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WICKED WITCHES OR WORLDLY WOMEN? GENDER, POWER, AND MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE By Melissa J. Castle Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences o f American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In Literature Chair: Larissa Tracy Roberta Rubenstein Dean offlie Coiieg^ Date 2005 American University 0 (f] 0 Washington, D.C. 20016 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1432679 Copyright 2005 by Castle, Melissa J. All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 1432679 Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © COPYRIGHT by Melissa J. Castle 2005 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. WICKED WITCHES OR WORLDLY WOMEN? GENDER, POWER, AND MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE BY Melissa J. Castle ABSTRACT Though other scholars have examined magic in medieval literature, this study provides a specific analysis of valkyries, their use of magic as a means of attaining adequate social power to gain freedom from a wholly domestic existence, and an analysis of how this representation contrasts with other contemporary English and French literary tendencies. This study examines the valkyries without the scholarly bias of wickedness and malevolence, which highlights their central position in Old Norse-Icelandic culture. Without the stigma of the categorization of “witched witches,” it becomes clear that the valkyries were not marginalized women; rather, they were part of the mainstream cultural existence of Old Norse-Icelandic society. This study provides a fuller picture of the Germanic world, including Nordic, Icelandic, and Scandinavian cultures, and its literature—where women and men were valued based on their strength and fortitude, rather than solely on their biological sex. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CONTENTS ABSTRACT 11 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................. 1 2. THE POETRY OF THE ELDER EDDA........................................... 16 Helgaqvida Hundingsbanna in Fryrri and Helgaqvida a Hundingsbanna Qnnor (“The First and Second Lays of Helgi Hunding’s Bane”) Sigrdrifomal (“The Lay of Sigrdrifa”) Sigurdarqvida in Scamma (“The Short Lay of Sigrud”) Vqlundarquida (“The Lay of Volund”) 3. VOLSUNGA SAGA (The Saga o f the Volsungs).............................. 30 4. BRENNU-NJALS SAGA (The Saga of the Burning ofNjal) 42 5. THE ARTHURIAN TRADITION...................................................... 58 Morgan Le Fay The Lady of the Lake 6. CONCLUSION.................................................................................... 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................... 78 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Magic played an important role within the social structure of medieval European societies; the magical and supernatural worlds were inextricably linked, especially in Germanic cultures which included the linguistically connected peoples in Nordic countries like Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.1 As Michelle Sweeney discusses in her book, Magic in Medieval Romance: From Chretien de Troyes to Geoffrey Chaucer, magic was rooted in the paganism of the early medieval era and was very much a part of people’s everyday lives and their belief systems. Magic was “frequently a part of the ‘real world,”’ making the proliferation of magic in the literary realm a logical extension of these people’s existence. Women in particular were linked with magic, both in historical practice and in literary lore. The literature of the Middle Ages, including the poetry of theElder Edda and the family sagas of Iceland, reflects historical tendencies including the depiction of the importance of magic for Germanic peoples. Magic can be defined in myriad ways, but a general definition of the term indicates that any “phenomena which intellectuals would have recognized as natural or supernatural occurrences which demonstrate the influence of man [and indeed, women] 1 These countries are also cumulatively called Scandinavian; specifically the term encompasses the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the republics of Finland and Iceland. Old Norse-Icelandic refers to the Germanic language once spoken in Nordic or Scandinavian countries. 2 Michelle Sweeney,Magic in Medieval Romance: From Chretien de Troyes to Geoffrey Chaucer (Great Britain: Four Courts Press, 2000), 29. 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 over nature or mankind” would be considered magical.3 Being able to control one’s natural surroundings as well as being able to exert power over others makes an individual magical. Though this definition implies that any control of nature was magical— consider that farming could be defined as a magical endeavor in this context—magic was a more specified phenomenon. To perform magical feats, even in the natural world, required some knowledge or connection with the occult for not everyone could perform such deeds. A more specific definition of magic separates it into two distinct types, natural and demonic: “Natural was not distinct from science, but rather a branch of science. It was the science that dealt with ‘occult virtues’ (or hidden powers) within nature. Demonic magic was not distinct from religion, but rather a perversion of religion. It was a religion that turned from God and toward demons for their help in human affairs.”4 During the Middle Ages, magic was a naturalistic endeavor. It did not have the negative connotations that would later be applied to witchcraft in the late Middle Ages and that continued into subsequent eras. Those individuals who could be categorized as magical or supernatural could either be malevolent or benevolent. According to Robert Thurston, “traditionally the people equipped in this way [magically] are not necessarily seen as subordinates of the devil, who did not exist in any event in Greek or Roman theology and who assumed a leading role in Western Christendom only in the late Middle Ages.”5 The ancient pagan notions of magic were associated with the natural world in that it was often demonstrated through the use of herbs in healing, and was a power often affiliated with women. These early medieval women were important 3 Ibid. 4 Richard Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), 9. 5 Robert W. Thurston,Witch, Wicce, Mother Goose: The Rise and Fall o f the Witch Hunts in Europe and North America (New York: Pearson Education, 2001), 56. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 members of society, because they had the “hidden” or “occult” knowledge of ancient herbal remedies and of ancient pagan rites. Magical women were neither outcasts nor were they punished for having this knowledge. Furthermore, much of the literature and many of oral tales of this older time contain the “wise woman” character who provides sage counsel to those around her, including the men of her society. She is sought after for advice, guidance, and occasionally magical remedies for a multitude of personal afflictions, making her a strong member of her society and explicitly connecting her to the magical realm. The definition of magic as being a naturalistic phenomenon or as a means of controlling natural surroundings was not a static view. The paganism of the early Middle Ages began to lose sway as the Christian Church gained power and influence, and magic could no longer remain a benevolent endeavor since it contradicted the dogma of the Church where it was God who controlled the natural world, not humans, supernatural or otherwise. The association of paganism and magic with the occult began to be perceived as evil and unnatural. This change in the perception of magic did not occur immediately. Indeed, the Church realized it could not eliminate all pagan rituals and traditions if it was to convert the populace and so it assimilated those pagan rites and rituals that fit ideologically with Church doctrine. Thurston points out: “In any discussion of magic in this period it is important to note that Christianity was fighting to make a place for itself; hence its individuality was most effectively defined by striking out against those pagan ideas which it could not absorb.”6 Christianity allowed