Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies

232 Pages·2006·0.9 MB·English

by  Andrew Joynes

Medieval
Ghost Stories

Medieval
Ghost Stories
An Anthology of
Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies
Compiled and edited by
ANDREW JOYNES
THE BOYDELL PRESS
© Andrew Joynes 2001
All Rights Reserved.Except as permitted under current legislation
no part ofthis work may be photocopied,stored in a retrieval system,
published,performed in public,adapted,broadcast,
transmitted,recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission ofthe copyright owner
The right ofAndrew Joynes to be identified as
the author ofthis work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 ofthe Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2001
The Boydell Press,Woodbridge
Reprinted in paperback 2003,2006
ISBN 1 84383 269 0 Paperback
ISBN 978 184383 269 0
The Boydell Press is an imprint ofBoydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9,Woodbridge,Suffolk IP12 3DF,UK
and ofBoydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt Hope Avenue,Rochester,NY 14620,USA
website:www.boydellandbrewer.com
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Great Britain by
CPI Cox and Wyman,Reading
‘. . .The ghost
is not simply a dead
or missing person,
but a social figure,
and investigating it can
lead to that dense site
where history and
subjectivity make
social life . . .’
Avery F.Gordon,
Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination
(Minneapolis:The University ofMinnesota Press,1997)

Contents
Preface xi
Part One
GHOSTS AND MONKS
Introduction 3
The Spirit ofPaschasius the Deacon 9
The Bathkeeper 10
The Visions ofTortgith 13
The Mission to Germany 14
The Ghostly Gatherings 17
The Domain ofthe Dead 18
The Groaning Ghosts 19
Wulferius and the Ghostly Martyrs 22
A Demonic Visitor 23
An Army ofWraiths 24
The Burning Spear 26
Herveus and his Debtor 28
The Crying Child 33
The Apparition ofBernard le Gros 37
The Apparitions in Spain 39
The Ghostly Chapter Meeting 44
The White Lady ofStamheim 48
The Spectre’s Warning 49
The Load ofEarth 49
The Incestuous Ghost 50
The Gift ofSnakes and Toads 51
The Devilish Tormentor 51
The Shoes ofthe Hunted Woman 52
Whispers in the Choir 53
The Brimstone Potion 54
The Hair that Turned to Gold 55
Part Two
GHOSTS AND THE COURT
Introduction 61
The Priest Walchelin and Hellequin’s hunt 66
The Dark Hunters ofPeterborough 75
The Witch ofBerkeley 78
The Jealous Venus 80
The Two Clerks ofNantes 83
The Tale ofKing Herla 87
A Lady ofthe Lake 90
The Wife ofEdric Wilde 91
The Sons ofthe Dead Woman 93
The Demon at the Cradle 94
King Arthur and the Butterfly Bishop 97
The Fight with the Ghostly Army 100
Dreams and Portents 100
Eel Pie 104
The Figure by the River-Pool 105
The Child Tumbled from the Cradle 106
The Cemetery ofAliscamps 107
The Flying Mortar 109
The Ghost ofBeaucaire 110
The Hand ofRyneke 116
Part Three
THE RESTLESS DEAD
Introduction 121
Grendel the Nightstalker 127
The Defeat ofGrendel 128
The Burial ofthe Foster-Brothers 132
The Buckinghamshire Ghost 135
The Berwick Ghost 136
The Hound’s Priest 137
The Ghost ofAnant 139
Hrapp’s Ghost 143
The Ghost in the Doorway 145
The Ghost ofThorolfHalt-Foot 148
Thorgunna’s Supper 150
Deaths at Frodis-water 153
The Companies ofthe Dead 154
The Ghosts on Trial 156
The Tomb ofKar the Old 159
Glam the Shepherd 160
The Fight with Glam’s Ghost 162
The Basket ofBeans 167
The Haunting ofSnowball 168
The Frightened Oxen 170
The Silver Spoons 171
The Howling Ghost 171
The Child ofRichard Rowntree 172
The Sister ofAdam de Lond 173
Part Four
GHOSTS IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
Introduction 177
Bisclavret the Werewolf 183
The Vision ofthe Knight Lorois 189
The Ghost ofGuinevere’s Mother 195
The Phantom Knight ofWandlesbury 199
The Ghostly Butler 202
The Demons’Castle 203
The Huntsman ofRavenna 207
Select Bibliography 213