Anglo-Latin Hagiography

This article explores how kinship impacted upon the careers of two powerful queens of Mercia: Cynethryth, wife of King Offa (757-796) and AEthelswith (d. 886), wife of Burgred (r. 852-874). Cynethryth is chiefly remembered for her unique appearance on coins and the witnessing of royal charters. It has been assumed that she was a descendent of Cynewise, wife of Penda of Mercia (d. 655). It is suggested that both women were members of West Saxon royal families. AEthelswith's powerful connections ensured that she was a major player at the Mercian court, jointly issuing royal charters and appearing regularly in the witness lists. She was the first English queen to dispose of land in her own right and may have been the first crowned queen in England. She was the last queen of an independent Mercia before its subsummation within a new 'Anglo-Saxon' realm created by her brother Alfred.

What happens when Christianity arrives to a polytheistic tribal group and engages a radically different cultural context characterized by idolatry, divination, and human sacrifice? What kind of faith expression can that result in? How can the church be firmly established in that type of environment? The challenge to answer these complex questions is bravely undertaken in the current text. Drawing on primary medieval Christian sources, Dragnea engages them critically as he describes the conversion of the Wends, or Western Slavs-a marginal group living on Europe's periphery, and how it was addressed by the official church of that day and region. The book gives attention to the Wends' popular pagan beliefs and rituals before their embrace of Christianity, such as horse divination, fortune-telling, and cleromancy, which they had practiced for centuries. Their religious identity after conversion, characterized by syncretism, which impacted their new faith rituals, also receives focus. During a period when Christianization was viewed as an extension of

This article marks the 700th anniversary of the canonisation of St Thomas de Cantilupe, bishop of Hereford (1275-82, canonised 1320), by providing a comprehensive overview of the extant fourteenth-century miracle collection, Oxford, Exeter College, MS 158, with reference to a contemporary copy in Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. Cod. Lat. 4015. Taken together these two manuscripts represent the second largest collection of miracles-just over 460-to survive for any medieval English saint, and they contain a wealth of information about life and death in late thirteenth-to early fourteenth-century England, Wales and Ireland. After a short precis of Thomas's life and death, the article analyses the contents of the miracle collection. It shows the number of miracles reported annually for the life cycle of the cult, the ratio of male to female pilgrims, and the types of cures that were sought at Thomas's shrine in Hereford cathedral. In doing this, light will be shed on the miraculous cult of England's 'second St Thomas', placing him firmly within the pantheon of medieval English saints being celebrated in 2020.

This book concerns the lives of women in late c.12th England as inferred from the accounts of pilgrims to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury, recorded by the cathedral monks. The book was written by my late mother (Treasa McKernan) and lightly edited by Michael Staunton. Short prefaces introduce Treasa by me (Barry McKernan) & the body of work by Michael Staunton (UCD).

