The texts edited in this volume are Ælfric's vernacular versions of two highly influential early-medieval ethical treatises. The first text, De duodecim abusiuis, is his Old English version of a short tract dealing with the twelve abuses of the world and the second, De octo uitiis et de duodecim abusiuis, is a composite text, of which De duodecim abusiuis forms the second part; the first part deals with the eight vices and the complementary eight virtues and is otherwise familiar as the last part of ÆElfric's Lives of Saints XVI. Both texts were composed in ÆElfric's hallmark rhythmical, alliterative prose. The Latin De duodecim abusiuis is a short moral tract, written in seventh-century Ireland, which lists and describes twelve abuses and suggests remedies for them. The main source for ÆElfric's treatment of the vices and virtues is Alcuin's De uirtutibus et uitiis, written on the continent in the ninth century. The stand-alone text and the composite one survive in three manuscripts each.

The two Old English texts have been in print for a long time, but there has not been a satisfactory edition of either. Richard Morris published two versions of the composite text in his Old English Homilies; in the main body of the volume he edited the very late, and altered, text in Xi, London, Lambeth Palace 487, and in an appendix he supplied an earlier version of the composite text, from R, CCCC 178, transcribed for him by the Rev. W. Snell. The Lambeth version was edited again in Sarah O’Brien’s unpublished thesis. The stand-alone version was printed by Rubie Warner from G, British Library, Cotton Vespasian D xiv, a manuscript of considerably later date than the other two manuscripts which contain this version of the text. Neither included any information about the relationship between the two versions or about how these texts fit into Ælfric’s oeuvre as a whole. Ælfric’s treatment of the sources for both texts has never been analysed in any detail before now.