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This collection of essays examines the motifs of darkness, depression, and descent in both literal and figurative manifestations within a variety of Anglo-Saxon texts, including the Old English Consolation of Philosophy, Beowulf, Guthlac, The Junius Manuscript, The Wonders of the East, and The Battle of Maldon. Essays deal with such topics as cosmic emptiness, descent into the grave, and recurrent grief. In their analyses, the essays reveal the breadth of this imagery in Anglo-Saxon literature as it is used to describe thought and emotion, as well as the limits to knowledge and perception. The volume investigates the intersection between the burgeoning interest in trauma studies and darkness and the representation of the mind or of emotional experience within Anglo-Saxon literature Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction: Darkness in the Universe, Darkness in the Mind in Anglo-Saxon Literature / Wehlau, Ruth / Michelet, Fabienne L. -- Part 1: Darkness -- Chapter 1. Sweart as Sin: Color Connotation and Morality in Anglo-Saxon England / Clark, Amy W. -- Chapter 2. “The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors”: Darkness, Terror, and Perception in Anglo-Saxon England / Knight, Gwendolyne -- Chapter 3.The Sinister Sound of Shadows in the Old English Poetics of the Dark / Missuno, Filip -- Chapter 4. Into the Darkness First: Neoplatonism and Neurosis in Old English Wisdom Poetry / Borysławski, Rafał -- Chapter 5. Signs, Interpretation, and Exclusion in Beowulf / Scribner, Matthew -- Part 2: Depression -- Chapter 6. Beowulf’s Dark Thoughts: Heremod, Hrethel, and Exempla of the Mind / Wehlau, Ruth -- Chapter 7. The Fourth Fate of Men: Heremod’s Darkened Mind / Morey, James H. -- Chapter 8. Eating People and Feeling Sorry: Cannibalism, Contrition, and the Didactic Donestre in the Old English Wonders of the East and Latin Mirabilia / Roby, Matthew -- Part 3: Descent -- Chapter 9. Darkness and Light in Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Junius 11 / Kears, Carl -- Chapter 10. Darkness Edible: Soul, Body, and Worms in Early Medieval English Devotional Literature / Momma, Haruko -- Chapter 11. “Stand Firm”: The Descent to Hell in Felix’s Life of Saint Guthlac / Anlezark, Daniel -- Chapter 12. The Heart of Darkness: Descent, Landscape, and Mental Projection in Christ and Satan and The Wife’s Lament / Rozano-García, Francisco J. -- Notes on Contributors
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