Anonymous, Old English Martyrology

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

First circulation or publication c. 850 - c. 890

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Biography (literary)

Resources

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The

Old English Martyrology

is a collection of brief accounts of the lives of saints, arranged chronologically according to the

temporale

(calendar of non-moveable feastdays, beginning on 25 December), and also including entries for some feasts other than saints’ days (e.g. the Epiphany, the Seven Days of the Creation, Christ’s Descent into Hell, and the Ascension); included as well are references to the endings and beginnings of months. The notices range in length from names only, or a couple of short sentences, to about 400 words. Although the

Old English Martyrology

survives only in a number of fragmentary witnesses (there is no complete manuscript), the vast majority of the collection has come down to us. The extant text consists of 238 entries, with one significant gap, covering…

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634 words

Citation: Magennis, Hugh. "Old English Martyrology". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 April 2003; last revised 12 November 2019. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11997, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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