A Companion to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim (fl. 960): Contextual and Interpretive Approaches PDF
Preview A Companion to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim (fl. 960): Contextual and Interpretive Approaches
A Companion to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim (fl. 960) Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition A series of handbooks and reference works on the intellectual and religious life of Europe, 500–1800 Editor-in-Chief Christopher M. Bellitto (Kean University) VOLUME 34 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bcct A Companion to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim (fl. 960) Contextual and Interpretive Approaches Edited by Phyllis R. Brown and Stephen L. Wailes LEIDEN • BOSTON 2013 Cover illustration: Part of the Otto-Mathilda Cross, © Domschatz Essen. Foto Jens Nober, Essen. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A companion to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim (fl. 960) : contextual and interpretive approaches / edited by Phyllis R. Brown and Stephen L. Wailes. p. cm. — (Brill’s companions to the Christian tradition, ISSN 1871-6377 ; v. 34) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-22962-4 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-23439-0 (e-book) 1. Hrotsvitha, ca. 935–ca. 975—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Christian literature, Latin (Medieval and modern)—History and criticism. 3. Christianity and literature—Germany—History—To 1500. 4. Women and literature—Germany—History—To 1500. I. Brown, Phyllis Rugg, 1949– II. Wailes, Stephen L. PA8340.C66 2012 872’.03—dc23 2012028844 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 1871-6377 ISBN 978-90-04-22962-4 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-23439-0 (e-book) Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. CONTENTS List of Illustrations .......................................................................................... ix Acknowledgments .......................................................................................... xi Editions, Translations, and Abbreviations .............................................. xiii Canon and Titles ............................................................................................. xv PART I INTRODUCTION Hrotsvit and Her World ................................................................................ 3 Stephen L. Wailes and Phyllis R. Brown Hrotsvit and Her Works ................................................................................ 23 Walter Berschin Hrotsvit in Context: Convents and Culture in Ottonian Germany ....................................................................................................... 35 Jane Stevenson Hrotsvit’s Theology of Virginity and Continence .................................. 63 Gary Macy PART II HROTSVIT’S WRITINGS: CHARACTERISTICS AND PROBLEMS The Sacred Stories in Verse ......................................................................... 85 Stephen L. Wailes Hrotsvit’s Plays ................................................................................................. 121 Stephen L. Wailes The Necessity of Hrotsvit: Evangelizing Theatre .................................. 147 Michael A. Zampelli, SJ vi contents David rex fidelis? Otto the Great, the Gesta Ottonis, and the Primordia coenobii Gandeshemensis ..................................................... 201 Jay T. Lees Hrotsvit’s Apostolic Mission: Prefaces, Dedications, and Other Addresses to Readers ................................................................................ 235 Phyllis R. Brown PART III ENDURING ISSUES Virginity and Other Sexualities ................................................................... 267 Lisa M.C. Weston Strong Voice(s) of Hrotsvit: Male-Female Dialogue ............................. 287 Florence Newman The Audiences of Hrotsvit ........................................................................... 311 Linda A. McMillin Hrotsvit and Her Avatars .............................................................................. 329 Katrinette Bodarwé Bibliography ..................................................................................................... 363 Contributors ..................................................................................................... 381 Index ................................................................................................................... 385 Figure 1: Das Otto-Mathilden-Kreuz © Domschatz Essen. Foto Jens Nober, Essen. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1 Das Otto-Mathilden-Kreuz © Domschatz Essen. Foto Jens Nober, Essen ........................................................................... vii 2, 3 and 4 Extracts from Manuscript 14485, © Staatsbibliothek Munchen .................................................................................................... 32–34 cOVER ILLUSTRATION: At the foot of the Otto-Mathilda Cross (Cathe- dral Treasury, Essen, late tenth century), a small enamel depicts the siblings Mathilda and Otto, grandchildren of Otto the Great, niece and nephew of Otto II. They were contemporaries of Hrotsvit of Gandersheim and related by blood to her abbess, Gerberga II. The inscription gives their historical identities: “Abbess [of the Essen convent]” and “Duke [of Swabia],” but neither their courtly garments nor any insignia connects them to office. Otto, for example, does not wear a sword. They are shown equal in height, parallel in posture, and physically linked by the shaft of the cross which they jointly hold. Both of Otto’s hands touch it, although loosely; Mathilda grasps it strongly with her left hand and gestures with her right either to Otto in salutation, or to Christ Crucified, directly above, in homage. Iconographic interpretation is not certain. The cross represented in the enamel differs in form (Greek) from the (Latin) cross of which it is part, so that the donation of this cross to Essen is apparently not depicted. Recent scholarship reads the image symbolically. With the death of Otto in 982, the male Ottonian line in Swabia came to its end and both its material wealth, and responsibility for the veneration and commemoration of the family, passed to Mathilda. The enamel may therefore represent this post- humous passage from Otto (hands relinquishing their hold) to Mathilda (seizing firmly). This picture of Ottonian siblings, a woman and a man equal in dignity and highly placed in the political and ecclesiastical orders, evokes the larger context of Hrotsvit’s writing. (Photographs used by permission of the Cathedral Treasury, Essen.)
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