The Milieu and Context of the Wooing Group

Description

This book brings together the most current interpretations of the Wooing Group from scholars currently working on the fields of medieval spirituality, gender, and the anchoritic tradition, providing literary, theological, linguistic, and cultural context for the works associated with the Wooing Group (a collection of texts in English written by an unknown author in the late twelfth to early thirteenth centuries). These works are unique in their context - written almost certainly for a group of women living as anchoresses and recluses who were literate in English and were interested in guidance both in spiritual and worldly issues. The book discusses and explains the impact and significance of these works and situates them within the continuum of medieval theological and literary culture.

Sujets

• Medieval
• Histoire
• Idioma inglés
• Inglés medio
• Middle English
• English
• History
• Anglais
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: University of Wales Press
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780708322345
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Milieu and Context
of the Wooing Group

Susannah M. Chewning

University of Wales Press

RELIGION AND CULTURE IN THE MIDDLE AGES

The Milieu and Context of the Wooing Group

Series Editors
D e n is Re n e v e y( Un i v e r s i t yo fL a u s a n n e )
D ia n eW a tt (A b e ry s t w y t hU n iv e r s i t y )

Editorial Board
M ir iR u b in (Q u e e nM ar y ,U n iv e r s i t yo fL o n d o n )
J e a n - C l a u d eS c h m i t t( É c o l ed e sH a u te sÉ t u d e se nS c i e n c e sS oc i a l e s ,P a r i s )
F i o n aS o m e r s e t( Du k eU n iv e r s i t y )
C h r is t i a n i aW hi t e h e a d( Un i v e r s i t yo fW a r w ic k )

RELIGION AND CULTURE IN THE MIDDLE AGES

The Milieu and
of the Wooing

Edited by

Context
Group

SUSANNAH MARY CHEWNING

UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS
CARDIFF
2009

© Th eC o n tr i b u t o r s ,2 0 0 9

A ll ri g h t sr e s e r v e d .N op a r to ft h i sb o o km a yb er e p r o d u c e di na n ym a te r i a l
f o r m( i n c l u d i n gp h o t o c o p y i n go rs t o r i n gi ti na n ym e d iu mb ye le c t r o n i c
m e a n sa n dw h e th e ro rn o tt r a n s i e n t l yo ri n c i d e n t a l l yt os o me ot h e ru s eo f
t h i sp u b l i c a t i o n )w it h o u tt h ew ri t t e np e r m i s s i o no ft h ec o py r i g h to w n e r
e x c e p ti na c c o r d a n c ew it ht h ep r o v i s i o n so ft h eC o p y r ig h t ,D es i g n sa n d
P a t e n t sA c t1 9 8 8o ru n d e rt h et e r ms of a li c e n c ei s s u e db yt h eC op y r i g h t
L i c e n s i n gA g e n c yL t d ,S a f f r o nH o u s e ,6 – 1 0K ir b yS t r e e t ,L o nd o n ,E C 1 N
8 T S .A p p li c a t i o n sf o rt h ec o p y r i g h to w n e r ’sw ri t t e np e r m i ss i o nt or e p r o
d u c ea n yp a r to ft h i sp u b l i c a t i o ns h o u l db ea d d r e s s e dt oT h eU ni v e r s i t yo f
W a le sP r e s s ,1 0C o lu m b u sW a lk ,B r ig a n t i n eP l a c e ,C a r d if f ,C F1 04 U P.

www.uwp.co.uk

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A ca t a l o g u er e c o r df o rt h i sb o o ki sa v a i l a b l ef r o mt h eB r it i sh Li b r a r y .

I S B N9 7 8 - 0 - 7 0 8 3 - 2 0 3 3 - 4

T h er i g h t so ft h eC o n tr i b u t o r st ob ei d e n t i f i e da sa u t h o r so ft h i sw o rk ha v e
b e e na s s e r t e db yt h e mi na c c o r d a n c ew it hs e c t i o n s7 7 ,7 8a n d7 9 of th e
C o p y r ig h t ,D e s ig n sa n dP a t e n t sA c t 1 9 8 8 .

P r i n t e db yC P I A n to n yR o w e ,C h ip p e n h a m ,W il t s h i r e

S e r i e sE d i t o r s ’ P r e f a c e
A c k n o w le d g e m e n t s
N o te so nC o n tr i b u t o r s

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

CONTENTS

I n t r o d u c t i o n
Susannah Mary Chewning

T h e‘ C o n d i t i o n so fE l i g i b i l i t y ’ i nÞe Wohunge of ure Lauerd
Bella Millett

S p e a k i n go fF l e s ha n dS o u l :L i n g u i s t i ca n dS p i r i t u a l
T r a n s l a t i o ni nt h eW o o in gG ro u p
Susannah Mary Chewning

S u b j e c t ,O b je c ta n dM an t r ai nÞe Wohunge of ure Lauerd
Jennifer N. Brown

