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The Concept of the Three Orders of Society in Late Old English Prose. Between the years 991 and 1012, the English suffered one of the worst Viking onslaughts in history. The relentless invasions coupled with an ineffective administration which was crumbling from within almost brought England to its knees. There was dire need for reformation. The first step in this process was a clear assessment of the situation. To this end, Archbishop Wulfstan of York and Abbot Ælfric of Eynsham rediscover and use the concept of the tripartite society to show the desperate need for all three social orders of England (laboratores, oratores, bellatores) to unite in support of the office of kingship, lest everything be lost. The present paper aims to present the evolution of the concept of a tripartite society in Anglo-Saxon England from its (pseudo)Alfredian origins to its integration into the political tracts, law codes, sermons and homilies of late Anglo-Saxon England. Conceptul societății tripartite în proza engleză veche târzie. Perioada cuprinsă între 991 și 1012 reprezintă un moment de răscruce în istoria Angliei. Marcată de una dintre cele mai grave invazii vikinge din istorie, precum și de o administrație dezastruoasă, măcinată de lupte interne, țara a fost adusă în pragul colapsului. Nevoia unei reforme a devenit evidentă și urgentă, iar primul pas în această direcție a fost o evaluare clară a situației. Astfel, arhiepiscopul Wulfstan de York (d. 1023) și abatele Ælfric de Eynsham (d. c. 1010) au readus la lumină conceptul societății tripartite, pentru a arăta nevoia disperată a celor trei ordine sociale (laboratores, oratores, bellatores) de a se coordona în susținerea coroanei. Prezenta lucrare își propune să urmărească evoluția acestui concept în Anglia anglo-saxonă, de la originea lui (pseudo)alfrediană până la integrarea acestuia în coduri legislative, tratate politice, omilii și predici, în ultimele decenii înainte de cucerirea normandă. Cuvinte-cheie: Wulfstan de York, Rânduiala Lumii, Ælfric, lege seculară, lege ecleziastică, societate tripartită, laboratores, oratores, bellatores Article history: Received 13 July 2024; Revised 02 August 2024; Accepted 05 September 2024; Available online 30 September 2024; Available print 30 September 2024.

Despite the considerable amount of scholarship dedicated to the most important Old English poem, Francis Leneghan manages to make a major contribution to Beowulf exegesis. This book discusses at large the three royal dynasties in the poem (the Scyldings, the Scylfings, and the Hrethlings), and the role their struggles play in the larger landscape of Scandinavian royal legends. The introduction contextualises the manuscript, and offers information on the text’s origin, while also providing a brief overview of earlier critical reception. It then moves on to a succinct discussion of the major themes of the poem, including kingship and dynasties. The reader is given extensive guidance through ample annotations and footnotes. Chapter One distinguishes between three stages in the life cycle of a dynasty: founding, maturity and the inevitable fall. Thus, the poem begins with the story of Scyld Scefing, the destitute child who became the founder of a dynasty. The youthful phase of the dynasty is in place, and Scyld’s offspring thrive after his death. Beowulf therefore becomes a poem about the life cycle of dynasties, and how and why they differ. Author Biography Andrei CRIȘAN Faculty of Letters, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. ioan.crisan2@ubbcluj.ro. Faculty of Letters, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: ioan.crisan2@ubbcluj.ro.

Despite the considerable amount of scholarship dedicated to the most important Old English poem, Francis Leneghan manages to make a major contribution to Beowulf exegesis. This book discusses at large the three royal dynasties in the poem (the Scyldings, the Scylfings, and the Hrethlings), and the role their struggles play in the larger landscape of Scandinavian royal legends. The introduction contextualises the manuscript, and offers information on the text’s origin, while also providing a brief overview of earlier critical reception. It then moves on to a succinct discussion of the major themes of the poem, including kingship and dynasties. The reader is given extensive guidance through ample annotations and footnotes. Chapter One distinguishes between three stages in the life cycle of a dynasty: founding, maturity and the inevitable fall. Thus, the poem begins with the story of Scyld Scefing, the destitute child who became the founder of a dynasty. The youthful phase of the dynasty is in place, and Scyld’s offspring thrive after his death. Beowulf therefore becomes a poem about the life cycle of dynasties, and how and why they differ. Author Biography Andrei CRIȘAN Faculty of Letters, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. ioan.crisan2@ubbcluj.ro. Faculty of Letters, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: ioan.crisan2@ubbcluj.ro.

Perhaps the best documented fact about Archbishop Wulfstan of York is that he is not sufficiently documented at all. Second perhaps only to Ælfric of Eynsham in his theological endeavours, Wulfstan (d. 1023) was also the foremost statesman of his age, as advisor to kings Æthelred (978 – 1013) and Cnut (1016–1035). Moreover, during his lifetime, he served in three of England’s most influential ecclesiastical offices: the bishoprics of London and Worcester, and the archbishopric of York, holding the latter two in plurality until 1016. Little is known about his life before he was created bishop of London, though we may safely assume that he had deep ties with the Benedictine reform and was a monk or even an abbot before his ascension to the episcopate.

Perhaps the best documented fact about Archbishop Wulfstan of York is that he is not sufficiently documented at all. Second perhaps only to Ælfric of Eynsham in his theological endeavours, Wulfstan (d. 1023) was also the foremost statesman of his age, as advisor to kings Æthelred (978 – 1013) and Cnut (1016–1035). Moreover, during his lifetime, he served in three of England’s most influential ecclesiastical offices: the bishoprics of London and Worcester, and the archbishopric of York, holding the latter two in plurality until 1016. Little is known about his life before he was created bishop of London, though we may safely assume that he had deep ties with the Benedictine reform and was a monk or even an abbot before his ascension to the episcopate.

Perhaps the best documented fact about Archbishop Wulfstan of York is that he is not sufficiently documented at all. Second perhaps only to Ælfric of Eynsham in his theological endeavours, Wulfstan (d. 1023) was also the foremost statesman of his age, as advisor to kings Æthelred (978 – 1013) and Cnut (1016–1035). Moreover, during his lifetime, he served in three of England’s most influential ecclesiastical offices: the bishoprics of London and Worcester, and the archbishopric of York, holding the latter two in plurality until 1016. Little is known about his life before he was created bishop of London, though we may safely assume that he had deep ties with the Benedictine reform and was a monk or even an abbot before his ascension to the episcopate.