Abstract
This paper demonstrates that a plot of the continuously rolling ratio of the characters þ to ð can be used to identify sections of Anglo-Saxon poems whose transmission histories differ from each other. Substantial differences in values of the function θ = þ/(þ+ð) are correlated both with the division between Genesis A and B and with the boundaries of a section of Genesis A that has a source other than the Latin Bible, thus validating the approach. The θ-plot of Daniel contains an anomaly that begins at lines 362–364, precisely those lines of the poem that are paralleled in the runic inscription on the newly discovered Honington Clip, described by John Hines in this issue of Anglia (pp. 257–277). The confluence of the evidence of the archeological find, the θ-analysis, previous traditional and computer-assisted analysis, and recent art historical work by Phyllis Portnoy leads to the conclusion that both the runic inscription and lines 362–408 of Daniel derive from a lost Old English “Song of the Three Youths”. Further investigation shows that the methods can be applied successfully to the Exeter Book poem Azarias, which shares a common ancestor with Daniel. The approach can also be extended by plotting the correlation between θ and the frequency of dental fricatives in final position in Old English texts. The methods therefore not only identify a specific lost Old English source but also possess a potential general utility for reconstructing the histories of Anglo-Saxon texts.
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© 2015 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Breaking of /æ_rC/ in Early Old English: Personal Names and Place-Names in Latin Charters and Manuscripts of Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
- The Benedicite Canticle in Old English Verse: An Early Runic Witness from Southern Lincolnshire
- Tracking the Moving Ratio of þ to ð in Anglo-Saxon Texts: A New Method, and Evidence for a Lost Old English Version of the “Song of the Three Youths”
- The Old English Poem Deor: Its Structural Units and the Grammatical Analysis of its Refrain
- The Gifts of Men: A Favourable Appraisal, with Some New Understandings
- Reviews
- Rafał Molencki.Causal Conjunctions in Mediaeval English: A Corpus-Based Study of Grammaticalization. Katowice: Uniwersytet Śląski/Oficyna Wydawnicza, 2012, 230 pp., ca. 250 illustr., PLN 20.00.
- Gabriele Stein.Sir Thomas Elyot as Lexicographer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, viii + 439 pp., £ 75.00.
- Helen Foxhall Forbes.Heaven and Earth in Anglo-Saxon England: Theology and Society in an Age of Faith. Studies in Early Medieval Britain. Farnham: Ashgate, 2013, xvi + 394 pp., 2 illustr., £ 85.00.
- Lilla Kopár.Gods and Settlers: The Iconography of Norse Mythology in Anglo-Scandinavian Sculpture. Studies in the Early Middle Ages 25. Turnhout: Brepols, 2012, xl + 242 pp., 54 figures, 1 table, 1 map, € 75.00.
- Leonard Neidorf (ed.).The Dating of Beowulf: A Reassessment. Anglo-Saxon Studies 24. Cambridge: Brewer, 2014, x + 250 pp., 3 illustr., 4 tables, £ 60.00.
- Cecile Sandten, Christoph Fasbender and Annika Bauer (eds.).Stadt der Moderne. CHAT – Chemnitzer Anglistik/Amerikanistik Today 3. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2013, vi + 306 pp., € 34.50.
- Johannes N. Schmidt, Felix C. H. Sprang and Roland Weidle (eds.).Wer lacht, zeigt Zähne: Spielarten des Komischen: Festschrift für Norbert Greiner. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2014, 292 pp., € 33.50.
- Daniel Stein and Jan-Noël Thon (eds.).From Comic Strips to Graphic Novels: Contributions to the Theory and History of Graphic Narrative. Narratologia 37. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2013, vi + 416 pp., 50 figures, € 99.95/$ 140.00 /£ 74.99.
- Greta Olson and Ansgar Nünning (eds.).New Theories, Models and Methods in Literary and Cultural Studies. WVT-Handbücher zum literaturwissenschaftlichen Studium 16. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2013, x + 238 pp., € 25.00.
- John Burt.Lincoln’s Tragic Pragmatism: Lincoln, Douglas, and Moral Conflict. Harvard: Belknap/Harvard University Press, 2013, 832 pp., $ 39.95/£ 29.95/ € 36.00.
