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Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year
Winters in the World is a beautifully observed journey through the cycle of the year in Anglo-Saxon England, exploring the festivals, customs and traditions linked to the different seasons. Drawing on a wide variety of source material, including poetry, histories and religious literature, Eleanor Parker investigates how Anglo-Saxons felt about the annual passing of the seasons and the profound relationship they saw between human life and the rhythms of nature.
Many of the festivals we celebrate in Britain today have their roots in the Anglo-Saxon period, and this book traces their surprising history, as well as unearthing traditions now long forgotten. It celebrates some of the finest treasures of medieval literature and provides an imaginative connection to the Anglo-Saxon world.
Many of the festivals we celebrate in Britain today have their roots in the Anglo-Saxon period, and this book traces their surprising history, as well as unearthing traditions now long forgotten. It celebrates some of the finest treasures of medieval literature and provides an imaginative connection to the Anglo-Saxon world.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 125 reviews
February 17, 2024
This is a niche book that took me almost a year to read appropriately. It is the kind of book that makes you want to pull out Our Island Story and in fact, it has been a great companion to Rebecca Fraser’s The Story of Britain. Of course, you could say this book was haunted by some of the writings of Lewis and Tolkien. The etymologies were so deeply meaningful. Fallow and bless and so many more. I too am a word-hoarder.
The pairing of the Anglo-Saxon seasons and poetry is simply gorgeous. I am now ready for a pilgrimage.
The pairing of the Anglo-Saxon seasons and poetry is simply gorgeous. I am now ready for a pilgrimage.
July 1, 2022
'Winters in the World' is a lyrical journey through the Anglo-Saxon year, witnessing the major festivals and the turning of the seasons through the eyes of the poets. It is a beautiful, charming, and descriptive voyage into what, to many of us, seems a very distant past. But in venturing forth, the early Middle Ages are shown to be, if not entirely familiar, then at least recognizable. Through Parker's writing, almost everything in this strange land, from the roots of our language to the sense of community - and the appreciation for drink - becomes closer, more relatable. This is no more so than in the appreciation for nature. As Parker points out, while on the surface our lives bear no relation to those of our distant ancestors, we still witness and mark the changing of the seasons; we still marvel at the stark beauty of a wintry landscape; we still enjoy the summer sun while snoozing under the branches of a spreading tree. The reliance on nature might be less pronounced now than a thousand years ago, but our responses to it are not so different.
This sense of relationship between nature and humanity is something these poets drew upon. They used it as a metaphor for emotion, and for the processes of the world that their Christian god had created. Of course, as these poets and other writers were almost without exception learned men of the church, it is hardly surprising that the focus of their writing, and therefore the focus of this book, is very much Christian. Yet there is some effort to trace festivals, where appropriate, to their pagan past and, equally, to rubbish a few myths that have sprung up in the twentieth century. In some ways, then, 'Winters in the World' is an Anglo-Saxon, early-Christian version of Ronald Hutton's 'Stations of the Sun'.
However, Parker is limited by her sources and the church bent will, of course, always be a problem with a book of this nature: it concentrates on the evidence provided by a very narrow, educated elite who will always push their own agenda. Folk customs, rites, and thoughts have to be discerned by reading between the lines. Parker does an admirable job of this, but her task is not made any easier by her material. And, because 'Winters of the World' is literary analysis, the findings of other disciplines - particularly archaeology - are wholly excluded.
It is, however, literary analysis with aplomb. The selection of texts is as diverse as possible, covering poetry, sermons, scientific texts, and more. The quotations are well chosen, expertly illustrating not just Parker's argument, but the feelings of the Anglo-Saxon writers. In addition, many of these quotations are provided both in translation (usually by Parker herself) and in the original Old English. For the geek, this can provide hours of amusement and a useful way of attempting to learn the language. There can be few better ways of showing the connections between now and then than by showing the similarity in vocabulary.
'Winters in the World' is, literally, masterful: Parker shows herself to be a master of her subject. Her knowledge is superb; her writing a form of poetry itself. Throughout, she carefully picks apart the quotations and texts, revelling in the richness of language and expression. She makes them relevant, and she makes them enjoyable. No-one can come away from this book thinking of the Anglo-Saxon period as the 'Dark Ages'.
