The Old English Canons of Theodore ed. by R. D. Fulk and Stefan Jurasinski (review)

This welcome addition to the EETS series offers all three versions of the Old English translation of the Latin collections of Theodore's penitentials, compiled by Eoda in the early eighth century.

The text itself occupies a mere fifteen pages of the volume, allowing plenty of space for contextual analysis. This includes a comprehensive Introduction to the text, with exhaustive descriptions of each manuscript, including key differences between the versions, and analyses of the language, sources, and background. This section includes highly original research and analysis of the manuscripts, enabling the editors to make assertions about the origins of the recension on which the manuscripts were based. Though much of this material is highly specialised, the Introduction allows readers to scan the relevant sections for information they may need. In this way, the book is easy to navigate but readers would benefit from a short index.

This careful study lays the foundations for future research, especially concerning the history and sources behind this compilation text. The editors conclude that the text was not simply conceived as a translation of Theodoran material, but represented an attempt at reshaping earlier penitential material to suit a different context, hinting at a possible Alfredian context for the translation. Fifty-seven pages of commentary - contextualising each item, and often providing the Latin source - follow the text, and a comparison with one of the four related penitential texts is included in the appendices that follow.

The content of the penitential itself provides unusual insight into issues that affected the daily lives of the Anglo-Saxons, and what was considered acceptable moral behaviour. The scholarly value of this edition lies in the accompanying commentary, which brings the penitential practices of Anglo-Saxon England into a broader medieval European context. Scholars focusing on continental Europe who might otherwise overlook this volume will nevertheless find it a valuable resource. The subject matter of the text and extensive glossary also make the edition an excellent candidate for translation in the classroom.

R. D. Fulk and Stefan Jurasinski won the prize for best edition at the biennial meeting of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists in July 2013. Their original research and contribution to the field of Anglo-Saxon studies and early medieval penitential literature make this prize well deserved.