Memory and Identity in the Late Medieval Prison
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Memory and Identity in the Late Medieval Prison A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2013 Katherine Frances School of Arts, Languages and Cultures 2 Contents Page Abbreviations 5 Abstract 7 Declaration 8 Copyright Statement 8 Notes on the Text 8 Introduction 0.0 Introduction 9 0.1A Introducing the Late Medieval Prisoner 13 0.1B The Medieval Prison-Writer: A Confined Subject 22 0.2A Memory Theory in the Middle Ages 26 0.2B The Ars Memoria and The Kingis Quair 34 0.3A Authorising Religious Memory in the Late Medieval Prison 42 Chapter One Remembering the Saints: Rewriting Treachery in Thomas Usk’s Testament of Love and William Paris’s Life of St. Christina 1.0 Introduction: Ricardian Prisoners 57 1.1 Re-making and Politicising Memory Images 63 1.2 Writing and Release: Usk’s Newgate Script 72 1.3 The Theo-Politics of Margarite 76 1.4 Saintly Associations: Paris’s Hagiographic Critique of 97 Richard’s Rule 1.5 Conclusion 113 3 Chapter Two Biblical Memory and the Wycliffism in the Ecclesiastical Prison: The Letter of Richard Wyche and The Testimony of William Thorpe 2.0 Introduction: Wycliffite Prisoners 116 2.1 Formulating Memory and Heresy 121 2.2 Wyche’s First Letter to the Wycliffites 129 2.3 Wyche’s Revelation 143 2.4 Affective Memory: Thorpe’s Passion 151 2.5 Embodiment and Eucharistic Piety 165 2.6 Conclusion 175 Chapter Three ‘Thes synnes wold make you shamyd and schent’ Remembering the Prisoner in John Audelay the Blind’s The Counsel of Conscience and George Ashby’s Complaint of a Prisoner in the Fleet, 1463 3.0 Introduction: Penitential Prisoners 177 3.1 The Blind Witness in Audelay’s Writing 188 3.2 Forgiveness and The Visible Healing of Blindness 195 3.3 Imitatio Christi: Audelay’s Sacrifice 205 3.4 Forgetful Friends and the Remembering Self 209 3.5 Ashby’s Purgatorial Prison 220 3.6 Conclusion 226 Conclusion 4.0 Memory and Identity in the Late Medieval Prison 229 Appendix The Latin Letter of Richard Wyche 239 4 Bibliography of Works Cited Primary Sources 250 Secondary Sources 250 Internet Sources 254 Total Number of Words 81 829 5 Abbreviations Appeal The Appeal of Thomas Usk against John Northampton (1384), in Thomas Usk, Testament of Love, ed. by R. A. Shoaf (Kalamazoo MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 1998) Book The Book of Margery Kempe, ed. by Lynn Staley (Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 1996) Complaint George Ashby, Complaint of a Prisoner in the Fleet, 1463, in The Quair Quair and Other Prison Poems, ed. by Linne Mooney and Mary-Jo Arn (Kalamazoo MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 2005) Consolation Anicius Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, trans. by Peter Walsh (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008) Counsel The Counsel of Conscience, in John the Blind Audelay: Poems and Carols (Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Douce 302), ed. by Susanna Fein (Kalamazoo MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 2009) EETS The Early English Text Society EWS English Wycliffite Sermon Cycle Letter ‘The Letter of Richard Wyche: An Interrogation Narrative’, ed. by Christopher Bradley, PMLA, 127.3. Life William Paris, Life of St. Christina, in Middle English Legends of Women Saints, ed. by Sherry Reames (Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institution Publications, 2003) MED Middle English Dictionary http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/med/ Quair James I of Scotland’s The Kingis Quair, in The Kingis Quair and Other Prison Poems, ed. by Linne Mooney and Mary-Jo Arn (Kalamazoo MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 2005) Pricke The Pricke of Conscience (Stimulus Conscientiae): A Northumbrian Poem, ed. by R. Morris (Berlin: Asher for the Philological Society, 1863) 6 SEL The South English Legendary, ed. by Charlotte D’Evelyn and Anna J. Mill, 2 vols (London: Oxford University Press for EETS, 1956) Testament Thomas Usk, The Testament of Love, ed. by R. Allen Shoaf (Kalamazoo MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 1998) Testimony The Testimony of William Thorpe, in Two Wycliffite Texts, ed. by Anne Hudson (Oxford: Oxford University Press for EETS, 1993) Notes on the Text All references to the Middle English Dictionary were checked on 12 November 2013. The first reference to all poems is given in the footnotes. Subsequent line references are embedded in the text. Prose citations all appear in the footnotes. Where available, the page number is accompanied by the line reference. 