Forgery, Invention and Propaganda: Factors behind the Production of the Guthlac Roll (British Museum Harley Roll Y.6)
Kimberly Kelly
The Guthlac Roll, a scroll illustrating scenes from the rows of outline drawings depicting scenes from the First life of St. Guthlac (co. 674-714) ofCrowlanEngland during the first two decades of the thirteenth cuted in ink and have been dated by George Warner ca. century. Most of the scenes chosen for illustration were 1300. According to Warner, these drawings are in no way · taken from the eighth-<:entury life of this saint, wrinen by related to the scenes of Guthlac's life. At least one piece of a scribe named Felix. As a result of this dependence, vellum is now missing from the Roll, leaving five pieces similarities between the text anil the Roll abound, but intact. The missing piece probably contained scenes of significant differences also exist. These divergences provide Guthlac's childhood and youth, including half of what is tantalizing clues to the factors and motivations behind the now the first roundel. As the pieces of veUum are all of production of the Guthlac Roll. different lengths, it is impossible to determine the length of The main purpose of this study will be to place the the missing section or the number of scenes it may have production of the Guthlac Roll within the context of local, contained. Furthermore, some type of introductory mate national and international events by focusing on the differ rial may have prefaced the scenes of Guthlac's life on other ences between Felix's text and the Roll and seeking to pieces of vellum now lost from the Roll. The extant scenes explain these differences. On the local level, the Guthlac consist of tinted outline drawings in ink with some use of Roll represents a response to a series of land disputes in pale green and yeUow washes. Each roundel contains one Lincolnshire that plagued Guthlac's abbey of Crowland or more brief inscriptions that serve to identify major during much of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. These figures and to explain the action being depicted. land disputes eventually attracted royal involvement, there The Guthlac Roll has been dated co. 1210 4 and is an by entangling the Abbey in the politics of the Plantagenet outstanding English example of the Style 1200.' Based on royal house. Further influence from the Plantagenets may stylistic evidence, Nigel Morgan has postulated the exist be seen in possible allusions to King Richard's participation ence of an early thirteenth-<:entury school centered in the in the Third Crusade. The increasing popularity of pilgrim area around the town of Lincoln. This hypothesis suggests age and pilgrimage-related art provided much of the impe• that the Cambridge Bestiary (Cambridge Univer.;ity Lib., tus for the Roll's production, as propaganda for Guthlac MS li.4.26) and a copy of Henry of Huntingdon's Historia and his shrine. The style of the Roll itself was part of the Anglorum (Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery MS 793) were spread of an international movement, the Style 1200, from made by the same artist as the Guthlac Roll,• which was the Continent to England. almost certainly commissioned for use at Crowland Abbey This discussion concentrates on the economic and his in Lincolnshire.' Morgan dates the Bestiary ca. 1200-10, vir torical aspects of the Roll, and will involve the examination tually contemporary with the Guthlac Roll. A sixteenth of three themes. 1 The first theme concerns the status of century inscription on folio 73 of the Cambridge Bestiary Crowland Abbey and is a product of the turbulent history reads, "Jacobus Thomas Herison Thys ys ye abbaye of of the Abbey during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as Rev.... ," 8 which one scholar has identified as the abbey of successive abbots altempted to safeguard the future of the Revesby in Lincolnshire. Morgan cites -stylistic similarities Abbey. These concerns must be viewed as the primary fac between the Roll and the north rose window of Lincoln tor behind the production of the Roll. The second theme Cathedral as further evidence of a Lincolnshire school. concerns Guthlac as a soldier of Christ. Pilgrimage, as an The existence of the Guthlac Roll and the Cambridge increasingly important form of popular piety, is the third Bestiary, both executed in a distinctive and yet refined theme and links the first two. As we shall see, each of these style,• strongly suggests that Lincolnshire was the location themes, indeed, the entire Roll. has two goals in common of an innovative artistic center during the early thirteenth one, to provide fo r the security of the Abbey's land through century. The execution of both secular and ecclesiastical the promotion of a spurious history and two, to provide for works indicates that this center was nourishing and was the future prosperity of the Abbey through the promotion able, through the artistic patronage of both the aristocracy of Guthlac and his relics. and the Church, to support a wide _range of artistic subject The Guthlac Roll (British Museum Harley Roll Y.6) is matter. As we shall see later when discussing the history of a scroll containi11g eighteen scenes from the life of Saint Crowland Abbey, this artistic flowering coincided with the Guthlac of Crowland.1 (Please see Appendix A for a rule of an extremely active abbot who presided over an complete description of the eighteen scenes including relc ambitious cultural expansion at Crowland. ,-ant quotations from Felix ·s text and a brief statement of While its stylistic importance may be rooted in its con• the differences between each scene and the text.) The Roll tribution to the development of an indigenous Lincolnshire measures 9' x 6½• and was made by pasting together pieces school, the Roll has yet to be discussed within the historical of vellum, all of different lengths.' The