Old English beyond England: Ælfric, False Gods, and North Sea Literature

The literary importance of English in twelfth-century England is by now well established. However, English also continued to play an important part in literary exchanges across the North Sea. This is illustrated by a surviving Old Norse translation of Ælfric’s Old English sermon De falsis diis, alongside a partial adaptation of his De auguriis. De falsis diis euhemerizes Classical gods and equates them to Norse gods, which its translation reframes as an exploration of pre-Christian Scandinavian history. Due to the perceived insularity of English in the Middle Ages, this translation has been seen as an isolated effort. Yet it not only fits with extensive English influence on twelfth-century Old Norse homily-writing, but must also be set alongside the translation of Old English genealogies including pre-Christian gods in Old Norse historiography. Together with wider, multilingual Anglo-Scandinavian literary contacts, these texts demonstrate the sustained importance of English in a multilingual literary network.