Comparing works by the two most prolific authors of the era, Byrhtferth of Ramsey and Ælfric of Eynsham, Rebecca Stephenson explains the politics that encouraged the simultaneous development of a simple English style and an esoteric Latin style.

Introduction: The Literary Context of the Monastic Reform

Part One

1. Pedagogy of Enchiridion: Layout and Languages

2. Scapegoating the Secular Clergy: The Hermeneutic Style as a Form of Monastic Self-Definition

3. The Politics of English: Computus, Translation, and Monastic Self-Definition

Part Two

4. The Politics of Ælfric’s Prefaces

5. Unraveling the Hermeneutic Style: Ælfric’s Latin Epitomes and English Translations

Conclusion