© 2013 TAMARA S. RAND ALL RIGHTS RESERVED “AND IF MEN MIGHT ALSO IMITATE HER VIRTUES” AN EXAMINATION OF GOSCELIN OF SAINT-BERTIN’S HAGIOGRAPHIES OF THE FEMALE SAINTS OF ELY AND THEIR ROLE IN THE CREATION OF HISTORIC MEMORY A Dissertation Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Tamara S. Rand May, 2013 “AND IF MEN MIGHT ALSO IMITATE HER VIRTUES” AN EXAMINATION OF GOSCELIN OF SAINT-BERTIN’S HAGIOGRAPHIES OF THE FEMALE SAINTS OF ELY AND THEIR ROLE IN THE CREATION OF HISTORIC MEMORY Tamara S. Rand Dissertation Approved: Accepted: ______________________________ ______________________________ Advisor Department Chair Dr. Constance Bouchard Dr. Martin Wainwright ______________________________ ______________________________ Committee Member Dean of the College Dr. Michael Graham Dr. Chand Midha ______________________________ ______________________________ Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Michael J. Levin Dr. George R. Newkome ______________________________ ______________________________ Committee Member Date Dr. Isolde Thyret ______________________________ Committee Member Dr. Hillary Nunn ______________________________ Committee Member Dr. Alan Ambrisco ii ABSTRACT This dissertation addresses the ways hagiographies were used to engage in memory creation and political criticism by examining them as postcolonial discourse. In it, I study the hagiographies written about the royal female saints of Ely by the Flemish monk Goscelin of Saint-Bertin in the late eleventh century as a form of postcolonial literature and memory creation. Goscelin was a renowned writer of Anglo-Saxon saints’ lives. Through his hagiographies he not only created images of England’s Christian past that emphasized its pious, sophisticated rulers and close ties to the papacy, he engaged in political commentary and criticism. This is most apparent in his hagiographies of the female saints associated with the monastery at Ely, in which invoked the memory of these women to create a useful English history that allowed him to address issues he had with the new rulers, comment on current events, and criticize Norman treatment of the English. Hagiographic literature, which includes miracle stories, accounts of the lives, and lessons about saints, provides unique insight into memory creation. Ostensibly written to show the excellence of a saint associated with a monastery, this genre provided a way for the author to address contemporary issues he felt warranted extra attention. The audience for hagiographies included the aristocracy as well as clergy, making them an iii ideal vehicle for social and political critique. Because of this hagiographies are very useful for studying medieval social and political history. The role of hagiographies in understanding the process and impact of colonization, however, has not been addressed by Anglo-Norman scholars. Anglo-Latin hagiographies written after 1066 in England were written to validate the legitimacy of Anglo-Saxon saints, and by extension the English people, and so may be considered to be a form of postcolonial literature. This literary genre is a commentary on the relationship between colonized and colonizer, showing the perception of the politically dominant culture by the subaltern as well as the subaltern self-perception. There is a paucity of scholarly works examining the period after the Conquest as postcolonial, despite the fact that England was under the rule of a foreign force. Literature written during the first forty years of the Conquest, especially hagiographic literature, deals with the immediate consequences of Norman colonization and is thus decidedly postcolonial. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a debt of gratitude to the many people who helped me in the process of researching and writing this dissertation. Foremost among those I wish to thank is my advisor, Dr. Constance Brittain Bouchard. She not only guided me through my research and tirelessly edited my drafts, she patiently encouraged me throughout the production of my dissertation. Her confidence in me, as well as her high standards, not only made this work possible, but played a key role in my transformation from student to scholar. I also want to thank the members of my committee for working with me. Dr. Michael Graham and Dr. Michael Levin offered invaluable insights and were especially helpful in refining my argument. I also want to express my gratitude to Dr. Rosalind C. Love of Cambridge University, who has not only communicated with me by email about my work, but also graciously took time out of her busy schedule to discuss Goscelin and the Ely hagiographies with me while I was in Cambridge. Dr. Suzanne Paul of the Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, was especially helpful to me while I worked on manuscript research there. Her knowledge of the manuscript collection, as well as the secondary sources associated with them, made my time in the Parker Library more efficient and enjoyable. Mr. Sandy Paul of the Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge University, graciously allowed me to access their manuscript collection. He ensured I had everything I needed to research v manuscript O.2.I, also known as the Liber Eliensis. His efforts allowed me to get as much out of this manuscript as I did in the short time I had there. I am very grateful to Dr. S. Jay Lemanski, who read some of my translations of Latin and Anglo-Saxon passages for accuracy. The insights I gleaned from our conversations about them helped me hone my argument, especially concerning the Miracula Sancte Æthelthryth. I would also like to thank him for his friendship and unwavering support throughout the process of completing this work. I was helped immeasurably by the encouragement of my family and friends while I researched and wrote this dissertation. My husband, Michael, manfully took up the yoke of household management during this period. He also used some of his very rare leisure time to edit the final draft, for which I am especially grateful. My sons, Ed and Dan, did everything they could to provide me the time I needed. My parents, Anne and Edward Goldstein, deserve acknowledgement not just for supporting me in this endeavor, but for encouraging my intellectual curiosity from the time I was a child. Vickie Schilling’s friendship and uncanny ability to know when I needed to just put this aside for a few hours helped me maintain a balance between academic and civilian life, and I am very grateful for her friendship. Ubi amici, ibi opes. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. 1 The Argument of this Dissertation.. 3 Methods. 8 Theoretical Approaches. 10 The Chapters. 12 Goscelin of Saint-Bertin. 14 England at the Time of the Ely Saints. 20 The Monastery and Island of Ely. 24 Rebellion, William I, and Ely. 27 II. HISTORIOGRAPHY. 36 Goscelin of Saint-Bertin. 36 Memory Studies. 45 Hagiography Studies. 50 Anglo-Saxon England. 57 Anglo-Norman England. 62 Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman Women.. 68 Theoretical Approaches. 71 vii III. PRIMARY SOURCES USED IN THIS DISSERTATION. 81 Manuscripts. 81 Published Sources. 85 IV. GOSCELIN AT ELY: THE HAGIOGRAPHY OF ITS SAINTS. 89 Goscelin, Bede, and Anna. 95 St. Sexburge. 112 St. Eormenhild. 136 St. Æthelthryth. 145 St. Wærburga . 169 St. Wihtburga . 181 Conclusions. 188 V. GOSCELIN’S OTHER WORKS RELEVANT TO THE ELY HAGIOGRAPHIES. 191 Liber Confortatorius. 197 Saint Edith of Wilton. 212 Barking Abbey. 227 St. Mildred. 233 Conclusion. 238 VI. CONCLUSION. 243 viii BIBLIOGRAPHY Manuscripts. 261 Primary Sources. 261 Secondary Sources. 262 APPENDICES. 270 APPENDIX A ANGLO-SAXON ROYAL GENEALOGIES. 271 APPENDIX B GOSCELIN’S WORKS. 273 APPENDIX C ABBESSES AND ABBOTS OF ELY THROUGH 1100. 275 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Norman conquest of England in 1066 was more than a political or military conquest. The introduction of Norman social, cultural, and religious ideas at the highest levels of society put the English in the unenviable position of maintaining a sense of Englishness within the emerging Anglo-Norman society. As a result, they worked to create an image of England as a sophisticated, devoutly Christian nation, and one very effective medium used to portray this was hagiographic literature.1 Hagiographies were written about Anglo-Saxon saints in order to not only prove these saints were at least as powerful as those on the Continent, but also to protect or reclaim monastic property. Hagiographies written in the first fifty years after the Conquest also contained political and social criticism and advice. William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England, had confiscated the land of most of the English nobility and given it to his Norman nobles. He had also placed Norman clerics in positions of authority within the English church, and had taken the lands and wealth of a number of English monasteries. This plundering of monasteries was often the result of disobedience to the king, or even outright rebellion, on the part of the monasteries or the secular communities surrounding them. This is the 1The terms national or national identity are used here in the context of the Latin gens, and do not refer to modern nationalism. case with the monastery of Ely in Cambridgeshire. As the result of a rebellion centered in the town of Ely, William I stripped the monastery of its lands and wealth. Throughout his reign, and into that of his son, William II (Rufus), the abbots of Ely worked to regain Ely’s wealth and property.2 Abbot Simeon (1082 - 1093) was by far the most energetic abbot of Ely in the pursuit of this goal. To accomplish it, he employed the talents of Goscelin of Saint-Bertin. Goscelin was a renowned and respected eleventh-century hagiographer of Anglo- Saxon saints who came to England from Flanders in 1058. His hagiographies of the female saints of Ely not only make the case for the restitution of Ely’s property, they emphasize England’s ties with Rome and its strong local saints and contain criticism of William the Conqueror and advice for William Rufus.