Abstract
The poems in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the years 937, 942, 973, and 975 are here interpreted as examples of Old English praise-poetry, celebrating the deeds of the West Saxon kings, and it is suggested that this tenth-century development of the genre of praise-poetry in Anglo-Saxon England is likely to be due to the contemporary influence of Norse skaldic poetry. It is further argued that this sudden flourishing of praise-poetry represents a literary reflex of the Vikings' political destabilization of late Anglo-Saxon England, recreating to a significant degree the type of conditions which H.M. Chadwick famously characterized as those of a 'Heroic Age.'
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 349-370 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Review of English Studies |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue number | 203 |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2000 |