Aldhelm's Opus Gemination De Virginitate in Its Early Anglo-Saxon Context Emma Pettit Ph.D. Thesis University of York Departme
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Aldhelm’s opus gemination De virginitate in its Early Anglo-Saxon Context Emma Pettit Ph.D. Thesis University of York Department of History September 2004 11 Abstract The purpose o f this thesis is to examine Aldhelm’s double treatise De virginitate in its early Anglo-Saxon context The thesis is divided into two parts. Part One focuses on the historical circumstances in which this West Saxon abbot and bishop wrote his Latin prose and verse treatise on sexual and social renunciation. It investigates Aldhelm’s career and postulates that the work was written to valorise and promote adult renunciation, to teach religious its meanings and rewards, and to enter wide-ranging contemporary debates surrounding monasticism and renunciation. It also examines the identities of Aldhelm’s immediate monastic dedicatees, die diverse composition of his wider audience, and their difficulties forsaking the secular life. This background will be shown to have had a direct impact on Aldhelm’s spiritual guidance, which is considered in Part Two. Part Two examines how Aldhelm transmitted and reworked patristic teachings on marriage, gender, virginity, chastity, and interior spirituality, in response to contemporary circumstances. It therefore explores how his nuanced treatment of marriage reflects early Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical rulings on wedlock, while at the same time emphasising the danger of sexuality to professed religious. It also proposes that Aldhelm’s treatment of gender shows an attempt to unify male and female religious, whilst recognising that their outward experiences of renunciation and the religious life were different. Aldhelm will be shown to have provided his audience with contemplative guidance which, foremost, assessed their level of spiritual success according to their inner virtues. This will be related to his concern to valorise the once-married celibates in his audience, whose actions needed to be placed within established patristic traditions on virginity. m Acknowledgements My first thanks go to the Arts and Humanities Research Board, and to the Institute of Historical Research, whose generous funding made the writing of this thesis possible. I would like to thank the following forums for giving me the opportunity to share and sharpen my ideas: the Medieval Religion, and Text and Reality research groups, University of York (May 2001; October, 2001; June 2002); Holiness and Masculinity in the Middle Ages Conference, University of Huddersfield (June 2001); Early Medieval Europe Seminar Day, Birkbeck College, London (March, 2002); International Medieval Conference, University of Leeds (July 2002; July 2003); White Rose Seminar, University of Sheffield (December, 2002); Medieval Seminar, University of Nottingham (April, 2004); Early Medieval Seminar, and Fellowship Presentation Seminar, Institute of Historical Research, London (March, 2004; May, 2004). I am grateful to valuable feedback from many people at these seminars and conferences, but especially from Kate Cooper, Sarah Foot and Susan Reynolds. I would like to thank Jane Hawkes and Matthew Kempshall, for offering me profitable advice in tutor advisory meetings, and Mary Garrison, for her great advice and encouragement throughout my doctoral research and for helping to shape my approach to this topic. For advice, references, and suggestions for further reading, I would like to thank Ross Balzaretti, Kate Cooper, Kelly Guenther, Janet Gunning, Guy Halsall, Morgan Howgarth, Joanna Huntington, Charles Insley, Conrad Leyser, Katherine Lewis, Janet Nelson, James Palmer, Christine Rauer, Nick Stoodley, Matthew Townend, Elizabeth Tyler, Linda Tollerton Hall, Nicky Toupe and Robert Upchurch. Sinead O’Sullivan also kindly sent me copies of her articles, and Gabriella Corona, Katy Cubitt and Christine Rauer generously gave pre-publication access to articles. Jim Binns, Naomi Beaumont, Gabriella Corona, Kelly Guenther, Malin Holst and Elizabeth Shields, all provided invaluable help with translations, for which I am extremely grateful. In addition, I would like to thank Mary Garrison for suggesting Aldhelm as a topic of research during my Masters degree, and Julia Barrow who introduced me to Anglo- Saxon England’s kings, saints, and monsters during my undergraduate degree. Ross Balzaretti has also had a profound influence upon my thinking by teaching me about A ldhelm ’s opus geminatum De virginitate, and the topics of gender, and sexuality, as an undergraduate. I would like to offer special