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University of Southampton Faculty of Arts and Humanities School of English Here be stories: exploring maps in children’s books with medieval cultural treasures and The Stone Feather lighting the way. DOI: 10.5258/SOTON/T0007 Volume 1 of 1 Katharine Rowena Lee MA ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1631-658X Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2019 University of Southampton Abstract Faculty of Arts and Humanities School of English Here be stories: exploring maps in children’s books with medieval cultural treasures and The Stone Feather lighting the way. Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Katharine Rowena Lee MA Through my creative practice in writing the children’s novel The Stone Feather, inspired by Domesday Book; the creation of my own artworks, including maps of the fictional world I have created; and my research into medieval ‘cultural treasures’ – in particular manuscripts and mappae mundi – I have discovered a fresh lens through which to explore and illuminate the presence and purpose of maps in children’s books. I focus on interlace as a ‘perceptual mode’1 and ideas around the ‘meditative engagement’2 that interlace design encourages, in relation to the roles that literary maps play, as well as its impact on my own process as a writer. My thesis is presented within the context of contemporary publishing and the need for children to develop a high level of visual literacy in a world dominated by visual images. My critical commentary includes a review of children’s books that feature maps and ‘cultural treasures’ as an integral part of imaginative world building and explores the notion of the ‘author as curator’. As an adventure story for 8-12 year olds with an ethical heart, The Stone Feather offers children the opportunity to reflect on different models of masculinity, compassion and strength – aspects of this original work that are valuable and timely. 1 Andrew Patenall ‘The Image of the Worm: Some Literary Implications of Serpentine Decoration’, in The Anglo-Saxons: Synthesis and Achievement, ed. J. Douglas Woods and David A.E. Pelteret (Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1986) p. 105 2 Ewan Clayton, The Golden Thread (London: Atlantic Books, 2015) p. 51 Table of contents Accompanying illustrations vii Research thesis: declaration of authorship ix Acknowledgements xi Critical commentary: Chapter One: History with a twist 1 Chapter Two: The artist emerges 9 Chapter Three: Pattern and purpose 21 Chapter Four: Cultural treasures 29 Chapter Five: Of monsters and men 39 Chapter Six: Getting back to maps 47 The Stone Feather – a Middle Grade novel by Katharine Rowena Lee 1 to 194 Appendices: Appendix One: Synopsis of The Stone Feather 1 Appendix Two: The Lambton Worm legend and lyrics 3 Appendix Three: Participating in conferences as part of my doctoral journey 7 Appendix Four: Experimenting with narrative layers 11 Bibliography 1 to 9 Accompanying illustrations The critical commentary and the manuscript of The Stone Feather are accompanied by a portfolio of original sketches, large scale working drawings and final colour illustrations created by the author, who is known as Kate rather than Katharine. vii University of Southampton Research thesis: declaration of authorship Here be stories: exploring maps in children’s books with medieval cultural treasures and The Stone Feather lighting the way. I declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; 4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; 5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help; 6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; 7. None of this work has been published before submission. 24 May 2019 ix Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors at the University of Southampton, Rebecca Smith and Catherine Clarke, for their invaluable knowledge, unwavering support and enthusiasm for my project. I would also like to thank Carole Burns and John McGavin for their insights, suggestions, encouragement and close comments during and after my MPhil Upgrade meeting; these proved extremely helpful in steering me in the right direction and offering a firm foundation for developing The Stone Feather by illuminating its strengths and flaws, and helping me to see more clearly its ethical heart. I am grateful to have received the Maureen Taylor Bursary over a period of three years; in addition to financial support this also meant a great deal to me because it showed faith in the quality and relevance of my creative work and my ability, as a mature student, to succeed at doctoral level. I have been fortunate to have long-term loyal support from my talented writer friends Gill Thompson, Jacqui Pack and Christine Mustchin; and, more recently, from the wonderful writers in The Write Process set up by Sharon Duggal for New Writing South. I would also like to thank Ali Holt who has always believed in me as a writer. Lastly, my heartfelt thanks go to my husband Grahame Lee whose moral support and practical help has been as staunch as Fen Ironturner’s support for Ethon: willingly crossing the Atlantic and driving me through the snow to reach a campus in deepest Michigan then waiting patiently whilst I spoke at a conference; making sure I never ran out of ink cartridges; and putting up more and more shelves as my research expanded into new terrains week by week, month by month. I dedicate this project to you. xi Chapter One: History with a twist It started with a pig, swiftly followed by an ox, a cow, a kiln and a plough – all items that were of interest to William the Conqueror’s men in 1086 when, after discussions with his advisers at the Christmas Court in Gloucester in 1085, the King sent his men all across England to gather information so that taxes could be levied. This ‘great survey of England’3 led to the creation of Domesday Book – an ‘accessible and coherently arranged record’4 of the King’s estates, those of his vassals and their tenants, and their value. According to a contemporary account by John of Worcester, the King wanted to know how much land each of his barons possessed, how much livestock each man owned and how much each estate could render.5 The King certainly needed funds to pay the mercenaries he had recruited to defend England from an abortive Danish attack. However, Elizabeth Hallam argues that the content and arrangement of Domesday Book imply that it was ‘far more than a geld book’6. She describes the creation of Domesday Book as a ‘dramatic and durable public gesture’7 by ‘one of England’s harshest and most able monarchs’8 and suggests that it was intended to symbolise the new order. Nicholas Vincent adds that the project might have been intended to assess baronial resources, to see how many troops could be mustered should the need arise – and to establish who could be asked to swear loyalty to the King.9 Scholars agree, however, that the wealth of detail sought and recorded, leading to the name ‘Domesday’ which alludes to the final judgement in the Christian faith, was ‘extraordinary’ and ‘exhaustive’.10 The level of ‘detail and thoroughness’11 scared and alienated the native population and this is expressed with plaintive eloquence in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles, which record that: 3 Richard Huscroft, The Norman Conquest – A New Introduction (Edinburgh: Pearson, 2009) p. 200 4 ibid p. 202 5 ibid pp. 200-201 6 Elizabeth Hallam, Domesday Book Through Nine Centuries (London: Thames and Hudson, 1986) p. 18 7 ibid p. 11 8 ibid 9 Nicholas Vincent, Britain 1066-1485 The Birth of a Nation (London: Constable and Robinson, 2011) p. 65 10 Huscroft, op. cit p. 202 11 Hallam, op. cit p. 17 1 There was no single hide nor a yard of land, nor indeed (it is a shame to relate but it seemed no shame to him [William] to do) one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was there left out, and not put down in his record.12 Although the great survey records the names of 13,418 places,13 Vincent suggests that ‘less than 40 persons’ were involved in both the gathering of information and the making of the actual book.14 Arguing that pragmatic reasons lay behind the decision to employ a small, easily managed bureaucracy, he comments that: If such surveys were to be completed, then they were best made in haste.