scenes, executed in context of Lincolnshire or Crowland Abbey.'O Discussions the fo rm of roundels, mca1ure 6" in diameter and are con of the Roll have centered on its original purpose, with the tiguous to one another. On the back of the Roll are two most popular theory identifying it as a study for stained I glass.11 To my knowledge, no one has assened that the Roll commander to a soldier of Christ has begun. The warrior/ itself was intended as a finished product, although the high leader who had existed the night before has been replaced quality, fine details and use of tinting seen in the Roll could by a follower of Christ. How will he be chosen to serve his be used to suppon this point. For the purposes of this new master? paper, I have assumed that the Roll is a finished work. A Guthlac's mission is to become a soldier of Christ, a brief summary of Guthlac's life and the major differences miles Christi, not only in the best tradition of St. Anthony18 between Felix's text and the Roll follow as an introduction but also in the tradition of the Crusaders who, during the to the discussion of the three central themes. past two centuries (from 1096), had fought to liberate the Guthlac, a Mereian of royal descent, successfully led a Holy Land. Although many other scenes from Guthlac's band of warriors for nine years until he decided, at the age life on Crowland could have been depicted, the patrons of of twenty-four, to trade his pursuit of eanhly glory for S?ir the Roll apparently chose to emphasize Guthlac as a itual glory. He received the tonsure at Repton Abbey and, warrior in his contest with demons (Figures 7-9). This battle after two years of instruction in the spiritual life, retreated with demons is continued in the two scenes of healing to the island of Crowland to become an ascetic. Guthlac (Figures IO and 18} in which a retainer of Prinoe Aethelbald underwent a series of temptations and trials with demons and a man being cured at Guthlac's shrine are possessed by and thereafter exhibited powers of healing and the ability to demons. foresee the future. He became a close advisor to the exiled The emphasis on Guthlac as a miles Christi may be Mercian Prince Aethelbald.12 explained, in part, by the impact of the Third Crusade on Guthlac was considered a saint during his own lifetime Western Europe and on England in particular. Richard I, and his reputation attracted many visitors to Crowland, Coeur de Lion, led the Plantagenet royal house and its including Prince Acthclbald. The popularity of Guthlac's vassals into the Holy Land in a futile attempt to regain cult after his death was probably enhanced by his close ties Jerusalem from the hands of the infidels.19 Richard's com to the ruling elite of Mercia. The first version of Guthlac's bination of military prowess and Christian service was life was written by a scribe named Felix, probably between extraordinary and represented a culmination of the miles 730 and 740, for the king of East Anglia." This Ufe Christi ideal.20 became the source fo r most of the later writings concerning Crowland had a special connection to Richard and his Guthlac.14 coun through their newly appointed abbot Henry Long Most of the scenes on the Guthlac Roll arc based on champ (abbot 1191-1236), who was a brother of Richard's Felix's text." For the most pan, the anist merely elaborated chanoellor William Longchamp and was appointed abbot upon Felix's textual descriptions by including additional of Crowland at William's request.21 Henry's connection to figures in a majority of the scenes and by constructing an one of the King's closest advisors may have influenced his elaborate, ever changing misc-en-scene as a backdrop for decision to cast Guthlac in the mold of the Christian soldier, the events that occur on Crowland. Four soenes on the which had characterized Richard so aptly." Richard's sub Roll, however, differ almost completely from Felix's text jects could revel in his military prowess over the infidels as and, therefore, form the focus of this discussion. These Guthlac's "subjects" could revel in his victories over the include: roundel five, which shows Guthlac building a servants of the devil. chapel on Crowland; roundel eight, in which St. Banholo In addition to possibly alluding to Richard's exploits in mew gives Guthlac a scourge; the subsequent soene, in the Holy Land, Henry was also drawing heavily from the which Guthlac uses the scourge; and the last roundel, which tradition of St. Anthony, the prototypical Christian soldier, illustrates benefactors of the Abbey. The subject of the last who through immense suffering, but not death, became a roundel is not mentioned in Felix's text, since Crowland "bloodless" manyr for Christ." Many of the scenes included Abbey was not founded until after the eighth century; the in the Roll follow the Antonian tradition, panicularly controversy surrounding the exact date of the foundation is Anthony's trial~ in the desen and his conflicts with demons." of panicular imponance. Not only did the decision to follow the Antonian model in Theme 1- Guthlac, Soldier of Christ. The first theme the illustrations of Guthlac's life reinforce poSsible allusions concerns Guthlac's transformation from a secular soldier to to King Richard, it also constituted a break with Felix's a soldier of Christ. 