Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year

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On a side note this book makes Tolkien's use of Anglo-Saxon literature as one of his main influence so obvious. Even if you already know it. Not just names and stories but how he adapts their culture in more general terms. Parker studied Old and Middle English and Old Norse Literature at the University of Oxford. As of 2022 [update] she is lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford, and was previously a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH). [1] She is a columnist at History Today. [2] In May 2018, she published her first book, Dragon Lords: The History and Legends of Viking England. [3] [4] Her second book, Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo-Saxon England, was published in 2022, [5] [6] [7] [8] and was selected by The Times as one of the best books of 2022. [9] Her third book, Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year, was described by Kathryn Hughes as a "magical exploration of the weather literature left behind by the poets, scientists and historians of Anglo-Saxon Britain", [10], by Christopher Howse as "fascinating and authoritative", [11] and by Charlie Connelly as a "beautifully written account [which] transports us through each season in a deeply sensual manner". [12] It was selected by Dominic Sandbrook writing in The Times as one of the 25 best history books of 2022 [13] and by Michael Wood as one of the 21 best books for history lovers in BBC History Magazine. [14] In a review for First Things Francis Young described the book as "a beguiling and compelling vision of sacred time" which "faithfully and richly portrays the distinctiveness of early Christian England". [15] Carey, John (6 February 2022). "Conquered by Eleanor Parker review — Anglo-Saxon life after the Norman conquest". The Times . Retrieved 25 February 2022. Howse, Christopher (27 August 2022). "Sacred Mysteries: Tree and leaf in the green of the year and the fallow". Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 27 August 2022.

Foot, Sarah (19 August 2022). "Conquered: The last children of Anglo-Saxon England by Eleanor Parker". Church Times . Retrieved 26 August 2022. She also writes beautifully about many Anglo-Saxon poems. Time and time again, she models how to read literature closely and sensitively. Winters in the World isn’t simply a book about the Anglo-Saxon calendar and world view, it’s a great example of what literary criticism can be when it’s done well. In that sense, it reminds me of Tom Shippey’s The Road to Middle-Earth , another book which opens works of literature as you would unwrap a gift rather than dissecting them as you might a cadaver. Ward, Emily J. (25 March 2022). "Altered fortunes". The Times Literary Supplement . Retrieved 26 August 2022. Burghart, Alex (5 March 2022). "What the Anglo-Saxons made of 1066 and all that followed". The Spectator . Retrieved 8 March 2022.

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It is, however, literary analysis with aplomb. The selection of texts is as diverse as possible, covering poetry, sermons, scientific texts, and more. The quotations are well chosen, expertly illustrating not just Parker's argument, but the feelings of the Anglo-Saxon writers. In addition, many of these quotations are provided both in translation (usually by Parker herself) and in the original Old English. For the geek, this can provide hours of amusement and a useful way of attempting to learn the language. There can be few better ways of showing the connections between now and then than by showing the similarity in vocabulary. There isn’t space to explore the implications of all this here - though I am attempting to do so more thoroughly in my PhD - but even this brief survey suggests that, in some respects, the action in The Lord of Rings shadows, or fore-shadows, salvation history itself.

There are many things I love about this book. As readers of her blog , History Today columns , Patreon articles , and books will already know, Eleanor Parker writes with great clarity and a deep knowledge of British history. On this occasion, she takes us, season by season, through the Anglo-Saxon year, teaching us a surprising amount about our own age as well as a great deal about the ways the Anglo-Saxons saw the world. On the way she also scuppers some deep-rooted myths. For example, she writes: Winters in the World' is a lyrical journey through the Anglo-Saxon year, witnessing the major festivals and the turning of the seasons through the eyes of the poets. It is a beautiful, charming, and descriptive voyage into what, to many of us, seems a very distant past. But in venturing forth, the early Middle Ages are shown to be, if not entirely familiar, then at least recognizable. Through Parker's writing, almost everything in this strange land, from the roots of our language to the sense of community - and the appreciation for drink - becomes closer, more relatable. This is no more so than in the appreciation for nature. As Parker points out, while on the surface our lives bear no relation to those of our distant ancestors, we still witness and mark the changing of the seasons; we still marvel at the stark beauty of a wintry landscape; we still enjoy the summer sun while snoozing under the branches of a spreading tree. The reliance on nature might be less pronounced now than a thousand years ago, but our responses to it are not so different.Hotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.