Anglo-Saxon Conceptions of Impairment and Disability

Unhælu: Anglo-Saxon Conceptions of Impairment and Disability Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Karen Anne Bruce, M.A. Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee Leslie Lockett, Advisor Brenda Brueggemann Christopher A. Jones 1 Copyright by Karen Anne Bruce 2014 2 Abstract In this dissertation, I provide a reconstruction and analysis of the Anglo-Saxon conceptions of impairment and disability, as they are preserved within the textual record of the period. I develop the Old English lexeme unhælu as the most appropriate term for these conceptions, as it reflects the holism that is central to the Anglo-Saxon understanding of health and ability. Unhælu is a large and fluid category, which covers physical impairment, illness, and injury, and which takes into consideration their impact on both the body’s functionality and appearance. Importantly, it does not seem to cover mental health impairments and other similar conditions. It may perhaps be best understood in terms of Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s notion of the “extraordinary body,” which brings together various kinds of corporeal otherness, such as impairment, deformity, monstrosity, and mutilation. Consequently, this dissertation focuses on defining the polysemous concept of unhælu, determining how the Anglo-Saxons perceived the concept, and discovering how these beliefs impacted the lives of unhal people. To achieve these aims, I employ rigorous textual and linguistic analysis, and adapt the insights of present-day disability theory to an early medieval context. In the opening chapters, I begin by establishing the linguistic and educational foundations of the Anglo-Saxon conception of unhælu. Chapter One examines the Old ii English lexicon that reveals how they spoke and thought about impairment, while Chapter Two considers the school-room texts that would have served as the contemporary equivalent of their disability theory. In the following chapters, I discuss what the Anglo-Saxons’ various responses to unhælu reveal about their perception of the state. Chapter Three uses the medical texts to provide a detailed reconstruction of unhælu, as suggested by the leeches’ remedies and their understanding of etiology. Chapter Four builds on this foundation by employing the law-codes to further define unhælu as a category and to explore its potential consequences. These consequences could include social and economic disadvantage, feud (in the case of unhælu inflicted by illegal violence), and stigma (in the case of juridical mutilation). Chapter Five, which discusses the hagiographies, develops this focus on the social significance of unhælu, as it shows how the church made use of unhælu within the cults of the saints, and also discusses the lived experiences of unhal people. It reveals the complexity of unhælu as both a state that called for a miraculous cure, and that could serve as a marker of sanctity. Chapter Six shifts focus to consider other cultural uses to which unhælu was put, as it examines how the Alfredian textual community appropriated the conception of unhælu for rhetorical and metaphorical purposes. Lastly, Chapter Seven shows how the Anglo- Saxons considered unhælu to be a part of the human life-cycle that developed in age and ended with death, thereby linking it inextricably with human mortality, and with life in a fallen world. iii Dedication Dedicated to my family in South Africa and the United States, and to the memory of my grandmother. iv Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the encouragement and the assistance of many other people, and it is a pleasure to be able to acknowledge their contributions at this point. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Leslie Lockett, whose question in one of my first seminars at The Ohio State University piqued my interest in Anglo-Saxon disability, and who has guided me patiently and expertly through the long process of answering that question. She has always challenged me to think more deeply about the subject, and has supported me throughout this extremely ambitious project through her detailed comments and meticulous proof-reading. In my time at OSU, she has served as an example to me of the highest caliber of scholarship, and has inspired me to produce my own best work. Similarly, I am grateful to the other members of my committee, Drew Jones and Brenda Brueggemann. Their insights and knowledge have helped to shape the project immensely, and their encouragement and kindness has kept me writing. In addition, I am indebted to Lisa Kiser, who served as my advisor during my M.A., and who helped steer me through much of my Ph.D. I greatly appreciate all of her care and guidance throughout the past years. I would also like