Descriere
'Immensely readable, thought-provoking and entertaining, this book is a splendid introduction to the thought-world of the early English.' - Carolyne Larrington, BBC History Magazine
'Well worth the time of anyone interested in the history of monsters.' - Fortean Times
Why were the Anglo-Saxons obsessed with monsters, many of which did not exist? Drawing on literature and art, theology and a wealth of first-hand evidence, Basilisks and Beowulf reveals a people huddled at the edge of the known map, using the fantastic and the grotesque as a way of understanding the world around them and apprehending something of a divine plan. It is for these reasons that monsters were at the very centre of their worldview. From map monsters to demons, dragons to Leviathan, we neglect them at our peril.
'Uncharted territories were not valued for their splendour, but feared for the malign forces they hosted. Tim Flight's book covers the range of creatures that, in the Anglo-Saxon imagination, make their home in such landscapes. From the mysterious blemmyes, headless men with eyes on their chest, to cynocephali (literally, "dog-headed"), human-canine hybrids with cannibalistic tendencies, it shows how the monstrous is associated with the "corruption of God’s design" - or, to put it another way, creatures that are almost like humans or animals, but not quite . . . Flight's book is at its best when it explores this early medieval obsession with reinforcing and policing boundaries, and how it feeds into imperial and colonial projects of the time. Demon-fighting is compared with colonial expansion; defending the self against monsters becomes a matter of national security.' --Times Literary Supplement
'A bold and wide-ranging expedition into the wildest corners of the early medieval mind; Flight skillfully conjures the primal fears and ancient wonders that once lurked in England's shadowed groves and hollows.' --Thomas Williams, author of Viking Britain: A History
'Although he wears his learning lightly, Flight covers an impressive amount of ground to bring us his thoughtful, stimulating account of monsters in the early medieval world. Moving from Beowulf's historical context, through maps, wolves, dragons, devils, and the Grendelkin to present-day fears, Basilisks and Beowulf opens up a strange and yet hauntingly familiar world to anyone who has read the poem or any of its multitudinous offspring.' --Jennifer Neville, Royal Holloway, University of London