This sense of relationship between nature and humanity is something these poets drew upon. They used it as a metaphor for emotion, and for the processes of the world that their Christian god had created. Of course, as these poets and other writers were almost without exception learned men of the church, it is hardly surprising that the focus of their writing, and therefore the focus of this book, is very much Christian. Yet there is some effort to trace festivals, where appropriate, to their pagan past and, equally, to rubbish a few myths that have sprung up in the twentieth century. In some ways, then, 'Winters in the World' is an Anglo-Saxon, early-Christian version of Ronald Hutton's 'Stations of the Sun'.
However, Parker is limited by her sources and the church bent will, of course, always be a problem with a book of this nature: it concentrates on the evidence provided by a very narrow, educated elite who will always push their own agenda. Folk customs, rites, and thoughts have to be discerned by reading between the lines. Parker does an admirable job of this, but her task is not made any easier by her material. And, because 'Winters of the World' is literary analysis, the findings of other disciplines - particularly archaeology - are wholly excluded.
It is, however, literary analysis with aplomb. The selection of texts is as diverse as possible, covering poetry, sermons, scientific texts, and more. The quotations are well chosen, expertly illustrating not just Parker's argument, but the feelings of the Anglo-Saxon writers. In addition, many of these quotations are provided both in translation (usually by Parker herself) and in the original Old English. For the geek, this can provide hours of amusement and a useful way of attempting to learn the language. There can be few better ways of showing the connections between now and then than by showing the similarity in vocabulary.
'Winters in the World' is, literally, masterful: Parker shows herself to be a master of her subject. Her knowledge is superb; her writing a form of poetry itself. Throughout, she carefully picks apart the quotations and texts, revelling in the richness of language and expression. She makes them relevant, and she makes them enjoyable. No-one can come away from this book thinking of the Anglo-Saxon period as the 'Dark Ages'.
October 21, 2024
Seeing the world through old Englisċ eyes in a heavily secularised modern age is no easy feat. Nevertheless, Eleanor Parker, my favourite medievalist and author of the remarkable ‘A Clerk of Oxford’ blog (2008-2021) lovingly and fearlessly guides us through a range of writings from extant manuscripts composed and compiled between the seventh and the eleventh centuries, with full commentary and translations throughout.
Here is a world rich with traditions, language and celebrations; of daily rituals, observances and - most importantly - of life governed by a divine sense of cosmic order and a dedication to this end.
This is gem of a text that really does make this sometimes baffling and dense period both accessible and magical - even if you never read another book of Old English literature, seek this one out and marvel at its beauty.
Here is a world rich with traditions, language and celebrations; of daily rituals, observances and - most importantly - of life governed by a divine sense of cosmic order and a dedication to this end.
This is gem of a text that really does make this sometimes baffling and dense period both accessible and magical - even if you never read another book of Old English literature, seek this one out and marvel at its beauty.
March 4, 2024
Magnificent and unexpectedly gripping. This book spoke to me on many levels—aesthetically, theologically, agriculturally, historically—weaving together everything from nature to liturgy, from domestic life to poetry. It presents a beautiful portrait of interior life in Anglo-Saxon England, how everyone from intellectuals to labourers perceived the world, God's sovereignty over it, and mankind's place within it. I love a book that lets you get inside the head of people so distant from us, and this book does that superbly.
To me, the most appealing thing about the book is the totally integrated worldview it describes. Everything is interrelated—science, literature, farming, philosophy, festivity, folklore, ecclesiology, etymology. There is no aspect of life outside of the authority of Scripture and no dividing line between sacred and secular, faith and science, theory and practice, beauty and utility, responsibility and enjoyment, material and spiritual, or even Latin and vernacular.
This is a worldview I think of as typical of the medieval mind (Lewis talks about this, too, in The Discarded Image). It's a worldview I long to have myself. I'm not sure how possible it is to reclaim in modernity, but I want to try as far as I can.
I am also interested in thinking further about the historical circumstances that led to the demise of such a beautifully integrated worldview. (I'm afraid the Reformation must have been at least partly culpable.)
I'm also inspired to read some of the lesser-known poems featured in the book, poems I hadn't known about or haven't read. They seem like hidden treasures!
To me, the most appealing thing about the book is the totally integrated worldview it describes. Everything is interrelated—science, literature, farming, philosophy, festivity, folklore, ecclesiology, etymology. There is no aspect of life outside of the authority of Scripture and no dividing line between sacred and secular, faith and science, theory and practice, beauty and utility, responsibility and enjoyment, material and spiritual, or even Latin and vernacular.
