'A creeping thing' : the motif of the serpent in Anglo-Saxon England
The image of the serpent is pervasive in the art and literature of Anglo-Saxon England. In Old English medical literature the serpent is by far the most frequently represented animal, often as an adversary of humans and human health. In poetry, too, the serpent appears often; although it is primarily about the exploits of its outlandish hero, Beowulf is littered with serpentine adversaries, including the dragon of the poemâs conclusive battle. In scriptural poetry, the Anglo-Saxon understanding of the biblical serpent is illuminated and elaborated upon, and in exegesis the serpent plays a key symbolic role as tempter, diabolical agent and heretic. Anglo-Saxon visual art is populated by a multitude of serpentine creatures, ranging from the snake-like zoomorphic interlace to the winged dragons of the Sutton Hoo helmet. It is generally agreed upon that the image of the serpent is symbolically charged, and there has been scholarly speculation on how the image of the serpent operated symbolically in each of these contexts. However, there has been no single study of the image across genres and across media. This thesis aims to survey and interpret the symbolic role of the serpent in a number of different, clearly
Ball, Charlotte Elizabeth
'A creeping thing' : the motif of the serpent in Anglo-Saxon England. The image of the serpent is pervasive in the art and literature of Anglo-Saxon England. In Old English medical literature the serpent is by far the most frequently represented animal, often as an adversary of humans and human health. In poetry, too, the serpent appears often; although it is primarily about the exploits of its outlandish hero, Beowulf is littered with serpentine adversaries, including the dragon of the poemâs conclusive battle. In scriptural poetry, the Anglo-Saxon understanding of the biblical serpent is illuminated and elaborated upon, and in exegesis the serpent plays a key symbolic role as tempter, diabolical agent and heretic. Anglo-Saxon visual art is populated by a multitude of serpentine creatures, ranging from the snake-like zoomorphic interlace to the winged dragons of the Sutton Hoo helmet. It is generally agreed upon that the image of the serpent is symbolically charged, and there has been scholarly speculation on how the image of the serpent operated symbolically in each of these contexts. However, there has been no single study of the image across genres and across media. This thesis aims to survey and interpret the symbolic role of the serpent in a number of different, clearly
thing motif anglo_saxon_england image pervasive art_literature anglo_saxon_england old_english medical_literature far frequently represent animal often human human health poetry appear often although primarily exploit hero include dragon poem conclusive battle scriptural poetry anglo_saxon biblical illuminate elaborated upon exegesis play key symbolic_role agent heretic anglo_saxon visual_art populate multitude creature range like wing dragon helmet generally_agree upon image symbolically charge scholarly speculation image operate symbolically contexts however single study image across genre across medium aim survey interpret symbolic_role number_different clearly