Old English Wisdom (17 October 2015)

The literature of the Anglo-Saxons is full of advice on how to live a good life. Their poems and proverbs describe the characteristics a wise person should strive to possess, offering counsel on subjects as varied as friendship, love and family, the right and wrong ways to use speech and skill, how to teach and how to learn, and the value of patience, perspective, and self-restraint. All these themes touch on the most important concern of all: how to acquire and use wisdom in life.

This study-day, led by Dr Eleanor Parker, explored the wisdom of the Anglo-Saxons, looking at what these 1000-year-old texts can teach us today. It also gave us a taster introduction to Old English, the language spoken in England up until the twelfth century.

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