1• Guthlac's transformation begins in the text. According to Benram Colgrave, the text of the Ufe of firs t two roundels and continues throughout the Roll. The Guthlac follows that of Bede's life of Cuthbert as much as first scene (Figure I} stresses both the military nature of or more than it does the Antonian model." Felix's life, fo r Guthlac's youth and the community existence of the life he example, stresses Guthlac's communion with and dominion led. Guthlac is outfitted in military attire, with two lances over animals, much as Cuthben's Ufe does. In addition, prominently displayed behind him. His companion in the much of the narrative concerning Guthlac's last illness and foreground is outfitted in a complete suit of armor, includ death is borrowed from Bede's Ufe of Cuthbert. The sim ing helmet and shield. This soldier and the others who ilarities between the two English saints arc not emphasized surround Guthlac look to him as their leader. They may in ihe Roll and none of the scenes demonstrating Guthlac's have traveled great distances to serve under Guthlac's lead control over animals or his ability to foretell the future (as ership, for his military prowess was recognized over a wide Cuthbert was also able to do} are included in the Roll. area. 17 He is first among equals in a tightly-bonded, highly Instead a deliberate decision seems to have been made to structured society where each individual knows his proper shift the emphasis from attributes and miracles of Cuthben place. to those of Anthony. The Antonian similarities are evident The twin themes of military might and companionship in the three scenes (Figures 7-9} depicting Guthlac's struggle arc carried over into the next scene (Figure 2). Guthlac, with demonic hordes. clothed only in tunic and cloak and with a bare head, is These three scenes represent the final phase in Guthlac~ shown adamantly refusing to heed the supplications of his transformation. In the seventh roundel, Guthlac is carried companions; his transformation from a secular military into the air and scourged by a horde of winged demons. He l is helpless in their grasp and can only appeal to God to end the Roll was modeled on the actual relic displayed at the his suffering. In the eighth roundel, the demons prepare to Abbey. These consistencies include the decorative pattern on "finish off" Guthlac by throwing him into the mouth of the front and, more significantly, the handle-like projection hell. Again, he is powerless to stop them, but suddenly St. (probably tabs, used to pull the book from a case) that Banholomew appears and Guthlac is saved. Not only is marks vinually every representation of the holy book. The Guthlac rescued from this attack, he also is given the book preserved at Crowland was probably the one known instrument with which he can finally defeat his satanic foes, as "Saint Guthlake's Psalter," which was present at Cro0,0 for this is the scene in which Banholomew gives Guthlac land as late as 1538." the scourge."' The scourge is successfully wielded in the The emphasis throughout the Roll on both Guthlac's next scene (Figure 9). Guthlac uses this physical weapon to scourge and psalter strongly suggests that these relics were finally drive off the demons who have been mercilessly tor preserved at Crowland, serving as imponant objects of ven menting him. The legend of a scourge was unknown to eration by the faithful." Through these relics, which the Felix and was possibly invented at the time of the Roll's faithful believed to have known Guthlac's touch and to creation. have served him in his battle against the devil, pilgrims The significance of these three scenes cannot be over could draw closer to the sanctity of Guthlac himself. stated. Guthlac's evolution into a soldier of Christ cul Despite the Abbey's financial prosperity throughout minates in the eighth roundel. With the acquisition of the the thineenth century, which is attributable at least in pan scourge, Guthlac has achieved new status- he can now be to its promotion as a pilgrimage center, all was not well at ponrayed with a nimbus. The use of the nimbus indicates Crowland. Henry Longchamp had inherited a major legal Guthlac's final transformation from a victim to a victor dispute from his predecessor and the Guthlac Roll was who, with the aid of a God-given scourge, can fight back created, in part, to serve as evidence in this case. and conquer the enemies of Christ. This process of trans Theme Ill- Crow/and Abbey. The most imponant formation is based on the Antonian model. As Benjamin theme of the Roll concerns the status of Crowland Abbey as Kunz notes, "Felix does not scatter his demons and miracles an institution, an institution whose future was being threat indiscriminately over the biographical course. The conquest ened. The Abbey's claim to land surrounding Crowland was of self cvcntualcs, as in the Antonius, in an access of being contested in the late twelfth and early thirteenth miraculous power. "27 centuries and the Guthlac Roll may have been intended to Theme II- Pilgrimage. Guthlac's transformation into provide "concrete" proof of the Abbey's claim to this land. a soldier of Christ has a significant impact on the most Claims by Crowland to various lands in Lincolnshire imponant theme of the Roll- the status of Crowland and other counties were listed in the Domesday Book of Abbey as an institution. The link between these two themes 1086.33 Crowland also had a chaner, obtained from Stephen is pilgrimage." In the Middle Ages, illness and misfonune in 1142 and confirmed by Henry II in 1155, recognizing its were often attributed to the workings of the devil and his possessions and lands." Despite these documents, trouble agents." Guthlac's prowess over demons would, therefore, arose in the latter pan of the twelfth century between Crow have attracted pilgrims to his shrine; those seeking cures land and the prior of Spalding40 over rights to marshlands would see, in the Roll, Guthlac's extraordinary ability to surrounding the Abbey. exorcise the possessed (Figures 10 and 18). Not only would The dispute over Crowland's marshland began in 1189 the Abbey benefit financially from this increase in visitors, when a false repon of the death of Henry II reached Eng its prestige would also be enhanced. An examination of the land. 41 This news encouraged Nicholas, prior of Spalding. historical context surrounding the production of the Roll and men from the neighboring town of Hoyland to join