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The Mind, Agency, and Free Will in Anglo-Saxon Literature

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The Mind, Agency, and Free Will in Anglo-Saxon Literature Metaphors of Turning: The Mind, Agency, and Free Will in Anglo-Saxon Literature by David R. Wilton A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English University of Toronto © by David R. Wilton, 2016 Metaphors of Turning: The Mind, Agency, and Free Will in Anglo-Saxon Literature David R. Wilton Doctor of Philosophy Department of English University of Toronto 2016 Abstract This dissertation employs Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory to explicate Anglo-Saxon conceptions of the mind, agency, and free will. Conceptual metaphor theory considers metaphor to be not only a literary device, but one of the cognitive processes by which humans construct reality and that a systematic examination of metaphors can reveal biases and assumptions that underlie thought. An examination of metaphors in Old English texts can tease out subtleties in Anglo-Saxon concepts of the mind, agency, and will, especially in translations where the vernacular metaphors create and reflect different understandings than are found in the original Latin. Specifically, this dissertation looks at use of three metaphors of turning across the Old English corpus: revolutionary turning; turning through two-dimensional space; and turning as transformation and translation. These metaphors are not only used in didactic and philosophical works, but are also taken up in poetry, indicating that Anglo-Saxon readers understood cognitive processes within a framework of such vernacular metaphors. Through a detailed examination of these metaphors I conclude that Malcolm Godden’s division between the classical and unified / vernacular and split traditions of the Anglo-Saxon mind-soul is not so much the result of distinct philosophical traditions as it is of tension between Augustinian/Alcuinian doctrine and the vernacular metaphors ii used to describe the mind and soul; that to the Anglo-Saxons, exercise of free will is dependent on the rational faculty of the mind controlling emotions and desires; and that Anglo-Saxon writers maintained an implicit distinction between will and agency. We also see these metaphors at play in the Anglo-Saxon understanding of translation, which is not simply a transfer of meaning, but a transformation, one in which the text and its meaning are likened to the body and soul. The TRANSLATION-AS-TRANSFORMATION metaphor analogizes translation to the struggle between body and soul, in which if not done correctly, the body, or form of the text, can pervert or corrupt the soul, or gastlic andgyt (spiritual understanding), that is enclosed within it. iii Acknowledgments There are many scholars to whom I owe a debt of gratitude and without whom this dissertation would not have been completed. Obviously, my advisor Andy Orchard tops the list, as do the other members of my dissertation committee, Toni Healey and Will Robins. Andy has been a constant source of advice not only in writing this dissertation, but more generally in writing for academic publication and how to succeed in the academy (but not without really trying). Toni’s painstaking and detailed comments on each of the chapters was invaluable in whipping them into shape, and Will’s orthogonal approaches to the topic inspired my own mental processes. I must also mention Leslie Lockett, my external examiner for this dissertation. Even though she came in at the end of the process, her detailed comments and challenging questions have honed my thinking on Anglo-Saxon ideas of free will and agency. There are many others—faculty, staff, and students—in the English Department and the Centre for Medieval Studies here in Toronto who have been my companions in this effort. There isn’t space to properly thank them all, but I’d like to especially call out Deidre Lynch, who was the Director of Graduate Studies when I first arrived in Toronto and who was an unflagging source of support in my transition back into the life of a full- time scholar, as well as Tanuja Persaud and Marguerite Perry, who made wending my way through the bureaucratic maze that is the University of Toronto effortless. But my entry into the study of medieval literature began at UC Berkeley, and I would like to thank Katherine O’Brien O’Keeffe, in whose graduate seminar the seed of this dissertation was planted. Also, I owe a special debt to Jennifer Miller, whose classes iv not only inspired me to take up the study of Old English literature full time, but who held my hand throughout the long process of preparing for and applying to doctoral programs. I am grateful to my cousin Judith Bennett, who has been a continuing source of advice on the process of becoming a medieval scholar, on getting published, and in entering the academic job market. I recall in the distant past, way back when I was still in high school, sitting down with her and listening to her advice as to where I should go for my undergraduate education, and she was there again for me many years later. My brothers Carlos and Jim have pillars of support, both familial and financial. And of course there is Lila, who has been a constant and utterly non-judgmental four- footed companion throughout these last two years. To these and the many others, thank you. v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................ vii Chapter 1—Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2—Revolutionary Turning: Mind On A Pivot .................................................... 30 Chapter 3—Turning Through Space: LIFE AS JOURNEY .................................................. 97 Chapter 4—TURNING-AS-TRANSFORMATION/TRANSLATION .......................................... 144 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 212 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 220 vi List of Abbreviations AS Anglo-Saxon(s) ASPR Anglo-Saxon Poetic Record, Krapp and Dobbie, eds. BT Bosworth-Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary CH Catholic Homilies, Ælfric; Clemoes and Godden, eds. DOE Dictionary of Old English, A to G Online EH Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Bede LS Lewis and Short, A Latin Dictionary MED Middle English Dictionary OE Old English OED Oxford English Dictionary Online PDE Present-day English PL Patrologia Latina, Migne, ed. vii Chapter 1—Introduction To everything, turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn. And a time to every purpose under heaven.1 —Pete Seeger This dissertation draws upon Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory to explicate Anglo-Saxon conceptions of the mind, agency, and free will. Lakoff and Johnson consider metaphor to be not merely a literary device, but one of the cognitive processes by which humans construct reality and that a systematic examination of metaphors can reveal biases and assumptions that underlie thought.2 Therefore, an examination of metaphors in Old English texts can tease out subtleties in Anglo-Saxon concepts of the mind, agency, and will, especially in translations where the vernacular metaphors create and reflect subtly different understandings than are found in the original Latin. These subtleties are not only expressed in didactic and philosophical works, but they are also taken up in poems, indicating Anglo-Saxon readers understood the mind, agency, and will through such vernacular metaphors. Specifically, this dissertation looks at use of three metaphors of turning across the Old English corpus: revolutionary turning, as if around an axis; turning through two-dimensional space, as if changing course on a journey; and turning as transformation and translation. And it examines how these 1 Pete Seeger, "Turn, Turn, Turn," The Bitter and The Sweet (Columbia, 1962). 2 George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By (1980) (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 3. 1 metaphors influence the Anglo-Saxon understanding of the mind and soul, the role of reason in the exercise of free will, the distinction between will and agency, and Anglo- Saxon concepts of translation. The Old English roots hwearf- (including the root hwyrf-, derived from the weak verb hwyrfan), cyrr-, and wend-3 all depict three different modes of turning: axial turning, directional turning, and transformation. Axial turning is revolution around an axis, as in a wheel or the motions of the planets and stars. Directional turning is a vector change in two-dimensional space, as in a change of course or a return home. And transformation is an alteration in the substance or nature of an object, a turning into something else. Each of these modes of turning can be literal and physical, or they can be metaphorical. Axial turning, for example, can be the literal turning of a wheel, or it can be used to refer to turning one's attention to a new subject or to a turning toward or away from God and righteousness. Hwearf-, cyrr-, wend- are each used for
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