The rules at the time in Ireland meant when she married her husband in 1968, she had to leave her job and was soon raising 2 small children. After several years, her husband (Des McKernan) realized that she was losing her mind and needed intellectual stimulation and suggested she go to college as a mature student (in the 1970s). Treasa was nervous about this, worrying she'd be outshone by the bright school-leavers. After a few weeks she quickly realized this was not the case! Treasa became fascinated by History and Archaeology and ended up getting a B.A. in History from University College Dublin (UCD). She tried teaching secondary school French for a short period but found it unfulfilling so returned to College to get a M.Phil in History, specializing in medieval History. Treasa became fascinated by the accounts of the miracles associated with Thomas Becket recorded by the Canterbury monks and understood that the accounts revealed unprecedented details about the lives of women in late c.12th England. She learned medieval French and Latin (self taught) to translate the accounts of the monks and dig up wonderfully revealing accounts of human beings with their joys, frailties, sadnesses and humour. Several historians in UCD, particularly Michael Richter, were very supportive of Treasa in her drive to reveal what she could of women's lives in the middle ages. Around this time, her eldest son had a mental breakdown and both Des & Treasa were consumed by caring for him as well as setting up and running a national organization for children with Asperger's syndrome (Aspire-now supporting the full autism spectrum and all ages) that could help others in the same boat. Nevertheless, she persisted. Treasa kept coming back and working on her book, translating accounts and poring over the details. Polishing prose again and again, and again. Treasa was both a perfectionist and as a housewife, must have felt some impostor syndrome. She guarded her manuscripts and her works, unwilling to let them go until she was done. She was never done. One foggy evening in 2019, after getting off a bus to visit her eldest son (she went every single day), she was struck by a motorbike and died. I am Treasa's younger son. I remember the days and nights of work on the book throughout my late childhood and into adulthood. I remember being dragged around boring cathedrals as a child (and Canterbury in particular) and hearing my parents discuss the 1 The miracle accounts are printed in Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, ed. J. C. Robertson, 7 vols, Rolls Series (London, 1875-9) [henceforth MTB], with William of Canterbury's in vol. I and Benedict of Peterborough's in vol. II. This study refers only to those accounts that J. C. Robertson attributed to William and Benedict. Robertson was of the opinion that the end of Book IV of Benedict may have been the extent of the original work, although II, 267 is the end of the Lambeth MS., Robertson's source for Benedict. He also held that while Benedict's records were contemporary with those of William, Benedict's account may have been known earlier, as only his compilation was mentioned by some writers of his time. If, as Robertson contended, this was the Benedict who was elected to the abbacy of Peterborough in 1177, having been prior of Christ Church, Canterbury from 1175, it is not surprising that his Canterbury compilations should have ceased at that time. Indeed the latest reference to time in Benedict appears to be his mentioning of a great fire in Rochester which is recorded as having taken place in 1177. However, D. M. Stenton's article on Roger of Howden and Benedict of Peterborough did not connect the abbot of Peterborough with Benedict of Canterbury: D. M. Stenton, 'Roger of Howden and Benedict', English Historical Review 68 (1953), 574-82. Robertson further suggested that William, about whom nothing is known except that he was a monk of Canterbury and that, like Benedict, he had some connection with Becket's tomb, may have completed his account sometime after either 1182 or 1184, and that his account was considered to be more important, probably because of its greater extent and because it was presented to Henry II. Robertson himself recognised the value of this source as an 'illustration of the manners and feelings of the time to which they relate' and hoped that their importance would 'sufficiently excuse me for printing them at such length'. See Robertson's introductions to volumes I and II and, in particular I, xxvii; xxx. II, xix; xxii; xxvi; xxxii. nevertheless, seem to echo substantially the words of Matilda herself. For the description of the effects of the cure stressed that the measure of the miracle was perceived as being more than just Matilda's recovery. It was, moreover, that she had been reduced into a 'marvellous' shape and that she could put on, without difficulty, a very tight dress that she could not normally wear unless healthy and slim. 22 This particular reference can only be interpreted as a faithful recording of Matilda's own account to the monks. To judge by this evidence, therefore, we must be wary of underestimating the reliability, as evidence, of the purely narrative account. It is noteworthy, that the father of Margaret of Hullavington, a schoolgirl, acted as interpreter on her behalf. William of Canterbury, who recorded the case, did not mention this until he began the following account, that dealing with Sygerid of Yorkshire's cure of a disease in her breast. Sygerid's husband testified on her behalf, referring to her in the third person throughout the narrative, whereas Margaret's testimony was narrated in the first person. It would appear from the text, therefore, that the evidence recorded for Margaret of Hullavington was her own, as she relayed it to the monks through her father. Presumably the girl spoke English only, or perhaps had very little French. Clearly, English was the mother tongue in this home. However, the girl's father had sufficient oral competence in French to allow communication with the French-speaking Canterbury monks -who also clearly spoke English, but wrote in Latin. Still, it is also possible that we have a combined report, comprising the girl's account of the events that had befallen her, and which placed the onus for her involvement in rough play on the devil's envy of human progress, and another account incorporating her father's (or even William's) philosophy on education, perceived as giving her 'possession of the rudder of life'. 23 Our source includes indirect testimonies also. The above-mentioned Sygerid of Yorkshire's husband testified on her behalf, although she herself was present. The wife of William, the knight of Fulletby, had her cure from infertility described by her husband also. This knight was sympathetic towards his wife. Of course, he also had experienced the benefits of the miracle. 24 It is clear, nevertheless, that in such indirect testimonies we are only hearing one side of an account. Perhaps a different significance might be attached to the 24 MTB, I, 264-5. 23 MTB, I, 395-6. This case is considered in the chapters on Community and Religion. That of Sygerid is discussed elsewhere in this chapter. 22 MTB, II, 159. circumstances described, or even different evidence revealed were the testimony related directly, and this must be borne in mind when assessing such evidence. That does not, however, detract from the value of the information imparted in indirect testimonies. Another woman, however, also accompanying her husband, William, a knight of Earley (Berks.?), was accorded the opportunity to attest. 25 After her husband had attested to his own cure, she was questioned as to her reason for being on pilgrimage, and Benedict reports the dialogue in naturalistic style. It is to be assumed that she made it clear to the Canterbury monks that she wished to testify herself, in thanksgiving for her small son's cure. But it is plain that not every wife in every case was invited to do so. Texts of original documents were also included in our source. A letter from the parish priest of Stockton was included in William of Canterbury's compilation. This concerned a parishioner of Stockton, a poor woman who had rescinded on her promise to give to St Thomas the calf of her only cow which was pregnant, on the recovery of both the cow and herself from illness. Instead, she had sold the calf in order to support her young son. The priest's letter was intended to confirm the virtuous zeal of the Stockton clerics in recovering for the saint the calf that they considered belonged to him by right. Inadvertently, however, the testimony of the priest revealed evidence of the woman's attitude during the dispute, her desperation and stubborn defiance of the power and threats of the priests of the vill who, on two occasions had insisted that the calf be repurchased, and had threatened the second buyer who was from another vill, with damnation. As with the Canterbury monks' desire to further the fame of the martyr's sanctity, it is clear that this document conveyed significant circumstantial evidence that lay outside the bounds of the writer's intentions. 26 Of the texts of other original sources included, there is a testimonial letter from William, the bishop of Norwich (1146-74) attesting to the cure of Cecilia of Plumstead. This document adds to our knowledge of the case as narrated by William. Besides confirming the girl's cure, the bishop's testimony recorded the bitterness of Cecilia's father, one of 'our men' when his daughter, suffering from cancer, was thought to have died. William, therefore, provided us with an independent source of evidence by the inclusion of this letter. 27 Included also in our source is the text of a letter from Richard Peche, bishop of Coventry (1161-82), confirming the restoration of the virility of Thomas, a deacon of Keresley, and accompanied 27 MTB, I, MTB, I, 467-8. This case is examined...

The account that I am about to reveal is one that has reached my ears far from recently, yet it is one that I have hesitated to place down on paper. I am afraid that my poor grammar and insufficient rhetoric is not enough to please my readers, nor is it infallible. Indeed, I am the least worthy of scribes to record, as I am but a student in humble need of most blessed rest. However, I cannot refrain from picking up my pen and ink as the Holy Spirit does compel me most strongly to overcome my own insufficiencies and to trust in the greater glory of God. 1 For it is He, not I that bids me speak about this holy tale which has reached my humble ears. For, as it IS the will of God, that I should be a channel of his grace. "No one should have any doubts about believing me, for I am writing about what I have heard, and no one should think in astonishment over the magnitude of miracles that I am inventing fables." 2 Indeed, "the most celebrated churches in that country sent an account of the witnesses" to this most miraculous tale. 3 Passed down by the holy one's family, they have since passed it onto me, in hopes that at least someone might remember the tale correctly. For the spoken record has been skewed and many poets have tried and failed to recount the story of the slipper. Yet I must trust that the Lord God Almighty, in his ever present providence has kept me from the even mere stain of invalidity within this account. If anyone now dares to deny the assertions put forth here, they must answer not to I, the

