Introduction: Darkness in the Universe, Darkness in the Mind in Anglo-Saxon Literature

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Preface vii
4. Introduction: Darkness in the Universe, Darkness in the Mind in Anglo-Saxon Literature 1
5. Part 1: Darkness
6. Chapter 1. Sweart as Sin: Color Connotation and Morality in Anglo-Saxon England 15
7. Chapter 2. “The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors”: Darkness, Terror, and Perception in Anglo-Saxon England 37
8. Chapter 3.The Sinister Sound of Shadows in the Old English Poetics of the Dark 61
9. Chapter 4. Into the Darkness First: Neoplatonism and Neurosis in Old English Wisdom Poetry 93
10. Chapter 5. Signs, Interpretation, and Exclusion in Beowulf 117
11. Part 2: Depression
12. Chapter 6. Beowulf’s Dark Thoughts: Heremod, Hrethel, and Exempla of the Mind 135
13. Chapter 7. The Fourth Fate of Men: Heremod’s Darkened Mind 155
14. Chapter 8. Eating People and Feeling Sorry: Cannibalism, Contrition, and the Didactic Donestre in the Old English Wonders of the East and Latin Mirabilia 167
15. Part 3: Descent
16. Chapter 9. Darkness and Light in Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Junius 11 209
17. Chapter 10. Darkness Edible: Soul, Body, and Worms in Early Medieval English Devotional Literature 237
18. Chapter 11. “Stand Firm”: The Descent to Hell in Felix’s Life of Saint Guthlac 255
19. Chapter 12. The Heart of Darkness: Descent, Landscape, and Mental Projection in Christ and Satan and The Wife’s Lament 277
20. Notes on Contributors 299