This article examines the production of prose texts in pre-Alfredian England. After reviewing conventional ideas regarding foundational role assigned to Alfred, king Wessex, creation Old English genre, discussion turns a quite considerable number non-poetic which were demonstrably produced at an earlier time, asking whether these can be regarded as prose. Following investigation medieval and mo...

Earth is the one known example of an inhabited planet and to current knowledge the likeliest site of the one known origin of life. Here we discuss the origin of Earth's atmosphere and ocean and some of the environmental conditions of the early Earth as they may relate to the origin of life. A key punctuating event in the narrative is the Moon-forming impact, partly because it made Earth for a s...

Inhaltsverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis v Tabellenverzeichnis ix Verzeichnis der verwendeten Symbole xi 1 Einleitung 1 1.