El estudio se centra en dos cuestiones fundamentales de ambos relatos: la condición de dux del protagonista (Eneas y San Brandán, respectivamente) y el itinerario simbólico hacia la tierra prometida. El análisis se sitúa en un plano en que el símbolo importa más que el dato de la realidad, aun cuando este dato sea indispensable para la cabal compresión del viaje. Se observa una coincidencia profunda en la trayectoria de ambos personajes como símbolo de un itinerario espiritual complejo que parte del desconocimiento o del conocimiento imperfecto, progresa atendiendo un recorrido ritual y transita sucesivas pruebas que robustecen la pietas y la uirtus de los peregrinos. A través de una muerte virtual, representada por el pasaje del trasmundo infernal, se logran superar las contingencias ordinarias para percibir la auténtica dimensión de los trabajos sub specie aeternitatis.

« BHL)) 408 ' ? At the end of the Ecclesiastical Hisiory of the English People Bede inserted a short autobiography that included a list of his works. Under the general heading « de historiis sanctorum » occurs an item which reads : « librum vitae et passionis sancti Anastasii, male de greco translatum et peius a quodam inperito emendatum, prout potui ad sensum correxi » 1 • Despite the doubtwhichBertram Colgrave expressed about the identity of this Anastasius 2 , there bas never been any ground for believing that he was anyone other than the Persian monk, martyred in 628 under Chosroes II, whose feast occurs in many medieval calendars and martyrologies on 22 January. This was first and firmly established by John Bolland in the second volume of the January Acta Sanctorum, published in 1643. Bolland here stressed the long paragraph in the chronicle ofBede's De Temporum Ratione, which displayed a close familiarity with the Life of the Persian Anastasius 3 • Bede also included this 1

understood, chronologically, throughout the Anglo-Saxon period from a metaphysical point of view, although it does not disregard such a key aspect of the subject matter. Rather, it tries to account for the representations or embodiments of evil agency in the Old English heroic poetic corpus (that is, monsters and demons), for the problem of Evil (not) understood as suffering (for example in The Old English Dialogues of Solomon and Saturn), and finally and most importantly, for how heroic action attempts to overcome Evil in Anglo-Saxon poetry and in modern adaptations of the most celebrated of the Old English poems. Undertaking such a task without taking philosophy and theology into consideration would be naïve and irresponsible, but the scope of this thesis is limited and therefore they will feature prominently, but perhaps insufficiently for some readers. It is indeed impossible to discuss Evil per se without a narrative. Mine, like B. Sichère's (1996), is more an attempt to explore the idea of Evil in certain sequences of its history through the lenses of literary and filmic representations, than a simple analysis of Evil. From the earliest thinkers of the western world, most philosophical discussions around the concept of Evil have focused on the reasons that an almighty and all benevolent God might permit Evil to occur. David Hume in 1779 (186), in his exploration of the problem of Evil in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, addresses the question, following Epicurus, with great insight and clarity: 'Is he (God) willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then where does evil come from?' In the classical world, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, early Sceptics and Gnostics, all tried to offer an explanation to a problem that has always tended to avoid an easy and rational treatment, as did the early Christian fathers. 1 Irenaeus, for example, appealed to human moral development, spiritual growth, and ultimately, free will in order to explain why God allows natural and moral evils. As an almighty God he could well prevent those; nevertheless, argues Irenaeus, a natural world is the ideal stage for humanity to confront and face the results of our choices and actions. 2 Pierre Gisel (2007: 26-27) reminds us of how Evil is not a thing, an element of the world, a substance in any natural sense. The church fathers emphasized this, as did the medieval doctors, setting themselves against all Gnosticism. Evil necessarily comes under the problem of freedom: one can be responsible for it, confess it and fight it. Evil is inscribed on the heart of the human subject, on the heart of the extremely complex and deliberately historical reality which makes up the human subject.

T he Association of English Cathedrals designated 2020 a national 'Year of Cathedrals, Year of Pilgrimage', with the intention of encouraging greater public recognition of the enduring spiritual and historical importance of these iconic buildings as places of worship. 1 There are forty-two Anglican cathedrals in the United Kingdom, many of which are medieval structures. The anniversary years 2019 and 2020 have been important for many of these buildings and for the saints' cults associated with them. In Lichfield, 2019 marked the 1,350th anniversary of Chad's consecration as bishop of Mercia. The year 2020 is a special year of pilgrimage for Durham cathedral, coinciding with the launch of six new northern saints' trails inspired by the lives of Aidan, Cuthbert, Oswald, Wilfrid, Hild and Bede. In Canterbury, 2020 marks the 800th anniversary of the Translation of St Thomas Becket, and the 850th anniversary of Becket's martyrdom. As Becket was a Londoner by birth, his anniversaries are also being commemorated in the English capital by special events and exhibitions. In Lincoln, 2020 is the 800th anniversary of the canonisation of Hugh of Avalon, bishop of Lincoln. In Hereford, 2020 marks the 750th anniversary of the canonisation of Thomas Cantilupe, bishop of Hereford. At Salisbury, 2020 is the 800th anniversary of the laying of the cathedral's first foundation stone, following its transfer from Old Sarum. While not a medieval cathedral, Bury St Edmunds, the abbey dedicated to St Edmund king and martyr, is marking 1,000 years since its foundation by King Cnut. Although the 1 For the Association of English Cathedrals' initiatives, see www.englishcathedrals.co.uk/latest-news/ 2020-year-cathedrals-year-pilgrimage/. There is also a social media campaign. See, for example, @engcathedrals #YearofCathedrals #YearofPilgrimage. The 'Year' had its early origins in meetings between representatives from Canterbury and Lincoln to discuss the anniversaries of