T h es p e l l i n g s< e > ,< e a >a n d< a >i nt wo Wo o i n gG ro u pt e x t s
( MS SL o n d o n ,C o tt o nN e ro A. x i va n dL o n d o n ,L a m b e t h
P a l a c e4 8 7 )
Jeremy Smith

Þe Wohunge of ure Lauerdt h eT r a d i t i o no fA ff e c t i v ea n d
D e v o ti o n :R e th i n k i n gT e x ta n dA u d ie n c e
Catherine Innes-Parker

‘ Þ eb l o dþ [ a t ]b o h t e ’ :T h eW o o in gG ro u pC h r is ta sP i e r c e d ,
P r i c k e da n dP e n e t r a t e dB o d y
Michelle M. Sauer

v i i
i x
x i

1

2 6

4 8

6 6

8 4

9 6

1 2 3

v i

8

9

1 0

1 1

T r a n s v e s t i s mi nt h eA n c h o rh o l d
Sarah Salih

C O N T E N T S

T h eW o o in gG ro u p :P a i n ,P l e a s u r ea n dt h eA n c h o ri t i cB o d y
Anne Savage

W ha tK in do fW ri t i n gi sA Talkyng of þe Love of God?
Michael G. Sargent

A ft e r wo r d :‘ OnEise’
Nicholas Watson

B ib l i o g r a p h y
I n d e x

1 4 8

1 65

1 7 8

1 9 4

2 1 1
2 2 9

SERIESEDITORS’ PREFACE

R e li g i o na n dC u lt u r ei nt h eM id d l eA g e sa i m st oe x p l o r et h ei nt e r f a c e
b e t w e e nm e d ie v a lr e l i g i o na n dc u l t u r e ,w it ha sb r o a da nu n d er s t a n d i n go f
t h o s et e r ms as po s s i b l e .I tp u t st ot h ef o r e f r o n ts t u d i e sw h ic he n g a g ew it h
w o rk st h a ts i g n i f i c a n t l yc o n t r i b u t e dt ot h es h a p i n go fm e d ie v a lc u l t u r e .
H o w e v e r,i ta l s og i v e sa t t e n t i o nt os t u d i e sd e a l i n gw it hw o rk st h a tr e f l e c t
a n dh i g h l i g h ta s p e c t so fm e d ie v a lc u l t u r et h a th a v eb e e nn e gl e c t e di nt h e
p a s tb ys c h o l a r so ft h em e d ie v a ld i s c i p l i n e s .F o re x a m p l e ,d ev o t i o n a lw o rk s
a n dt h ep r a c t i c et h e yi n f e ri l l u mi n a t eo u ru n d e r s t a n d i n go ft h em e d ie v a l
s u b j e c ta n di t sc u l t u r ei nr e ma r k a b l ew a y s ,w h il es t u d i e so ft h em a te r i a l
s p a c ed e s i g n e da n di n h a b i t e db ym e d ie v a ls u b j e c t sy i e l dn e we v i d e n c eo n
t h ep e r i o da n dt h ep e o p l ew h os h a p e di ta n dl i v e di ni t .I nt h el ar g e rf i e l do f
r e l i g i o na n dc u l t u r e ,w ea l s ow a n tt oe x p l o r ef u r t h e rt h er o le sp l a y e db y
w o m e na sa u t h o r s ,r e a d e r sa n do w n e r so fb o o k s ,t h e r e b yd e f i ni n gt h e m
m o re pr e c i s e l ya sa c t o r si nt h ec u l t u r a lf i e l d .T h es e r i e sa sa wh o l ei n v e s t i
g a t e st h eE u r o p e a nM id d l eA g e s ,f r o mc. 5 0 0t oct oi sa i mO u r. 1 5 0 0 .
e x p l o r em e d ie v a lr e l i g i o na n dc u l t u r ew it ht h et o o l sb e l o n gi n gt os u c hd i s
c i p l i n e sa s ,a m o n go t h e r s ,a r th i s t o r y ,p h i l o s o p h y ,t h e o l og y ,h i s t o r y ,
m u si c o l o g y ,t h eh i s t o r yo fm e d ic i n e ,a n dl i t e r a t u r e .I np a rt i c u l a r,w ew o u ld
l i k et op r o m o t ei n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r ys t u d i e s ,a sw eb e l i e v es tr o n g l yt h a to u r
m o d e rn un d e r s t a n d i n go ft h et e r ma p p l i e sf a s c i n a t i n g l yw e ll to a cu l t u r a l
p e r i o dm a rk e db ya le s st i g h tc o n f i n e m e n ta n dc a t e g o r i z a t i on of it sd i s c i
p l i n e st h a nt h em o d e rn pe r i o d .H o w e v e r, ou ro n l yc r i t e r i o ni s ac a d e m i c