This is a worldview I think of as typical of the medieval mind (Lewis talks about this, too, in The Discarded Image). It's a worldview I long to have myself. I'm not sure how possible it is to reclaim in modernity, but I want to try as far as I can.
I am also interested in thinking further about the historical circumstances that led to the demise of such a beautifully integrated worldview. (I'm afraid the Reformation must have been at least partly culpable.)
I'm also inspired to read some of the lesser-known poems featured in the book, poems I hadn't known about or haven't read. They seem like hidden treasures!
January 22, 2023
This is a lyrical and wide-ranging exploration of the Anglo-Saxon world through its literature, using the framing device of the cycle of the traditional year. A someone who has read most of the Old English poetry and other works Parker draws on, some of it in the original language, it was a pleasure to revisit it via this perspective. She highlights both the elements which are timeless and have not changed and the ways in which this world was very alien. Spring and summer are welcomed and celebrated, but a world in which winter was hard and sometimes fatal didn't go in much for Keatsian wistfulness about autumn, for example.
The importance of the cycle of the seasons and the way key dates marked agricultural activity and the maintenance of social structure is consistently emphasised. Parker also has little time for popular but largely erroneous ideas about pagan origins to festivals like Easter, noting that it took its name (indirectly) from a almost forgotten pagan goddess, but that is about all. This was a Christian world, though it's often a form of Christianity that is weird to any modern person even if they are themselves Christians. Saints were powerful beings that were "only a prayer away" in a world where otherworldly help would often be useful. We get insights into everyday life through a line or two in a poem and a sense of the endless cycle of sacred time even as it is punctuated by the coming of battles and the rise and fall of kings.
In the end this book gives a real sense of ancient continuity with the past and also a real feeling that, in very recent times, there has been a severing of connection with these old ideas and understandings. This is a book that will be worth revisiting at key points in the year, to remind myself why Martinmas was important or how Lammastide got its name. In short, it's a rather lovely book.
The importance of the cycle of the seasons and the way key dates marked agricultural activity and the maintenance of social structure is consistently emphasised. Parker also has little time for popular but largely erroneous ideas about pagan origins to festivals like Easter, noting that it took its name (indirectly) from a almost forgotten pagan goddess, but that is about all. This was a Christian world, though it's often a form of Christianity that is weird to any modern person even if they are themselves Christians. Saints were powerful beings that were "only a prayer away" in a world where otherworldly help would often be useful. We get insights into everyday life through a line or two in a poem and a sense of the endless cycle of sacred time even as it is punctuated by the coming of battles and the rise and fall of kings.
In the end this book gives a real sense of ancient continuity with the past and also a real feeling that, in very recent times, there has been a severing of connection with these old ideas and understandings. This is a book that will be worth revisiting at key points in the year, to remind myself why Martinmas was important or how Lammastide got its name. In short, it's a rather lovely book.
September 13, 2022
Eleanor Parker is a source of delight in Twitter and via her blog, A Clerk of Oxford, and this book is a wonderful continuation of that. Here, she draws on original sources, particularly Anglo-Saxon poetry and the writings of Bede and Ælfric, to deepen our understanding of our ancestors' seasonal and liturgical calendar, particularly in relation to the agricultural year. As climate change and food insecurity hit it feels precious, if not essential, to understand the ways in which our ancestors negotiated and survived the uncertainties of life. I know that I will return to this book again and again, and I am very much looking forward to Michaelmas!
January 24, 2023
ENGLISH: A very original book on Anglo-Saxon literature. Rather than an analytical study of literary works and poems, it is based on the annual cycle of the seasons and the Catholic liturgical cycle, and looks for references to these cycles in the literary works of the time.
ESPAÑOL: Un libro muy original sobre la literatura anglo-sajona, porque en lugar de enfocarlo como un estudio analítico de obras literarias y poemas, se basa en los ciclos anual de las estaciones y de la liturgia católica, y busca referencias a dichos ciclos en las obras literarias de la época.
ESPAÑOL: Un libro muy original sobre la literatura anglo-sajona, porque en lugar de enfocarlo como un estudio analítico de obras literarias y poemas, se basa en los ciclos anual de las estaciones y de la liturgia católica, y busca referencias a dichos ciclos en las obras literarias de la época.