This thesis tracks ideas about choirs of angels and righteous souls from their early manifestations in the Bible and late antique texts through to their ramifications in Anglo-Saxon and early Anglo-Norman England (up to 1116). It does so by tracing changes in topoi, commonplaces that form part of the fabric of visions, hagiographical narratives and ascetic guidance literature. Unlike previous studies that have examined topoi, the thesis both thoroughly scrutinises developments in commonplaces and situates them within their wider religious and cultural contexts. This PhD thesis could not have been written without the generous funding provided by the University of East Anglia between 2011 and 2014. My first thank you therefore goes to Karen Smyth, who recommended me for the Dean of Students PhD Scholarship and the committee members who granted the award. An equally important thank you is due to Tom Licence, whose insightful and compassionate supervision made my experience at UEA so intellectually fulfilling. Karen Smyth, my secondary supervisor, has helped me to find my scholarly voice and kept me in touch with literary debate. I would also like to thank my examiners, Nicholas Vincent and Rosalind Love, for bringing their experience to bear on my work. Many other staff members and colleagues at the University of East Anglia of past and present times have added to this thesis through their conversations and comradeship. In particular, I thank Julie Barrau and Rebecca Pinner for their constructive comments on my early work, and Liam Draycott, who granted me access to his library. I am much obliged to a number of researchers for their input. Gudrun Warren was the first to listen to my ideas about angels in the medieval period, and Richard Sowerby's expert knowledge in this subject saved me from wandering into error. I have had some very engaging conversations with Tekla Bude, Rowan Williams, Henry Parkes, Jesse Billett and Christopher Page, each of whom helped to shape this thesis by sharing their ideas on sacred song in the Middle Ages. The musical expertise of Susan Rankin and Calvin Bower also proved extremely useful. Arabella Milbank kindly invited me to speak at the Medieval Reading Group in Cambridge, at which I received some valuable feedback on a paper that became

The new disciplines that emerged in the Carolingian period and those that changed their approach to suit the Palatine School had a didactic character, but this is not perceived in the same way in texts that were prepared for a specific pedagogical purpose. Making use of legend and symbolism to achieve their goal, these works signal the beginning of critical thinking and the restructuring of scientific knowledge, which laid the foundations of a science that began in the ninth century through manuals such as the Liber de mensura orbis terrae by Dicuil. This Irish scholar went beyond continuing the texts of Pliny and Solinus, his direct sources, by attempting to understand the earth and its spatial configuration through the way in which he transmitted his understanding to his pupils, and by contributing the knowledge gleaned from his own experiences in a finite world. In this paper I present several passages from the Liber de mensura to support this new analysis of Dicuil’s work.

The "In the Grip of the Supernatural" Conference provided an excellent opportunity for scholars from diverse contexts to ask bold questions from novel perspectives about the relationship between religion and asymmetrical dependency. This brief conference report was first published in theDEPENDENT, a periodical publication of the University of Bonn's Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS).

Paper read at Symposium on ‘Rethinking English Literary Culture in the Age of Alfred.’
(University of Oxford & University College London.) Online session, December 9, 2021.
Like Pythagoras, Asser’s Alfred is in tune with the ratio fixa that governs the Universe — the ratio perpetua that is, after all, central to Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy. This realization lets us enjoy Asser’s final chapters as a satisfying climax to the Vita, simultaneously mathematical and spiritual, logically precise, and rhetorically coherent.

In The Third Gender, McDaniel addresses the idea of the third gender in early hagiography and Latin treatises on virginity and then examines Ælfric\u27s treatment of gender in his translations of Latin monastic Lives for his non-monastic audiences. She first investigates patristic ideas about a third gender by describing this concept within the theoretical frameworks of monasticism provided by the four Latin Doctors and illustrated in the early Latin Lives of Roman martyrs, revealing the importance of memory in the construction of the monastic third gender. In the second section McDaniel turns to creating a historical and theological cultural context within which to locate an interpretation of Ælfric\u27s portrayals of male and female saints in his Old English translations of Lives of Saints, applying this context to Ælfric\u27s Lives and providing insights into the ideas about monastic gender that Ælfric translated (or declined to translate) for his non-monastic audience.https://sc...

This paper is an attempt to make a comparative study between the episode of the whale in the Saint Brendan Legend and the description of that cetaceous in the Physiologus. The author translates and confivnts some tcxts from both works and fi-om the first voyage of Sindbad in The Thousand and One Nigths. O. INTRODUCCIÓN

Afier an Introduction in which the author refers to the arrival of the Nordicmen to the American Continent on the Middle Ages, to the doubt of the Irishmen's previuous arrival and to the proof of the occupation of the Atlantic North islancls by these before by those, it is adhered to the thesis started by Charles Plummer in the sense that it is necessazy to distinguish between the Vita Sancti Brendani and Nauigatio Sancti Brendani, considering that, though in a given moment they joined themselves, at the beginning they were different texts. O. INTRODUCCION Ante la "Leyenda de San Brendán" existen tres posiciones: La de los que piensan que se trata de un "libro de a bordo" y que todo lo que allí se 1 La documentación necesaria para la confección de este artículo ha podido ser consultada gracias a una ayuda económica concedida en forma de beca por la Consejería de Educación del Gobierno de Canarias que ha permitido a su autor una estancia en la Biblioteca Nacional de París los meses de marzo y abril de 1990.

This article relates to the origins of Osburh, mother of King Alfred who gave birth to him in about 849. Readers may or may not agree with its gist. Personally, I am undecided but thought it worthwhile putting these musings into the ether. The preamble is discursive, more of a pre-ramble, and grew in the telling, but I have left it in in case some are not so familiar with the era and the motivations of the principal players.

