Anglo-Saxon prognostics: a study of the genre with a text edition

Abstract

The purpose of this study of the

Anglo-Saxon prognostics from 900-1200 AD is to present an evaluation of

and to add new insight to previous studies in this field by the scholars

Thomas Oswald Cockayne, Max Förster and Heinrich Henel in the period 1850-1950 (part I). In addition, part II for the first time offers a collective edition of all Old English and a large number of Latin prognostic texts. Prognostication is a superstitious method to predict the future of an individual or an identifiable group of individuals by means of observation of predetermined signs and times, or by mantic arts. The first substantial edition of prognostics by Cockayne (1861-66) was followed by an expansion of our knowledge through a series of articles by Förster (1903-44). Förster’s supposition that the Anglo-Saxon prognostics were a type of folklore was countered by Henel (1934-42), who opined that prognostics belonged to the scientific domain of the monastery. Henel’s claim went unheeded, while this present study provides arguments that Anglo-Saxon prognostics were indeed a form of monastic science. Moreover, the contextual study used in this thesis offers an analysis of the manuscript context and transmission of prognostics, the language in which the texts were copied, and the intended use of the texts.