Recollecting Alfredian English in the Sixteenth Century

Abstract

This article explores the rationale for the frequently criticized editorial practices of Matthew Parker (Archbishop of Canterbury, 1559–1575) in working with manuscripts of Anglo-Saxon texts. Parker published editions of some of these texts, and his editorial prefaces yield valuable information about his aims and methods. By situating Parker’s own explanation of his activities within the context of a textual community that reached back to include medieval ecclesiastics, we see that he learned much from medieval textual practices. Parker and his circle emulated key features of the reading habits, methods of selection and compilation, and scribal practices they saw in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. Though conscious of the linguistic distance between his Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and his readers, Parker nevertheless exploited his bridging of that distance to support the ecclesiastical and political aims of Elizabeth’s early reign. Medieval and early modern treatments of the art of memory provide an important framework, within which Parker may be seen to be reimagining a sort of remembered medieval past for the young Church of England.