This study discusses the passages in Felix's Vita Sancti Guthlaci which refer to the naming of the saint. It suggests that Felix's ideas as to the source and meaning of the name are problematic in that they do not obviously reflect vernacular naming patterns and they were not passed on by Old English writers. It is argued that this might be because Felix's obscure Latin has been mistaken, and that he might have wanted to refer to Guthlac's 'land' and 'tribe' not as the source of his name, but as being named after him. It is pointed out that Felix's vocabulary in the naming passages bears striking resemblance to that in a passage of Jerome's translation of the Regula Pachomii which relates it to desert monasticism, the dominant paradigm for Felix's hagiography. 1 Text and translation (except where indicated) are from Felix's Life of Saint Guthlac, ed. and trans. by Bertram Colgrave (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956), referred to by the abbreviation VSG and Colgrave's chapter divisions. Translations are Colgrave's except where stated. References to 'Colgrave' are to his notes and discussion.

The long collection of miracles of St Thomas Becket written by William, a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury, between 1172 and c.1179 is, like many other examples of the genre, a rich source for attitudes towards sanctity, relics, and pilgrimage. A far more unusual feature of William's text is the author's criticism of the recent English presence in Ireland. William's comments on this score amount to a loaded stretching of the normal parameters of his textual medium, resulting in an evaluative engagement with current affairs of the sort that we would more normally associate with reflective forms of history-writing. William's criticism focused in particular upon the expedition to Ireland undertaken by King Henry II (October 1171eApril 1172), inverting the very rhetoric that Henry had used to justify his Irish adventure. William was not himself Irish, as has sometimes been supposed, nor was he registering his institution's frustrations about its exclusion from the new ecclesiastical order in Ireland, as might be implied by the traditional but questionable 'Canterbury plot' interpretation of the much-debated papal bull Laudabiliter. Instead, William was skilfully engaging with current debates about the rectitude of Henry II's Irish expedition, and more broadly contesting emerging prejudices about England's 'uncultivated' neighbours, in order to effect a subtle critique of the king's involvement in Becket's murder.

For some Anglo-Saxonists, Old English literature is one of the finest achievements of the pre-conquest period. For others, particularly some Anglo-Latinists, it is evidence of a deplorable ignorance of Latin, which isolated England from the West European intellectual mainstream and the cultural heritage of the ancient world until the Normans arrived. In this overview, I am therefore surveying the use of the vernacular for 'scientific' or 'secular' subjects (primarily computus and medicine) within the context of Latin literacy and learning, in the hope of modifying the view that use of the vernacular and ignorance of Latin inevitably went hand in hand. Although the attention given here to the Age of Bede may seem disproportionate, my intention is to emphasize that this was indeed a time of Latin literacy and scientific advance, for despite Christopher Hohler's claim that if Augustine of Canterbury was 'under any illusions about the Englishman's natural aptitude for foreign languages', he must 'soon have lost them', 1 Anglo-Saxons were not racially destined to monolingualism (although as insular speakers of a Germanic language they were at a disadvantage in learning Latin). At the same time, however, I want to suggest that the lack of evidence of vernacular prose and a vernacular teaching tradition in the Age of Bede might be an artefact of the low survival of manuscripts from that period. In considering the origins of vernacular medical literature (which appear to have predated the decline of Latin learning in the ninth century), I argue that practical usefulness to specialist physicians rather than ignorance of Latin was the motivating force. In examining the two vernacular computus texts of the Benedictine Reform period (AElfric's De temporibus anni and Byrhtferth's

Pilgrimage to shrine centres in medieval England was a significant event for the community to undertake, as well as an important source of income for the shrine itself. The level of interest that a shrine could generate was dependent upon a variety of factors, stemming from both the saint's actions and the establishment of their political and familial networks when they were alive, and the efforts of the clergy administering the shrine and popularising the relics after their death. This study investigates the sphere of influence of a shrine, using a detailed analysis of the lives and cults of Saints Oswald and Wulfstan of Worcester as a case study. An analysis of the manuscripts written celebrating the saints' lives has been combined with data detailing the foundations and church dedications with links to Worcester, locations of the saints' relics, material culture related to them, and details of their documented miracles to build a picture of the geographical extent of their influence, and the longevity of their cults. Using this variety of both archaeological and historical sources, this interdisciplinary study builds a methodology which can subsequently be applied to other shrine centres to compare their influence on the medieval community. 4 Ian Styler 1217360 2 As an example, Diana Webb describes how Richard II undertook several pilgrimage tours of the West Country in the early fourteenth century, taking in amongst others the shrines at Gloucester, Worcester, Tewkesbury and Evesham (D. Webb, Pilgrimage in Medieval England (Cambridge, 2000), p. 134). 3 Ute Engel interprets the establishment of Thomas Cantilupe's shrine at Hereford in the late thirteenth century as being in direct competition with the Worcester shrines (U. Engel, Worcester Cathedral: An Architectural History (Chichester, 2007), p. 199). 4 The accounts of Worcester Priory show receipts of 13s. 4d. from 'offerings to the tombs of saints Oswald and Wulfstan' for the years 1515/16. Worcester Cathedral Archive, Miscellaneous Volumes. AXII, f. 41, (1515/16).