does, in fact, reveal it to be a time of prosperity and grow forces in a conspiracy against Crowland. Three thousand ing prestige.30 men set up camp j n the middle of the marsh for fifteen days The Roll was probably produced under the direction and "dug up turf, cut down the greater part of the wood and of Henry Longchamp, abbot of Crowland between 1191 alder-beds of Croyland, and depastured upon the meadow and 1236; the production may have been timed to coincide land ...."" The abbot of Crowland, Robert of Reading with or commemorate the translation of Guthlac's body in ( 11 75-90), brought his case before the King's justices, but 1196." Henry's rule was a time of great financial prosperity was eventually forced to agree to bring the dispute before a for the Abbey. This prosperity enabled Henry to commis jury. Before the dispute could be heard, Rohen died. sion many literary works and to purchase articles of great Henry Longchamp was appointed the next abbot of expense for the Abbey." The production of the Guthlac Crowland. At the time of Henry's appointment, William Roll was an integral pan of this cultural expansion, an Longchamp, Henry's brother and chancellor to the King. anistic expression of the Abbey's prosperity at the turn of was also acting as chief justice of England. A lull in the the thineenth century. lawsuit resulted, but William was soon expelled by John Crowland's popularity as a pilgrimage site would have Lackland, brother of Richard I, in his maneuvering to gain been heightened by the presence there of two of Guthlac's support in England afler Richard's departure for the Holy relics- the scourge and a psalter. Henry Longchamp may Land. The prior of Spalding's chief ally, William de Romar, have based the story of the scourge on a verbal tradition, for "a devoted adherent of earl John,"" seized this opportunity no evidence of this relic exists prior to his rule.» In addition to cause more trouble for Crowland. to appearing on the Roll, a scourge is also included on With the expulsion of William Longchamp, the dis Henry's seal and the tradition is included in the poem com pute entered a new phase. Crowland seems to have become missioned by this abbot from Henry of Avranches.-" Guth• a pawn in a major political struggle with the upstan John lac's psalter,· also mentioned in Henry of Avranches' poem, is and his followers pitted against the rightful, but absent, prominently displayed throughout the Roll, appearing in King and his adherents. Crowland was doubly vulnerable at eight scenes after Guthlac's arrival on Crowland.» The con this time. Not only was their chief rival a supponcr of sistency of the anist's rendering suggests that the psalter in John, their newly appointed abbot was a brother of one of ] the closest advisor.; to the King. When judgment was finally to ancient authority for the possession of the lands."'° This rendered by John and his men, the Abbey lost seisin (i.e., forgery, and its incorporation into the Guthlac Roll, was possession) but not its right (i.e .• owner.;hip) to the land.44 part of a two-fold campaign to date the foundation of Cro"' Richard I ruled in 1194 that seisin should be returned to land back to the mist-shrouded days of Saxon rule, back to Crowland but the matter was not settled until 1202 when the days of Guthlac's own patron, Prince Aethelbald. King John decided in the Abbey's favor. The Roll itself is probably a finished product and not The complex and drawn out land dispute that marked merely a study for another work. As such, the Roll may the abbacies of Robert and Henry was probably a major have been placed in the sanctuary in order to instruct pil• factor in Henry Longchamp's decision to commission the grims about Guthlac's life and miracles. Its impact on a Guthlac Roll. The question of Crowland's foundation date th.irteenth-ocntury pilgrim, who may have journeyed to the was highly relevant and it is my contention that Henry shrine in a desperate search for a miracle, cannot be over attempted to use the Roll to date the foundation to the stated, nor can it be fully under.;tood ." This Roll could well eighth ocntury. Such an attempt, if sucocssful, would have have formed a focal .point for instruction and veneration in greatly strengthened the Abbey's claims to its lands and Guthlac's sanctuary. Indeed, the simplicity of style and con other possessions. The fifth and seventeenth roundels are struction would enable even uneducated viewers to com particularly significant in this regard. In the fifth roundel, prehend the scenes and to follow the narrative now. The Guthlac and two assistants are depicted building a chapel. brief identifying inscriptions on the Roll would also sm-e Guthlac's action signifies, in a concrete manner, the founda the purpose of more thoroughly instructing literate pilgrims tion of a monastery on Crowland. This scene is not ba.sed on Guthlac's saintly deeds. Beauty and grace have been on Felix's text; Felix begins his aocount of Guthlac's life on harnessed for functional purposes and the end result is truly Crowland with a chapter entitled "How he dwelt in the side glorious. of a barrow .. .