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 First full-length study of the notion and concept of old age in early medieval England.How did Anglo-Saxons reflect on the experience of growing old? Was it really a golden age for the elderly, as has been suggested? This first full survey of the Anglo-Saxon cultural conceptualisation of old age, as manifested and reflected in the texts and artwork of the inhabitants of early medieval England, presents a more nuanced and complicated picture. The author argues that although senescence was associated with the potential for wisdom and pious living, the Anglo-Saxons also anticipated various social, psychological and physical repercussions of growing old. Their attitude towards elderly men and women - whether they were saints, warriors or kings - was equally ambivalent.Multidisciplinary in approach, this book makes use of a wide variety of sources, ranging from the visual arts to hagiography, homiletic literature and heroic poetry. Individual chapters deal with early medieval definitions of the life cycle; the merits and drawbacks of old age as represented in Anglo-Saxon homilies and wisdom poetry; the hagiographic topos of elderly saints; the portrayal of grey-haired warriors in heroic literature; Beowulf as a mirror for elderly kings; and the cultural roles attributed to old women.Table of contents:IntroductionDefinitions of old ageMerits of old ageDrawbacks of old agefrode fyrnwitan: Old saints in Anglo-Saxon hagiographyhare hilderincas: Old warriors in Anglo-Saxon Englandealde eðelweardas: Beowulf as a mirror of elderly kingsgamole geomeowlan: Old women in Anglo-Saxon EnglandConclusionBibliographyTHIJS PORCK is Assistant Professor of Medieval English, Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society, Leiden University.&#160;An e-book version of this title is available (9781787444690), to libraries through a number of trusted suppliers. See&#160;here&#160;for a full list of our partners.Keywords:&#160;Anglo-Saxon Studies,&#160;Medieval History,&#160;Medieval Literature More info on the editor's website