7 Abstract The thesis examines how religious memory permits the medieval prisoner to redeem himself textually from any potential shame associated with his imprisonment through the creation of a self-promotional, autobiographical discourse. By combining his interest in his spiritual affairs with his experiential memory of his recent past, the prisoner presents himself as a virtuous Christian, deserving of God’s reward. This work not only demonstrates how the prisoner utilises memory to justify the actions or beliefs engendering his downfall, but it also considers how this reified sense of self-perception prompts the incarcerated writer to think upon his salvation prospects. Thus I argue that memory is inextricably linked to the construction of an autobiographical narrative in which the prison-writer ponders his past, present and future identity. Throughout the thesis, the multiple sub-genres that constitute prison-writing are illuminated as I demonstrate how each prisoner suggests his virtue by inscribing his self-reflective thought into a religious genre, including hagiography, biblical letters, Passion mediations and penitential prayer. In the Introduction, I draw attention to the need for scholars to recognise the existence of the medieval subject, who is often denied ontology in studies of the history of selfhood. I also discuss the need to develop the current understanding of pre-modern autobiographical inscription by examining the mnemonic practices and strategies that underpin this form of writing. Moving on from here, the thesis examines six late-fourteenth and fifteenth-century narratives to show the different ways in which acts of recollection legitimise identity in the medieval prison. Chapter One explores the creative and political function of memoria by showing how two Ricardian traitors, Thomas Usk and William Paris, compare their own experience of imprisonment to that of a virgin martyr as they set about reframing their reputations for treachery. As Richard himself used hagiographic commemoration to promote his kingship, this act permits Usk and Paris to respectively appeal to and critique the king, who is responsible for their imprisonment. Chapter Two examines two prose epistles that were written by the Wycliffite preachers, Richard Wyche and William Thorpe. By considering how both men frame their memory of persecution in a narrative structure which emulates the epistle format deployed by medieval popes, as well as the prison epistles that St Paul wrote to the early Church, I argue that Wyche and Thorpe use their letters to entreat the recently formed Lollard community to stand firm in her faith, even if she is threatened with death. Chapter Three also considers how the prison-writer seeks to inspire a community outside the prison. Here I argue that the orthodox writers, John Audelay and George Ashby, both imprint a memory of the prisoner in the minds of the reader so that this latter figure will remember to cleanse her own soul of sin by showing mercy to the imprisoned community. The prisoner is thus shown to be nothing less than a conduit to divine grace. Throughout this thesis, religious memory, which is combined with experiential memory, is shown to be integral to the construction of the late medieval prison- writers past, present and future autobiographical identity. 8 Declaration No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning Copyright Statement i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns certain copyright or related rights in it (the “Copyright”) and she has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the University has from time to time. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and other intellectual property (the “Intellectual Property”) and any reproductions of copyright works in the thesis, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. iv. Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=487), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, The University Library’s regulations (see http://www.manchester.ac.uk/library/aboutus/regulations) and in The University’s policy on Presentation of Theses 9 Introduction Memory and Identity in the Late Medieval Prison 0.0 Introduction In 1413, the religious visionary, Margery Kempe, visited the Bishop of Lincoln, Philip Repington, to discuss ‘hyr medytacyons, and hy contemplacyons, and other secret thyngys’.1 Following their conversation, Repington counselled Margery to write an account of her personal experiences.