Weaving Words and Binding Bodies

Megan Cavell is a Junior Research Fellow in the Department of English Studies at Durham University.

• Construction and Constriction: Introducing Human Experience in Old English PoetryPart I – Webs and Rings: Experiencing ObjectsChapter 1: The Material Context of WeavingChapter 2: The Woven Mail-CoatChapter 3: The Material Context of Structural BindingPart II – Ties and Chains: Experiencing Bondage Chapter 4: Binding in NatureChapter 5: Imprisonment and HellChapter 6: Slavery and ServitudePart III – Patterns and Nets: Experiencing the Internal and the AbstractChapter 7: The Body and MindChapter 8: Language and KnowledgeChapter 9: Creation, Magic and FateChapter 10: PeaceWeaving and Binding: Conclusions on Human Experience and World View

‘This scholarly, thorough treatment of imagery offers new insights into Old English poetic contemplation of human experience.’- M.B. Busbee (Choice Magazine vol 54:05:2017) ‘This study of binding, unbinding, and weaving terminology is stimulating in the course of its many surprises… There is much to recommend in this latest addition to the Toronto Anglo-Saxon Series.’- John M. Hill (Mediaevistik vol 29:2016) ‘Weaving words will be a catalyst for future research in many different areas. It will be a valuable reading for anyone interested in gaining new insights from early literature.’- Emily Thornbury (Speculum vol 93:02:2018) "In using poetic style to interrogate the themes of weaving and binding in Old English literature, Megan Cavell’s book Weaving Words and Binding Bodies relates in a limited way to recent work on textiles while primarily concerning itself with a more traditional, philological approach to literary scholarship."- Tiffany Beechy, University of Colorado Boulder (University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018)