View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Dissertations Department of English Fall 12-12-2010 Early Medieval Rhetoric: Epideictic Underpinnings in Old English Homilies Jennifer M. Randall Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Randall, Jennifer M., "Early Medieval Rhetoric: Epideictic Underpinnings in Old English Homilies." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2010. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss/61 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EARLY MEDIEVAL RHETORIC: EPIDEICTIC UNDERPINNINGS IN OLD ENGLISH HOMILIES by JENNIFER RANDALL Under the Direction of Dr. George Pullman ABSTRACT Medieval rhetoric, as a field and as a subject, has largely been under-developed and un- der-emphasized within medieval and rhetorical studies for several reasons: the disconnect be- tween Germanic, Anglo-Saxon society and the Greco-Roman tradition that defined rhetoric as an art; the problems associated with translating the Old and Middle English vernacular in light of rhetorical and, thereby, Greco-Latin precepts; and the complexities of the medieval period itself with the lack of surviving manuscripts, often indistinct and inconsistent political and legal struc- ture, and widespread interspersion and interpolation of Christian doctrine. However, it was Christianity and its governance of medieval culture that preserved classical rhetoric within the medieval period through reliance upon the classic epideictic platform, which, in turn, became the foundation for early medieval rhetoric. The role of epideictic rhetoric itself is often undervalued within the rhetorical tradition because it appears too basic or less essential than the judicial or deliberative branches for in-depth study and analysis. Closer inspection of this branch reveals that epideictic rhetoric contains fundamental elements of human communication with the focus upon praise and blame and upon appropriate thought and behavior. In analyzing the medieval world‟s heritage and knowledge of the Greco-Roman tradition, epideictic rhetoric‟s role within the writings and lives of Greek and Roman philosophers, and the popular Christian writings of the medieval period – such as Alfred‟s translation of Boethius‟ Consolation of Philosophy, Alfred‟s translation of Gregory the Great‟s Pastoral Care, Ælfric‟s Lives of Saints, Ælfric‟s Catholic Homilies, Wulfstan‟s Sermo Lupi ad Anglos, and the anony- mously written Vercelli and Blickling homiles – an early medieval rhetoric begins to be re- vealed. This Old English rhetoric rests upon a blended epideictic structure based largely upon the encomium and vituperation formats of the ancient progymnasmata, with some additions from the chreia and commonplace exercises, to form a unique rhetoric of the soul that aimed to con- vert words into moral thought and action within the lives of every individual. Unlike its classical predecessors, medieval rhetoric did not argue, refute, or prove; it did not rely solely on either praise or blame; and it did not cultivate and rely upon words merely for intellectual, educative, or political purposes. Instead, early medieval rhetoric placed the power of words in the hands of all humanity, inspiring every individual to greater discernment of character and reality, greater spir- ituality, greater morality, and greater pragmatism in daily life. INDEX WORDS: Medieval rhetoric, Epideictic rhetoric, Christian rhetoric, Classical rhetoric, Greco-Roman rhetoric, Greek rhetoric, Roman rhetoric, Philosophic rhetoric, Old English, Me- dieval period, Homilies, Alfred the Great, Boethius‟ Consolation of Philosophy, Consolatio Philosophiae, Gregory the Great‟s Pastoral Care, Pastoral Rule, Ælfric, Aelfric, Lives of Saints, Catholic Homilies, Wulfstan‟s Sermo Lupi ad Anglos, The Sermon of the Wolf to the English, Vercelli, Blickling, Encomium, Vituperation, Commonplace, Chreia, Progymnasmata EARLY MEDIEVAL RHETORIC: EPIDEICTIC UNDERPINNINGS IN OLD ENGLISH HOMILIES by JENNIFER RANDALL A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2010 Copyright by Jennifer Michelle Randall 2010 EARLY MEDIEVAL RHETORIC: EPIDEICTIC UNDERPINNINGS IN OLD ENGLISH HOMILIES by JENNIFER RANDALL Committee Chair: Dr. George Pullman Committee: Dr. Eddie Christie Dr. Scott Lightsey Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University December 2010 iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my husband Gregory whose flexibility and love has allowed this dream to become a reality and to the Gardner family who encouraged, strengthened, and cared for me along the way. