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‘Þys tale rymeth hou men in senne beþ’: a Study of Vernacular Verse Pastoralia for the English Laity c.1240 - c.1330. Carol Ann Sibson A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen Mary University of London 2013 1 I, Carol Ann Sibson, confirm that the research included within this thesis is my own work or that where it has been carried out in collaboration with, or supported by others, that this is duly acknowledged below and my contribution indicated. Previously published material is also acknowledged below. I attest that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of knowledge break any UK law, infringe any third party’s copyright or other Intellectual Property Right, or contain any confidential material. I accept that the College has the right to use plagiarism detection software to check the electronic version of the thesis. I confirm that this thesis has not been previously submitted for the award of a degree by this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published withour the prior written consent of the author. Signature: Carol A. Sibson Date: 20 December 2013. 2 ABSTRACT The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 promoted regular and effective religious instruction for the parish laity. This was facilitated by the development of preaching and instructional texts – works known as pastoralia – which proliferated throughout Europe. This dissertation explores the phenomenon of vernacular pastoralia written in rhymed verse, works intended for oral performance to a lay audience. My focus is on the work of four writers of sacramental instruction in Anglo-Norman and Middle English. The earliest text considered is the Anglo-Norman Corset, written circa 1240- 50 by Robert the Chaplain. The other three authors were more or less contemporary, all writing in the late-thirteenth or early-fourteenth centuries. I examine three penitential poems by the Franciscan friar, Nicholas Bozon: Pus ke homme deit morir, Tretys de la Passion and Le char d’Orgueil, and then Handlyng Synne by the Gilbertine, Robert Mannyng. I finally consider the religious poems of William of Shoreham, a vicar in rural Kent, concentrating on De septem sacramentis and On the Trinity, Creation, the Existence of Evil, Devils, Adam and Eve. While all these writers confronted the challenges of providing religious instruction for the laity, their efforts also reflected a concern with social issues and an awareness of the literary nature of their verse enterprises. The texts frequently employed poetic or fictive devices found in popular literary genres and, whilst these illuminated and entertained listeners, they sometimes rendered the teaching obscure. The meeting of sacramental exposition, social discourse and literary invention resulted in complex textual interplay and tension, as well as in memorable formulations of faith. This dissertation considers the content of verse pastoralia in their historical context and aims to assess how the texts may have been received and understood by parishioners in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century England. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is impossible to write a dissertation without the help and encouragement of many people. I am grateful to the staff of several libraries for their invaluable help: Canterbury Cathedral, Lambeth Palace, Oxford Bodleian and other repositories around the country. Especial thanks are due to the staff of the British Library which has become my second home. I also extend my sincere thanks to those who have provided advice and guidance on matters that have caused me concern: Sarah Hamilton, Virginia Davis and Alfred Hiatt, particularly for his comments on my introductory chapter. Paul Strohm has given me advice from his immense store of wisdom and I am grateful for his support. I am enormously indebted to Julia Boffey who graciously undertook to provide a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ for my first draft. Most of all, the warmest of thanks and appreciation to my supervisor, Miri Rubin, a true force of nature, whose extensive scholarship and passionate enthusiasm for all things historical has been a constant source of inspiration. Nearer to home, I thank all the friends who have provided practical encouragement in reading and commenting on draft chapters: Michael Sullivan, Ros Darling, Seb Watts, Peter Swift, Jamie Forlan and especially Katharine Judelson for her stalwart support over the years as she patiently read and commented on my chapters. Additional thanks go to Fiona Christianson for her technical help with computers. Needless to say, I remain responsible for any infelicities and errors in this dissertation. Family and friends have all endured my accounts of medieval life. My heartfelt thanks go to my husband, Peter, who has borne the major brunt of my endeavours, developing previously unknown domestic and culinary skills while I sat at my desk. Unsurprisingly, our grandchildren are not impressed that, after years of reading and study, I am still unable to tell them the date of birth of any of my medieval writers. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ 5 EDITORIAL NOTE .................................................................................................... 7 ABREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 10 Historiography and the genre of pastoralia ......................................................... 13 Use of the vernacular ............................................................................................. 17 Development of rhyme and verse .......................................................................... 21 CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF PASTORALIA .............................. 29 The Fourth Lateran Council and English Statutes ............................................ 29 The Statutes and Summula of Bishop Peter Quivil ............................................. 33 The education of priests ......................................................................................... 45 Diffusion of instruction .......................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 2: CORSET BY ROBERT THE CHAPLAIN ................................... 55 Manuscript .............................................................................................................. 56 Robert’s patron ...................................................................................................... 59 Sacramental instruction: Penitence and Confession ........................................... 63 Citation, translation and humour ........................................................................ 67 The authority of the vernacular ............................................................................ 73 Matrimony ............................................................................................................... 76 Seven Orders: celibacy and hierarchies .............................................................. 83 CHAPTER 3: THE PENITENTIAL POEMS OF NICHOLAS BOZON ........... 95 Background and life ............................................................................................... 96 Pus ke homme deit morir ...................................................................................... 100 Tretys de la Passion ............................................................................................... 109 Le char d’Orgueil .................................................................................................. 121 5 CHAPTER 4: HANDLYNG SYNNE BY ROBERT MANNYNG ....................... 136 Manuscripts and editions .................................................................................... 137 Mannyng’s life and background ........................................................................ 139 The Prologue: audience, language and tales ..................................................... 143 Baptism and Confirmation: Bad Midwife and Bad Godfather ........................... 150 Eucharist: Jumna and Tumna ............................................................................. 157 Penance and Shrift: Secret Sin ............................................................................ 165 CHAPTER 5: POEMS OF WILLIAM OF SHOREHAM ................................. 179 Manuscripts and background ............................................................................. 180 A rural vicar and his parish ............................................................................... 182 Sacramental instruction and lay experience: De septem sacramentis ............. 189 Lay devotion: Pater Noster and The Five Joys of the Virgin Mary .................. 211 Creation and original sin: On the Trinity, Creation, the Existence of Evil, Devils, Adam and Eve etc. ................................................................................................ 215 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................