• building a hut over it ...."' ' Further evi The Roll was intended primarily to help safeguard the denoc that the Abbey was founded during Guthlac's lifetime future prosperity and security of the Abbey. The depiction is given in the seventeenth roundel. Prince Aethelbald is of Guthlac as a soldier of Christ and the promotion of his identified as Rex Aethelbald although he did not become relics were intended to draw pilgrims to Crowland, resulting king until two years after Guthlac's death. By promoting in more revenue and an increase in status for the Abbey, Aethelbald to king, Henry Longchamp was building on an thereby decreasing its vulnerability to outside threats. In earlier spurious account of Crowland's history. addition to attracting pilgrims, the Roll was designed to This ear.lier work is the Abbrevatio, written by Ordericus be viewed by Lincolnshire residents and perhaps by im Vitalis during the rule of Abbot Geoffrey ( l 110-24).... The portant visitors, such as representatives of the King, and history is based primarily on traditions Ordericus received would have impressed upon them the extent of Guthlac's from the sub-prior of Crowland. One such tradition states building on Crowland, his close friendship with "King" that Aethelbald became king before Guthlac's death and Aethelbald, and the extent of support from earlier patrons (at Guthlac's request) gave him land for a monastery, of the Abbey (as seen in Figure 18). Abbot Henry chose wh.ich Aethelbald verified with a charter." Ordericus also to provide a visual representation, based on Felix's and states that the monastery was continuously inhabited from Ordericus' earlier written works, in order to educate all its foundation- by Aethelbald- in the eighth century.48 visitors about Crowland's ancient foundation. In the ulti The charter and history commissioned from Ordericus by mate settlements reached in the various disputes, the Roll Geoffrey appear to be deliberate misrepresentations con could have bolstered local support and provided impres cocted to solidify the monastery's claim to its land in the sive evidenoc of the Abbey's claims for important visitors. aftermath of the Norman Conquest of 1066." As Colgrave has noted, "it was very much to the benefit of the monas tery in the early days of the Conquest to be able to point Florida State Univmity
4 I For two similar studies also attempting to plaoc the production or an 11 In addition to gla.ss. other scholan ha\'C suggested the follo"ing as 1he inustnned saint's Ult into historical context see Barbant Abou-FJ-Haj. intended finished product: Boasc (288). enamel; Worm.aid (263). a "Bury St Edmunds Abbey bet,,.,un 1070 and 1124: A Hi.story or Prop gold shrine; Warner (19). shrine or altar decorations and decoration erty. Prh·ilcgc. and MonaMic Art Production,~ Art History, 6 (1983). for the spandrels o( arches-; and Roberts (208), a ociting v.ith wood 1-29 and Abou-EJ-Haj, "Consecration and ln\'CStiturc in the Life or carvinp. Saint Amand. Valcncicnnes. Bibi. Mun. MS 502,fl Ari Bullttfn, 61 12 Acthelbald was a. Chris:1Wln k.ing. ln Felix's Uft of Ourhlac, he is por• ( 1979~ 342-l8. tra)'OO in a positive and S)mpathclic manner. Aethdbald, howC\'Cr, 2 The $CCllCS from 1hc Guthlae Roll comprise figures one to eighteen in cvcntuall)' t1.1rned his back on his cart)' life of Otristian charil)'· In a this paper. Crowtand i.s the name or the island to whic,h Guthlac letter written b)' Boniface and seven osher bishops (co. 746). Aethel retreated to become an ascetic~ an abbey was later founded there and bald 'is accused of leading a dissolute life and making attacks on the was also called Crowland. privileges and possessions of monasteries... Bertram Colgr.wc, Felix'J Uf~ of Salm Gurhlac (Cambridge. 19.56), 7. Acthclbald was murdered 3 This description or the Roll is from Gc<>rge Warner, Tht Guthlac Roll by his own bodyguard in 757. (Oxford. 1928), 1-20. The pieoes of \'Cllum measure 22½, 27, 28½, 22 and 8¼ inches. 13 Why the king of East Anglia. Aclfwald. would have commissioned the Ufe. of a Mercian sain1 i.s not known. Colgra\-e (Felix'$ U/t, 16) sug-. 4 Nigel Morgan, Early Gothk: Manuscriprs (}) J/9().J}j() (Oxford. 198·2), gcstS that Crowland'$ position on the border bctwcc-n Mercia and East 67. Morgan pro\'idcs a comprc-hensi\'C study or the Roll v.ith informa Anglia ma)' have aroused spccia.l interest in Guthlac's life. Fun.her• tion on content. style. dating. provenance, literatun: and exhibitions. See more, Aethelbald m.'I)' ha\-c spent time in Ea.c;t Anglia a.c; an ex.ilc, Morgan. nQ. 22. for the information inel'uded in this paragraph. thereby forming a close rt.lationship with Aelfwald. S For more on the Style 1200 sec Konrad Hoffmann, ed .. 7M YMr 14 Felix's life of Guthl« has rcoeivtd considerable attention from sichola.rs Jl(){J: A Cn,trnm'a/ Exhibiri<>n of tllt' MrlrOJ><>h'.tan Museum of Art, I and several editions of the life have been published. The best edition is (New York, 1970) and I). H. Turner, .. Manuscript Illumination." in ed .. Colgnh-c. Felix's Ufe. containing both a Latin edition and an Engli.ih F. Dcuchler, JI (New York, 1970), fig. 16), for a specific. reference to 1ranslation of fclix) text. Colgravc includes a descri ption of the 1hc Guthlac Roll. These two volumes comprise a catalog of the collec thin.ccn ex.tanl man'1SleriptS containing a text or GuthJac'S Uf~. with an tion of S1yle 1200 ob)'ec:tS exhibited at the Mc1ropoli1an Museum of anat)'s:is of the rc,Jations.hip among the \'arious manuscripts. He also Art between 12 February and 10 May 1970. iDCfudes information on other Gu1hlac material and on the history or Crowl.and Abbey. Colgra\'C considers his edition a '"'rcconstructi\'e.. 6 Morgan 67. For more information on the Bestiary r,c,c Morgan. no. 21 work. By considering the variants in all extant manuscript<;, Colgra\'c and illus.. 66-70. A facsimile edition or the Bestiary was produced by ha.c; attempted to get as close as possible to Felix's original text. M. R. James for the Roxburghc Club in 1928 and a complete transla• lion and rtproduction has been published by T. H. White, ed. and The text of Ftlix's Uft of Guthloc has bcc:n further discussed by Bcnram Colgrave, in "'The Ear!K:Sl Saints' Lives Written in England." trans.. TM B,miary, A Bo,ok of Bea.m (New York, 19S4). Procttdi'ngs oftht> Brirish Academy (London. 