thanks to my supervisor, Katy Cubitt, for her tremendous support, guidance, and encouragement, throughout the duration of this thesis; as well as influencing my approach to this topic, she has influenced my approach to studying the past. My thanks also go to Chris Fem who has critically read innumerable drafts and helped to clarify my thinking. Above all, I would like to thank Chris, and my parents, Jean and Michael Pettit, for giving me every sort of assistance, but especially for their impressive and unwavering support and patience. I could not have written this diesis without diem. IV Contents A b stra ct p. ii Acknowledgements p. iii Contents Page p. iv List o f maps and tables p. vii Abbreviations p. viii Introduction p. 1 Part One: The Context p. 14 Chapter One: Aldhelm: An Active West Saxon Cleric p. 15 1.1 The Sources for Aldhelm’s life p. 16 1.2 Periodisation p. 18 1.3 Education and Scholarly Activities p. 20 1.4 Aldhelm the Cleric p. 24 1.5 M onastic F ounder a n d C hurch B u ild er p. 30 1.6 Ecclesiastical Activities p. 33 1 .7 Church Reformer p. 36 1.8 Embroilment in West Saxon Politics p. 42 1.9 Conclusion p. 43 Chapter Two: Aldhelm’s Ecclesiastical and Political Associates p. 45 2.1 Similarities in the Careers o f Aldhelm, Eorcenwald and Wilfrid p. 46 2.2 Evidence for Interaction p. 48 2.3 Interaction around the West Saxon Court p. 54 2.4 Aldhelm’s Dedicatees p. 60 2.5 Abdicating Kings p. 62 2.6 Implications o f Aldhelm’s Ecclesiastical Network p. 70 Chapter Three: Aldhelm’s Audience and Religious Renunciation p. 72 3.1 Aldhelm’s Dedicatees p. 72 3.1. 1 Hildelith p. 75 3.1. 2 Culhburh p. 76 3.1. 3 Beomgyth p. 77 3. 1. 4 Osburg and/or Hidburg p. 79 3. 1. 5 Justina, Scholastica, Eulalia and Thecla p. 80 3.1. 6 Aldhelm’s Choice o f Dedicatees p. 82 3. 2 Reception o f the Double Treatise p. 85 3. 3 The Composition o f Aldhelm’s Audience p. 92 V 3. 3. 1 N ew M onasteria p. 94 3. 3. 2 Male and Female Religious p. 97 3. 3. 3 Varied Sexual Histories p. 98 3. 3. 4 Age, Social Status and Religious Ardour p. 102 3.4 Contemporary Difficulties with Renunciation p. 105 3. 5 Polemical Aims p. 110 3. 6 Conclusion p. Il l Part Two: The opus geminatum De virginitate p. 113 Introduction p. 114 Sources p. 114 F unction p. 117 Chapter Four: Marital and Sexual Relationships p. 119 4.1 Marriage and Sex in Early Anglo-Saxon England p. 121 4. 2 Contemporary Marriage Reform and its Difficulties p. 124 4. 3 The Christian Inheritance p.128 4. 4 Aldhelm’s Views on Marriage within the Context o f Patristic Writings p. 130 4.5 Virginity versus Carnality p. 134 4. 6 Ornamentation p. 141 4. 7 Incest and Adultery p. 143 4. 8 Aldhelm’s Definition o f Marriage p. 146 4. 9 Conclusion p. 148 Chapter Five: Male and Female Religious Renunciation p. 152 5. 1 Male and Female Renunciation p.156 5. 2 The Christian Inheritance p. 164 5. 3 Interior Men p.166 5. 4 Aldhelm’s Saintly Exempla p.168 5. 5 Saints ’ Virtuous Qualities p. 171 5. 6 Saints ’ Miracles p. 178 5. 6. 1 Q uantity a n d Type p 173 5. 6. 2 Miracle-Working Power p. 181 5. 6. 3 Aldhelm’s Choice o f Lexicon to Describe Saints ’ Miracles p. 183 5. 7 C onclusion p.188 Chapter Six: Inner Spiritual Perfection p. 192 6.1 Sexual and Social Renunciation in Early Anglo-Saxon England p. 193 6. 2. The Christian Inheritance p.197 6. 3 Absence o f Physical Ascetic Regimes p. 201 6. 4 Inward Spiritual Regimes p. 204 6. 5 Aldhelm’s Use o f the Noun Castitas p. 210 6. 6 Spiritually Grading Virgins and the Chaste p. 215 6.6.1 Rape and Suicide p. 216 6.6.2 Guidance fo r Virgins p. 221 6. 7 C onclusion p. 226 VI Conclusion p. 229 A p p en d ices p. 240 Appendix One: Aldhelm ’s Saints ’ Virtuous Qualities p. 241 Appendix Two: Aldhelm ’s Saints ’ M iracles p.247 Appendix Three: Comparing Aldhelm ’s Male Saints ’ Virtuous Qualities p. 253 and Miracles with those found in his some o f his Principal Literary Exemplars Bibliography p. 258 V ll List of Maps Map 1. Aldhelm’s bishopric and possible religious foundations p. 31 Map 2. The location of the religious communities receiving charters p. 62 witnessed by Aldhelm and his associates Map 3. The location of Aldhelm’s potential dedicatees’ m onasteria p. 84 Map 4. Aldhelm’s bishopric and possible religious foundations and p. 96 their proximity to selected local m onasteria List of Tables Table 1.1 Male saints’ virtuous qualities in theP d V p. 242 Table 1.2 Male saints’ virtuous qualities in the C d V p .2 4 3 Table 1.3 Female saints’ virtuous qualities in the P d V p. 244 Table 1.4 Female saints’ virtuous qualities in the C d V p. 245 Table 1.5 Male and female saints displaying the defined virtuous qualities p. 246 in the double treatise D v Table 2.1 Male saints’ miracles in the P d V p.