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bookshopghost's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I had such mixed feelings about this book.
My own academic work has primarily been on Medieval literature, so I approached this book with much excitement. I found, however, that as well-researched and as readable as it was, it felt like there was a strongly Christianised bias running through it that was preventing some alternate readings from being offered. The main theory running through the text is that boundaries were of vital importance to the Anglo-Saxons, and that the main horror around monsters was their existence on the ‘wrong’ side of the civilisation boundary, and their occasional desire to cross that boundary, to be mearcstapan. I would argue that the boundaries Flight referred to were far more permeable, far more sheer than he implies in this text, and that he made incredibly sweeping generalisations regarding the way that all Anglo-Saxons would have thought.
I enjoy annotating my books and trust me when I say that there were times that my annotations got somewhat heated. But I deeply enjoyed the ability to call on academic research done some time ago, and formulate my own ideas in the margins; and that this text inspired me to do that is testament to the quality of Flight’s book. I may not have agreed with all of his arguments, but found them all to be intellectually stimulating and interesting.
Overall, I am glad I read this book. It has helped me to better understand my own thoughts around this topic, and I really enjoyed the incorporation of primary sources in pictures and passages.
My own academic work has primarily been on Medieval literature, so I approached this book with much excitement. I found, however, that as well-researched and as readable as it was, it felt like there was a strongly Christianised bias running through it that was preventing some alternate readings from being offered. The main theory running through the text is that boundaries were of vital importance to the Anglo-Saxons, and that the main horror around monsters was their existence on the ‘wrong’ side of the civilisation boundary, and their occasional desire to cross that boundary, to be mearcstapan. I would argue that the boundaries Flight referred to were far more permeable, far more sheer than he implies in this text, and that he made incredibly sweeping generalisations regarding the way that all Anglo-Saxons would have thought.
I enjoy annotating my books and trust me when I say that there were times that my annotations got somewhat heated. But I deeply enjoyed the ability to call on academic research done some time ago, and formulate my own ideas in the margins; and that this text inspired me to do that is testament to the quality of Flight’s book. I may not have agreed with all of his arguments, but found them all to be intellectually stimulating and interesting.
Overall, I am glad I read this book. It has helped me to better understand my own thoughts around this topic, and I really enjoyed the incorporation of primary sources in pictures and passages.
madhamster's review
4.0
Fascinating, with so much I wish I was introduced to when I studied Beowulf.
Brings in parallels to today, which makes you think.
Brings in parallels to today, which makes you think.
shanaqui's review
informative
medium-paced
3.0
This would probably have been a more interesting read for me back when I was doing English literature and studying Anglo-Saxon literature! I'm a little out of touch now, a decade later, but it was still interesting to delve back into this kind of thinking, this kind of linking texts and cultural attitudes together to better understand something more like the whole experience.
The central thesis here is that monsters are about enforcing the barriers between humanity and the unknown, humanity and monsters. They represent blurry points where people can become monsters, where monsters might also be kind of people, and sometimes they just make it clear how scary the unknown is.
I didn't find it too surprising/original, but it was reasonably convincing.
The central thesis here is that monsters are about enforcing the barriers between humanity and the unknown, humanity and monsters. They represent blurry points where people can become monsters, where monsters might also be kind of people, and sometimes they just make it clear how scary the unknown is.
I didn't find it too surprising/original, but it was reasonably convincing.
bookwomble's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I really enjoyed this exploration of the Anglo-Saxon cultural relationship with monsters. Flight is an academic, and (as far as I can tell as a non-academic) he knows his stuff, which he communicates in a detailed but easygoing manner which makes for great reading.
The book is broken into chapters exploring themes of belonging and otherness in respect of geography and borders, civilisation and barbarity, order and chaos, Christianity and paganism, then moves on to Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards key monstrous figures, including wolves, dragons, whales and, of course, Grendel and his mother, and what they can tell us about the Anglo-Saxon world view. In setting out these perspectives, Flight invites the reader to reflect on the degree to which Englishness has changed, and what it has retained, his short concluding chapter explicitly stating some of the parallels he draws himself.
I was particularly interested in Flight's reflections on the plasticity of the state of monstrousness, of what defines and separates a true human being from a monster, how one can become the other, what monster tales told the Anglo-Saxons about themselves, and why we continue to be fascinated by ravening beasts who may decide us, physically or spiritually.
Loved it.
The book is broken into chapters exploring themes of belonging and otherness in respect of geography and borders, civilisation and barbarity, order and chaos, Christianity and paganism, then moves on to Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards key monstrous figures, including wolves, dragons, whales and, of course, Grendel and his mother, and what they can tell us about the Anglo-Saxon world view. In setting out these perspectives, Flight invites the reader to reflect on the degree to which Englishness has changed, and what it has retained, his short concluding chapter explicitly stating some of the parallels he draws himself.
I was particularly interested in Flight's reflections on the plasticity of the state of monstrousness, of what defines and separates a true human being from a monster, how one can become the other, what monster tales told the Anglo-Saxons about themselves, and why we continue to be fascinated by ravening beasts who may decide us, physically or spiritually.
Loved it.
winnieaxworthy's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This book is a very good introduction to Anglo-Saxon monsters and gives a very compelling discussion of the Anglo-Saxon mindset. Flight dissects the Anflo-Saxons' attitudes towards wildernesses and monsters, and explains the reason for the existence of them in the social system of the Anglo-Saxons. He also draws parallels with the modern day and shows the reader how the mentalities that were present in the 9th century are very much still present in our society, just wearing a different guise.
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