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Compelling God : theories of prayer in Anglo-Saxon England / Stephanie Clark

Author
Clark, Stephanie, 1975-
Published
Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [2018]
Physical Description
1 online resource (x, 318 pages)
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Contents
Cover; Copyright; Epigraph; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1 The Anglo-Saxon Inheritance; 2 Gratiam pro gratia: Bede on Prayer; 3 Does Prayer Work? The Prayers of King Alfred; 4 Ã#x86;lfric and the Community of Prayer; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
Summary
"While prayer is generally understood as "communion with God" modern forms of spirituality prefer "communion" that is non-petitionary and wordless. This preference has unduly influenced modern scholarship on historic methods of prayer particularly concerning Anglo-Saxon spirituality. In Compelling God, Stephanie Clark examines the relationship between prayer, gift giving, the self, and community in Anglo-Saxon England. Clark's analysis of the works of Bede, Ælfric, and Alfred utilizes anthropologic and economic theories of exchange in order to reveal the ritualized, gift-giving relationship with God that Anglo-Saxon prayer espoused. Anglo-Saxon prayer therefore should be considered not merely within the usual context of contemplation, rumination, and meditation but also within the context of gift exchange, offering, and sacrifice. Compelling God allows us to see how practices of prayer were at the centre of social connections through which Anglo-Saxons conceptualized a sense of their own personal and communal identity."--! Provided by publisher
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ISBN
9781487514372 (electronic bk.)
1487514379 (electronic bk.)
9781487501983
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
View MARC record | catkey: 43211646