Sarah L. Mitchell Dphil the University of York
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A POST-CONQUEST ENGLISH RETROSPECT UPON THE AGE OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS: A STUDY OF THE EARLY-MIDDLE-ENGLISH VERSE CHRONICLE ATTRIBUTED TO ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER SARAH L. MITCHELL DPHIL THE UNIVERSITY OF YORK DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND RELATED LITERATURE OCTOBER 1997 ABSTRACT This study seeks to re-evaluate the thirteenth-century metrical chronicle attributed to Robert of Gloucester. In particular, it examines the nature of the chronicler's Englishness, assessing his retrospect upon the age of the Anglo-Saxons in order to ascertain how the historical record he creates is influenced by the events of this period. The focus is also upon the chronicle as a literary text. By both of these approaches, this thesis contributes to a wider understanding of the chronicler's motivations and identification. Chapter one explores the concepts of nation and nationhood which are set up in the chronicle. Other studies on national identity are considered, and close textual analysis assesses the national distinctions which are drawn in the chronicle. The use of the English vernacular for the text is considered as a criterion in Robert's construction of an English community. Chapter two addresses how Robert's pro-English stance affects the historical priorities which he makes in the text. The way in which different historical periods are handled, and the manner in which Robert manufactures continuities between the Anglo-Saxon era and his own time are studied. Chapter three stresses the literary aspects of the text. Close textual analysis explores the intended dissemination method for the text. The literary techniques which Robert implements are also given detailed consideration. In chapter four, the chronicle is placed within an historical context. This stresses the relevance of the chronicle to the society in which it was written, and also reconsiders the historical period in which it was composed. Some attention is also given here to the second- recension and the factors which make it distinct from the first recension. Finally, the conclusion presents the findings of this study. It stresses the literary importance of the chronicle and its significance to studies on English national identity. New suggestions are provided for the influences upon the chronicler and for his identity. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract II. Table of Contents in. Acknowledgements vi. Abbreviations vii. INTRODUCTION 'He Hath Continued Too Long Hid from the World' 1 CHAPTER ONE `Engelond his a wel god londe' 24 i. Robert's Definition of England 26 ii. The 'Nation': Theories and Definitions 32 iii. Robert and the 'Nation' 41 iv. Robert and the Normans 49 v. The English 52 vi. Robert and the 'National' Language 54 vii. The Language of the Chronicle 59 viii. Robert's Use of Verse 66 ix. Robert and his Sources 71 111 CHAPTER TWO A Quest for Perfect Kingship 77 i. Robert and the 'Matter of Britain' 82 The Golden Age of the Anglo-Saxons 95 Ideal Kingship 101 iv. Kingship and the Law 108 v. A Failure in the Line of Succession: the Death of Edward the Confessor 112 vi. Norman Hegemony and the Survival of the English Line 118 vii. The Role of the English Saints 122 CHAPTER THREE 'Hereafter in is boc . me ssal ihere al 'pis' 131 i. The Reception Mode of the Chronicle 133 The Social Status of Robert's Audience 141 iii. The Author and His Purpose 147 iv. The Role of Christian Ceremony in the Chronicle 153 v. Literary Techniques in the Chronicle 158 CHAPTER FOUR 'Pe mest wo at here vel . bi king henries day. In pis lond icholle biginne . to telle 3uf ich may.' 163 i. The Dating of the Chronicle 164 The Reign of Henry ifi 166 Robert and the Baronial Crisis 169 iv. A Chronicle for its Own Time 171 v. Robert and Late Thirteenth-Century Law 178 vi. The Rex Inutilis 181 iv vii. Simon de Montfort 185 viii. Robert and the Reign of Edward I 191 ix. Robert's Audience 203 x. The Second Recension 204 CONCLUSION 213 BIBLIOGRAPHY 219 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Sid Bradley. My appreciation for her encouragement and interest must also go to my thesis adviser, Felicity Riddy. I would like to express my appreciation to Jim Binns and Ann Rycraft for the willingness with which they answered my Latin queries. My acknowledgements must also go to Mark Ormrod for answering my questions on thirteenth century historical matters, and to Kelly Moore for the proof-reading she did. I would also like to thank Lesley Johnson for her support and encouragement. Irene van Rossum and Paul Bird must be acknowledged for their assistance by retail therapy and by helping me in the upkeep of York's tea-shop economy! I must acknowledge the support given to me by my