ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that prolegomena is an intended critical study of Aelfric's work in its intellectual, literary, and linguistic aspects. A classified list of Aelfric's works will be useful as a working basis. After Aelfric's early Catholic Homilies—two series of liturgical homilies combined Temporale and Sanctorale—his next major project, it is generally agreed, was to compile a book of Lives. Aelfric' s most sustained achievement was to complete his set of homilies expounding the pericopes appointed for the Proper of the Season, while continuing to use and develop his combined Temporale-Sanctorale series, and providing a useful supplement in his Old Testament narratives. The increased number of "occasional" pieces is a reflection of his established reputation.