February 18, 2023
Fascinating look at the changing seasons as they were perceived by Anglo Saxon writers. It takes us through the Saxon year with discussions of all the festivals and rituals that were important to the Saxons, beginning with Advent.Lots of quotations from Anglo Saxon literature which are given in modern English, occasionally the Anglo Saxon version is also given(I would have quite liked to see more of the quotes given with the original Anglo Saxon) . A good book for anyone who is interested in the Saxon era, especially Saxon literature.
December 18, 2022
For anyone interested in the Anglo-Saxon period, this book is a must-read. Parker’s focus on the cycles of the year and the connection to ritual and religion and language brings this period to life in a way no other book on this period has (for me, anyway). It is like a map to understanding the Anglo-Saxon mindset. I cannot recommend this book highly enough; it’s one of my top reads of 2022.
June 28, 2023
An exploration of the Anglo-Saxon perception of time, feasts, nature, and the cycles of life through Old English poetry. In an alternate universe, I write these kinds of books.
March 24, 2024
Marvelous. Eleanor Parker uses Old English poetry and literature as a lens through which she looks at how the Anglo-Saxons lived the church's liturgical year in tandem with the seasons of the natural world.
I've been fortunate to have spent years at an Anglican Ordinariate parish that does celebrate such lesser known feasts as rogation days as well as the major feasts, and now in a different city I attend an Eastern Catholic church that also has an ancient, rich, and rigorous liturgical year. So much of the church year Parker describes was resonant with my own experiences and I didn't learn too many new things about the feasts themselves. However, what was impressed upon me was how deeply and inextricably connected the average Anglo-Saxon Christian's experience of the sacred time of the church year was to the changes in the natural and agricultural world.
This is unsurprising for occasions such as the nativity of St. John the Baptist occurring at the summer solstice six months before Christmas and the winter solstice. The natural waning light of the sun mirroring the Forerunner's words: "It is fitting for Christ that he should wax greater, and I should wane." But this kind of poetic imagination linked seemingly everything in the natural world to the supernatural one in the Anglo-Saxon mind. For instance, St. Michael the Archangel's feast in autumn was entwined with images of harvest in the Anglo-Saxon imagination:
An Anglo-Saxon homily speaks of St. Michael himself as a harvester: 'the holy archangel St. Michael, the prosperous sower of Christ's fields the reaper bearing the fruit of the bright lands, who fills his Lord's barns with the purest wheat.'
And so on through all the holy days through the year. It made me yearn to live in a society so deeply in tune with both the spiritual and natural rhythms of the year. And the intense symbolic language of the poetry made me reflect on what shared symbols we can call part of our cultural imagination today. Sadly, the answer there is probably memes and whatever images the entertainment industry fills our minds with.
I've been fortunate to have spent years at an Anglican Ordinariate parish that does celebrate such lesser known feasts as rogation days as well as the major feasts, and now in a different city I attend an Eastern Catholic church that also has an ancient, rich, and rigorous liturgical year. So much of the church year Parker describes was resonant with my own experiences and I didn't learn too many new things about the feasts themselves. However, what was impressed upon me was how deeply and inextricably connected the average Anglo-Saxon Christian's experience of the sacred time of the church year was to the changes in the natural and agricultural world.
This is unsurprising for occasions such as the nativity of St. John the Baptist occurring at the summer solstice six months before Christmas and the winter solstice. The natural waning light of the sun mirroring the Forerunner's words: "It is fitting for Christ that he should wax greater, and I should wane." But this kind of poetic imagination linked seemingly everything in the natural world to the supernatural one in the Anglo-Saxon mind. For instance, St. Michael the Archangel's feast in autumn was entwined with images of harvest in the Anglo-Saxon imagination:
An Anglo-Saxon homily speaks of St. Michael himself as a harvester: 'the holy archangel St. Michael, the prosperous sower of Christ's fields the reaper bearing the fruit of the bright lands, who fills his Lord's barns with the purest wheat.'
And so on through all the holy days through the year. It made me yearn to live in a society so deeply in tune with both the spiritual and natural rhythms of the year. And the intense symbolic language of the poetry made me reflect on what shared symbols we can call part of our cultural imagination today. Sadly, the answer there is probably memes and whatever images the entertainment industry fills our minds with.
September 10, 2024
Delightful, insightful, and wonderful to read!
November 5, 2022
2.5
Interesting tidbits (as long as I remember them), with some sections more interesting than others, and nicely written, but it ended up quite dry.