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to Dr. Pullman for his guidance with this project and for his listening ear, attentive eye, and words of advice. His generosity knows no bounds. I‟d also like to thank my dissertation committee members Dr. Christie and Dr. Lightsey for offering their invaluable assis- tance and thank Dr. Christie for his inspiring lectures on all things medieval and for the care he shows his students. And, to everyone who has had a hand in this project, may the road rise up to meet you and the sun shine warm upon your face. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... v 1 MEDIEVAL RHETORIC: CONCEPT, CONFUSION, AND SCHOLARSHIP ......... 1 2 EPIDEICTIC SYNTHESIS AND DEVELOPMENT IN GREEK, ROMAN, AND CHRISTIAN RHETORIC ......................................................................................................... 52 3 EPIDEICTIC RHETORIC AND STRUCTURE IN ALFRED‟S TRANSLATIONS OF BOETHIUS‟ CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY AND GREGORY THE GREAT‟S PASTORAL CARE ..................................................................................................................... 114 4 EPIDEICTIC RHETORIC AND STRUCTURE IN EXCERPTS FROM ÆLFRIC‟S LIVES OF SAINTS AND CATHOLIC HOMILIES............................................................... 171 5 EPIDEICTIC RHETORIC AND STRUCTURE IN WULFSTAN‟S SERMO LUPI AD ANGLOS AND IN VERCELLI, BLICKLING, AND ANONYMOUSLY WRITTEN MEDIEVAL HOMILIES ......................................................................................................... 236 6 FINAL THOUGHTS: EARLY MEDIEVAL RHETORIC ......................................... 294 WORKS CITED ........................................................................................................................ 310 1 MEDIEVAL RHETORIC: CONCEPT, CONFUSION, AND SCHOLARSHIP Though medieval rhetoric cannot be traced with certainty to the Greco-Roman classical tradition, the ancient tradition and its observations of human communication underpin medieval rhetoric‟s development. Too often scholars disregard Rome‟s connection with medieval England because of historical gaps and because of insufficient evidence to concretely assess a relationship between the Germanic, Anglo-Saxon culture and the Hellenistic, Roman society. As a result, scholars tend to distance themselves from this area of exploration or try to find medieval rhetoric within proscriptive documents written at the onset of the medieval period by such figures as Ca- pella and Bede and by later Middle English figures such as Rabanus Maurus and Alain de Lille. While these figures and documents are important for defining medieval rhetoric, they do not tell the entire tale, and ultimately medieval rhetoric is not found in proscriptive, rhetorical handbooks or technical manuals such as those clearly produced by ancient figures from Plato, Aristotle, Cic- ero, and Quintilian. Instead, medieval rhetoric is found in the living language, tone, and moral conviction of its writers and translators evident in such influential Old English figures as Alfred, Ælfric, and Wulfstan. The writings and translations of these men create a foundation for medieval culture and rhetoric in their reliance upon Roman Christian ideals and in their inclusion of Greco-Roman epideictic structure and amplification. Relying upon the educative Roman rhetorical elements adopted into Christian scripture and religious writing, as well as the classically defined epideictic rhetorical branch stemming from natural human desires like personal validation and social con- nection, the moral heartbeat of medieval culture, with its rhetorical underpinnings and subse- quent unique communicative style, can be identified. 2 For the medieval world, there is no definitive date that marks the ending of the ancient world and the beginning of the middle ages. Henry Osborn Taylor asserts that such a transition was one of spiritual change where antique paradigms slowly died and were replaced by a preoc- cupation with spirituality and moral living (The Classical 1). This is the paradox of medieval rhetoric. Scholars, while acknowledging medieval classical elements, are hesitant to assign clas- sical influences to England‟s medieval culture