The Canons are one of the earliest handbooks of penance to appear in any West European vernacular. The material shows the Anglo-Saxons addressing matters ranging from baptism and the ordination of priests to the conduct of the married and sexual norms. Less a translation of the judgements attributed to Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 690), than an adaptation of these materials, the work is of major importance for specialists in Old English and historians of medieval Europe generally, affording an early view of what pastoral care in early England may have looked like which is more authentic than the Latin texts on which they are based.

Winner of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists Publication Prize 2013 for "Best Edition of an Anglo-Saxon (or Anglo-Latin) Text, Any Medium."

About the Author
Stefan Jurasinski is Associate Professor of English at the State University of New York at Brockport. His published work has focused on aspects of Anglo-Saxon legal history and on the literature of the early and late Middle Ages. He is at work currently on a book-length study of the Old English penitentials and a collaborative edition (with Lisi Oliver) of the laws of Alfred and Ine for the Early English Laws Project. R.D. Fulk is Class of 1964 Chancellor's Professor of English at Indiana University. His research centres on Germanic and Celtic languages and literatures of the Middle Ages (with special emphasis on Old English and Old Norse studies), and on comparative Indo-European linguistics, with particular attention to the history of the English language.

Reviews
The scholarly value of this edition lies in the accompanying commentary, which brings the penitential practices of Anglo- Saxon England into a broader medieval European context. Scholars focusing on continental Europe who might otherwise overlook this volume will nevertheless find it a valuable resource. The subject matter of the text and extensive glossary also make the edition an excellent candidate for translation in the classroom. * Tahlia Birnbaum, Parergon *
With this new edition by R.D. Fulk and Stephan Jurasinski, a gap in the availability in print of the Old English (OE) penitentials has been filled most satisfactorily. The edition complements very well the existing editions of the other vernacular penitential texts ... and it can be studied fruitfully alongside the online edition by allen J. Frantzen. * Mark Atherton, Review ofEnglish Studies *


Awards
Winner of Winner of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists Publication Prize 2013 for "Best Edition of an Anglo-Saxon (or Anglo-Latin) Text, Any Medium.".



Book Information
ISBN 9780199668182
Author R.D. Fulk
Format Hardback
Page Count 176
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 362g
Dimensions(mm) 221mm * 148mm * 20mm