Mechthild Gretsch Intellectual Foundations of the English Benedictine Reform

Annotation

This book explores the foundations of the intellectual renaissance in tenth-century England, including both the English Benedictine reform and the establishment by thelwold, Bishop of Winchester (963-84), of the most influential school in late Anglo-Saxon England. The vital early stages of thelwold's scholarly career are explored for the first time, particularly his formative years in King thelstan's entourage and his period of study at Glastonbury. Light is shed on the contribution which thelstan's cosmopolitan court made to intellectual and spiritual life. Based on a wide range of evidence Dr Gretsch assigns to thelwold 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.