The Old English ’Resignation’: An Editorial, Linguistic, and Textual Analysis of an Exeter Book Poem

66 Pages·2012·0.808 MB·English

by  Helena Sobol

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310766468
The Old English 'Resignation': An Editorial, Linguistic, and Textual Analysis of
an Exeter Book Poem
Thesis · June 2012
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34676.35200
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Uniwersytet Warszawski
Wydział Neofilologii

Helena Wiktoria Sobol
250897

The Old English Resignation: an Editorial, Linguistic,
and Textual Analysis of an Exeter Book Poem

Praca magisterska
na kierunku filologia
w zakresie filologia angielska

Praca wykonana pod kierunkiem
dr Moniki Opalińskiej
Wydział Neofilologii

Warszawa, czerwiec 2012 r.
Oświadczenie kierującego pracą

Oświadczam, że niniejsza praca została przygotowana pod moim kierunkiem i stwierdzam, że
spełnia ona warunki do przedstawienia jej w postępowaniu o nadanie tytułu zawodowego.

Data Podpis kierującego pracą

Oświadczenie autora (autorów) pracy

Świadom odpowiedzialności prawnej oświadczam, że niniejsza praca dyplomowa została
napisana przez mnie samodzielnie i nie zawiera treści uzyskanych w sposób niezgodny z
obowiązującymi przepisami.

Oświadczam również, że przedstawiona praca nie była wcześniej przedmiotem procedur
związanych z uzyskaniem tytułu zawodowego w wyższej uczelni.

Oświadczam ponadto, że niniejsza wersja pracy jest identyczna z załączoną wersją elektroniczną.

Data Podpis autora (autorów) pracy
Streszczenie

„Staroangielskie Resignation: edytorska analiza języka i tekstu utworu poetyckiego z Kodeksu
z Exeter”

Resignation to 118-wersowy utwór poetycki, zachowany jedynie w Kodeksie z Exeter,
datowanym na 2. poł. X w. Wiersz ten stanowi chrześcijańską medytację łączącą modlitwę
pokutną z motywami typowymi dla tzw. elegii staroangielskich. W niniejszej pracy analizę
porównawczą na tle epoki poprzedza opracowanie edytorsko-językowe. Rozpoczyna je studium
nad rękopisem, z uwzględnieniem aspektów kodykologicznych i paleograficznych. Po nim
następuje analiza głównych problemów fonologicznych Resignation, czyli zrównania końcówek
fleksyjnych i kontrastu między samogłoskami [e] i [æ]. Opis charakterystycznych elementów
gramatyki wiersza obejmuje system zaimków i składnię zdań złożonych, z uwzględnieniem
interpunkcji edytorskiej. W pracy poruszany jest także problem wewnętrznej spójności
omawianego tekstu.

Słowa kluczowe

Resignation, język staroangielski, poezja staroangielska, Kodeks z Exeter, elegia, modlitwa,
rękopis średniowieczny, edytorstwo naukowe.
Contents

Symbols and Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... v
Chapter 1. General Introduction ................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2. Internal analysis of Resignation: the manuscript, spelling, phonology, and syntax ... 6
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 6
2.1. Codicology .............................................................................................................. 7
2.2. Paleography ............................................................................................................. 11
2.3. Phonology and Spelling .......................................................................................... 14
2.4. Syntax ...................................................................................................................... 22
Partial Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 32
Chapter 3. The structure and context of Resignation: Old English elegies and prayers .............. 34
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 34
3.1. Elegies ..................................................................................................................... 34
3.2. Prayers ..................................................................................................................... 41
Partial Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 50
Chapter 4. General Conclusions ................................................................................................... 51
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 55
Appendix 1. Facsimile of fols. 117v-119v ................................................................................... 60
Appendix 2. Klinck’s (1992) edition of Resignation ................................................................... 66

iv
Symbols and Abbreviations

Symbols: ÆCHom – Homilies of Ælfric1
[ ] – letters absent from the manuscript, Alms – Alms-Giving
translations of such editorial dat. – dative
additions; phonetic segments decl. – declension
( ) – translations of words absent from the Dream – Dream of the Rood
edition of the original Exo – Exodus
< > – spelling f(f) – and the following one(s)
// // – underlying represenation fem. – feminine
+ – morpheme boundary fol(s). – folio(s)
gen. – genitive
Non-Latin characters used in Old English Glor I – Gloria I
words: Guth – Guthlac
ð – eth, with the value of [θ, ð] Hell – The Descent into Hell
þ – thorn, with the value of [θ, ð] Husb – The Husband’s Message
ƿ – wynn, with the value of [w] HomFr II – Homiletic Fragment II
imp – imperative
Abbreviations: ind. – indicative
acc. – accusative inf. – infinitive
adj. – adjective

1 All abbreviated titles of Old English works follow
Ball et al. (1975).
v
JDay I, II, III – Judgement Day I, II, III Rid – Riddle
Jul – Juliana Rim – The Riming Poem
KtPs 50 – Kentish Psalm 50 Sea – The Seafarer
l(l). – line(s) sing. – singular
LPr I, II, III – The Lord’s Prayer I, II, III subj. – subjunctive
LWS – Late West Saxon v – verso
masc. – masculine Wan – The Wanderer
Men – Menologium Wife – The Wife’s Lament
MS – manuscript Wulf – Wulf and Eadwacer
neut. – neuter
nom. – nominative
OE – Old English
OrW – The Order of the World
p. – person
part. – participle
Pha – Pharaoh
Phoen – The Phoenix
pl. – plural
PPs – Paris Psalter Psalm
Pr – A Prayer
pres. – present
pret. – preterite
r – recto
Res(A, B) – Resignation (A, B)
vi
CHAPTER 1
General Introduction