- Heike Paul, Alexandra Ganser and Katharina Gerund (eds.) in Cooperation with Sebastian Schneider and Stephan Koetzing.Pirates, Drifters, Fugitives: Figures of Mobility in the US and Beyond. American Studies – A Monograph Series 221. Heidelberg: Winter, 2012, 369 pp., € 45.00.
- Hanna Bingel.Fictions of spirituality: Die narrative Verhandlung von Religiosität und spiritueller Sinnsuche in ausgewählten US-amerikanischen Gegenwartsromanen. Cultures in America in Transition 5. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2013, 276 pp., € 32.00.
- Books Received
- Corrigendum
- ‘Pity Party’: Metaphors for a Banned Emotion
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Breaking of /æ_rC/ in Early Old English: Personal Names and Place-Names in Latin Charters and Manuscripts of Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
- The Benedicite Canticle in Old English Verse: An Early Runic Witness from Southern Lincolnshire
- Tracking the Moving Ratio of þ to ð in Anglo-Saxon Texts: A New Method, and Evidence for a Lost Old English Version of the “Song of the Three Youths”
- The Old English Poem Deor: Its Structural Units and the Grammatical Analysis of its Refrain
- The Gifts of Men: A Favourable Appraisal, with Some New Understandings
- Reviews
- Rafał Molencki.Causal Conjunctions in Mediaeval English: A Corpus-Based Study of Grammaticalization. Katowice: Uniwersytet Śląski/Oficyna Wydawnicza, 2012, 230 pp., ca. 250 illustr., PLN 20.00.
- Gabriele Stein.Sir Thomas Elyot as Lexicographer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, viii + 439 pp., £ 75.00.
- Helen Foxhall Forbes.Heaven and Earth in Anglo-Saxon England: Theology and Society in an Age of Faith. Studies in Early Medieval Britain. Farnham: Ashgate, 2013, xvi + 394 pp., 2 illustr., £ 85.00.
- Lilla Kopár.Gods and Settlers: The Iconography of Norse Mythology in Anglo-Scandinavian Sculpture. Studies in the Early Middle Ages 25. Turnhout: Brepols, 2012, xl + 242 pp., 54 figures, 1 table, 1 map, € 75.00.
- Leonard Neidorf (ed.).The Dating of Beowulf: A Reassessment. Anglo-Saxon Studies 24. Cambridge: Brewer, 2014, x + 250 pp., 3 illustr., 4 tables, £ 60.00.
- Cecile Sandten, Christoph Fasbender and Annika Bauer (eds.).Stadt der Moderne. CHAT – Chemnitzer Anglistik/Amerikanistik Today 3. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2013, vi + 306 pp., € 34.50.
- Johannes N. Schmidt, Felix C. H. Sprang and Roland Weidle (eds.).Wer lacht, zeigt Zähne: Spielarten des Komischen: Festschrift für Norbert Greiner. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2014, 292 pp., € 33.50.
- Daniel Stein and Jan-Noël Thon (eds.).From Comic Strips to Graphic Novels: Contributions to the Theory and History of Graphic Narrative. Narratologia 37. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2013, vi + 416 pp., 50 figures, € 99.95/$ 140.00 /£ 74.99.
- Greta Olson and Ansgar Nünning (eds.).New Theories, Models and Methods in Literary and Cultural Studies. WVT-Handbücher zum literaturwissenschaftlichen Studium 16. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2013, x + 238 pp., € 25.00.
- John Burt.Lincoln’s Tragic Pragmatism: Lincoln, Douglas, and Moral Conflict. Harvard: Belknap/Harvard University Press, 2013, 832 pp., $ 39.95/£ 29.95/ € 36.00.
- Heike Paul, Alexandra Ganser and Katharina Gerund (eds.) in Cooperation with Sebastian Schneider and Stephan Koetzing.Pirates, Drifters, Fugitives: Figures of Mobility in the US and Beyond. American Studies – A Monograph Series 221. Heidelberg: Winter, 2012, 369 pp., € 45.00.
- Hanna Bingel.Fictions of spirituality: Die narrative Verhandlung von Religiosität und spiritueller Sinnsuche in ausgewählten US-amerikanischen Gegenwartsromanen. Cultures in America in Transition 5. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2013, 276 pp., € 32.00.
- Books Received
- Corrigendum
- ‘Pity Party’: Metaphors for a Banned Emotion