It started well, but as the book progressed, I began to lose interest, it started to drag, and I seriously considered DNFing. So I did end up skipping some bits and skim reading.
There was such an overload of information that at times I felt lost and confused. It was also unsatisfying to read a whole section about a festival, for it to end with no real answer as to its origins.
It was also very Christian, which, I suppose I should have expected, but I did go into it expecting mainly paganism and its link to nature, rather than everything relating back to God and Jesus all the time. That also impacted my enjoyment, though I understand that this is due to pre-conversion Old English sources being scarce.
Felt very much like an extended English Literature essay, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but this time, it was.
Interesting tidbits (as long as I remember them), with some sections more interesting than others, and nicely written, but it ended up quite dry.
It started well, but as the book progressed, I began to lose interest, it started to drag, and I seriously considered DNFing. So I did end up skipping some bits and skim reading.
There was such an overload of information that at times I felt lost and confused. It was also unsatisfying to read a whole section about a festival, for it to end with no real answer as to its origins.
It was also very Christian, which, I suppose I should have expected, but I did go into it expecting mainly paganism and its link to nature, rather than everything relating back to God and Jesus all the time. That also impacted my enjoyment, though I understand that this is due to pre-conversion Old English sources being scarce.
Felt very much like an extended English Literature essay, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but this time, it was.
August 18, 2023
Lovely, accessible reflections on the experience of the seasons and the months in Anglo-Saxon England through the lens of its poetry and literature. Parker shows real empathy for her material, especially the rhythms of the liturgical year; she doesn’t patronize or distort or bungle it. I also enjoyed the way the book is formatted: it’s very readable, but without dumbing things down, and the notes, further reading, and bibliography are all thoughtfully selected and presented. It’s just a really nice little book.
July 16, 2023
Bit disappointing; I was hoping for a survey of Old English life and society told through the seasons of the year, but what I mostly got was an analysis of Old English religious poetry. This was, quite frankly, dull, and didn't say anything about the Old English, since their practice and thought of Christianity didn't really differ from anywhere else in Western Europe at the time. There were some interesting snippets of etymology and other OE literature, but nothing like enough.
April 16, 2023
I had chills reading this, and not because there's a chapter about winter. The ancientness of the words of the seasons and the picture of time the author sketches of our forebears is exquisite.
April 30, 2024
3.5⭐️
This was an interesting listen, and I learnt a lot. However, I wasn't overly keen on the narration and would probably have enjoyed it more if I read a physical copy.
This was an interesting listen, and I learnt a lot. However, I wasn't overly keen on the narration and would probably have enjoyed it more if I read a physical copy.
December 31, 2023
This was a really lovely book that I think suffered a bit in my reading of it from the fact that I was listening to it as an audiobook during the beginning of the semester. There was a reason for this: I was teaching British literature this semester, and after some Bede and maps and such, we start the class out with a dab of Old English literature. This isn’t my forte, and part of my goal this summer was to strengthen my knowledge of pre-Norman Conquest English history and literature. This book fit in very well with that goal—essentially, it works its way through the cultural understanding of the year in early medieval England, beginning and ending with winter and mingling historical background with literary references from the Old English canon.
I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s been a long time since I studied things like “The Wanderer” and “Wulf and Eadwacer” in an academic setting, and the specific angle here, i.e., looking at the references to the natural world and the seasons in these poems, made me at least feel like I was getting a lot of fresh new insights. There was also some interesting stuff in here about how time was measured more generally—whether and why we conceptualize the year as having four seasons rather than two today, the ways that the English religious calendar wasn’t exactly the same as the Christian liturgical year in other European countries because of the cultural specificities of pre-Christian Germanic culture (and how that might be overstated by modern people trying to find pagan roots in this period), etc.—that made me think this would be a fun book to read in conversation with The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science, which also spends a good bit of time talking about the measuring of time. I think it’s clearly written and explained enough to be an interesting book for the non-expert, and there’s a lot of background about the named authors from the period, the manuscripts, etc. that helps put the in-depth discussions of specific examples from poetry into context. As I said, I quite enjoyed it.
On the other hand, I got overwhelmed with the semester, as I so often do, and the time we were talking about Old English literature in class came and went as I struggled to finish the audiobook. I’d actually like to do what I did with The Light Ages with this book: i.e., get a hard copy of it and go over it again, marking the places I particularly liked or found interesting.
