Ælfric the Teacher

The lessons contained in Ælfric of Eynsham’s Colloquy are impervious to time.

A man ploughing with oxen from the Rochester Bestiary, c.1250-1350.
A man ploughing with oxen from the Rochester Bestiary, c.1250-1350. British Library Board.

Earlier this summer I found myself standing in front of a group of schoolchildren dressed as Anglo-Saxon warriors, along with a collection of civic dignitaries, clergy, press and interested locals. We were gathered in the village of Eynsham in Oxfordshire to unveil a plaque commemorating a famous Anglo-Saxon resident: Ælfric of Eynsham, one of the most prolific and influential writers of early medieval England.

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