Sticks or stones? The story of Imma in Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 41 of the Old English Bede, and Old English tan ('twig').(Critical Essay) From: Medium Aevum | Date: March 22, 2003| Author: Orton, Peter | COPYRIGHT 2003 Society for the Study of Mediaeval Languages and Literature. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

The story of Imma is preserved in book IV, chapter xx of Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, a work completed in AD 731. There are also two other, later versions of the story in Old English, both largely dependent on Bede's Latin version, one in the Old English Bede, the other in a homily by AElfric. These Old English versions will be brought into the discussion later on. Meanwhile, the story may be summarized from Bede's primary text. (1) Imma, a young Northumbrian aris...