The wonderful Clerk of Oxford, an academic blogger named Eleanor Parker, wrote recently of the 10th century English Benedictine abbot Aelfric’s homily commemorating the death of St. Benedict. Excerpt:

In his homily Ælfric gives a summary account of Benedict’s life, based closely on the much longer narrative in Gregory the Great’s Dialogues (which you can read here). Although such a faithful translation, Ælfric’s sermon is worth reading in its own right – if nothing else, for a few nice points of Old English religious language: for instance, he describes Benedict as Godes dyrling, ‘God’s darling’ (translating ‘dilectus Domino’). And I always like to note the appearance of the word leorningcniht, which means ‘disciple, boy engaged in study’ – this was the usual Old English word used to translate ‘disciple’, including in translations of the Gospels. It’s only an accident of language history that means we don’t talk about ‘Christ’s learning-knights’ today. I also like Ælfric’s wording of the description of the monastic Rule: he says the Rule was written mid micclum gesceade, mid beorhtre spræce, ‘with great power of distinction, with bright language’.

Aelfric’s entire sermon, with an English translation alongside, can be seen here.

Writing in the Telegraph, Christopher Rowse calls Eleanor Parker “unrivalled” in making the life of Anglo-Saxon England come alive. Excerpt:

These were civilised men, in some ways far more so than we are. Look online at the miniatures in the 10th-century Benedictional of St Aethelwold. No one could make such a thing today. Or look at the blog-posts of A Clerk of Oxford if you want to be introduced by a sure guide to a new old world.