1958; rpt. Kraus Ncndeln/ 7 Other lhan the ob\•ious connections to Crowland. the onJy evidence 1hat 1.icchtenstcin), 1977, )S-00. the Roll was made for the Abbey is 1he scene of the bcnefa<:tors of IS l'hc practice of basing an illustrated cycle of a saint's life on a much Crowland in the las1 roundel. Defore the Roll was bough! by the British earlier wrincn version of his life was common in Western Europe Museum in l7SJ. it was acquired by either Robert Harley, Earl of from the llth,12ih centuries, when iDusuat«I saints' U\res firs1 became Oxford (1661-1724~ or his'""""'°' Edward (1639-1741). Morgan 68. Popular, Sec Abou-EI-Haj. "Saint Amand,fl 343, n. 6 for more on this 8 Morgan 67. The Abbey was identified as Re\'C.~b)' by M. R. James. practice along with a tis! of the iUustratcd saints' l),,n produocd during this: period. 9 Slylistic convtntions shared by the Roll and the Bes,1iary include: the indi..;dualil)' of facia l characteristics; use of drapery and geMure to 16 The Heroic lilcrary tradition e\'ident in Felix's life of Guthlac aDd in heighten dramatic and oarrati\'e flow: comf)ositional similarities in the other car1y English sain1s' LAies is analy1.cd b)' C. Albertson. Ang/~ use o( roundels; and clements of the architectural backgrounds. Saxon Saints and 1/f!rMs (Fordham. 1967). This titera.ry tradition undoubted!)• innucnced the artii;t of the Guthlac Rott JO Brief accoun1s of the Roll. with some iUustf3tions. arc quite frequent in Ji1cra1urc dating from the late eighteenth to the earl)• twentieth oc-ntur 17 Felix writes th.at GuthLac had gathered "together companions from ies. For an extensi\'c tis1, sec Morgan 68. ,•arious races and from au directions...... Colgra\'C, F~li.x's Uf,. 81. Colgrnc ()) confirms !hat this is ·a true indication of his military In addition to worts already cited, the !loll has more recentl y been prowess." mentioned in the f~k)wing: S. T. R. 0. d'Ardennc. ·Toe Oc\'il's 18 'The idc.a. of becoming a soldier for Christ b)' d)>ing for one's faith is one Spou1:· 1tanJ0<'1/ons of rM Pl1ik>logica/ Society (1946), 46-48: Francis of the oldest themes in the Christian Church and was pan.icularly pow Wormald, "Some Illustrated Manuscripts of the Ll\'CS of the Saints... erful in the first centuries after the. dealh of thrist. One-of the bes! &,/Mn of 1h, John Rylands Ubrary. 35 (19l2), 262-3; T. S. R. souroes for the martyrdom of early Christians L1 Herbert Mus.uriUo, Roa!ie, f),glish Art JJJ()./216 (Oxford. 19SJ). 288: J. E.,.am., A His10ry 1ht' Ac,s <>/the Christion MarJyr.s (Ox.ford, 1972). of tM Soc,'ety <>f Amiquaries (Oxfnrd, 1956). 37, 97: M. Riekert, Lo Minia1ura Jr1glrs~ dall, Orig,M a/la r~ de/ secclo XII (Milan, 1959). F'or the devt.lopment of asceticism as a type of mar1)TdOm in the I. pl. l8; J. Ballruiaitis, /uwi/s er Pro
Sub,cquen1 rclcrenoes 10 Riley's transLition \\ill be cited as Ritey. 31 Other hagiographic ac1ivi1y included 1hc 1ransla1ions or the bones or JngulphS Chronicle or, if one of 1he continuations is being cited, as two other loailly significant sainls, Neot and Walthcof (Colgrave. Riley. Frrst Continuotlt>n or s«t»,d Com1ituolio,1. ctc. Ftlix's Uft. 14). For the s1ory of Wahhcor. earl of Northumbria, and Neot sec Marjorie ChibnaU. ed. and trans.. ~ F.aWskutictJI His10ry 22 While discussing Henry Longchamp and his rule as abbot, I " ill refer ofOrderlc Vl,alis, ,'QI. II. Books Ill and JV (Oxford, 1969). to him as the patron or the RolL Unfot1una1ely. we M,'t no documcD tation as 10 the M:Sen1it)' or the patron. Given the aocomplishments or 32 Sc-.-eral literary works conocming Noot, Walthcor, and Cuthlac were Henry's ru)e (as we shall see below) it stems likely 1ha1 he was indocd ~mple1ed al Crowland during Henry's rule, including a Life o( $1. the major force behind the produc:1ion of the Roll. fJscwhere in this Waltheof and a Ufe of St. Neot wriuen around the time or Neot's paper I have referred 10 ..p atrons" of the RoU: this is in keeping with trdnslation in 1213 (Cotgra,'t, Fe.lix's Ufe, 41). Works concerning Guth my belief that 1he themes embodied in the Roll were prevalent through• lac included a revised version of his Ufr written by Petet of Blois and a out much or the history or the Abbey before 1hey were manifested in poem in Latin hexameters by Henry of Avranc.hC$ (Colgravc, Felix's the Roll. In shon. I regard Henry as the major force behind the Ufe. 22-4). creation of 1he RoU but not the originator or all the themes. Major building on the mona51cry and its manors was undertaken 23 Albertson 23. during Henry"s rule; he also adorned the monastery with "ecdesiastica.l ornaments aOO vessels of gold and silvtt, prcciou5 vcstmcnu., as \\'c-11 as 24 The Antonian tradition is discussed by Benjamin P. Kurtz.. "'From St. books or the grt-atest beau1y.... " (Riley. Stt
8 Appendix A llluslrations from lhe Textual Passages Differences Belween Cuthlac Roll Com,sponding to Each Sctne on the Roll " Felix's Text and the Roll
I. Gu1hlac. the figure al the 1op. Chapter XVIII. MPor when, with wakeful mind. he 00ntempb.tcd the wretched Ambiguous duTcrcnoe--Gu1hlac decides to iea.. -e his band of warriors death and the shameful ends of the ancient kings of his race . . . the-n in wean what appcan to be a coat of and devote himself to God. imagination the form of his own death rcvcalt:d i1$Clf to hjm; and . . . he mail. but in the second scene he is percei\'td that its course daily moved to that end .. .. (H)e vowed that. if he shown witM ut armor of any kind. (i.,,cd until the next day. he himself would become a servant or Christ.~ This change in dress is noc specifically noced in the text. One translation reads, he ·rose from his rude field-bod already dressed . . (Albertson, 185); another reads. "So when the mim of the dark night had been dis.pc-rscd . . then he dressed and raised h~ timbs from his rustic bed . .. .• (Colgra\l:, Ftllx~ Uft. 83~
2. Guthlac leaves his warriors who O)apter XIX. ''"[H]e declared that he had dcvoied himself to the service of God. Nooe. entrtal h.im to Slay. His comrades when they heard this were suuck with overwhelming ama1.cmcnt. aOO besought him with prayers and supplications not to undertake whal he prop05td; but he despised lheir prayers and persisted. unmoved. in his undcn:iking."
