The Aelfric Society (Ælfric Society) was a

text publication society A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text p ...

founded in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, and active from 1842 to 1856, which published the

Homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered e ...

Ælfric of Eynsham Ælfric of Eynsham (; ; ) was an English abbot and a student of Æthelwold of Winchester, and a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres. He is also known variously as '' ...

(perhaps

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, during 996–1006)"Aelfric (c.955-1020)", Medievalchurch.org.uk, web
MC-Aelfric
and other works by

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

writers. It is also known as ''Aelfric Society Publications''. The Ælfric Society was named in honor of

, a

Benedictine monk The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they ...

who wrote a Saxon

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

and dictionary (glossary). He had also translated a number of homilies and the Heptateuch into

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

. For the society, the Anglo-Saxon scholar

Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe (1782 – 19 July 1870) was an English scholar of Old English language, Anglo-Saxon literature. Biography In the early 1820s he worked as a banker in the House of Rothschild, in Paris. There he met Thomas Hodgkin, who treated hi ...

(1782–1870) edited the homilies, during 1844–1846. Ælfric's Saxon grammar and glossary had been printed, nearly two hundred years earlier, at Oxford in 1639 and 1698. The

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

branch of the society operated from 87

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

and was run by T G Stevenson.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1845 __TOC__

Publications

The Aelfric Society published several works, including: * ''The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church'', containing ''Sermones Catholici or Homilies of Ælfric'' (2 volumes, 1844/1846) * ''The Legend of Chrysanthus and Daria in Ælfric's Lives of Saints'' (1846) * ''The Dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus'' (John M. Kemble, 1848) * ''The Poetry of the Codex Vercellensis, with an English Translation '' (John M. Kemble, 1843, 212 pages)

References

{{Authority control Book publishing companies based in London Anglo-Saxon literature Defunct learned societies of the United Kingdom 1842 establishments in England 1856 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Text publication societies History of literature in England 19th century in London

Publications

See also

References