When we think of text, we usually think of it as a form of communication. One person's words, written down, can be transmitted across continents and centuries, for as long as the writing survives. Destroying that writing destroys, at least symbolically, the ideas it records-one reason that burning a book is seen as an act more violent than burning an equivalent amount of unmarked paper. This is not the only way, however, to think about text or about its destruction. In many cultures, both medieval and modern, texts can be seen as carrying physical or spiritual power, power that is not necessarily destroyed along with the text itself.1 Viewed in this way, the destruction of a text can serve a greater creative purpose by releasing and activating the power of the words it contains. In this paper I focus specifically on the destruction of charm texts in medieval England, exploring the variety of ways in which texts could be destroyed for healing purposes and pointing to two broad categories that imply different understandings of textual power. In one, the destruction of text serves to activate its power. In the other, destruction is the only way to limit its effect on the body. In medieval England the healing power of written words was often harnessed through the creation of textual amulets for the patient to wear.2 This study is based on my own collection of one thousand and thirty-five instructions for the performance of spoken and written charms, all recorded in manuscripts copied or owned in medieval England. Three hundred and eighty-three of those charms make use of written words, and roughly a quarter of those-ninety-four examples-require the text to be destroyed. Although it is impossible to know how commonly each recorded charm was used in practice, these figures mean that roughly nine percent of the verbal charms copied in these manuscripts make use of the destruction of text as part of their healing ritual. Examples of charms involving destruction range in date from the late tenth century to the end of the fifteenth century.3 Their instructions appear in French,

Symeon of Durham and the memoria of Bede Bede (673-735), the great Northumbrian scholar saint, left a legacy of erudition that was celebrated through the Middle Ages in England and on the Continent. Although his renown was was sufficiently widespread to survive the destruction of Northumbrian holy places, starting with Lindisfarne in 793, it was not until the revival of monasticism in the North under the supervision of Anglo-Norman churchmen that a shrine was built in his honor. The process by which the memory of Bede, his intangible memoria, came to be expressed in an elaborate burial-place, a visible memoria 1 , can be traced in documents from the twelfth century on the history of the church of Durham. Chief among these is the Libellus de exordio atque procurso istius, hoc est Dunhelmensis, ecclesie (Tract on the origins and progress of this the church of Durham) 2 , of which ten manuscripts survive. The date of composition of the Libellus de exordio is unknown, but the earliest manuscripts are from very beginning of the twelfth century (1104-1107 x 1115). It is believed that the work was written by a team of compilers under the leadership of Symeon of Durham († c.

Miracles are the basic currency of the supernatural. Anyone able to conjure up a miracle has always been considered either a saint or a servant of the devil (Ashley and Sheingorn 1999; Cameron 2005). Ever since the papacy had established clear norms of canonization in the late twelfth century, the performance of miracles was indispensable to official canonization. In this legislation, Pope Alexander III did no more than follow standard beliefs going back to ancient Christianity: saints were first and foremost miracle-makers (Herrmann-Mascard 1975). What sort of phenomenon was called "miraculous"? The earliest narratives, dating back to late antiquity, portray miracles as sudden occurrences that drastically affect nature or the human body, mostly the latter. Such occurrences are sometimes punitive, due to arrogance, doubt, or any other sin. Other miracles have the opposite effect: the wages of faith are equally dramatic. In both cases, miracles do not trigger a sudden understanding, or any affective motion. They are almost invariably somatic and physical. The sinner is stricken dumb or motionless; the believer's leprosy vanishes. As a rule, the narrative is objective, telling the facts without any empathy for the sufferer. At most, one finds outrage at the sinner's deeds preceding heavenly punishment. One of perhaps the most famous examples of these narratives-and a bona fide eyewitness narrative at that-is found in the last book of Augustine's City of God. It is also one of the very few cases in which the narrator empathizes with the sufferer. To help legitimize Christianity, Augustine records twenty-one cases of thaumaturgic miracles. 1 The first is the lengthiest and most detailed, and also the most dramatic-precisely because of the disparity between the observer/narrator's grandiloquence and what is actually said to happen. The story concerns the anal fistulae that afflicted Innocentius, a Carthaginian notable. 2 Innocentius, it

This new supplement to the Bollandists' unique guide to Latin hagiographical texts is indispensable and massive. It can only represent years of devoted toil, and merits a warm salute of gratitude and admiration. The volume is a precision instrument for research, in the first instance a tool with which one can rapidly be guided to the whereabouts of editions. Since these can be scattered over a vast area of journals and manuscript catalogues, this learned inventory offers a major labour saving aid. It is important not to demand of the inventory what is not intended by the editor. It may be for some users a pity that under Nicolaus ep. Myrensis, there is no reference to the instructive monograph by C. W.Jones (Chicago 1978). But in using a catalogue of this nature, it is right to be grateful for what is given, not to complain about what might have been included and has not been. Besides the individual saints who form the huge majority of entries, the inventory also includes a lengthy section under the heading Iesus Christus. This includes apocryphal Nativity or Infancy narratives (the Latin Gospel of Thomas), Resurrection Gospels (Nicodemus), Hrotsvita's Ascension story, relics of the sacred Blood, the Invention of the Cross, letters of Pilate, icons of Christ, and eucharistic miracles of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries including Caesarius of Heisterbach. The BVM receives nearly twenty-two pages, and the apostles, John, Peter and Paul, also have noteworthy entries. Other substantial entries are

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Saint Guthlac dwelt as a hermit at Crowland in the East of England until his death in 7141. Towards the middle of the same century a biography was composed by one Felix (BHL 3723)2. In 1191 Henry Longchamp became Abbot of Crowland; his dynamic career there continued un til 1237. Among other notable activities Abbot Henry was a literary patron3. Around 1200 he commissioned Peter of Blois to produce a revision of Felix' s li fe of Saint Guthlac which should reflect contemporary standards of literary taste (BHL 3728)4. Peter was after all 'the most eminent professor in our times of the eloquence of Tully's. A quarter of a century later Abbot Henry commissioned a further rendering of Saint Guthlac's biography. This time it was a metrical version: the author was Henry of Avranches (BHL 3730)6.

