Bonds of Secrecy: Law, Spirituality, and the Literature of Concealment in Early Medieval England

Benjamin A. Saltzman

Published by University of Pennsylvania Press 2019

Bonds of Secrecy

Law, Spirituality, and the Literature of Concealment in Early Medieval England

Benjamin A. Saltzman

In the series The Middle Ages Series

https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812296846

Overview
Contents

About this book

Bonds of Secrecy illuminates the relationship between human experiences of secrecy and early medieval beliefs about divine omniscience. Benjamin A. Saltzman argues that this relationship was fundamental to early English legal and monastic culture and profoundly shaped the practices of literary interpretation in the Middle Ages.

Author / Editor information

Benjamin A. Saltzman teaches English at the University of Chicago.

Reviews

"Highly original, Bonds of Secrecy reveals something that has been hidden in plain sight throughout a wide variety of texts and makes a significant impact on our understanding of historical and narrative motivations. Benjamin A. Saltzman succeeds in clearing away presentist mental furniture to reveal what secrecy meant to Anglo-Saxons who understood it to be inseparable from divine omniscience."—Leslie Lockett, The Ohio State University

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
A Note on References and Translations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART I. Law
Chapter 1. Political Epistemology and Crimes of Concealment in Anglo-Saxon Law Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Chapter 2. The Secret Seized: Theft, Death, and Testimony Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
PART II. Spirituality
Chapter 3. Monastic Life and the Regulation of Secrecy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
Chapter 4. Making Space for Spiritual Secrecy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
Chapter 5. Seeing in Secret: Saints, Hagiography, and the Ethics of Concealment and Discovery Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
PART III. LITERATURE
Chapter 6. Binding Secrets, Solving Riddles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
Chapter 7. Worldly Concealment, Divine Knowledge, and the Hermeneutics of Faith Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	184
Chapter 8. Reading Hidden Meaning: Between Interpretive Pride and Eschatological Humility Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Afterword Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	244
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	255
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	303
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	325
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	337

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 360
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 12
- Other: 12
Keywords: Literature; Religion; Medieval and Renaissance Studies; Religious Studies; Literature; Cultural Studies

eBook

Published: September 30, 2019
ISBN: 9780812296846