I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s been a long time since I studied things like “The Wanderer” and “Wulf and Eadwacer” in an academic setting, and the specific angle here, i.e., looking at the references to the natural world and the seasons in these poems, made me at least feel like I was getting a lot of fresh new insights. There was also some interesting stuff in here about how time was measured more generally—whether and why we conceptualize the year as having four seasons rather than two today, the ways that the English religious calendar wasn’t exactly the same as the Christian liturgical year in other European countries because of the cultural specificities of pre-Christian Germanic culture (and how that might be overstated by modern people trying to find pagan roots in this period), etc.—that made me think this would be a fun book to read in conversation with The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science, which also spends a good bit of time talking about the measuring of time. I think it’s clearly written and explained enough to be an interesting book for the non-expert, and there’s a lot of background about the named authors from the period, the manuscripts, etc. that helps put the in-depth discussions of specific examples from poetry into context. As I said, I quite enjoyed it.
On the other hand, I got overwhelmed with the semester, as I so often do, and the time we were talking about Old English literature in class came and went as I struggled to finish the audiobook. I’d actually like to do what I did with The Light Ages with this book: i.e., get a hard copy of it and go over it again, marking the places I particularly liked or found interesting.
July 9, 2024
Have to say I didn't love this. I think part of the issue is that I read Hana Videen's The Wordhord not all that long ago. The books are not identical in what they cover, but there are similarities and some overlap. The other thing is that Winters in the World is supposed to be a look at how the Anglo-Saxons viewed their year, what they did during different seasons, and what festivals and feasts they celebrated. It ends up being more religion than history. And based on when sources were written, we're talking Christianity; there seems to be very little evidence available to us of the pagan Anglo-Saxon world, which is unfortunate.
There are a couple cool poems Parker references that I'm very interested in reading in full. And, don't get me wrong, there are lots of neat little facts here and there. But, thematically, Winters in the World wasn't quite what I was wanting or expecting - it was far too religion-heavy for my liking. It also would have greatly benefitted from a pronunciation guide somewhere in the book. I'd probably realistically give this a 2.5.
There are a couple cool poems Parker references that I'm very interested in reading in full. And, don't get me wrong, there are lots of neat little facts here and there. But, thematically, Winters in the World wasn't quite what I was wanting or expecting - it was far too religion-heavy for my liking. It also would have greatly benefitted from a pronunciation guide somewhere in the book. I'd probably realistically give this a 2.5.
March 21, 2023
Oh my Anglo-Saxons Gods this is a poetic book!! It's full of poems and worldly observations that make you want to run out into the fields and grow your own wheat! I can't stress this enough, it's a beautifully written collection of essays which are begging to be read whilst you sit beside a fire, glass of mead in hand with a icy winter storm rattling at the windows. It'll make you want to be a better person, to connect with nature, to look your loved ones in the eye and ask them if they'll see another winter. You'll finish it and start calling your wife a "sweet summer child".
Equally, if you're the type of person that only reads at night, swerve this one. You've got to really concentrate, some sentences are six lines long and require you to memorise Latin. Not for the faint hearted summer children, more for those gathering in the Great Hall as the grammatical barbarians prowl the frostland.
Equally, if you're the type of person that only reads at night, swerve this one. You've got to really concentrate, some sentences are six lines long and require you to memorise Latin. Not for the faint hearted summer children, more for those gathering in the Great Hall as the grammatical barbarians prowl the frostland.
January 14, 2024
Eleanor Parker and Amy Jeffs should be besties (possibly they already are, who am I to know??)
a gorgeous book! I've been waiting to read this for a year or more since I read a review of it and knew I had to read it. it's so poetic and also really informative - it completely reworked how I view the Anglo Saxons and also convinced me that I need to learn Old English. add it to the list boys.
ALSO I'd argue that it fits with the history spec very well, because there are approximately two pages on the Norman Conquest + the context of England before William I.
personal update: my phone spontaneously stopped working over night on Friday so it might be a couple of days before I can get one back up and running. already looking forward to the backlog of messages I'll have to get through XD
a gorgeous book! I've been waiting to read this for a year or more since I read a review of it and knew I had to read it. it's so poetic and also really informative - it completely reworked how I view the Anglo Saxons and also convinced me that I need to learn Old English. add it to the list boys.
