A Scholar and His Saints. Examining the Art of Hagiographical Writing of Gerald of Wales
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UNIVERSITY The life of Giraldus Cambrensis / Gerald of Wales (c.1146 – c.1223) represents many PRESS facets of the Middle Ages: he was raised in a frontier society, he was educated in Paris, he worked for the kings of England and he unsuccessfully tried to climb the ecclesiastical ladder. He travelled widely, he met many high-ranking persons, and he wrote books in which he included more than one (amusing) anecdote about many persons. Up to this day, scholars have devoted a different degree of attention to Giraldus’ works: his ethnographical and historiographical works have been studied thoroughly, whereas his hagiographical writing has been left largely unexamined. This observation is quite surprising, because Giraldus’ talent as a hagiographer has been acknowledged long ago. Scholars have already examined Giraldus’ saints’ lives independently, but an interpretation of his whole hagiographical œuvre is still a desideratum. This thesis proposed to fill this gap by following two major research questions. First of all, this thesis examined the particular way in which Giraldus depicted each saint. Furthermore, it explained why Giraldus chose / preferred a certain depiction of a FAU Studien aus der Philosophischen Fakultät 17 particular saint. Overall, an examination of the hagiographical art of writing of Giraldus Cambrensis offered insight into the way hagiography was considered by authors and commissioners and how this art was practiced during the twelfth and thirteenth century. Stephanie Plass A Scholar and His Saints Examining the Art of Hagiographical Writing A Scholar and His Saints - The Art of Hagiographical Writing of Gerald Wales A Scholar and His Saints - The Art of Hagiographical Writing of Gerald of Wales ISBN 978-3-96147-350-2 Stephanie Plass FAU UNIVERSITY PRESS 2020 FAU Stephanie Plass A Scholar and His Saints Examining the Art of Hagiographical Writing of Gerald of Wales FAU Studien aus der Philosophischen Fakultät Band 17 Herausgeber der Reihe: Prof. Dr. Michele C. Ferrari und Prof. Dr. Rainer Trinczek Stephanie Plass A Scholar and His Saints Examining the Art of Hagiographical Writing of Gerald of Wales Erlangen FAU University Press 2020 Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Bitte zitieren als Plass, Stephanie 2020. A Scholar and His Saints. Examining the Art of Hagiographical Writing of Gerald of Wales. FAU Studien aus der Philosophischen Fakultät 17. Erlangen: FAU University Press. DOI: 10.25593/978-3-96147-351-9. Autoren-Kontaktinformation: Plass, Stephanie, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6442-4086 Das Werk, einschließlich seiner Teile, ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Die Rechte an allen Inhalten liegen bei ihren jeweiligen Autoren. Sie sind nutzbar unter der Creative-Commons-Lizenz BY. Front cover showing Bishop Remigius, taken from “Vita Sancti Remigii“ from Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 425, folio 11v. Used with permission of Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Der vollständige Inhalt des Buchs ist als PDF über den OPUS-Server der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg abrufbar: https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-fau/home Verlag und Auslieferung: FAU University Press, Universitätsstraße 4, 91054 Erlangen Druck: docupoint GmbH ISBN: 978-3-96147-350-2 (Druckausgabe) eISBN: 978-3-96147-351-9 (Online-Ausgabe) ISSN: 2363-720X DOI: 10.25593/978-3-96147-351-9 A Scholar and His Saints: Examining the Art of Hagiographical Writing of Gerald of Wales Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology; Department of Classical World and Asian Cultures; Institute of Ancient Languages – Latin Philology of the Middle Ages and Modern Era Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg for the doctoral degree Dr. phil. submitted by Stephanie Monika Plass born in Lauf an der Pegnitz i Thesis accepted by Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology; Department of Classical World and Asian Cultures; Institute of Ancient Languages – Latin Philology of the Middle Ages and Modern Era Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Oral examination date: 20.05.2020 Chair of examining committee: Prof. Dr. Thomas Demmelhuber Reviewer: Prof. Dr. Michele C. Ferrari, PD Dr. Heike Mierau ii Acknowledgment Writing is usually considered a rather lonely business. However, this thesis would not have been possible without the support of many people. