A Study of the Tests and Language of Old English Judgement Day Homilies, with Special Reference to the Vercelli Tradition

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With the aid of the research grant for 2003-2005, I have finished the following three things for my project :1.I have compiled parallel texts of Vercelli Homily II and the later homilies that draw in part upon it for composition (Vercelli XXI, Fadda X and Napier XL), as identified by Donald Scragg and others. The parallel texts, displayed in parallel column on single pages and also stored in computerized form, enable us to see, quickly and comprehensively, which passages the later homilists borrowed from Vercelli II and how they adapted them for use in their own works.2.Of the three relevant composite homilies, Napier XL is particularly important, because it has four variant texts. I have transcribed one of these (preserved in MS Hatton 114, fols. 1r-4v) afresh from the microfilm of the original manuscript, producing the first complete text of the version of the homily to appear in print. This new text is faithful to the original manuscript text and will hopefully provide a reliable basis for linguistic and literary studies of Napier XL and the Vercelli tradition of the Judgement Day homilies at large.3.Using the parallel texts and the new text of Napier XL, I have made a linguistic study of Vercelli II and the three later anonymous homilies, to see how these latter used their own methods and approach in reworking the contents and language, syntax and style in particular, of the source, producing new works of their own rather than works of imitation. The results of the study include an article ‘Late Old English Judgement Day Homilies : The Vercelli Tradition in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries', which I have finished and hope to publish in the near future.