The Exeter Book, also known as the Codex Exoniensis, is a tenth century book (or, as some prefer, a codex) of Anglo-Saxon poetry. The book was donated to the library of the Exeter Cathedral by Leofric, the first bishop of Exeter. It is believed originally to have contained 131 leaves, of which the first 8 have been replaced with other leaves. The original 8 first pages are lost. The Exeter Book is the largest known collection of Old English literature that exists today. Look up book in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... First page of the Codex Argenteus A codex (Latin for block of wood, book; plural codices) is a handwritten book, in general, one produced from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages. ... The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... A modern-style library in Chambéry In the traditional sense of the word, a library is a collection of books and periodicals, . It can refer to an individuals private collection, but more often it is a large collection that is funded and maintained by a city or institution. ... The founding of the cathedral at Exeter, dedicated to Saint Peter, dates from 1050, when the seat of the bishop of Devon and Cornwall was transferred from Crediton because of a fear of sea-raids. ... Leofric (1016 - 1072) was born in Devon, England, and died there, in Exeter, on 10 February, 1072. ... The city of Exeter is the county town of Devon, in England. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ...

Historical context

Though the precise date of the Exeter Codex's inscription is unknown, it may generally be described as one of the great fruits of the English Benedictine revival of the tenth century. Proposed dates of authorship range from 960 to 990, but do not generally exceed those bounds. This period sees a rise in monastic activity and productivity under the renewed influence of Benedictine principles and standards. At the opening of the period, Dunstan's importance to the Church and to the English kingdom is established, culminating in his appointment to the Archbishopric at Canterbury under Edgar and leading to the realisation of the monastic reformation by which this era is characterised. At its close, Dunstan has died as of 988, and England under Æthelred faces pressure from an increasingly determined Scandinavian incursion to which it would eventually succumb. A Benedictine is a person who follows the Rule of St Benedict. ... Dunstan (909–May 19, 988) was an Archbishop of Canterbury (961–988) who was later canonized as a saint. ... Arms of the see of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman of the established Church of England and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... King Edgar or Eadgar I ( 942 – July 8, 975) was the younger son of King Edmund I of England. ... Ethelred the Unready (c. ...

The Exeter Book's heritage then becomes traceable as of 1050, upon Leofric being made Bishop at Exeter. Among the treasures which he is recorded to have bestowed upon the then impoverished monastery is one famously described "mycel englisc boc be gehwilcum þingum on leoðwisan geworht" (i.e., "a large English book of poetic works"). This has been in subsequent history widely assumed indeed to be the Exeter Codex itself as it survives today. The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. ...

Content

Among the famous poems that appear in the Exeter Book are:

• The Wanderer
• The Seafarer
• Widsith
• Wulf and Eadwacer
• The Wife's Lament
• The Ruin
• Deor

This article is about the Old English Wanderer poem, for the German Wanderer poems set to music by (amongst others) Franz Schubert, see: List_of_compositions_by_Schubert#Lieder_. ... The Seafarer is an Old English poem. ... Widsith is an Old English poem of 144 lines. ... Wulf and Eadwacer is an Old English poem of unknown meaning. ... The Wifes Lament is an Old English poem It is an elegiac poem found in the Exeter Book. ... The Ruin is an Old English poem from the Exeter Book. ... Deor (or The Lament of Deor) is an Old English poem from the 10th century, preserved in the Exeter Book. ...

See also

• Anglo-Saxon literature
• Old English language

The Whale The initial page of the Peterborough Chronicle, likely scribed around 1150, is one of the major sources of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ...

External links

• The Exeter Book
• James Grout: Exeter Book of Riddles, part of the Encyclopædia Romana