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Michele C. Ferrari, for directing me towards this highly interesting field of research. Without his advice and guidance, this thesis would not have been written. He provided excellent feedback which helped me find the internal structure of this thesis and without his support, I would have missed a lot of opportunities. Likewise, I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Heike Johanna Mierau, second reviewer of my thesis. “Writing a thesis“ includes more than just the process of writing. It means discussing one’s thoughts and problems with people, it is about exploring the world of academia, and, first and foremost (and especially towards the end!), it is an emotional rollercoaster for the doctoral candidate and those around him / her. I would like to thank all my colleagues and friends at the Mittellatein-Seminar, the IKGF, and the Geschäftsstelle Elektrotechnik for their patience, their guidance, and their emotional support (which included a lot of coffee and even more jelly bears and chocolate. No one ever said writing a thesis would be beneficial for one’s health …). With my lectures on Gerald and his saints, I have been testing the patience of more than one colleague and friend. Unfortunately, I cannot thank everyone in person, so my thanks are due to all of them. Without the help, guidance, and advice of Dr. Stefan Weber, I would have gone crazy, especially during the last weeks of thesis writing. I would also like to thank Dr.-Ing. Markus Jonscher for his advice and support, as well as my colleague, Dipl.-Ing. Almut Churavy: both kept me free of obligations during the most crucial weeks. Some colleagues have served as guides through the world of academia. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to Prof. Dr. Angelika Lutz and Prof. Dr. Klaus Herbers, as well as to Dr. Cordula Glass, Dr. Hans-Christian Lehner, and Prof. Dr. Philipp Balsiger. Many paths I would not have found without them showing me the way, and many opportunities I would have missed, if they had not directed me towards them. Thank you so much for everything! iii Acknowledgment Last but not least, I would like to thank my family. During the past three years (and for many years before that), they supported me through all the ups and downs, patiently listened to my problems, discussed my arguments with me and encouraged me to finish this project. They have always been the most inspiring examples for me and without them, I would not be the person I am today. Words cannot express how grateful I am. iv Ein Gelehrter und seine Heiligen – Untersu- chung des hagiographischen Œuvre des Gerald von Wales Das Leben des Giraldus Cambrensis / Gerald von Wales (c.1146 – c.1223) zeigt viele Facetten: nach seiner Zeit als Gelehrter in Paris, war er Teil des königlichen Hofes und versuchte – vergeblich – ein hohes Kirchenamt zu bekleiden. Er bereiste Irland, das heutige Großbritannien, und seine Reisen nach Rom führten ihn auch durch Frankreich und Italien. In der Forschung ist der umtriebige Cambro-Normanne mit der hervorragenden Beobachtungsgabe kein Unbekannter, denn sein umfangreiches Œuvre, das uns heute noch in großen Teilen erhalten ist, ist eine Fundgrube für Aussagen über Kirchenfürsten (Papst Innozenz III. oder die Erzbischöfe von Canterbury), das Angevinische Königshaus (König Henry und seine Söhne Richard Löwenherz und Johann Ohneland) oder über die Eigenheiten von Klerus und Volk im heutigen Großbritannien und Irland (so beschreibt Gerald beispielsweise nicht nur die Topographie von Irland, sondern erwähnt auch die Praxis, aus Schafsknochen die Zukunft vorherzusagen). Während sich die Forschung besonders auf die historiographischen und ethnographischen Werke dieses Autors konzentrierte, blieben die hagiographischen Arbeiten dieses Autors lange Zeit vernachlässigt. Die vorliegende Arbeit füllt diese Forschungslücke und bietet eine umfassende Untersuchung des gesamten hagiographischen Œuvre des Giraldus Cambrensis / Gerald von Wales. Insgesamt schrieb Gerald von Wales fünf hagiographische Werke, von denen vier Heiligenviten noch heute erhalten sind. Die Viten lassen sich wiederum den Lebensstationen ihres Autors zuordnen: St Davids (Vita S. Davidis und Vita S. Caradoci), Hereford (Vita S. Ethelberti) und Lincoln (Vita S. Remigii und Vita S. Hugonis). Bis auf die Vita des heiligen Karadoc sind heute alle Texte in mindestens einer Handschrift erhalten. Für die Untersuchung der noch erhaltenen Viten wurden die folgenden Forschungsfragen formuliert: 1. Wie stellt Gerald von Wales die einzelnen Heiligen dar? 2. Warum stellt Gerald von Wales die einzelnen Heiligen in der von ihm gewählten Form dar? v Ein Gelehrter und seine Heiligen – Untersuchung des hagiographischen Œuvre des Gerald von Wales Durch die Beantwortung dieser Fragen sollen am Beispiel der Werke des Gerald von Wales hagiographische Schreib- und Darstellungstechniken herausgearbeitet werden. Aus verschiedenen Gründen eignen