Maxims (Old English)

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Paul Cavill (University of Nottingham)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.01: English Writing and Culture: Old English, 500-1066.
Vol. editors: Richard William Dance (University of Cambridge), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)

Dates

Date of occurrence c.1000

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Genres and Modes

Aphorisms/ Maxims/ Proverbs

Resources

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Maxims are sententious generalisations: that is, they aim at being true in relation to the concepts and categories about which they are expressed. We recognise Wiglaf’s maxim in the Old English

Beowulf

, “death is better for every nobleman than a life of shame”, as an expression of the Anglo-Saxon heroic code of honour. It is “true” despite the fact that a number of warriors in the narrative context have run away from supporting Beowulf and fighting a dragon. And interestingly, the dragon of

Beowulf

makes “true” the maxim that appears in the poem

Maxims II

, that “a dragon belongs in a burial mound, old and proud of its treasures”. While the two expressions deal with very different spheres of life they nevertheless tell us something about what the Anglo-Saxons thought of…

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830 words

Citation: Cavill, Paul. "Maxims (Old English)". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1247, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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