Poetry, Place, and Gender: Studies in Medieval Culture in Honor of Helen Damico

These essays in honor of Norse and Anglo-Saxon scholar Helen Damico reflect her interest in the culture of the medieval North and her belief that interdisciplinary studies can reveal new aspects even to long studied works. Karkov (art history, University of Leeds) has selected several papers that provide different slants on texts such as Beowulf, The Dream of the Rood and the writings of the Venerable Bede, including a fresh examination of the single Beowulf manuscript. Translation is also a topic with examples of how material was altered, omitted, added to or subverted through illustrations. The two articles on this topic discuss texts that are hundreds of years apart but share much in the mentality of the translators. An English translation of an Orkney proverb poem complements these, demonstrating the challenges of transmitting the sense of a work a thousand years removed from us. A comparison of Welsh and Anglo-Saxon petitionary poems points out the differences in two poetic traditions. Interpretations of plastic art, an icon of the Virgin and the Horsewoman on the Hilton of Cadboll Cross-slab are looked at in both religious and feminist lights. The secular side of sculpture and its relation to land holdings is examined for Anglo-Scandinavian Northumbria. The mutability of symbolism is shown in the change in interpretations for the wound in Christ's side, with an emphasis on Bede's commentary. The final essay, on Dante's representation of Muslims and Jews, reflects the diversity of Damico's interests. The book as a whole is a superb example of solid scholarship by some of the most respected scholars in medieval studies. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)