THE USES OF SECULAR RULERS AND CHARACTERS IN THE WELSH SAINTS’ LIVES IN THE VESPASIAN LEGENDARY (MS. COTTON VESPASIAN A. XIV.) Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Philologischen Fakultät der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg i.Br. vorgelegt von Luciana Meinking Guimarães aus Salvador – Brasilien WS 2008/2009 Erstgutachterin: Prof. Dr. Hildegard Tristram Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Felix Heinzer Vorsitzende des Promotionsausschusses der Gemeinsamen Kommission der Philologischen, Philosophischen und Wirtschafts- und Verhaltenswissenschaftlichen Fakultät: Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Cheauré Datum der Disputation: 22. Juni 2009 Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility to complete this dissertation. I am particularly indebted to my supervisors Prof. Dr. Hildegard L. C. Tristram and Prof. Dr. Felix Heinzer for their encouragement, support and valuable input in the course of this research. My sincere thanks to Prof. Dr. Hans-Jochen Schiewer for all his support and supervision in the initial phase of my project. Especially, I am obliged to Dr. Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan for her brilliant insights, challenging questions and for showing me her contagious passion for the Welsh language and people, Prof. Dr. Erich Poppe for his interest in my research, his supporting words and the invaluable corrections of my first drafts; Dr. Morfydd Owen for her supporting attitude towards my research on the Welsh saints; Stefan Schustereder for his help with the correction of this thesis and for our lively talks about Wales and England. I am grateful for the discussion held with all the above-mentioned people for stimulating my ideas; however, the responsibility for the views expressed here and for the errors is entirely mine. Moreover, I would like to thank the Doctoral College “Lern- und Lebensräume im Mittelalter” of the University of Freiburg for providing the means to do the necessary research work and to gain practical experience in the academic world. Warmful thanks also to the following people for their great personal and professional assistance: Dr. Judith Theben, former coordinator of my Doctoral College, a great support in difficult moments; Berit Gass and Lenka Jiroušková (new friends); Dominik Suwito and Melanie Bloß (lovely and patient flatmates). My sincere thanks to my family, especially my parents, Ulisses and Cristiane Guimarães, my brothers Rafael and Eduardo and my sister Adriana, to all of whom this work is dedicated. THE USES OF SECULAR RULERS AND CHARACTERS IN THE WELSH SAINTS’ LIVES IN THE VESPASIAN LEGENDARY (MS. COTTON VESPASIAN A. XIV.) INDEX I INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................ 5 II THE RESEARCH SITUATION.............................................................................................................................. 9 II.1 HAGIOGRAPHY, SACRED BIOGRAPHIES, SAINTS’ LIVES, HEILIGENLEGENDEN.............................................9 II.2 THE CONTEMPORARY HAGIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH......................................................................................14 II.3 THE STATE OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH ON WELSH HAGIOGRAPHY......................................................18 II.3.1 The Welsh tradition of writing Saints’ Lives............................................................................................18 II.3.2 The scholarly views on Welsh monastic practices..................................................................................23 II.3.3 The historical context for the production of the eleventh- and twelfth-century Welsh Saints’ Lives................................................................................................................................................................26 II.3.4 The tradition of hagiographical studies relating to King Arthur.........................................................33 III THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL JUSTIFICATION............................................................35 III.1.1 Terminology.............................................................................................................................................37 III.1.2 Hagiography and folklore......................................................................................................................43 III.1.3 The miraculous as a connecting element............................................................................................49 III.2 THE MATERIAL.....................................................................................................................................................52 III.2.1 The corpus – the eleventh- and twelfth-century Welsh Saints’ Lives in the manuscript of the British Library Cotton Vespasian A. xiv .............................................................................................52 III.2.2 The Life of Saint Cadog as a base text................................................................................................54 III.2.3 The manuscript........................................................................................................................................55 III.3 THE EDITORS........................................................................................................................................................58 III.3.1 William Jenkins Rees and Canon Doble.............................................................................................58 III.3.2 Arthur Wade-Evans.................................................................................................................................58 IV THE SAINTS’ LIVES IN THE VESPASIAN LEGENDARY........................................................................61 IV.1 THE LIFE OF SAINT CADOG BY LIFRIS OF LLANCARFAN...............................................................................61 IV.1.1 Dating, authorship and the development of the Vespasian VC1.....................................................62 IV.1.2 Content......................................................................................................................................................71 IV.1.3 Structural analysis of the encounter-episodes ...................................................................................72 IV.1.3.1 The secular characters in the in vita section of the VC1 ........................................................................72 IV.1.3.1.1 Arthur...............................................................................................................................................74 IV.1.3.1.2 Maelgwn and Rhun of Gwynedd......................................................................................................88 IV.1.3.1.3 Pawl Penychen .................................................................................................................................93 IV.1.3.1.4 Sawl Benuchel ..................................................................................................................................95 IV.1.3.1.5 Brychan, his son Rhain and Meurig son of Enhinti .........................................................................96 IV.1.3.1.6 Minor secular characters ..................................................................................................................97 IV.1.4 The secular characters in the post-mortem section of the VC1 ....................................................103 IV.2 THE LIFE OF SAINT GWYNLLYW.................................................................................................................... 107 IV.2.1 Dating and authorship.........................................................................................................................107 IV.2.2 Content....................................................................................................................................................108 IV.2.3 Structural analysis of the encounter-episodes .................................................................................109 IV.2.3.1 The secular characters in the in vita section of the VGu......................................................................109 IV.2.3.2 Secular characters in the post-mortem section of the VGu ..................................................................110 IV.2.3.2.1 The British versifier........................................................................................................................110 IV.2.3.2.2 Gruffudd “of Gwynedd” and William the Conqueror....................................................................111 IV.2.3.2.3 Gruffudd “king of all Wales,” Edward the Confessor and Harold Godwinesson..........................118 IV.2.3.2.4 Caradog “king of Glamorgan,” William the Conqueror and William Rufus.................................120 IV.2.4 Summary .................................................................................................................................................122 IV.3 THE LIFE OF SAINT ILLTUD............................................................................................................................. 124 IV.3.1 Dating and authorship.........................................................................................................................124 IV.3.2 Content....................................................................................................................................................125