The concept of the individual or the self, central in so many modern-day contexts, has not been investigated in depth in the Anglo-Saxon period. Focusing on Old English poetry, the author argues that a singular, Anglo-Saxon sense of self may be found by analyzing their surviving verse. The concept of the individual, with an identity outside of her community, is clearly evident during this period, and the widely accepted view that the individual as we understand it did not really exist until the Renaissance does not stand up to scrutiny.

Brent R. LaPadula is an educator and independent scholar working in the public school system in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Brent R. LaPadula
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 198
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7395-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3347-3
Imprint: McFarland
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Preface 1
Introduction: Towards an Understanding of Identity and the Self: Meaning and Methodology 5
1. The Paradigm of Identity in Old English Literature: The Self as a Social Construct 31
2. Memory and Identity Formation: A Cognitive Construction of the Self in The Wanderer and The Seafarer 59
3. Living Vicariously and Identity Schema: The Multiple Selves of the ­Anglo-Saxon Scop 99
4. A Case for Female Individuality in The Wife’s Lament and Wulf and Eadwacer 123
Conclusion 153
Chapter Notes 157
Bibliography 177
Index 189