Honors College Theses
Publication Date
2024
Major
English (B.A.)
Document Type and Release Option
Thesis (open access)
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Carol Jamison
Abstract
This thesis discusses the role of the Old English scop in the context of the transition from orality to written works in Old English society. Scops, the storytellers, historians, and moral authorities within Old English society, utilized oral-formulaic composition to share the Germanic poetic tradition with the largely illiterate population. When Christian missionaries arrived in England and introduced the written language of Latin, the necessity of the scop gradually dissipated; many stories were written down in Latin and the authority on moral and historical teachings fell to the church. Orality continued in many regards, but the occupation of the scop was no longer as prominent. However, the legacy of the scop was preserved through the written works that followed. In this thesis, I discuss the historical role of the scop and the transition from orality to written works, analyze the scop as a character in poems such as Beowulf, “Widsith,” and “Deor,” and pose questions regarding the compositional choices of Christian scribes.
Thesis Summary
In this thesis, I discuss the historical role of the scop and the transition from orality to written works, analyze the scop as a character in poems such as Beowulf, “Widsith,” and “Deor,” and pose questions regarding the compositional choices of Christian scribes.
Recommended Citation
Johnson-McCauley, India M., ""Widsith came to talk": Preservation of the Scop within Old English Poetry" (2024). Honors College Theses. 940.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/honors-theses/940
