Saint Aldhelm's Riddles
Published on 26. October 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
200 pages
978-1-4426-2892-2 (ISBN)
Description
The first and one of the finest Latin poets of Anglo-Saxon England, the seventh-century bishop Saint Aldhelm can justly be called "Britain's first man of letters." Among his many influential poetic texts were the hundred riddles that made up his Aenigmata. In Saint Aldhelm's Riddles, A.M. Juster offers the first verse translation of this text in almost a century, capturing the wit, warmth, and wonder of the first English riddle collection.
One of today's finest formalist poets, A.M. Juster brings the same exquisite care to this volume as to his translations of Horace ("The best edition available of the Satires in English" -Choice), Tibullus ("An excellent new translation" -The Guardian), and Petrarch. Juster's translation is complemented by a newly edited version of the Latin text and by the first scholarly commentary on the Aenigmata, the result of exhaustive interdisciplinary research into the text's historical, literary, and philological context. Saint Aldhelm's Riddles will be essential for scholars and a treasure for lovers of Tolkien, Beowulf, and Harry Potter.
One of today's finest formalist poets, A.M. Juster brings the same exquisite care to this volume as to his translations of Horace ("The best edition available of the Satires in English" -Choice), Tibullus ("An excellent new translation" -The Guardian), and Petrarch. Juster's translation is complemented by a newly edited version of the Latin text and by the first scholarly commentary on the Aenigmata, the result of exhaustive interdisciplinary research into the text's historical, literary, and philological context. Saint Aldhelm's Riddles will be essential for scholars and a treasure for lovers of Tolkien, Beowulf, and Harry Potter.
Reviews / Votes
"Self-deprecating and occasionally funny, [A.M.Juster offers] some of most thoroughly enjoyable textual commentary you are ever likely to read. But the central pleasure here is, of course, the poems. Juster's fluid and deceptively simple translations make the whole effort look easy, which is a testament to both Aldhelm's gift and Juster's craft."- Micah Mattix (The Washington Free Beacon, January 9, 2016)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
318 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4426-2892-2 (9781442628922)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Saint Aldhelm (640?-709), the Anglo-Saxon bishop of Sherborne, is best known for his extensive Latin prose and poetry works.
A.M. Juster is a poet and translator of classical and post-classical verse. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard University, his work has appeared in The Paris Review, The New Criterion, and the North American Review.
A.M. Juster is a poet and translator of classical and post-classical verse. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard University, his work has appeared in The Paris Review, The New Criterion, and the North American Review.
Content
Acknowledgements
Translator's Note
Introduction
Saint Aldhelm's Riddles
Text, Commentaries, and Translations
Commentary
Translator's Note
Introduction
Saint Aldhelm's Riddles
Text, Commentaries, and Translations
Commentary