J. Outhlac rcoei\'cS the toMurc at Chapter XX . ..[ H]e came to lht monastery or Rcp1on, in which he received the Minor-Felix docs not mention Repton Abbey. mystic tonsure of St f>etcr the chief or apostles. under an abbess whose name 1hc bishop or any or the onlookers v.a.s Aetfthl)1h.... • and the abbess Aclfthr)th has been misidentified as Ebba.
4. 1iltwinc takes him to the istand Chapter XXV. "... Tatwi1,e, declared 1ha1 he knew a ccnain island in the more Minor-addition o( the third of Crowland. remote and hidden pa.rts of that dcsc.rt. . .. Guthlac .. . earnestly besought his pel'$0n. informant to show him the place. Tatwinc according!)' as.~ntcd ... a nd, taking a Rshcrman·s skiff, ma.de his way . . . through trackless bogs within the confines of the dismal m.ars.h till he came to the said spot; it is called Crowland ...."
5. Guthlac and two assistantS build Chapter XXVIII. No applicable quol.lltion. The peninen1c hapter n.-ads in part: Differs compktdy- fclix dcx.-s not a chapel on Crowland. "Now there was in the said lSland a mound buill of clods of earth which greedy describe the aaual building of an)' comer& to the w;me had dug open ... in lhe side of this then- seemed lo be a sort structurcs on Crowland. or cistern. and in this Guthlac .. . began to d well. afler building a hut over it ...
6. St. Banholomew and an angel Chapter XXIX. • He began ind«d 10 despair so utterly that he thought he had Minor-the;mgel and Guthlae's appear 10 Guthb.c. undcnaken an infi nite a nd insupportabk: labour• ... But on 1he third dll)' ... he disciple. 8cccelm. do noc appear in began 10 sing as though through the spirit of prophecy: 'In my dislre-ss I cal)ocl the text a t this point. upon the Lord,' etc. And lo! the blessed Banholornew his trusly helper presented him.self bcfort his ga:te in the morning watches."
?. Demons scourge Guthlac and Chapter XXXI. · whe.n after innumerable kinds 0(1ormen1s, after beating.,; with Minor- 8cccclm again carry him up into the air. iron whips, they saw him persist unmoved and showing a robust oonfidenoe in ptematurely induded: ar1is1's the enterprise he had underl.llken. the)' began 10 drag him through the cloudy depiction of the demons differs stretches of the (rcc1.ing skM:$ to the sound of the horrid beating o( their v.fo_g:s. • considerably from those described by Ftlix. Two c,,-ents have boen combined. In the text, Guthbc is fiist scourged and then is carried up into the sky.
8. As the demons prt:parc to throw Chapters XXXI. XXXII and XXXIII . ...Th us with all their forces joined in Major- addition of the scourge, Guthlac into the mouth of hell St. one, they turned their way with immen$C uproar into the thin air. and which is never mentioned in the Banholomew apptarS and gives carried • •• GuthL,c. to 1hc accursed jaws of hell.. .. Indeed just as they text. Guthlac a scourge. were preparing themsc)\'es as if 10 thrust him into hclt and instant tortures. lo! St Bartholomew . .. broke into the midst of the swarthy darkness of night . . . and presented himself before them gin with golden brilliance. . . . Then S1 Bartholomew commands the escorting bands 10 take Gu1hfac back to his own dwelling v.ith the utmost qu.Ct. none molesting or harming him.·
9 lliustratiOM from tht Textual P""8ges Differences Bet"'-een Guthlac Roll co,,...ponding to Each Scene on the Roll" Felix's Ttxt and tht: Roll
9. Guthlac scourges demons who Chapter XXXVI. No applicable quotation. The pertinent chapter reads in part: Major- Guthlac's use of the ha\'e im1aded his cell. ·Straightway he saw manifold sh.apes or various monsters t>ursting into his scourge to chase awa)' his demonic house from all sides... . And so the holy servant of Christ. arming his breast tormentort. v.ith the sign of salvation and despising all phantoms or 1his sort, uttered these words: ·O most wrctehed Satan, your strtngth is made manifest: for now do you not imitate the whinnying. the grunting and 1he croaking of miserable bcaSl\ . .. '? Tberefort I command you in the name of Jesus Christ who banished you from hea\'l!n, to desis1 from 1his 1umult.'fl
10. He cu.res E.ep. a possessed re Chapter XLII. '"At anocher time 100 a ccrta.ingrslth or the . .. exile Ac1helbakl, Minor- demon flees before Utiner of rri.ncc Ae1hclb.1ld. b)' bind· named Ecga, was miserably attacked b)' the extreme violenoe of an u.nc1ea.n Guthlac has finished l:>inding Eega ing him with his girdle. spirit . .. . One day his relatives . .. 100k him 10 1he abode of this same Guth lac. in his girdle. and as soon as he bound himself with the saint's girdle. he felt that all his madness had disappeared ......
