Kontrastimitation and Typology in Alcuin's York Poem

This article addresses literary techniques used by Alcuin of York to incorporate works from Classical Latin, Christian Latin, and Insular Latin into his epic Versus de Patribus Regibus et Sanctis Euboricensis Ecclesiae. Focus is placed on the episode of Oswald's cross and the victory over the British forces of Cadwallon at Heavenfield. Comparison is made between Alcuin's version of the story and that of his primary source Bede, who himself employed language from accounts of the legend of Constantine's vision of the cross at the Milvian Bridge. Discussion is given to the interplay between the York poem and Virgil's Aeneid that results from Alcuin's application of the allusive construction known as Kontrastimitation. Finally, a treatment of typology as a construct in medieval biblical exegesis and historiography leads to a comparison between the Oswald-cross episode and chapter 3 of the Book of Daniel, concerning Nebuchadnezzar's golden statue.