The Intellectual Foundations of the English Benedictine Reform

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This book explores the foundations of the intellectual renaissance in tenth-century England, including both the English Benedictine reform and the establishment by Athelwold, Bishop of Winchester (963 84), of the most influential school in late Anglo-Saxon England. The vital early stages of Athelwold's scholarly career are explored for the first time, particularly his formative years in King Athelstan's entourage and his period of study at Glastonbury. Light is shed on the contribution which Athelstan's cosmopolitan court made to intellectual and spiritual life. Based on a wide range of evidence Dr Gretsch assigns to Athelwold two influential texts: an interlinear translation of the psalter and a vast corpus of Old English glosses to Aldhelm's prose De virginitate. These glosses are shown to have played a pivotal role in the development of the vernacular as a medium for scholarly discourse.