The English Inheritance of Biblical Verse By Patrick McBrine A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto © Patrick Corey McBrine 2008 Thesis Abstract Title: The English Inheritance of Biblical Verse Submitted by: Patrick McBrine Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, 2008 Department: Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto “The English Inheritance of Biblical Verse” explores the transmission of late antique Latin biblical poetry to England and the subsequent development of the genre in the vernacular. This study offers close readings of the most important contributions to a genre that produced more than twenty major compositions between AD 400 and 1500. For over a millennium, this literature effectively represented the Bible in popular form, yet this is the first study to explore the stylistic and thematic affinities between the Latin and English traditions. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to ‘biblical verse,’ defines the term and offers a broad outline of the genre, including a summary of general stylistic features and critical trends. The first chapter also provides an overview of the subject matter in each of the following chapters. Chapter 2 discusses the Latin beginnings of the genre in the fourth century, beginning with the poetry of Juvencus, whose stylistic choices regarding the appropriation of classical literature establish many of the generic norms for later poets. Among them is Cyprianus, who reflects the Juvencan model in his Heptateuch, while Prudentius, though not a biblical poet per se, anticipates a movement toward stylistic freedom in later versifications of the Bible. ii Chapter 3 examines the growing stylistic freedom among biblical versifications at the end of late antiquity. Sedulius, Avitus and Arator break the silence imposed by epic conventions of detachment and begin to comment on the underlying significance of biblical episodes such as the crossing of the Red Sea at length. Biblical exegesis and figural allusions to Christ abound in the poetry of this period. Chapter 4 shifts the focus to Anglo-Saxon England and the study of Juvencus, Sedulius and Arator in the monastic schools of the time. Many Anglo-Latin writers, especially Aldhelm, Bede and Alcuin, borrow heavily from the style of late antique biblical verse. My purpose here is to deepen our understanding of the specific ways in which this is the case. Chapter 5 makes another transition, to Old English biblical poetry. My goal here is to explore the ways in which the Latin and vernacular traditions overlap. My approach is mainly stylistic, and I focus in particular on the biblical verse of the Junius manuscript, containaing Genesis A/B, Exodus, Daniel and Christ and Satan. Chapter 6 offers some conclusions about the variety of functions and audiences of this literature. I also suggest what work remains to be done and how knowledge of the Latin tradition informs our understanding of the literature of the Anglo-Saxon period. My goal, therefore, is to examine various ways in which poets of different eras versify the Bible by considering what is omitted from, elaborated upon and unique to a given period or author. Ultimately, I aim to show that Latin and Old English biblical verse have more in common that not and that knowledge of the former enriches understanding of the latter. iii Acknowledgements Throughout my dissertation I have benefitted from the direction and support of the members of my thesis committee. Professors Andy Orchard, Toni Healey and David Townsend have offered countless suggestions and corrections at every stage of writing. They have also been patient and encouraging, as I have tried to find a way to approach this vast body of literature. I could not have managed the many difficult passages of Latin in late antique biblical verse without the teaching of David Townsend, who has supported me since my arrival at the Centre for Medieval Studies. To David I owe my knowledge of Latin and the opportunity to teach it at the University. David is also always quick to respond with an answer to any Latin question, and the grace and kindness he shows in his teaching is inspiring. I am also grateful to Toni Healey, who invited me to work at the Dictionary of Old English early in my career at the University of Toronto. The experience of using the whole Corpus and reading entries has given me insight into the language I could not have gotten anywhere else, and Toni’s own meticulous proofreading skill saved me from innumerable errors. I would like to thank everyone at the Dictionary of Old English as well for their help and guidance in negotiating the Corpus. Andy Orchard’s influence upon my work is immeasurable, and I cannot thank him enough for all of the times he has helped to further my career. Andy is responsible for much of my knowledge of late antique biblical