Katherine Group, the
Katherine Group, the,the name given to five Middle English works of devotional prose found together in the manuscript Bodley 34, dating from c. 1190 – 1225 : Seinte Marherete, Seinte Iuliene, Seinte Katerine, Sawles Warde , and Hali Meðhad . They come from Herefordshire, and their common language is also, for the most part, shared with Ancrene Wisse and therefore called ‘Language ab’ from the first letter of that text combined with that of Bodley 34. It is a distinctive and interesting language from a transitional period of English; but the interest of the works in the group is not only philological: they are all written in a lively, often colloquial style, with vivid details of illustration. They use alliteration and rhythmic art in a way that has been compared to the prose of Ælfric . The three saints' lives are all concerned with heroic virgins who were frequently exalted in...
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