The thesis aims to provide a complete linguistic and textual analysis of the Old English
Resignation in reference to the current state of research. Another, editorial goal is served by
descriptions of the major editorial aspects of the poem, discussed in view of past solutions, at
times supplemented by new ones. The choice of Res as the material for the present study
depended on its preservation in a well-known manuscript, the so-called Exeter Book, on the
one hand, and the relatively meagre amount of research devoted to the poem on the other. The
ensuing discussion shows that Res will repay further study since many of its problems remain
unsolved. The analysis undertaken here refers to several disciplines, especially those relevant
to the study of medieval manuscripts, language and texts.
As regards the methodology adopted for the discussion of Res, much emphasis has
been put on the poem’s MS context, in its many aspects. This is a relatively new approach,
whose influential proponents include Robinson (1980) and Caie (1994). The older method,
still often adopted by critics, would concentrate solely on the text without any reference to the
MS preserving it, which can lead to serious oversimplification. Such approach results from
anachronistic, modern expectations from books, for instance that their contents should be
arranged according to (modern perceptions of) literary genres, that they should separate prose
from verse or Latin from the vernacular. Yet none of these expectations seems to have been
shared by medieval people.
A general introduction to Anglo-Saxon codicology, i.e. the study of manuscripts in
their material, physical aspects, and paleography, i.e. the study of the writing process, fonts
and page layout, may be found in Ker (1957: xxiii-ilii) and Brown (1991: 46-57).
1
Additionally, Dumville (1987, 1994) provides an authoritative study of the script used in
England during the pertinent period. However, in the following discussion of the MS the
greatest role is assumed by studies of the Exeter Book itself because of the highly specific
nature of the addressed questions. Thus, for codicological issues the dissertation chiefly relies
on Förster (Chambers et al. 1933: 55-67) and Muir (1989, 1994, 2006), while for paleography
– on Förster (ibid.), Flower (Chambers et al. 1933: 83-92), and Muir (ibid.).
As regards linguistic issues, the dissertation is firmly grounded in current standard
works. The most comprehensive and reliable description of Old English phonology remains
Campbell (1959), despite the robust development of the discipline in the years following the
publication. A newer general analysis of OE phonology in Hogg (1992) provides many
insightful observations based on linguistic theory, but it cannot account for all of the data
presented by Campbell. In syntactical matters full confidence has been accorded to Mitchell
(1985) due to the work’s great descriptive adequacy. The standard dictionary is Bosworth &
Toller (1898), supplemented by Toller (1921); full confidence has been put in their
lexicographical descriptions, but quotations have been verified whenever relevant. The thesis
does not refer to any substantial metrical considerations; hence the used terminology agrees
with the classical, and still widely adopted, theory introduced by Sievers (1893) and briefly
described for instance by Fulk in Pope & Fulk (2001: 129-158).
The current authority in the topic of the so-called Old English elegies is Klinck (1992),
who broadens the scope of her predecessor, Sieper (1915), by offering a detailed study of the
poems’ language. Nonetheless, this thesis disagrees with Klinck’s methods, observations and
conclusions in several important points. A general overview of Anglo-Saxon prayers may be
found in Pulsiano (Pulsiano & Treharne 2001: 209-30), which also contains a comprehensive
list of prayers in OE or with OE glosses. As regards OE prayers in verse, a reliable
introductory study has been provided by Keefer (2010), while two more detailed works which
2
have been important for the development of the argument in the present thesis are Noronha
(1971) and Banks (1968).
The single medieval copy of Resignation extant is preserved on fols. 117v-119v of
Exeter Dean and Chapter MS 3501, widely known as the Exeter Book, dating to the 2nd half of
the 10th c. (cf. Ker 1957: 153). The manuscript provides a twofold context for the analysis of
Res presented here: technical and linguistic (Chapter 2), and literary (Chapter 3). Since a
discussion of the whole Exeter Book would exceed the scope of this thesis, representative
samples have been selected whenever necessary. The MS comprises practically only OE
poetry of diverse kind. Though no compelling theory has yet been formulated for the details
of its arrangement, most scholars agree on certain general organising principles. For instance,
in its present state the MS contains 94 riddles grouped in two major collections, which are
separated by 12 shorter texts, with Res among them. These 12 texts, comprising about 20
folios and 600 lines of verse, have been selected as a comparative corpus for linguistic and
technical issues, under the assumption that the texts could have come from a single source or
were intended to form a group. To enhance the clarity of argument a facsimile of the folios
preserving Res has been provided in Appendix 1 by kind permission of the Dean & Chapter of
Exeter Cathedral.
The literary historical context, analysed in Chapter 3, is less easily defined, for Res
contains major textual affinities to OE elegies and prayers – two traditions which are usually
separated in modern critical studies. All elegies have been uniquely preserved in the Exeter
Book, though scattered throughout it. The same MS also preserves only one prayer, The
Lord’s Prayer I; the localisation of others is indicated in section 3.2. below. It ought to be
stressed that the traditional generic divisions of OE poetry constitute a largely modern
artefact, for whose original validity little proof may be found.
3