to thank Richard Firth Green, with whom I have had many interesting and stimulating conversations about my v research. I am thankful to the Society for the Study of Disability in the Middle Ages, which has worked so hard to establish the field of medieval disability studies, and to provide venues for papers on the subject. Many of the ideas in this dissertation were first presented at SSDMA sessions at Kalamazoo. I would also like to thank The Ohio State University for its support during my graduate studies, particularly the dissertation-year fellowship that allowed me to write without distractions for twelve months. In particular, I am grateful to Kathleen Griffin who always had a prompt answer to my questions and a solution to my problems, and to the entire English administrative staff who keep a massive department running as smoothly as it can. Likewise, I am grateful to Anne Fields and the Interlibrary Loan Staff, who found ways to get me every book and article I needed, often only hours after I realized I needed it. Lastly, gratitude is due to my friends and family. I have been fortunate to be part of a wonderful group of medievalists and spouses, who have helped and supported each other on every step of the marathon that is graduate school: Scott Clark, Andrew Richmond, David Sweeten and Regina Bouley Sweeten, Erin and Steve Shaull, Erin Wagner, and Rachel Waymel. I have also been lucky to have a supportive family on both sides of the Atlantic. My parents, Graham and Pat Bruce, made it possible for me to attend graduate school in the United States, and, together with my brother Mark, they have encouraged me through the whole process. My now in-laws, Mike, Tami, and Sarah Wallace, have made me feel at home in this new country, and have supported me throughout the process. And, lastly, I can’t begin to express my gratitude to my amazing vi husband, Phillip Wallace, who has supported me in more ways than I can count. It would take another five hundred pages to list them, and even then I might need more space! My love and thanks to you. vii Vita 1999…………………………………Epworth High School 2002…………………………………B.A. English and Classical Civilizations, University of Natal 2003…………………………………B.A.(Hons), English, University of Natal 2003-2005…………………………..Tutor, English Department, University of Natal and University of KwaZulu-Natal 2003-2005…………………………..Post-Graduate Scholarship, University of KwaZulu- Natal 2005…………………………………M.A. English, University of KwaZulu-Natal 2006-2007…………………………..Lecturer, English Department, University of KwaZulu-Natal 2008…………………………………Distinguished University Fellowship, The Ohio State University 2009…………………………………Stanley J. Kahrl Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Essay, The Ohio State University 2010…………………………………M.A. English, The Ohio State University viii 2009-2013…………………………...Graduate Teaching Assistant, English Department, The Ohio State University 2014…………………………………Distinguished University Fellowship, The Ohio State University Publications Bruce, Karen. “Aryans in Utopia: Mary Bradley Lane’s Mizora as an Example of the Contemporaneity of the Utopian Form.” Topic 56 (2010): 23-32. Bruce, Karen. “A Woman-Made Language: Suzette Haden Elgin's Láaden and the Native Tongue Trilogy as Thought Experiment in Feminist Linguistics.” Extrapolation 49, no. 1 (2008): 44-69. Bruce, Karen. “Amazons,” “Parthenogenesis,” and “Kate Wilhelm.” In Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Robin Reid. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2007. Field of Study Major Field: English ix Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….. ii Dedication……………………………………………………………………………….. iv Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….v Vita……………………………………………………………………………………...viii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………..xi List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………xii Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………………xiii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1: The Old English Lexicon of Impairment and Disability………….……….…40 Chapter 2: The Late Antique Intellectual Tradition………………………………...........84 Chapter 3: The Curative Corpus………………...……………………………………...185 Chapter 4: The Anglo-Saxon Law-Codes…………………………………….………...230 Chapter 5: Hagiography……………….……………………………………….……….274 Chapter 6: The Cultural Uses of Unhælu……………………………………….………347 Chapter 7: Transient Hælu and Transient Unhælu……………………………………..425 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...476 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………....488 x List of Tables Table 1. Anglo-Saxon Lexemes for Impairment and Disability…………………………77 Table 2. Anglo-Saxon Lexemes for Specific Impairments……………………………....81 Table 3. Schedule of Most Severe Injuries

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