poetry and Old English, and his guidance throughout my doctoral degree has kept me on the right path. To Andy I owe my first public lecture, my first publication, my good relationship with the University of Toronto Press, and much of the good fortune I have had in Toronto. Thank you. iv I would also like to thank Professor Gernot Wieland who joined the defense as my external examiner. Professor Wieland offered a variety of important suggestions and corrections to my thesis, and his comments during the defense itself helped to clarify my own view about the relationship between Latin and vernacular verse. Professor Wieland’s work on late antique poetry also allowed me to express a degree of comfort with the idea that Latin biblical verse was part of the Anglo-Saxon school curriculum. I would like to thank Ian McDougall, who also took part in the defense and offered a number of suggestions to clarify the modus operandi of Old English poets. In addition to these scholars I would also like to thank all those who have helped me get to this point. I owe a debt of thanks to the University of New Brunswick and the Classics Department in particular, which long ago fostered my passion for Latin. At Queen’s University, George Clark introduced me to Old English and Old Norse, and his dedication to his teaching and to his students inspired me to apply to the Centre for Medieval Studies. I also owe George a debt of thanks for introducing me to my wife, Caroline, who has suffered through every step of this process with me, even when she was days away from bringing our son Kieran into the world. More than anyone else, Caroline has shared in my daily struggle with words, and to her and my son Kieran I owe my great thanks and love. Patrick McBrine University of Toronto September, 2008 v Contents Thesis Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv List of Abbreviations vii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Early Latin Biblical Verse: Juvencus, Cyprianus, Prudentius 13 Chapter 3 Later Latin Biblical Verse: Sedulius, Avitus, Arator 53 Chapter 4 Anglo-Latin ‘Biblical Verse’: Aldhelm, Bede, Alcuin 102 Chapter 5 Old English Biblical Verse: Genesis A, Exodus, Daniel 146 Chapter 6 Conclusion 194 Appendices 203 Bibliography 223 vi Abbreviations ASE Anglo-Saxon England ASPR Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina CSASE Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England CdV Carmen de uirginitate CE Carmina ecclesiastica Cp Carmen paschale ELN English Language Notes ES English Studies Ev Euangelia CMCS Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum HE Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum MÆ Medium Ævum MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica NM Neuphilologische Mitteilungen PIMS Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies PL Patrologia Latina TAPS Transactions of the American Philosophical Society TMLT Toronto Medieval Latin Texts vii Chapter 1 Introduction Throughout its existence—from Juvencus to Klopstock—the Biblical epic was a hybrid with an inner lack of truth, a genre faux. The Christian story of salvation, as the Bible presents it, admits no transformation into pseudo-antique form. Not only does it thereby lose its powerful, unique, authoritative expression, but it is falsified by the genre borrowed from antique Classicism and by the concomitant linguistic and metrical conventions. That Biblical epic could nevertheless enjoy such great popularity is explained only by the need for an ecclesiastical literature which could be matched with and opposed to antique literature. So a compromise solution was reached.1 E.R Curtius’ evaluation of Latin biblical verse is scarcely an endorsement of the genre, and his attitude does not reflect that of most late antique and medieval audiences, who admired this poetry, recommended it to others, produced manuscript collections of it and imitated it in their own writings. Biblical poets must compromise in the negotiation of scriptural and non-scriptural materials, but for Curtius this means a glass half empty, a dilution of the potency of both classical and biblical sources, while most late antique and medieval audiences see a glass half full, an opportunity to enjoy the best of both worlds—the form of the old and the content of the new. Certainly, something intrinsic of the classical work is diminished in the translation to biblical poetry; the same is true of the works that lay behind vernacular versifications of the Bible in the Anglo-Saxon period, such as Genesis A.2 This fact does not seem to bother most ancient and medieval audiences, however, who accept this literature for what it is. Biblical epic is a hybrid genre, yes, but not a faux one. There are no pretenders here and no illusions about the pseudo-antique forms that fire the poetic vigour of this literature. The audience knows 1 E.