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Revising Wulfstan's Antichrist in the Twelfth Century: A Study in Medieval Textual Re‐appropriation
Author(s) -
Conti Aidan
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
literature compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.158
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 1741-4113
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-4113.2007.00439.x
Subject(s) - appropriation , context (archaeology) , literature , history , composition (language) , classics , art , philosophy , linguistics , archaeology
The following article considers medieval methods of textual composition and modern methods of textual analysis in light of increasing scholarly interest directed towards the continued use of English after the Conquest. The re‐use of Wulfstan's eschatological material in the twelfth century is used as a case study. The revisions to three Wulfstan homilies demonstrate that by examining works in their manuscript context literary scholars and historians better understand the way in which medieval compilers could exploit the fertility of earlier material to produce new texts for new audiences. Such texts, frequently ignored as unoriginal, present innovative compositional techniques while upholding the inherently conservative interpretative framework of the church.