Letter from the Editor
§1. On behalf of the board and publisher of The Heroic Age, I would like to welcome you to the 10th Issue of the journal. The theme, "Saints and Sanctity," grew out of several sessions offered at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, though as it turns out most of the articles in the themed section were not actually read during those sessions.
§2. In addition to introducing the issue, I would like to take this opportunity to announce several changes and adjustments to The Heroic Age. First, we have adjusted our Mission Statement. Approximately three years ago, our Editorial Board experienced a few changes. While some members retired, we also added several new members: Celia Chazelle, Deanna Forsman, Rolf Bremer, Michel Aaij, and Laura Reinert. Our initial Mission Statement gave attention to the British Isles. With these changes in board composition, our attentions necessarily shifted: four of the five new members do significant work on the continent. To address this, our new Mission Statement increases the time period we consider from 400-1100 to 300-1200. Likewise, there is an accompanying shift in geography. Our new Mission Statement addresses all of Northwestern Europe evenly rather than stressing the British Isles. We feel that this slight shift in emphasis not only better reflects the composition of the Editorial Board, but also provides a more accurate focus on the Early Middle Ages.
§3. In addition, we have also expanded the type of submissions we would like to receive. Few journals publish editions or translations of medieval texts. The editor or translator is then faced with waiting until the editor has compiled enough short texts to make a book, or not publish the piece. To address this lacuna, The Heroic Age now accepts and encourages editions and/or translations of early medieval texts. The first of these translations will appear in Issue 10 a little later in the month.
§4. There is also a new structure for each issue. With this issue, there will be henceforth at least three distinct sections to the journal. The previous nine issues vacillate between a collection of themed articles and a few issues called "General." Beginning with Issue 10, we plan to include a section of articles examining a particular issue or theme, in addition to a collection of "General" articles unrelated to the theme. We will continue to offer our regular features: The Forum, Electronic Medivaelia, and Continental Business.
§5. As if these changes were not enough, we have also added some new features that will be appearing from time to time in our megabytes. In Issue 9, the first of a series of review articles on fields and subfields in Early Medieval Studies was inaugurated by Dorothy Bray of McMaster University who wrote about the current state of the field of Irish Hagiography. Future plans include review articles examining aspects of Norse studies and Alfredian studies. In addition, in Issue 11 we will publish the first of another series of articles introducing a wider audience to worthy projects, electronic or otherwise. It is my opinion that it is always a good thing to be aware of and to celebrate solid scholarship. All electronic projects thus featured will be cross-linked to the Digital Medievalists Wiki of electronic projects in medieval studies. We are very excited about these new series of articles and hope that they introduce a wider readership to current initiatives in the field of Early Medieval Studies.
§6. Last, but not least, The Heroic Age has introduced the "Heroic Age Blog," http://theheroicage.blogspot.com. The purpose of the blog is not just to announce our Calls for Papers or new issues as they are posted, but also to highlight medieval items in the news, conferences, talks, new publications, announcements and other such material of interest to our readers. The blog is accessible at the above site, or simply come to The Heroic Age homepage and follow the link to the left.
§7. I am very pleased with this issue. Rather than simply give an overview of the contents as previous Letters from the Editor have done, I will simply invite you to peruse the Table of Contents page. Various aspects of Saints and Sanctity are covered in Ireland, England, and on the continent. This is also a truly interdisciplinary issue—as most of our issues have been—and so includes studies from historians, literary scholars, religious scholars, and so forth. The articles in the General section likewise should pique some interest.
§8. Comments are welcome! I extend my thanks to the members of the Editorial Board who have worked hard, making time in busy schedules, so that The Heroic Age continues to come together. My thanks go especially to Deanna Forsman, William Schipper, and Michel Aaij who have all worked far beyond the call of duty in the production of this issue. And I would like to thank our authors and readers as well. Again, on behalf of the board and publisher, welcome to the 10th issue of The Heroic Age.