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Selves and Subjectivities in Medieval North Atlantic Verse

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Selves and Subjectivities in Medieval North Atlantic Verse Selves and Subjectivities in Medieval North Atlantic Verse by Daniel Donovan Brielmaier A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Daniel Donovan Brielmaier 2018 Selves and Subjectivities in Medieval North Atlantic Verse Daniel Donovan Brielmaier Doctorate of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto 2018 Abstract This thesis explores the construction of speaking-subjects and their subjectivities in medieval North Atlantic verse. Although first-person poetry in medieval Irish and Welsh, Old English, and Old Norse-Icelandic has enjoyed a good deal of critical attention, little of it, with the exception of the Old English material, has focused on the strategies and rhetoric poets employed in the creation of lyric poetry’s speaking personas. The intent of this project is thus to analyze, discuss, and highlight the creativity and skill with which North Atlantic poets brought the speaking-subjects of their poetry to life. “Subject” and “subjectivity” are understood in psychoanalytical terms, primarily through the narrative of signification articulated by Julia Kristeva. In particular, Kristeva’s understanding of the formation of subjectivity through the interaction of the semiotic and the symbolic order forms both the thesis’s primary tool of analysis – along with close reading – and its organizing principle. The lyric poems under consideration here are thus organized into chapters according to the relationship of the semiotic and symbolic in the formation of their speaking-subjects. The first chapter, then, examines how Irish monastic poets constructed a Christian subjectivity in which the semiotic, bodily drives of the speaking-subject – in its ideal form – ran in perfect accord with the Christian symbolic order. The second chapter takes up the theme of consolation, and examines how Old English, Irish, and Norse verse could be used as a therapeutic tool to end ii a speaking-subject’s alienation by modelling a process through which the subject signifies himself within an alternative symbolic order, one which enables the speaker to understand his or her subject-position in a more positive light, thus bringing semiotic and symbolic closer to accord. The third and final chapter turns to those alienated speaking-subjects for whom there is no hope of achieving accord between the semiotic desires of the body and the symbolic order, or of finding even consolation. The chapter explores some of the topoi of alienation – eros, old age, illness – prevalent in North Atlantic verse, examining the conditions through which these lyric speakers have become alienated, and what strategies poets employed to represent their estranged state. iii Acknowledgments I owe many people a debt of gratitude for their help and encouragement over the course of my doctoral studies. The members of my dissertation committee – Ann Dooley, David Klausner, Ian McDougall, and Jill Ross – have been unceasingly generous and enthusiastic at every stage of the process. I am grateful to have had the benefit of their knowledge, creativity, and friendship. They have modelled for me not only how to be a scholar, but also how to be a colleague. In particular, I thank Ann Dooley, my supervisor. Ann’s insightfulness and encyclopedic knowledge improved my scholarship immeasurably. Her patience, advice, and friendship have improved me immeasurably. I also thank the external and interal examiners of my defense, Joanne Findon and Brent Miles, whose suggestions have clarified and improved many of my arguments. I know that, when I revisit this work in the future, I will recognize fondly and gratefully the many marks this group of scholars has made upon it. I am fortunate to have had many friends among my colleagues who have supported and encouraged me throughout this process. Joe Culpepper, Les Gobbleurs – Rachel F. Stapleton and Joel Rodgers – and especially John McGaughey, who was there at the end, were all invaluable writing buddies. I am also grateful to Rhoda Dullea, Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir, Paul Langeslag, Jaclyn Piudik, Giselle Gos, Tadhg Morris, Jennifer Gilchrist, Jessica Lockhart, Janine Rivière, Rasa Mazeika, Nick Johnston, Robin Sutherland-Harris, et les damoiselles de la maison du fromage (Susannah Brower, Laura Mitchell, and Beth Watkins) et leurs chats (Sam, Al, and Hobbes) for years of encouragement, commiseration, advice, and fun. Kevin Ouellette, Shaunie and Brian Young, and the Gugel-Heffernans (David, Angela, Rowan, and Elliott) have all been important in keeping me grounded in life outside the academic bubble. Another group of friends has been instrumental (uff) in helping me keep my musical life active and growing in Toronto. For their generosity, I thank Mary McGeer, Valerie Sylvester, Vicki Ellis Hathaway, Gillian Howard, Alison Melville, John Abberger, Shaunie Young, Linda Deshman, Sara Blake, Lionel Tona, Nicole Blaine, Diana Campbell, and Bil Antoniou. Thanks are also owed to Grace Desa, Rosemary Beattie, Franca Conciatore, Isabelle Cochelin, and Alexander Andree of the Centre for Medieval Studies for their good cheer and help iv navigating reams of paperwork over the years. I am likewise grateful to the staff of the Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies Library – Greti Dinkova-Bruun, Bill Edwards, Fr. Farge, and Michael Sloan – for their assistance and for maintaining a marvelous collection and a congenial space in which to explore it. I have been fortunate in my employment, which kept me both stimulated and solvent. The Celtic Studies Program was an ideal place to find my feet and grow as a teacher. I am grateful to Jean Talman, Ann Dooley, Máirín Nic Dhiarmada (and Jeremy Harman), and David Wilson for creating such a collegial and enjoyable environment. My colleagues at the International Foundation Program, New College have likewise created a mutually supportive and fun situation that is a joy to return to each year, as was the University of Toronto Libraries cataloguing department, where Anna Slawek was a supportive (and patient!) supervisor. I am also thankful and proud of the work my union, CUPE 3902, has done on behalf of me and my colleagues in the face of an employer and system that regularly devalue our contributions. My sisters, Kate and Elizabeth, read and proofread the thesis, for which I probably owe them my soul. Their insights and fine eyes for grammar both improved the final product and bolstered my confidence at crucial moments. They also called me a lot, got goofy with me, and Elizabeth sent me the care package to end all care packages. They’re great. Along with the standard package of paternal encouragement, my father, Bob, used his particular talents and interests to regularly get me out of my muddled head, whether by phone or mountain hike or movie. My grandmother, LaVona Schmidt, has done much the same, but with cribbage and piano duets. In addition to her encouragement (and a particular knack for knowing when not to ask about thesis progress), my mother, Sheryl Redding, has modelled for me the kind of tenacity required to see any worthwhile project through. This has been the most important lesson of all. Finally, I wish to thank and remember those family and friends – my teachers, all – who have passed away since I began this endeavour: my grandparents, Donald F. and Elsie Wild Brielmaier; my aunt, Robyn Schmidt; my (truly) great-aunt, Jan Kormann; my teacher, Máirín Nic Dhiarmada; and my friend, Fiona Broackes-Carter. This work is dedicated to them. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents............................................................................................................................vi Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Accord..........................................................................................................................13 Christian Subjectivity.........................................................................................................14 Imitatio Christi: Constructing Ideal Ascetic Selves............................................................22 Idealizing Hermit Subjectivities.............................................................................26 “A Hermit Song”........................................................................................27 “Manchán’s Wish”.....................................................................................33 Monastic Moments.................................................................................................36 Christs on Earth..................................................................................................................45 The Powerful Obedience of Moling; or, The Devil went down to Carlow..............55 Power from Perspective: Marbán and Gúaire.........................................................58 Íte’s Abject Motherhood........................................................................................69 Patrick – Invoking the Word...................................................................................79 Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 91 Chapter 2:
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