Northern Lore: A Thematic Guide to the Proverbs of Medieval England, Germany, and Scandinavia

• In the Middle Ages, proverbs were an important mode of preserving and transmitting wisdom and cultural values.  This book collects and analyzes medieval proverbs from northern Europe on a variety of topics:  family, friends, battle, home, religion, etc.  These proverbs are found in a wide range of sources in both vernacular and Latin texts.  Readers will discover the content and contexts of these statements of common wisdom along with the methodology and sources for engaging in the study of proverbs.

Proverbs, Middle Ages, England, Germany, Scandinavia, Old English, Old Norse, Latin

• Susan E. Deskis earned her B.A. from Cornell University and her Ph.D. from Harvard University, after which she taught Old and Middle English language and literature at Northern Illinois University for almost thirty years.  She is the author of “Beowulf” and the Medieval Proverb Tradition (1996) and Alliterative Proverbs in Medieval England (2016), along with numerous articles on medieval proverbs and poetry.  Now Professor of English, emerita, she and her husband reside in Lexington, Kentucky.