Description
This journal special issue brings together a collection of essays that considers how England has historically perceived itself within the Atlantic Archipelago, within Europe, and within the wider world. Medieval England, both before and after the Norman Conquest of 1066, remains a touchstone for English nationalism. Yet, the literatures of these people do not reflect an Anglo-exceptionalism, or even an Anglo-centrism. Rather, medieval English literature reflects a consciousness of England and its Insular neighbours as being on a periphery, often looking to Rome, Francia and Byzantium for models of religious practice, morality, rulership and ceremonial. It is this consciousness of the world beyond English shores, and the English awareness of their place within that world, that these essays seek to bring to light. Contributors cover a wide chronology of English literature, take in a broad range of genres from history to hagiography to epic poetry, and engage with medieval English conceptions and knowledge of places as close as Denmark and as far flung as India. In this way, the collection demonstrates that English intellectual culture in the Middle Ages was one that sought to understand its place, and to situate itself, within a wide and complex world.| Period | 2025 |
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| Type of journal | Journal |
| ISSN | 0313-6221 |