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Almsgiving and Christian Lordship in the Exeter Book by Holly Tipton

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Almsgiving and Christian Lordship in the Exeter Book by Holly Tipton The Gifstol: Almsgiving and Christian Lordship in the Exeter Book by Holly Tipton Hamby A Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English in the College of Graduate Studies of Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, Tennessee August 2011 UMI Number: 3484708 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI Dissertation Publishing UMI 3484708 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. uest ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Submitted by Holly Tipton Hamby in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, specializing in English. Accepted on behalf of the Faculty of the College of Graduate Studies by the dissertation committee: Date : 6/a>/n Theodore J. Sherman, Ph.D. Chairpers: ate: /Z/?*/4 londa L. McDaniel, Ph.D Second Reader Date: L# 1JD \\ Philip E. Phillips, Ph.D. Third Reader wn*%s6x* auA/Tuat-* Date: C"2.0-l\ Tom Strawman, Ph.D. Chair, Department of English (kjk0tJ[6Q!^Date: %\$\\ Michael D..Muien , Ph.D. I Dean of the College of Graduate Studies © 2011 Holly Tipton Hamby ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11 For my family. in Acknowledgements I would like to first thank my committee, whose guidance and support were essential to this project. My advisor, Dr. Theodore Sherman, has supported my ideas and work since my first course with him, and his mentorship has provided valuable lessons both for my scholarship and my pedagogy, as well as for life. Dr. Rhonda McDaniel has also helped my career and this project in countless ways, her astute insight has led my scholarship into new and powerful territory, and she serves as inspiration for my own identity in academia. Dr. Philip E. Phillips has provided sharp commentary and assistance with this dissertation, not to mention moral support. I must also acknowledge those professors who have guided me to this point. I cannot thank my Composition Studies mentor Dr. Allison Smith enough for her lessons in professionalism and scholarly publishing, as well as her friendship. Dr. Nicole Guenther Discenza was my first professor of Old English, and I am grateful to her for opening the world of Old English to me. Dr. Mary Jane Stearns Schenck was my first professor in medieval studies, and her contagious enthusiasm for the subject led me to graduate school. My gratitude also goes to the English Department at MTSU, which has supported me both intellectually and financially, and whose faculty have made my graduate education a wonderful journey. I am especially grateful to department chairperson Dr. Tom Strawman, Graduate Studies Director Dr. Kevin Donovan, Dr. Marion Hollings, Dr. James Comas, Dr. Jimmie Cain, Dr. Becky King, Dr. William Brantley, Dr. Linda Badley, and Dr. Julie Myatt for their support and encouragement. I also thank my colleagues at Fisk University, especially Dr. Lean'tin Bracks and Dr. Adenike Davidson, for their support during the dissertation process. My friends and family have been my biggest support system, and I am eternally grateful. My mother, Kathleen Godfrey Tipton, has always supported me in whatever path I wished to take, including this one, and has always shown her love for me in myriad ways; I would have been lost without her encouragement during this process. My aunt and godmother, Shari Godfrey, has been my coach and cheerleader, and knew, even when I wasn't sure, that I would not only finish this dissertation, but finish well. I am blessed to have many family members and friends who have stood with me on this journey, but my greatest ally has been my amazing husband, James A. Hamby III. He is a blessing, and he has shown me every day of writing this dissertation that faith and love go a long way in making things right in the world. He is my hero. IV ABSTRACT The poems in the Old English Exeter Book (Exeter, Cathedral Library, MS 3501) are purposely didactic tools, particularly of a catechetical nature, used to promote and reinforce ideal Christian Anglo-Saxon lordship. The primary mode by which these ideals are transmitted is through the poems' depiction of the giving, or lack of giving, of gifts and alms by lords to the less fortunate. The Exeter Book was intended to be read along a central theme uniting the poems in the manuscript: the importance of Christian lords to imitate Christ, the ultimate King and greatest Almsgiver, by giving alms to their people. The Germanic focus on gift-giving, continuously present in Anglo-Saxon culture, would have syncretized easily with Christian almsgiving, united along the central purpose of both giving systems: care of the people by those with more resources, whether God-given or otherwise. The scribe(s) who compiled the Exeter Book did not merely anthologize these Old English poems haphazardly, or for purposes of preservation alone. Analysis of several exemplar poems within the manuscript {Almsgiving, Widsid, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, Guthlac A, The Phoenix, The Advent Lyrics, The Ascension, and Christ in Judgment) demonstrates the central motif of almsgiving as necessary for ideal Christian lordship, and that this collection of poems was deliberately constructed to transmit appropriate modes of lordship for Christian Anglo-Saxon lords to follow. