Anglo-Saxonism and the Construction of Social Identity

Contributors to this volume explore Anglo-Saxonism as a set of beliefs and cultural practices that posits a unity among English-speakers based on their common racial, linguistic, and institutional descent from the people of Anglo-Saxon England. Value has often been set on such heritage, for Anglo-Saxonism asserts the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon people and sees their institutions as models of good government, commercial prosperity and piety. In an examination of Anglo-Saxonism in a variety of forms and in several different periods of English and American literary history, the authors investigate how the Anglo-Saxons themselves thought about the origins of national and racial identity. By linking current theoretical studies to the early manifestations of Anglo-Saxonism, they seek to contribute to the ""new mediaevalisms"" - theoretically aware, institutionally focussed, and interdisciplinary mediaeval studies - that are transforming the academy.