Exeter Book

Exeter Book

▪ Old English literature
      the largest extant collection of Old English poetry. Copied c. 975, the manuscript was given to Exeter Cathedral by Bishop Leofric (died 1072). It begins with some long religious poems: the Christ, in three parts; two poems on St. Guthlac; the fragmentary “Azarius”; and the allegorical Phoenix. Following these are a number of shorter religious verses intermingled with poems of types that have survived only in this codex. All the extant Anglo-Saxon lyrics, or elegies, as they are usually called—“The Wanderer,” “The Seafarer,” “The Wife's Lament,” “The Husband's Message,” and “The Ruin”—are found here. These are secular poems evoking a poignant sense of desolation and loneliness in their descriptions of the separation of lovers, the sorrows of exile, or the terrors and attractions of the sea, although some of them—e.g., “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer”—also carry the weight of religious allegory. In addition, the Exeter Book preserves 95 riddles, a genre that would otherwise have been represented by a solitary example.

      The remaining part of the Exeter Book includes “The Rhyming Poem,” which is the only example of its kind; the gnomic verses; “Widsith,” the heroic narrative of a fictitious bard; and the two refrain poems, “Deor” and “Wulf and Eadwacer.” The arrangement of the poems appears to be haphazard, and the book is believed to be copied from an earlier collection.

Additional Reading
Bernard J. Muir (ed.), The Exeter Anthology of Old English Poetry, rev. 2nd ed., 2 vol. (2000), provides the text of the Exeter Book, commentary, and a CD-ROM with full-colour images of the book's manuscript pages..

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  • Exeter Book — Not to be confused with Liber Exoniensis. The Exeter Book, Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, also known as the Codex Exoniensis, is a tenth century[1] book or codex which is an anthology of Anglo Saxon poetry. It is one of the four major Anglo… …   Wikipedia

  • Exeter Book — Das Exeter Book wird in der St. Peter Kathedrale in Exeter aufbewahrt. Das Exeter Book, auch bekannt als Codex Exoniensis, ist ein Buch (oder Kodex) aus dem 10. Jahrhundert, mit Werken altenglischer Dichtung. Das Buch wurde der Bibliothek der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Exeter Book — Livre d Exeter Le Livre d Exeter (Exeter Book) ou Codex Exoniensis est un codex anglo saxon de la seconde moitié du Xe siècle. Ce recueil de poèmes est l un des principaux ouvrages subsistants de la littérature anglo saxonne. Il contient… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Exeter Book, The — (ca. 970–990)    The Exeter Book is the common name given to the Exeter Cathedral Chapter Library, MS. 3501. The manuscript is the largest of the four collections of OLD ENGLISH poetry still in existence. It was written by a single hand, almost… …   Encyclopedia of medieval literature

  • Exeter (disambiguation) — Exeter is the county town of Devon. It may also refer to:Place names;Australia *Exeter, New South Wales *Exeter, South Australia *Exeter, Tasmania;Canada *Exeter, Ontario;United Kingdom *Exeter, Devon mdash;the original location **The University… …   Wikipedia

  • Exeter — For other uses, see Exeter (disambiguation). City of Exeter Clockwise: The Cathedral, The Clock Tower, Devon County Hall, Cathedral Close, The Iron Bridge …   Wikipedia

  • Exeter-Buch — Das Exeter Book wird in der St. Peter Kathedrale in Exeter aufbewahrt. Das Exeter Book, auch bekannt als Codex Exoniensis, ist ein Buch (oder Kodex) aus dem 10. Jahrhundert, mit Werken altenglischer Dichtung. Das Buch wurde der Bibliothek der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Exeter — City of Exeter Koordinaten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Exeter — /ek si teuhr/, n. 1. a city in Devonshire, in SW England: cathedral. 94,100. 2. a town in SE New Hampshire. 11,024. * * * ancient Isca Dumnoniorum City and administrative district (pop., 2001: 111,078), administrative and historic county of Devon …   Universalium

  • Exeter — El término Exeter se refiere a: ● Localidad británica del condado de Devon. Vea Exeter (Devon). Esta es la ciudad que directa o indirectamente ha dado nombre a las demás. ● Una universidad británica situada en la ciudad anterior. Vea Universidad… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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