Editing Old English literature (section)

=== Christian prose ===
The most widely known secular author of Old English was King [[Alfred the Great]] (849–899), who translated several books, many of them religious, from Latin into Old English. Alfred, wanting to restore [[Culture of England|English culture]], lamented the poor state of Latin education:

{{blockquote|So general was [educational] decay in England there were very few on this side of the Humber who could...translate a letter from Latin into English; and I believe that there were not many beyond the Humber|[[Pastoral Care]], introduction, translated by [[Kevin Crossley-Holland]]{{sfn|Crossley-Holland|1999|p=218}}}}

Alfred proposed that students be educated in Old English, and those who excelled should go on to learn Latin. Alfred's cultural program aimed to translate "certain books [...] necessary for all men to know" from Latin to Old English. These included: [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory the Great]]'s ''[[The Pastoral Care|Cura Pastoralis]]'', a manual for priests on how to conduct their duties, which became the ''Hierdeboc'' ('Shepherd-book')<ref>{{Cite web|title=King Alfred's Translation of the Pastoral Care|url=https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/king-alfred-translation-of-the-pastoral-care|access-date=2021-05-15|website=The British Library|archive-date=2020-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803012151/https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/king-alfred-translation-of-the-pastoral-care|url-status=live}}</ref> in Old English; [[Boethius]]' {{Lang|la|[[The Consolation of Philosophy|De Consolatione philosophiae]]}} (the ''[[The Old English Boethius|Froforboc]]'' or 'book of consolation');<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alfred the Great's Burnt Boethius|url=http://ebeowulf.uky.edu/eBoethius/iconic/iconic.html|access-date=2021-05-15|website=ebeowulf.uky.edu|archive-date=2021-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012145940/http://ebeowulf.uky.edu/eBoethius/iconic/iconic.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the ''[[Soliloquies of Augustine|Soliloquia]]'' of Saint [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] (known in Old English as the ''Blostman'' or 'blooms').{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=284}} In the process, some original content was interweaved through the translations.{{sfn|Vernon|1861|p=129}}

Other important{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=284}} Old English translations include: [[Orosius]]' {{Lang|la|[[Orosius#Historiae Adversus Paganos|Historiae Adversus Paganos]]}}, a companion piece for St. Augustine's ''[[City of God (book)|The City of God]]''; the ''Dialogues'' of Gregory the Great; and [[Bede]]'s ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]]''.<ref>On the Old English translation of Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History'', see {{harvtxt|Rowley|2011a}} and {{harvtxt|Rowley|2011b}}</ref>

[[Ælfric of Eynsham]], who wrote in the late 10th and early 11th centuries, is believed to have been a pupil of [[Æthelwold of Winchester|Æthelwold]].{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=281}} He was the greatest and most prolific writer of sermons,{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=284}} which were copied and adapted for use well into the 13th century.{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=285}} In the translation of the first six books of the Bible (''[[Old English Hexateuch]]''), portions have been assigned to Ælfric on stylistic grounds. He included some lives of the saints in the ''Catholic Homilies'', as well as a cycle of saints' lives to be used in sermons. Ælfric also wrote an Old English work on time-reckoning, and pastoral letters.{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=285}}

In the same category as Ælfric, and a contemporary, was [[Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York|Wulfstan II]], archbishop of York. His [[Works of Wulfstan of York|sermons]] were highly stylistic. His best known work is ''[[Sermo Lupi ad Anglos]]'' in which he blames the sins of the English for the Viking invasions. He wrote a number of clerical legal texts: ''Institutes of Polity'' and ''[[Canons of Edgar]]''.{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=284-285}}

One of the earliest Old English texts in prose is the ''[[Martyrology]]'', information about saints and martyrs according to their anniversaries and feasts in the church calendar. It has survived in six fragments. It is believed to have been written in the 9th century by an anonymous [[Mercia]]n author.{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=284}}

The oldest collections of church sermons is the ''[[Blickling homilies]]'', found in a 10th-century manuscript.{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=284}}

There are a number of saint's lives prose works: beyond those written by Ælfric are the prose life of Saint Guthlac (Vercelli Book), the life of [[Margaret the Virgin|Saint Margaret]] and the life of [[Saint Chad]]. There are four additional lives in the earliest manuscript of the ''Lives of Saints'', the Julius manuscript: [[Seven Sleepers of Ephesus]], [[Saint Mary of Egypt]], [[Saint Eustace]] and [[Euphrosyne of Alexandria|Saint Euphrosyne]].{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=285}}

There are six major manuscripts of the [[Wessex Gospels]], dating from the 11th and 12th centuries. The most popular, ''[[Old English Gospel of Nicodemus]]'', is treated in one manuscript as though it were a 5th gospel; other apocryphal gospels in translation include the ''[[Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew]]'', ''Vindicta salvatoris'', ''[[Vision of Saint Paul]]'' and the ''[[Apocalypse of Thomas]]''.{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=285}}