Ælfric's World
Ælfric's 10th-century England is a world wholly foreign to our own. Even his Catholic faith, something that has ostensibly remained relatively stable for the past thousand years, cannot be considered familiar. Old English scholar Aaron Hostetter notes that modern readers "would hardly even recognize an early English Catholic as Christian."[1] Though perhaps overstating slightly, Hostetter rightly describes the vast distance between 10th century and 21st century Catholicism:
"A thousand years have passed between then and now and a great deal of change has occurred in the interim. Early English Christians used a different version of the Bible, mostly encountered in pieces (almost never complete) or else in mediated forms such as in books of hours, psalters, or homilies. They participated in a different set of rituals and practices. . . Theology was a strong cultural influence. . . and early English religious practice was highly syncretic, mixing pagan beliefs with Christian ideas from numerous different faith traditions: Latin, Irish, Greek, North African, Frankish, etc, sometimes to the chagrin of religious authorities and writers."[2]
If the most stable aspect of Ælfric's life would be nearly unrecognizable to a modern reader, the other cultural and social factors must be even more alien. Ælfric was a man who, like all of us, was deeply formed by both his own personal history and the history of the world around him. To understand him, one must also understand his world, both the immediate and distant world of the 10th century.
The pages in this section begin to sketch out the historical context of Ælfric, charting his own biography, the geography of the abbey at Cerne, and the way Ælfric experienced the passage of time.
Notes
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Aaron Hostetter, "An Important Disclaimer," Old English Poetry Project. ^
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Aaron Hostetter, "Old English Homilarium," Old English Homilarium. ^