 175
in Beowulf, 16, 72–73, 116–117
definitions and terminology, 63
geogoð (youth), 19, 63
geoguðhad (youth-hood), 62
geong (young), 80–82
in Guthlac A, 64, 65, 74–79, 93, 97, 140, 175
‘inglorious’, 72–73
in Juliana, 64, 65, 79–86, 97, 175, 184
mourning for, in old age, 120–121, 122
in The Phoenix, 82, 86
rebellious/unruly, 22, 64, 74, 77–78, 79–86, 97, 175
renewal/regeneration and, 88–89
restored in afterlife, 89see also adolesecence; ages of man; infantia; iuuentus; pueritia
Žižek, Slavoj, 13

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  • Index
  • Harriet Soper, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Life Course in Old English Poetry
  • Online publication: 29 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009315159.009
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  • Index
  • Harriet Soper, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Life Course in Old English Poetry
  • Online publication: 29 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009315159.009
Available formats
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  • Index
  • Harriet Soper, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Life Course in Old English Poetry
  • Online publication: 29 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009315159.009
Available formats
×