| "The Outsider in Anglo-Saxon Literature: Geographical Boundaries and Concepts of "Otherness" examines connections between the moral and cultural associations of "other" figures and the geographical spaces occupied by them, as held by Anglo-Saxon audiences. This dissertation studies four types of outsiders: exiles forced out of society due to their crimes or sins, exiles who lose their communities through fate, self-exiles, and journeying figures. A study of the semantics of "outsidership," along with discussion of the relationship between those who exist outside of the "cultural centre" of Anglo-Saxon values, shows that the suffering of life in a hostile natural environment may be an unjust punishment by fate, a form of penance for a crime committed, or may be undertaken willingly to gain higher status in the heavenly or earthly communities.;Keywords: "Outsider," "Exile," "Anglo-Saxon," "Landscape," "Other," "Community.". |
