The Legend of Longinus in Ecclesiastical Tradition and in English

Inatnn Mntu^raitg Qlnlbg^ nf Sth^ral Arts SItbrarg ^^t The Legend of Longinus in Ecclesi- astical Tradition and in English Literature, and its connection with the Grail H Bissertation PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF BRYN MAWB COLLEGE IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREilENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY OCTOBER. 1910 ROSE JEFFRIES PEEBLES \K70- Colier^e of L BALTIMORE J. H. FURST COMPANY 1911 ' Gtqi-1 "5 7 6^7 1 1^2 -J PREFACE The present study was presented to the Faculty of Bryn Mawr College in October, 1910, in fulfilment of a require- ment made of candidates for tJie degree of Doctor of Phi- losophy. The object of the dissertation is, in the main, to investigate anew the origin of the legend of Longinus in ecclesiastical and popular tradition, and to trace its use in mediaeval English literature, as has already been done in the field of French literature by Carl Kroner. In following the course of the Longinus legend I have thought best not to confine attention solely to literary documents, but to include also some account of the part which it played in art and in the liturgy, for the reason that its importance in both these connections undoubtedly contributed to its development in literature, and perhaps even determined to some extent its literary form. Moreover, though the present study has been under- taken primarily from the standpoint of English literature, I have ventured to discuss, in the last two chapters, special problems relating to the literary influence of Longinus which lie wholly outside of that field. The first of these is the resemblance, first pointed out by Bugge, between the Longinus story and the slaying of Baldr. The second is the relationship which exists between the lance of the Crucifixion and the bleeding lance of the Grail romances. These two chapters, though distinctly in the nature of excursus, deal, after all, with phases of the Longinus legend which are of general literary importance. They appear, therefore, to have legitimate place in a study iii IV PEEFACE wliicli treats of llic significance of the Longinus theme in the literature of the Middle Ages. I wish to exjwess my hearty thanks to Miss Dorothy Kempe for helpful suggestions; to Mr. Stephen Gaselee, Pepysian Librarian of Magdalene College, Cambridge, for repeated kindnesses, and to Prof. W. H. Hulme, of West- ern Reserve University, for most generously allowing me to make use of his unpublished notes on the Longinus legend. I have attempted to make aclaiov/ledginent in my notes for these special indebtednesses. To Prof. Carleton Brown, of Bryn Ma^vr College, in particular, I am under many obligations. He first suggested to me the subject of this investigation, and he has aided me in the various stages of my work b}^ supplying numerous references, by criticising the manuscript of the dissertation, and finally by carefully going over the proof sheets. I am also indebted for courteous treatment and assist- ance, especially in the manuscript departments, to the librarians of the British Museum, the Bodleian Library and the Cambridge University Library, and for many kindnesses to the libraries of Columbia LTniversity, Bryn Mawr College and Vassar College. R. J. P. - Vassae College, April, 1911. CONTENTS Introdcction Chapter I. VI CONTENTS PAGE Chapter VII. Longinus and the Baldr Legend 142 1. The Difficulty of Chronology 146 2. The Gosforth Cross 147 The Odin Story 151 Frazer's Explanation of the Baldr Myth . 155 Kau£fmann's Theory .... 157 The Blind Spearman .... 160 Chapter VIII. The Lance of Longinus and the Grail . 166 1. Survey of Testimony .... 166 2. Pagan Color in the Grail Story 170 I. The Theory of Professor A. C. L. Broun 172 1. Celtic Marvellous Weapons and the Bleedinj Lance ....... 172 2. The Shining Lance and the Spear of Longinus 177 3. The Bleeding Lance and the Spear of Longinus 181 4. The Poisonous and Destructive Lance and the Spear of Longinus .... 189 5. The Christian Spear a Symbol of Destruction and of Peace ...... 191 6. The Christian Bleeding Lance in Art and in the Drama ...... 193 II. The Theories of Professor Nitze and 3fiss Weston 195 1. Professor Nitze and the Celtic Theory 195 2. Agrarian Rites as an Explanation of the Grail Ceremony ...... 197 3. Connection between Early Liturgy and Rite: of the Mysteries ..... 200 4. Elements Common to Grail Rites, Mysteries and Liturgy 203 IIL The Grail Rite 206 1. The Grail Procession .... 206 2. Other Ritualistic Points .... 