The Old English Gnomic Poems Maxims I and Maxims II

Maxims I and Maxims II, which comprise a seemingly haphazard assortment of Old English poetic gnomes (sayings put into verse to aid memory), are intriguing yet mysterious compositions. While they are interesting in that they might represent various facets of the values and worldview that were prevalent in early medieval England, they are puzzling, lacking both thematic or aesthetic coherence and identifiable goals. Nevertheless, these works must have had significance, as reflected in the fact that they are recorded among other significant works in two highly esteemed manuscripts: the Exeter Book and the C-manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This volume investigates how these works function both independently and within the context of these manuscripts by analysing the works themselves and their places within these codices. This volume also addresses the following long-standing issues: linguistic features and dates and places of origin of these works; the use of ljóðaháttr- and galdralag-like constructions in Maxims I; the gnome on soð in Maxims II; and the use of gnomic bið and sceal. A new critical edition of Maxims I and II, complete with English translations, full commentary and glossary, is also included in the volume.