e x c e l l e n c e ,w it ht h eb e l i e ft h a tt h eu s eo fa la r g ed i v e r s i t yo fc r i t i c a lt o o l s
a n dt h e o r e t i c a la p p r o a c h e se n a b l e sa de e p e ru n d e r s t a n d i n go fm e d ie v a lc u l
t u r e .W ew a n tt h es e r i e st or e f l e c tt h i sd i v e r s i t y ,a sw eb e l ie v et h a t ,a sa
c o l l e c t i o no fo u t s t a n d i n gc o n t r i b u t i o n s ,i to f f e r sa mo r es ub t l er e p r e s e n t a
t i o no fa pe r i o dt h a ti sm a rk e db yp a r a d o x e sa n dc o n t r a d i c t i on sa n dw h ic h
n e c e s s a r i l yr e f l e c t sd i v e r s i t ya n dd i f f e r e n c e ,h o w e v e rd if f i c u l ti tm a ys o me
t i me sh a v ep r o v e df o rm e d ie v a lc u l t u r et oa c c e p tt h e s en o t i on s .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T h eW o o in gG ro u pa n dt h et e x t sm o st cl o s e l ya s s o c i a t e dw it hi t,Ancrene
Wissec o m p r i s ea cG ro u p ,w o rk so m m u n i t yo fl yo fe a rh e r i n eK a tt h ea n d
M id d l eE n g l i s ht h a th a v eo f t e nb e e nv i e w e do u t s i d eo ft h e i rc ul t u r a la n d
l i n g u i s t i cc o n t e x to ra sa n o m a l o u sa n db e y o n da n yr e a lt r a d it i o no fl i t e r a
t u r e ,c u l t u r e ,o re v e nt h e o l o g yi nt h eE n g l i s hM id d l eA g e s .T hi sc o l l e c t i o n
w il l ,I be l i e v e ,s e r v et oo p e nt h e s ew o rk st on e wr e a d e r s ,n e wp e r s p e c t i v e s
a n di n t e r p r e t a t i o n s ,a n dn e wc o n s t r u c t i o n so fm e d ie v a lE n gl i s ht h e o l o g y ,
t h ea n c h o r i t i ct r a d i t i o n ,a n de a r l yM id d l eE n g l i s hl i t e r a tu r e .T h es c h o l a r s
w h oh a v ec o n t r i b u t e dt ot h i sc o l l e c t i o n ,m a n yo ft h e mr e c o g ni z e de x p e r t s
i nt h e i rr e s p e c t i v ed i s c i p l i n e s ,h a v eb r o u g h tt ol i g h tc r e at i v ea n di n n o v a t i v e
p e r s p e c t i v e so nt h e s ew o rk sa n dt h e i rm il i e u ,a n df o rt h a tI wo u l dl i k et o
b e g i nb yg i v i n gm yt h a n k st oe a c ho ft h e mf o rt h e i rc a r e f u l ,t ho u g h t f u l ,a n d
e x c e p t i o n a li n t e r p r e t a t i o n sa n de x a m i n a t i o n so ft h e s ew o rk s :J e n n i f e r
B r o w n ,S a r a hS a l i h ,C a th e r i n eI n n e s - P a r k e r ,M ic h e l l eS a u er ,J e r e my
S m i t h ,M ic h a e lS a r g e n t ,B e ll aM il l e t t ,a n dm o st es p e c i a l l yA n n eS a v a g e
a n dN ic h o l a sW a ts o n ,w h o s eAnchoritic Spiritualityi s1 9 9 1 )P r e s s( P a u l i s t
t h es t a r t i n gp o i n tf o ra l ls c h o l a r sw h op u r s u et h eE n g l i s hA nc h o r i t i ct r a d i
t i o n .T h e i rp r e s e n c ei nt h i sc o l l e c t i o ni se s p e c i a l l yi mp o rt a n tt om e , a st h e i r
s c h o l a r s h i p ,g e n e r o s i t y ,a n ds u p p o r th a sm a d ea n yw o rk I ha ve co m p l e t e d
o nÞe Wohunge of ure LauerdI ow ep o s s i b l e ,a n da l lo ft h e ma n dt h ec o n
t r i b u t o r sm ym o st si n c e r et h a n k s .
T h i sc o l l e c t i o nw a sf i r s ts u g g e s t e da sa re s u l to fa co n v e r s at i o nb e g u na t
t h ef i r s tA n c h o ri t i cC o n f e r e n c e ,Anchorites, Wombs, and Tombsa t
G re g y n o g ,W a le s ,i n2 0 0 2 .T h ec o n f e r e n c e ,o r g a n i z e db yM ar iH u g h e s
E d w a r d sa n dL i zH e rb e r tM cA v o y ,p r e d a t e st h ef o r ma t i o no ft he
I n t e r n a t i o n a lA n c h o r