In episode two, Mary and Irina turn the pages of the Exeter Book, a remarkable 10th century manuscript containing numerous poems and riddles, some of which are written in the voices of women. They consider in particular the enigmatic and beautiful ‘Wife’s Lament’ and ‘Wulf and Eadwacer’, and their numerous interpretations, and compare them to an extraordinary collection of letters written by influential women to St Boniface in the 8th century. These texts reveal not only the sophisticated rhetorical practices of the period, but also a complex network of books and ideas ranging across the European continent, challenging our notions of authorship and what could be considered as ‘English literature’.
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Reading resources for this episode:
The Wife’s Lament
Wulf and Eadwacer
The Wanderer
Letters
From Leoba/Leobgytha to Boniface
From Boniface to Eadburg (c.735)
