Gotland in King Alfred' s Orosius

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Other Title
  • アルフレッド大王のオロシウスの古期英語訳におけるGotlandについて

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Description

After accomplishing the unification of England through many difficulties, Alfred the Great began the translation of several Latin works into Old English. He intended to revive the glorious and prosperous culture in Northumbria which was noticeably represented by Beda and Alcuin. One of those Latin works he tried to translate was History of Orosius. Orosius was a prominent Roman historian and his History had become a classic in early Middle Ages. So Alfred hoped to introduce it to his people in simple and easy English. Translating it he added new illustrative and important passages of his own. In the description of Germania, for example, he inserted the voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan, navigators searching the coasts around Scandinavia. There in their voyages Gotland is referred to three times, but the meanings of Gotland seem to be different each other. Gotland in Ohthere is apparently Jutland today and in Wulfstan today’s Gotland itself. Why, then, does Gotland in the Alfred’s Orosius have two different meanings, or why is today’s Jutland referred to as Gotland in Ohthere? The views of modern scholars are divided on the question. This paper attempts to seek it through the investigation of how the Jutes were thought by the English in Alfred’s day. The Jutes are a Germanic tribe who migrated to Britain with the Angles and Saxons in early Middle Ages, but their identity is still assumed to be an open issue.

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Details 詳細情報について

  • CRID
    1390290699805033856
  • NII Article ID
    120003221888
  • NII Book ID
    AA11961954
  • DOI
    10.15002/00007361
  • HANDLE
    10114/6516
  • ISSN
    13493043
  • Text Lang
    ja
  • Article Type
    departmental bulletin paper
  • Data Source
    • JaLC
    • IRDB
    • CiNii Articles
  • Abstract License Flag
    Allowed

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