Festschrifts do not hold a good reputation in the academic world. These tributary collections are often eclectic, held together only by personal and academic connections between the various contributors and the honorand. Contributions may be laced with personal anecdotes and can feature unsubstantiated speculations or open-ended discussions that would not be deemed publishable elsewhere. They are rarely read and rarely reviewed. Edited by Lindy Brady, Old English Tradition: Essays in Honor of J. R. Hall does not fully break free from the typical mold of an academic Festschrift. However, the collection does feature numerous new and innovative insights into Old English texts, early medieval English manuscripts, and the early history of Anglo-Saxon studies. Individual contributions inspire, amuse, and enthuse; as such, they offer an apt and affectionate tribute to an influential scholar in the field, J. R. Hall.
The brief introduction by Fred C. Robinson describes the honorand as a versatile scholar whose wide range of scholarly interests is reflected both in his own bibliography (provided by Joseph B. Trahern Jr.) and in the contributions to this Festschrift, which are loosely grouped under five distinct headings: “Old English Poetics,” “Anglo-Saxon Christianity,” “Beowulf,” “Codicology,” and “Early Anglo-Saxon Studies.” Old English Tradition offers something for everyone: a study of a single Old English word (Roberta Frank on Old English wine); discussions of recurring metaphors and motifs in the Anglo-Saxon corpus (Jane Roberts on the personification of death as a hunter, Thomas D. Hill on dancing angels, and Lindy Brady on inherited swords in Beowulf); a highly theoretical reading of an Old English elegy (Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe on The Wife's Lament); a technical discussion of Old English meter (by Thomas Cable); iconography (A. N. Doane on the depictions of Enoch in the Junius manuscript); source study (Paul E. Szarmach and Frederick M. Biggs on the potential influence of Alcuin and Bede, respectively); text edition (R. D. Fulk provides an edition of two homilies); crux busting (Eric G. Stanley and Howell Chickering on difficult passages in Beowulf); manuscript study (David F. Johnson on the Tremulous Hand in the Old English Bede; and Gregory Heyworth on spectral imaging and the Vercelli Book); and history of the field (Daniel Donoghue on Franciscus Junius; Carl T. Berkhout on Laurence Nowell; Dabney A. Bankert on Joseph Bosworth and Benjamin Thorpe; and John D. Niles on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). A veritable mixed bag, both in terms of length and quality, the collection showcases the plurality of approaches that fall under the label of Old English philology.
Most contributions offer interesting new insights, even if some are more personal and speculative than others. Frank's amicable essay on friendship, for instance, presents an awe-inspiring display of encyclopedic knowledge and verbal wit; the chapter is full of intriguing suggestions: Is “wine min Unferth” a pun by the Beowulf poet? What to make of similar uses of wine and vinr by Anglo-Saxon scops and Scandinavian skalds? More substantial contributions to the field include Fulk's new and thorough edition of two short homilies, “The Capital Sins” (HomM 2) and “Lenten tide” (HomM 10). Brady's essay on “swords of doomed inheritance” in Beowulf also stands out in drawing thought-provoking connections between the giant sword that Beowulf uses to kill Grendel's mother, the Heathobard heirloom that will inspire a young warrior to avenge his father, and Wiglaf's inherited sword. The concluding section on early Anglo-Saxon studies is perhaps the strongest. Bankert's exploration of how Benjamin Thorpe's work intersects with that of Joseph Bosworth showcases how much material remains to be studied with respect to this crucial period in the history of the field. Similarly focusing on the nineteenth century and calling attention to the heterogeneity of American Anglo-Saxonism, Niles tries to identify the anonymous author of the “non-racist essay ‘The Anglo-Saxon Race’” (293). This essay, published in 1851, strongly opposed those who would weaponize the study of Old English language and literature to promote a doctrine of “Anglo-Saxon” racial superiority. Niles makes a convincing case for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “as a staunch promotor of the traditional values ascribed to the field of Anglo-Saxon studies at a time when racialist ideologies were threatening to derail both that field of studies and the nation” (301). A welcome and timely study, indeed!
There are some easy criticisms to be leveled at this volume: the collection is far from cohesive; some contributions would probably not have been published in this form elsewhere; there is no index; it is unclear why only the contributions by Fulk, Szarmach, and Bankert have separate bibliographies, the contents of which are duplicated in the volume's collective bibliography; and 90 USD is a rather high price for a paperback book. In addition, some readers may feel that some of the contributions are outdated or at least out of sync with important discussions in the field (the volume, published in 2021, opens with a brief editorial note that the contributions were written and submitted in 2014). Yet, there may be no better time than the present for the publication of such an inspiring display of collegiality as is offered by this volume. Different approaches are fruitfully brought together to celebrate the work of a generous scholar and the fresh insights offered by the experienced contributors demonstrate that the study of early medieval England has enough material and research avenues for many new generations of scholars to come. Accordingly, Old English Tradition raises expectations for more Festschrifts in the future.
