David Dumville – författare

This 1982 collection of essays examines Ireland's relations with the rest of western Europe between AD 400 and 1200. They show the idiosyncratic ways in which Ireland responded to external stimuli and illustrate the view that early Irish history, religion, politics and art should be seen not in isolation but as vital contributors to the development of European culture. This was the firmly held opinion of Kathleen Hughes, to whose memory these essays, specially commissioned from leading scholars in the field, are dedicated. The range of essays reflects the diversity of early Ireland's history and the extent of her influence upon other cultures. The ecclesiastical tradition and hagiography form one area of study; political expansion and diplomatic history, as well as literary and artistic influences, are also discussed. The subjects are variously introduced as they affect Ireland's relations with Scotland, Anglo-Saxon England, Merovingian Gaul, the Scandinavians and the Welsh.

Gildas's 'De Excidio Britanniae' is the prime source of our knowledge of post-Roman Britain, but because it is such an isolated text, for which we have no obvious historical, geographical or cultural background, it is a work whichraises more questions than answers. Much effort has been expended on extracting historical facts from 'De excidio', but Gildas did not set out to write history as we understand it. The common approach of the contributors to thisvolume is to look at tha author and his text on their own terms, for themselves rather than for the items of evidence which we can get out of them. Who was Gildas, and what was his position in society? What was his intellectual background - what he had learnt of Latin and Christian culture through his education, and what did he know of British language and literary traditions? What audience was he adressing? All these questions can be given some kind of answer by a close study of the text of the 'De excidio'. But there is also important evidence from Continental sources on early fifth-centyry Britain, and from Irish sources on Gildas's own repuation and career. This is a volume which no student of post-Roman Britain can afford to ignore; it does not attempt to present clear-cut conclusions or optimistic certainties, but establishes a basis on which further research can be carried out.

Latin translation, uncorrupted by the chronological dislocation which has affected every other text.Edition of an important witness to the development of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, preserving in Latin translation a text uncorrupted by the major chronological dislocation which has affected every other text of the work. Includes the earliest surviving Life of St Neot, one of the compiler's sources.

Facsimile edition of an important witness to the impact of the Normans on the ecclesiastical culture of England.Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, MS F [London, British Library, Cotton Domitian A.viii, folios 30-70] is unique in presenting a sustainedly bilingual [Latin and Old English] text. Palaeographicalevidence dates the manuscript to caAD1100; from its script it is clear that it was written at Canterbury. It is a witness - in language and script - to the impact of the Norman regime on the ecclesiastical culture of England and particularly its most important church. The evidence which it provides for the history of the Kentish dialect attests at the same time to the breakdown at Canterbury of the late West Saxon literary standard. In view of its importance in various contexts,the publisher and general editors now issue, as a supplementary volume to the collaborative edition, a complete facsimile of this interesting book as a preliminary to a new edition in the series, with an introduction outlining theproblems posed by the manuscript.Professor DAVID DUMVILLE is Professor of History and Palaeography at the University of Aberdeen.