parents. Special thanks also go to Stephen Minta and Lisa Massey for their constant support and encouragement, and for having faith in me. vi ABBREVIATIONS EETS Early English Text Society HMSO Her Majesty's Stationery Office PMLA Publications of the Modern Language Association SEL South English Legendary SPCK Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge INTRODUCTION 'He Hath Continued too Long Hid from the World' Since the name Robert of Gloucester was coined in 1570 by John Stow to describe the author of an English metrical chronicle, 2 knowledge has advanced little with regard to the identity of this late thirteenth - early fourteenth-century chronicler, his location, milieu and purpose in writing. Stow provides no justification for his connection of the name Robert with Gloucester, but it is possible that this association was borrowed from an earlier writer as Stow was a renowned plagiarist. 3 Nevertheless, the name has stuck, and studies since have laboured to justify or dismiss the assumption that the text was composed by a single contributor called Robert, who was a Gloucester man. In the absence of any other definition, the name Robert of Gloucester has become a convenient device for identifying this text. It remains, however, no more than a useful label. Whilst my approach to the chronicle will contribute to this debate, my main line of enquiry will be into the author's 4 'Englishness'. My primary identification of Robert is as the first post-Conquest historian to write an up-dated chronicle (that is, one which includes an account of contemporary, or near-contemporary, events) in the English vernacular. The text will be evaluated to assess whether the chronicler's medium, and view of his country's past, 'Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle, ed. Thomas Hearne (Oxford, 1810) viii. 2 ibid vii. 3 Anne Hudson, An Edition of the Chronicle Attributed to Robert of Gloucester with a Study of the Original Language of the Poem, Diss. Oxford, 1964, 46 n. 1. 4 I shall discuss the issue of singular or multiple authorship in a later chapter. For convenience, I will refer to the text's composer in the singular form. I will also use the name Robert to indicate the author of the first recension. 1 suggests a nostalgia for, or a desire to reawaken, Anglo-Saxon historiographical, linguistic and cultural traditions. This will inevitably necessitate an understanding of the author's contemporary context. His view, and manipulation, of past events must rest upon his own values and beliefs, shaped by his surroundings. Though chronicles are often treated by modern historians as source texts for earlier periods of history, my focus will be upon the chronicle as a literary text. Thus, I will concentrate upon not only what Robert is saying, but also how he says it. This will entail a consideration of his literary techniques (the use of formulas, language and syntax, for example) as tools to further his polemic. Before providing an outline of my argument in this thesis, however, I will first give a preliminary introduction to the chronicle, and to scholarly work upon it to date, to provide a context for my evaluation. The chronicle attributed to Robert of Gloucester is a metrical work, composed in the English vernacular, and detailing the history of England. It begins by narrating the story of the legendary Brut from the Trojan war to his habitation of the British Isles, and culminates during the account of the events for 1271. At this point the narrative is cut short by damage to the longest manuscript. 5 Thirteen manuscripts containing the text are extant. The earliest is dated on palaeographical grounds to around 1300-1325, 6 the latest to the sixteenth century. None is thought to be a direct transcript of any other single extant manuscript.' The origins and distribution of the text are confused by the two recensions in which it has survived. Both incorporate the same material until 1135 (with minor alterations) after which 5 This manuscript (London British Library MS. Cotton Caligula A. XI) contains the earliest dated text of the chronicle. It consists of two parts bound together. The manuscript also contains a version of Piers Plowman and a selection of Latin writings. 6 This is Hudson's dating of the chronicle (Chronicle 5). The Metrical Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, ed. W. A. Wright, Rolls Series (London, 1887) xl, dates the same manuscript 1320-1330. 7 Hudson, Chronicle 72. 2 they diverge. The first recension narrative terminates in 1271 in its longest form, and consists of 12,050 lines, whilst the second ends with the accession of King Edward I in 1272, and is accommodated in around 9,700 lines only. The two recensions contain different accounts of King Stephen's reign (of almost exactly the same length) after which the second recension gives an abbreviated record of events.