11. Gu1 hlac is ordained a pric$1 b)' Chapter XLVII. ·So the snid bishop . . . began to beg and adjure GuthJac to Minor- witnesses noc mentioned. Bishop Hedda [sf<]. rcoch•c priesl's orders al his hand •... 'The bishop rose up withjo){ul heart aod, ha\ing first consecrated the church, dedicated h.im to the mos1 high God as a fai1hful priest·
12. He advises the exiled Mereian Chapter XLIX. ·Now at a certain time when that exile AC1helb.i)d ... was t>cing Major- Prince Ae1hclbald i.s Prince Ae1helbald. driven hither and thithe-r by King Ceofrtd and tossed about among di\t:1'$ identified as Rix by an inscription. peoples . • . and when his strenglh was utterly exhausted, he came at last to .speak with the holy man Guthlac... . While he was oonversing with 1hc blessed Guthlac., !he man of God. as if interpreting a divine oracle, began to rt\'Cal to him his future in detail. . . , •
13. During his last illness, Gu1hlae Chapter L "'Now at that time there was a brother called Beoccl (sie] living with None. talks with his disciple . .8ecocfm. h.im . ... On the day when the illness fil'S-t bc-g:,n. he came to Gulhlacand, as wa.s his custom, began to ask the man of God abou1 oert.ain th.in.gs. .. . The man of God an.s"-ered him: 'My son. the cause or my sickness is that my spirit is ka\ing lhis body; and the end of my sickness will be on the eighth day.. . .''"
14. Guthfac dlCS and his soul is Ch.apter L. •He said thC$C words and ... then raising his eyes to he.a\'cn and Minor-addition of angels who carried to hca\>en b)• angels. stretching out his hands aloft. he sent fonh his spirit to the joys or perpetual receive Gu1h.Jac's soul. bliss. Meanwhile .. . the house filled with the splendour of he.tvenly l.ight and a tower as of fire Stretching rrom canh 10 hcavtn.. .. The whole air was heard to lhunder \I/1th angelic songs.. . . "
15. 8ecctlm tells GuthJac's sis1er Chapter L •And finding the hol)' virgin of Christ Pega. he[9ecoclm] tokl her in Minor-setting and onlookers not Pega or his death. Ofdtt au her brother's commands.. When she heard them she foll down in a mentioned: Pe&-1 appears less he.'l.dlong fall, and as she lay upon the ground she withered away to the very stunned than described by Felix. marrow b)' the mighty afflict.On of her grief, .. ...
16. Guthl.ac is entombed by Pega Chap1er L. '"On the nexl day they came to the island in accordance with the Minor.-«rtmony much and Bcccclm. commands of the blessed m.1n .... The handmaiden of God spent three days in daborated from text commanding the spirit of her bro1her to hc.a\'en . . . and on the th.ird day in a«ordanoe with his command she t>uricd his ble.s.,ed limbs in his oratory. CO\'tri.ng them with earth."
17. Guthlac appears to Aethelbakl Chapter Lil.'", .. Aethclbald . .. was sei7.cd v.ith sudden grief aDd came to the Differs almost oomplctely on Crowtaod. saint's body. ... When lhe shades of e-.-ening fell, he spent 1hc night in a certain Acthdbakl is shown pra)ing at hut in which he used to stay when Guthlac was a.lh-e •••• Shortly after .•. he was Guthlac's tomb while his th..r« suddenly arous«I, and saw the whole cell in which.he was resting Iii up with the retainers have fallen asleep. splendour of a mighty light. As he lay terrified by this same vision. he suddenly Apparent allusions to tmditiona.1 saw the l:>lesscd Guthlac standing before him robed in angelic splendour. while representations of the prayer at he said to him:·. . . Do not be sad •. . for t>cfore the sun has passed 1hrough its Gethsemane and 1he ,,oH me yearly course in twcl ..-c re\·olulions you shall be giw:.n the sceptre of your tungttrr scene. kingdom.··
18. Benefactors orCrowbnd Abbey No applicable quotation. Differs completely- Crowland arc shown with pledges of their Abbey was not founded until arter donations and a possessed man is fcJix wrocc his Uf~ ofGu,hlac. cu.rod at Guthlac'$ tomb.
JO The Guthlac Roll contains 17 complete roundels and one which exists partially, its left half missing at the beginning of the Roll.
I.
II 12 /J