Creation, Migration, and Conquest Imaginary Geography and Sense of Space in Old English Literature

Creation, Migration, and Conquest: Imaginary Geography and Sense of Space in Old English Literature explores the Anglo-Saxons' spatial imaginaire; tracing its political, literary, and intellectual backgrounds and analyzing how this imaginaire shapes perceptions and representations of geographical space. The book elaborates new interpretative paradigms, drawing on the work of continental scholars and literary critics, and on complementing interdisciplinary scholarship of medieval imaginary spaces and their representations. It gathers evidence from both Old English verse and historico-geographical documents, and focuses on the juncture between traditional scientific learning and the symbolic values attributed to space and orientation. Combining close reading with an original theoretical model, Creation, Migration, and Conquest offers innovative interpretations of celebrated texts and highlights the links between place, identity, and collective identity.

After completing her licence at the University of Geneva, Fabienne Michelet studied at the Vatican Library in Rome, and in Oxford, where she took a Master of Philosophy in 'English Studies until 1100'. She did her doctorate at the University of Geneva, specializing in Old English literature. She is presently teaching medieval English literature both at the University of Geneva and at the University of Lausanne. Her research focuses primarily on Old English literature, exploring questions of space, place and geography.