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Abbreviations vii Chapter I - Background of the Exeter Book 1 Chapter II - Almsgiving in Anglo-Saxon Lordship 39 Chapter III - Syncretic Wisdom 85 Chapter IV - The Saint and the Symbol 155 Chapter V - Christ as Model King and Almsgiver 208 Works Cited 255 Bibliography 267 VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABR American Benedictine Review AJP American Journal of Philology AM Annuale Mediaevale ANQ American Notes & Queries ASE Anglo-Saxon England BSVO Biblia Sacra Vulgata Online CCEL Christian Classics Ethereal Library DRBO Douay-Rheims Bible Online ELN English Language Notes ES English Studies EX Exemplaria IG In Geardagum JEGP Journal of English and Germanic Philology JTS Journal of Theological Studies MJE Medium ALvum MH Medievalia et Humanistica MLN Modern Language Notes MLQ Modern Language Quarterly MLR Modern Language Review MP Modern Philology Neo Neophilologus NM Neuphilologische Mitteilungen NQ Notes and Queries PG Patrologia Graeca PhG Philological Quarterly PL Patrologia Latina vii PLL Papers on Language and Literature PR Psychocultural Review PT Poetics Today RES Review of English Studies RPL Res Publico Litterarum SLI Studies in the Literary Imagination SN Studia Neophilologica SPh Studies in Philology TSLL Texas Studies in Literature and Language Vlll 1 I: BACKGROUND OF THE EXETER BOOK Although there is a long history of scholarship on the poems contained in the manuscript known as the Exeter Book (Exeter, Cathedral Library, MS 3501, also known as the Codex Exoniensis and The Exeter Anthology of Old English Poetry), including readings of both a Christian and secular nature, and thorough studies of the possible origins of the manuscript, there has been little work done on the manuscript as a collection of poetry with a central theme. Most scholarship in the field, if it examines the manuscript as an anthology, instead of as a miscellany with no central purpose behind the seemingly unrelated poems, takes the stance that the manuscript is organized for a generalized Christian purpose. However, there has rarely been a specific central Christian theme proposed which unites the poems of the Exeter Book as part of a cohesive collection. Yet, the Exeter Book can be and was intended by the compilers to be read along a central theme uniting the poems in the manuscript: the importance of Christian lords to imitate Christ, the ultimate King and giver of alms, by giving alms to their people. The poems in the Exeter Book are purposely didactic tools, particularly of a catechetical nature, to promote and reinforce ideal Christian Anglo-Saxon lordship. The primary mode by which these ideals are transmitted is through the poems' depiction of the giving, or lack of giving, of gifts and alms by lords to the both warriors or thanes who merit reward, or the less fortunate who require alms. The Germanic focus on gift-giving, continuously present in Anglo-Saxon culture, would have syncretized easily with Christian almsgiving, united along the central purpose of both giving systems: care of the people by those with more resources, whether God-given or otherwise. 2 In this study I argue that the Exeter Book compilers/poet(s) used a Germanic, secular system of gift exchange as a link to the Christian system of giving under the mantle of almsgiving. Pre-Christian and secular Anglo-Saxon giving was situated on a system of exchange between lords and thanes which focused on thanes serving lords in exchange for gifts (treasure and other resources); the lord likewise received gifts from his thanes to ensure his continued protection and maintenance of the people. However, the Christian system of almsgiving was not measured by a similar reciprocal relationship between God and humanity, but instead was a religious obligation expected of those Christians, especially those with the most resources, who wished to follow the teachings of Christ and His disciples by showing mercy through merciful works. In turn, these works could aid in their salvation, but only if they gave in the appropriate spirit of charity. As these are two different systems of giving, superficially it would seem that an audience of the Exeter Book would see secular giving between a lord and his people, and the Christian acts of almsgiving or charity between the Lord and humanity as entirely separate obligatory systems.
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