213 3. The Fisher King 217 THE LEGEND OF LONGINUS II^TEODUCTION The literature and art of the Middle Ages found no more popular subject for treatment than the Christian legend of Longinus, the blind soldier who pierced the side of the Crucified and regained his sight through the blood that touched his eyes, who thereupon believed in Christ, and finally, after many adventures, suffered martyrdom. Being an ecclesiastical legend, it found a place, of course, in the martyrologies and festials of the church. But it is not on the side of hagiography that the story assumed its chief importance. Through the interest which it awak- ened in the popular imagination, the legend extended its influence outside this special province and found its way into literature. These two phases of its appeal are well illustrated by the two dissertations which the legend has called forth. The first of these, written more than two centuries ago by G. TI. Goetze (Dissertatio inauguralis de Centurione sub cruce Cliristi, Lipsiae, 1698), deals with the Longinus legend exclusively from the standpoint of religious history, and attempts to establish the authenticity of the miracle connected with the Crucifixion. Since it contributes nothing to our knowledge of the origin of the legend and does not discuss its use in literature, it is here negligible. The second, by Carl Kroner, Die Longinus- legende. Hire Entstehung und Aushreitung in der franzo- 1 Z INTRODUCTION sischen Litteratur,'^ is a serious examination of the early history of the legend and of its occurrence in French literature. If Kroner's discussion of the early forms of the Lon- ginus legend had been more comprehensive, it would not be necessary to take up again the question of its origin. But the growth of a legend in the Middle Ages is a much more complex matter than is recognized in the method followed by Kroner. Though the legend, in rather widely differing formis, appears in several apocryphal documents, he examines only one, the Gospel of Nicodemus. He gives no intimation that the name of the spearman was not always Longinus. He contents himself with the con- sideration of two- Longinuses; though, in the first six centuries, the records show no fe^ver than a dozen mar- tyrs bearing this name, whose lives perhaps contributed something to the development of the story. He fails to note the history of the lance as a relic and its place in the early liturgy. 'Not does he suggest by more than a single sentence the prominence of Longinus in mediaeval icono- graphy, and the influence this popularity must have exerted on the spread and growth of the legend. Though Kroner's treatment of the second part of his subject—^the use of the Longinus legend in French literature—concerns less closely those who approach the examination of the story from the special point of view of Eng- lish literature, it should perhaps be stated that even here he has not been exhaustive. He confines his attention mainly to the presence of the legend in the romances. He cites twenty in which mention of Longinus occurs ; but he might have included in his list as many more.^ Moreover, 1 Miinster dissertation, 1899. ) 2 Cf. E. Langlois, Table des Noms Propres compris dans les Chansons de Geste, 1904. INTRODUCTION 6 he does not point out the importance of the lance of Longi- nns to the crusading romances, nor does he hint at its presence in the Grail cycle^—a connection which perhaps more than any other one thing makes the examination of the legend worth while to modem students. Furthermore, Kroner gives only one example, and that without comment, of the appearance of Longinus in that queer mani- festation of mediaeval scientific ignorance—^the charm. He considers the use of the legend in the drama, but not at all its presence in the liturgical literature that preceded the drama, nor in contemporary religious non-dramatic productions. ITor does he comment on what has been considered a possible J^orse parallel to the Longinus legend. Besides these dissertations, there have appeared numerous notes on the Longinus legend. Of these the most inclusive is that by Dr. Hulme, who, in his introduction to the Harrowing of Hell, discusses the legends that seem to trace their origin to the Gospel of Nicodemus. He refers to the story of the blind Longinus as one of the most interesting of these, and comments on the strong influence it exerted on both the literature and the art of the Middle Ages. He calls attention to its relationship to the early literature of Scandinavia, and to its importance in the Grail romances.* • Longinus has been more or less fully considered also by the various writers on the Grail cycle. The most recent of these, indeed, Professor A. C. J^. Brown, takes as his 3 E. Freymond, Kritischer Jahresbericht iiber die Fortschritte der rom. Phil., VIII, p. 269. "C. Kroner hat in seiner Disserta- tion, . aus Nationalepen u. anderen Dichtungen verschie- dener Art oft bedeutungslose Stellen iiber Longin gesammelt; er bringt auch Dinge (so S.

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