Monster Relics in Medieval English Literature

By Christopher Lee Pipkin

Monster relics make for good stories. In medieval literature there are moments when a hero brings a monster's head, hand, or weapon to court--moments that prove his account, but also moments of awe at the monster's remains, which become the seeds of the story we read. Its first draft, after all, is sung or recited to explain their presence. In this, monster pieces resemble nothing quite so much as saints' relics, venerated throughout medieval England, allowing worshipers to see and touch holy story as it grows to envelop them. This book explores three major English poems--Beowulf, The Alliterative Morte Arthure, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight--where monster relics trouble sacred-secular boundaries, bearing witness to abominable horrors and to God's victory over his enemies. Monster relics are trophies--but they are also signs that something disturbing and wonderful has happened, and that the story isn't over yet.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1476696292
• ISBN13: 9781476696294
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up