Spolia-inflected poetics of the old English Andreas
Date
2013
Authors
Advisor
Instructor
Source Title
Studies in Philology
Print ISSN
0039-3738
Electronic ISSN
1543-0383
Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
Volume
110
Issue
2
Pages
199 - 219
Language
English
Type
Article
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Abstract
Throughout this essay, I focus on the spolium, a fragment charged with meaning that crosses several boundaries, in order to illuminate the poetics of a notoriously idiosyncratic Anglo-Saxon text, the poem now called Andreas. After a short introduction to several literal and metaphorical instances of recycling of objets d'art in the early Middle Ages, on the Continent, and in England, I discuss in detail two episodes in Andreas in which animated artifacts appear as both results of and participants in spoliation—the angel sculpture from a temple set in motion by Jesus and the water-issuing marble column from the Mermedonian dungeon activated by Andrew.
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Keywords
Statues, Harrowing, Apostles, Medieval poetry, Narratives, Christianity, Literary style, Lyric poetry, Art objects