A Real-life Picture of Medieval Healing: A Stylistic Study of Old English Medical Text Lacnunga

Zhang, Junqi (2023) A Real-life Picture of Medieval Healing: A Stylistic Study of Old English Medical Text Lacnunga. MRes thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

This thesis discusses the real-life situation of early medieval medical practice in England. It focuses on the remedies of Lacnunga, an Old English medical collection which has been suggested by scholars as a guide for real medical practice. By conducting a broad analysis on its remedies that are various in contents and styles, this thesis aims to answer the questions of the ways in which these remedies were used and transmitted. To do so, it employs a stylistic approach to examine the remedies in Lacnunga.

The first part of the thesis aims to provide a systematic analysis of the structure and typology of the remedies which is the foundation for its further discussion. It begins by displaying different types of sentences in the remedies and then moves to a detailed analysis of stylistically special cases.

The second part of the thesis aims to answer the questions it proposed. The real-life situation of medical practice, including ingredient gathering, medicine making and applying, will be discussed first. It focuses especially on the roles of participants: the practitioner, their possible assistants and the patient. Then it discusses the circulation and transmission of the remedies by examining the variant versions of Lacnunga’s remedies.

Item Type: Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (MRes)
Supervisors: Lee, Christina
Findell, Martin
Keywords: Lacnunga, Old English, medical texts
Subjects: P Language and literature > PE English
R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Faculties/Schools: UK Campuses > Faculty of Arts > School of English
Item ID: 72266
Depositing User: ZHANG, Junqi
Date Deposited: 20 Jul 2023 04:40
Last Modified: 20 Jul 2023 04:40
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/72266

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