of eating disturbances' (p. 314). Gäbel's chapter is a good example of what can be achieved, and the questions that can be asked by focused source analysis, here of Aätius of Amida (pp. 315-40). Gäbel is able to demonstrate, while working with complex source documents, that the compilers sought to link mental illness with cognitive function and the brain more generally, and in doing so set out a systematic methodology. The final section takes a more philosophical approach, with three chapters that illuminate the interaction of medical aetiology and philosophical discourse (pp. 343-420). Of the three, Ahonen's exploration of the Stoic interpretation is the most persuasive, in particular when looking at Seneca and Cicero (pp. 349-57). Both are famous figures, but studied and analysed here with focus and precision, which, when read together, allows for a more nuanced understanding both of mental health (animi sanitas, p. 356) and its importance to true wellbeing. To close, this is an impressive collection of essays, reflecting a good level of historical analysis and a willingness to ask important questions of those sources still left to us. When read together, a much wider understanding of ancient approaches is possible, one that betrays the sophisticated and shifting pattern of intellectual and religious reflections upon illnesses of the mind. As with any edited collection, there are some concerns over how well each section fits together, and the over-long introduction is not quite as useful as needed to fully establish a clear and focused foundation and framework for the later studies. Nonetheless, this is an important volume, and one that offers much insight into a complex and multifaceted topic.

Historians would once have taken these words at face value and understood Gil’s words to mean a denigration of human medicine, represented by the famous ancient authority Galen, and the exaltation of divine healing, represented by Christ. Many medical historians would now argue for a more symbiotic relationship between medicine and religion, based on a nuanced analysis of a wider range of narrative and archival sources, including hagiography.2 Careful analysis of Gil’s own life and his highly

The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons in Early Medieval England can be attributed to various factors, such as the role of monastics and monasteries, kings, and the Church hierarchy/Episcopacy. This dissertation argues that due to factors such as the geographical location of the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the most important factor for a kingdom's conversion to Christianity can vary. And that monasticism, while playing a key role in these conversions, cannot be wholly separated from the overall hierarchy and structure of the Catholic Church as some historians have attempted. Although monasticism achieved a great degree of success in converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, through its role in providing pastoral care to communities.

The phrase ealles Englalandes cyningc appears for the first time in I-II Cnut, and represents a shift in the discourse of Anglo-Saxon kingship, changing it from king over a people to king over a territory, redefining the discourse of nationhood. §1. In 1018, the year following his accession, the Danish conqueror Cnut met with the English witan to establish the terms by which the English would accept him as king and to produce a new set of laws. A few years later, c. 1020/21, Cnut and his council issued a second set of laws comprised of two parts: a religious and a secular portion, respectively given the titles I and II Cnut by scholars, and which I will refer to as the unified I-II Cnut. 1 As a foreign-born ruler, Cnut had disrupted the English social and political landscape. Now, with the help of his witan-especially Wulfstan, Archbishop of York-Cnut appropriated the Anglo-Saxon tradition of lex scripta, a move with significant consequences for the history of English law and national identity. In the prologue to his new legislation, Cnut speaks as "ealles Englalandes cyningc." 2 With this seemingly unremarkable phrase, he overturns English legal tradition. Underlying this title is a rhetorical claim to stabilize and unify all of England-Anglo-Saxon and Dane-as a single nation, 3 an outcome that had not been possible since the beginning of the Scandinavian settlement of England in the mid-ninth century. To achieve this, I-II Cnut redefined kingship in terms of territory rather than ethnicity or culture, thus laying a foundation, not just for his right to rule, but for the construction of a new notion of national community. §2. The establishment of English kingship as territorial is performed in the voice of a Danish conqueror, through the hand of Wulfstan. Cnut certainly wanted to establish his authority over the whole of England and looked to the English witan to help him accomplish this. In particular, Pauline Stafford has argued that Cnut wished to be accepted as a Christian king and thus he vigorously supported the English church (Stafford 1982). The witan was undoubtedly encouraged by Cnut's support of the church and by his willingness to work with them. Wulfstan, probably the foremost member of the witan and the most influential political figure of the time, must have seen an opportunity in drafting Cnut's laws. 4 He most likely understood that, with the conquest of the English, "Cnut's code would be the primary model of royally-directed legislation for their kingdom's new masters" (Wormald 1999b, 245). By helping to shape this legislation, he expanded his previous goal of correcting abuses within the church, and focused on the moral corruption of the whole of English society, clerical and secular. Patrick Wormald has referred to Wulfstan's ambitious plan of social engineering as an attempt to create "the holy society" (Wormald 1999b). Together, king, council, and councilor come together and, in composing the laws, reconceive English law and, through it, the nation. §3. Although, as I will argue below, ealles Englalandes cyningc is likely a translation of a Latin formula used in Anglo-Saxon charters, totius Albionis rex, it is the act of translation that emphasizes a shift in the English-language tradition of lex scripta. The change raises a number of issues. Among these is the question of how the tradition of lex scripta operated, the politics that drove the creation of law, and the form it took. The change in the language of the phrase begs the question of who the audience for the laws was. Additionally, we must ask about the significance of the language itself in the construction of meaning, especially since the style of I-II Cnut is markedly Wulfstanian. It is Wulfstan's compositional style that, I argue, shapes the most fundamental meaning of Cnut's kingship. Finally, we must reflect on the consequences for the tradition after Cnut's participation. In order to address these issues, I will examine the prologues and conclusions to I-II Cnut, paying particular attention to their use of the title ealles Englalandes cyningc. My two primary concerns in this paper are, first, to establish Cnut's political situation and response, and second, to examine the influence of Wulfstan's style on the introductions and conclusions to Cnut's laws. In doing so, I will build my argument in five stages by addressing the following points: 1) the political context of Cnut's conquest and accession to the English throne; 2) the tradition of Anglo-Saxon lex scripta: how it relates to politics, and the importance of language and naming as evidence for nationhood and community building; 3) the evidence of Anglo-Saxon royal styles in the laws and charters, especially considering translation and audience; 4) Wulfstan's style and linguistic play in the laws, and the potential for interpreting such play; and finally, 5) the afterlife of the rhetoric of territorial kingship in English lex scripta. §4. Cnut's laws provide a picture of how he was trying to establish his rule in England. As Susan Reynolds notes regarding the tenth-century formation of an English kingdom, unity and solidarity were mostly functions of political circumstance. Cnut's precarious kingship certainly required an attention to politics, and the change in the language of kingship in the laws themselves indicates a response to the political field Cnut was facing and an attempt to create a new national identity. As Simon Keynes points out, Cnut did not conquer England in one fell swoop, but in incremental stages from 1016 to the political settlement of 1018 (Keynes 1994, 44). His rule was not one he could simply assume was secure. Moreover, England was historically fragmented. The English were only formed into a single kingdom over the course of the tenth 2 of 33 12/7/17, 12:19 PM

