Gneuss himself (emeritus English philology, U. of Munich) begins by setting out the origins, features, and problems with his detailed and comprehensive 2001 guide to the documentary and textual
remains of pre-12th-century England, which scholars can use to determine who read, or at least might have read, what books and when. Six scholars of Old English literature then examine such
topics as Cotton Tiberius A. iii scribe three and Canterbury libraries, the development of the Common of Saints in the early English versions of Paul the Deacon’s homiliary, Laurence Howell’s
Old English glosses in Howlet’s Abcedarium, and the Anglo-Saxon collections of Johannes de Laet (1581-1649) and Sir Simonds D’Ewes (1602-50). Medieval Institute Publications is at Western
Michigan University. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
