Dr. Annie Sutherland

Biography

Annie Sutherland is a renowned scholar in the field of Medieval Literature, serving as a Fellow and Tutor at Somerville College, University of Oxford. Her current research focuses on vernacular devotion in the late thirteenth and early fifteenth centuries, with particular emphasis on completing a work about the book of English Psalms in the Middle Ages. Sutherland examines the significant role that psalms have played as influential texts throughout English history, highlighting their critical contributions to the development of a self-conscious literary voice in Western culture. Her book charts the contribution of Middle English psalm translations to the evolution of this voice and delves into broader issues regarding the act of translation and the unique challenges faced when translating sacred texts. She is particularly interested in how translated psalms are read, using codicological evidence to investigate the means by which these texts were engaged with in medieval contexts. Sutherland proposes that English psalms are radically unstable texts that undergo dramatic alterations throughout their reading and circulation. Looking ahead, she plans to explore the continuities within Old and Middle English translations and is working on an unexplored genre of the Middle English Primer, which includes psalm translations along with basic catechesis on devotion. Sutherland is committed to advancing her research in the area of early Middle English devotional homiletic writing.

Research Interests

Courses