A través de dos fuentes hagiográficas tardoantiguas, la «Vita Sancti Macarii Romani» y la «Navigatio Brendani», pretendemos analizar un nuevo concepto cristiano del espacio geográfico plasmado mediante la metáfora del viaje; viaje que los protagonistas, monjes en ambos casos, emprenden hacia un destino real y al mismo tiempo imaginario: el paraíso terrenal.

Nuestro propósito es relacionar la peripecia de los héroes viajeros de la literatura grecolatina con la del abad Brendano, tal y como la conocemos en la versión latina de este viaje, la Navigatio Sancti Brendani abbatis. Puesto que el eje central del relato es el recorrido realizado por el monje en busca de la tierra prometida o paraíso terrenal, nos detendremos en el significado mismo del viaje en este tipo de narraciones. A continuación, nos permitiremos unas reflexiones acerca de lo que cabe entender por mito, cuento y leyenda para aplicarlo a este caso. El análisis del texto nos ha llevado a indagar en las claves que explican la transformación literaria de un relato oral en una leyenda. Finalmente, desde la perspectiva de la tradición clásica y hagiográfica, hemos estudiado, desde el punto de vista temático, los rasgos que definen a los héroes viajeros.

appoinunent of midwives in his parishes-Saunier is able to document the existence of no fewer than 113 midwives in the area to the S.W. of Paris in this thirteen-year period. Her findings make a tremendous addition to the thus-far meager evidence we have for medieval midwives. Sigal, Pierre Andre, "La grossesse, I' accouchement et l'attitude envers I 'enfant mort-ne Ii la fin du moyen age d'apres les recits de miracles," in ibid., pp. 23-41. Sigal uses the accounts of miracles from various canonization procedures and collections of miracle stories from France and Italy from the mid-thirteenth through fifteenth centuries. From these sources he culls surprisingly rich information about the realities and attitudes toward sterility, pregnancy, birth, concern for the infant's soul, etc. Like Saunier's work, Sigal's study shows the importance ofreligious sources for documenting women's history in the Middle Ages.

stood in his ivied tower, Alembic, crucible, all were there; When in came Nick to play him a trick, In guise of a damsel passing fair. Every one knows How the story goes: He took up the tongs and caught hold of his nose. 2 Richard Harris Barham was correct in his 1837 lay lampooning the legend of St Dunstan: the tale of the saint tweaking the devil's nose was indeed one which everyone knew. In fact, so famous was the tale that Barham felt it needed no further explanation. 3 Few in the nineteenth century, however, could have known of its origins, nor indeed have imagined its 1 I wish to thank Julia McConville, Ralph Norman and Mary Carruthers for their help in discussing various aspects of this essay. This research was funded by the Wellcome Trust

In July 1220, the boy king Henry III attended the Translation of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury, whereby the saint's body was transferred from its original tomb in the crypt of Canterbury cathedral to a splendid new shrine in the main body of the church. This article explores the continuing appeal of Becket's cult at Canterbury for elite ecclesiastical and lay circles in thirteenth-and early fourteenth-century England. It argues that the Englishmen, or holders of ecclesiastical office in England, who were canonised as saints in the thirteenth century were associated with St Thomas and his cult. Drawing on the records of the English royal household and wardrobe, alongside letters and charters, this article then examines the reception of Becket's cult at the royal court. Although Henry III was more famous for his adult devotion to St Edward the Confessor, Henry and his wife, Eleanor of Provence, still paid their respects to Becket's shrine at Canterbury. Royal interest in St Thomas of Canterbury, or St Thomas the Martyr, continued, but with added vigour, under Edward I, his wives and his children. Despite St Thomas's appeal for opponents of the English crown, Becket's cult remained firmly connected to the English ruling dynasty. T he cult of Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, was one of the most popular saints' cults in western Europe in the Middle Ages. The stories of Becket's murder at the hands of four knights in Canterbury cathedral on 29 December 1170 and of the posthumous miracles associated with him circulated widely at home and abroad. Their transmission was assisted by the many works of hagiography written by witnesses to the martyrdom and by men associated with Becket, as well as the reports carried away by visitors to Becket's tomb. 1 Such was the damage to King Henry II's prestige as the man who uttered the words that led to Becket's death, especially after Becket was canonised I am grateful to Paul Webster for his helpful comments on a draft of this article.

Afier an Introduction in which the author refers to the arrival of the Nordicmen to the American Continent on the Middle Ages, to the doubt of the Irishmen's previuous arrival and to the proof of the occupation of the Atlantic North islancls by these before by those, it is adhered to the thesis started by Charles Plummer in the sense that it is necessazy to distinguish between the Vita Sancti Brendani and Nauigatio Sancti Brendani, considering that, though in a given moment they joined themselves, at the beginning they were different texts. O. INTRODUCCION Ante la "Leyenda de San Brendán" existen tres posiciones: La de los que piensan que se trata de un "libro de a bordo" y que todo lo que allí se 1 La documentación necesaria para la confección de este artículo ha podido ser consultada gracias a una ayuda económica concedida en forma de beca por la Consejería de Educación del Gobierno de Canarias que ha permitido a su autor una estancia en la Biblioteca Nacional de París los meses de marzo y abril de 1990.