Compelling God

Stephanie Clark is an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Oregon.

"Stephanie Clark presents the first sustained study to focus directly on prayer in early England, and with stunning success."- Brandon W. Hawk, Rhode Island College (Speculum) "Compelling God presents an original approach to investigating early English religious practices and devotional attitudes, a model worthy of imitation by scholar and student alike. Stephanie Clark makes a significant contribution to medieval studies and religious studies by treating what the early English authors taught about prayer, what it does, and how it works seriously on their own terms."- Miranda Wilcox, Brigham Young University (Journal of English and Germanic Philology) "This volume offers a valuable and nuanced account of the Anglo-Saxon period to those working on histories of prayer, the gift, selfhood, and spirituality in other literatures and traditions."- Helen Appleton, University of Oxford (Early Medieval Europe) "The strength of Clark’s book consists in showing that Anglo-Saxon prayer theory cannot be assumed to be the same as that of later periods. She carefully works out the differences in prayer theory between Bede, Asser, Alfred, and Aelfric."- Gernot R. Wieland, University of British Columbia (University of Toronto Quarterly: Letters in Canada 2018)

• AcknowledgementsntroductionChapter 1: The Anglo-Saxon InheritanceChapter 2: Gratiam pro gratia: Bede on PrayerChapter 3: Does Prayer Work? The Prayers of King AlfredChapter 4: Ælfric and the Community of PrayerConclusionBibliography