ALSO I'd argue that it fits with the history spec very well, because there are approximately two pages on the Norman Conquest + the context of England before William I.
personal update: my phone spontaneously stopped working over night on Friday so it might be a couple of days before I can get one back up and running. already looking forward to the backlog of messages I'll have to get through XD
December 27, 2023
Parker’s previous book, Conquered, was an absorbing look at Anglo Saxon society after the Norman conquest. This follow up is even better. It takes us through the Anglo Saxon year showing ho birth pagan and Christian feats were celebrated and how the seasons ere viewed vis poems, dramas, sermons and factual writings .
And it’s a fascinating journey . Winter is viewed as imprisonment but also rest, while spring frees us but also returns us to work. Alongside familiar texts such as Beowulf are many poems we don’t know and they are rich and nuanced and often beautiful. Here too are the Saxon origins of words such as Lent and harvest .
This is an era finally ceasing to be dismissed as the dark ages and coming into its own and excellent books like this will only help.
And it’s a fascinating journey . Winter is viewed as imprisonment but also rest, while spring frees us but also returns us to work. Alongside familiar texts such as Beowulf are many poems we don’t know and they are rich and nuanced and often beautiful. Here too are the Saxon origins of words such as Lent and harvest .
This is an era finally ceasing to be dismissed as the dark ages and coming into its own and excellent books like this will only help.
September 27, 2023
This was a truly wonderful book! Utilising the emotional beauty of Old English poetry, the turbulence of nature and the richness of Anglo-Saxon history to tell the story of the year and it's cycles. I feel like I really got deep into the mind of the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of England. Now when I look at the world I'll have their old English words in mind.
This book is highly readable, insightful and interesting with every page. Looking deeply into the emotions, thoughts and perspectives of the art of the Anglo-Saxons. It important to bear in mind that this isn't a traditional history per say but a literary analysis intertwined with cultural and domestic history. Still, a vibrant and fascinating read!
This book is highly readable, insightful and interesting with every page. Looking deeply into the emotions, thoughts and perspectives of the art of the Anglo-Saxons. It important to bear in mind that this isn't a traditional history per say but a literary analysis intertwined with cultural and domestic history. Still, a vibrant and fascinating read!
January 23, 2023
4.5 stars - this was a delightful read of poetry, stories and religious writings by contemporary authors of the Anglo-Saxon period. I was fascinated by how these writings were so tied to the seasons (planting, harvesting and storing food) as well as Christianity.
I liked seeing the poetry written in old English and then translated. I find poetry difficult to understand and enjoy, so I appreciated how the author analysed the poetry and explained their meaning so clearly. She presented a world that felt so real and how people living in those times were so tied to the land, the seasons and the religious calendar.
I liked seeing the poetry written in old English and then translated. I find poetry difficult to understand and enjoy, so I appreciated how the author analysed the poetry and explained their meaning so clearly. She presented a world that felt so real and how people living in those times were so tied to the land, the seasons and the religious calendar.
March 19, 2024
Etymology and poetry give hints of history and eternity.
Another reviewer mentioned that this book was "unexpectedly gripping," and I agree.
Getting a glimpse of the seasons through the poetry and record of Anglo-Saxon England justaposes the timeless with the long gone in such a way that Parker points to the significance of life and the eternity dwelling in each of our hearts.
My favorite parts were the poem called The Wanderer and the history of the words Lord and Lady.
Definitely a book to include in your study of early Medieval times... or just for fun.
Another reviewer mentioned that this book was "unexpectedly gripping," and I agree.
Getting a glimpse of the seasons through the poetry and record of Anglo-Saxon England justaposes the timeless with the long gone in such a way that Parker points to the significance of life and the eternity dwelling in each of our hearts.
My favorite parts were the poem called The Wanderer and the history of the words Lord and Lady.
Definitely a book to include in your study of early Medieval times... or just for fun.
April 7, 2023
Covering various customs and festivals, Parker takes us through the cycle of a year in the Anglo Saxon world. I wasn't sure if this would be too academic but it ended up being a lovely delightful read interspersed with Old English poetry that was simply beautiful.
January 1, 2024
A wonderful book, guiding us through the seasons, agricultural calendar and religious festivals celebrated by the Anglo-Saxons, as explained in the surviving treatises and, above all, their poetry. Beautiful!
February 18, 2023
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this but I’m so glad I decided to read it — what a window into beautiful poetry, into empathy for people very much the same as they always are. Time collapses.
August 25, 2023
A lovely read, makes me want to learn more about the Anglo-Saxons, their language, and their poetry.
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