English 2400: Essay 1
Contents
Instructions
Write an essay on one or two of the works we have covered thus far in the course (Gildas, one or more of the chapters from Bede’s Ecclesiastical history, Cædmon’s Hymn, the Dream of the Rood and/or the Ruthwell Cross and/or Brussels Cross).
You should work on developing your own topic. To get you thinking, however, here are some possible starting points:
- Bede is traditionally seen as “the first modern historian.” Gildas is understood primarily as a polemicist rather than a historian. Ironically, Bede relies on Gildas for much of his discussion of the situation of Britain and the arrival of the Anglo-Saxonsts. Discuss the treatment of History in Bede and/or Gildas, concentrating on the way the two writers treat their common material. Another approach might be to look at how the writers frame their work: how does (or simply does) Bede indicate that he is writing history? How does Gildas indicate he is writing polemic? To what extent do the authors’ intentions affect their rhetoric? To what extent does their rhetoric hide other goals in each author’s work?
- Compare the treatment of traditional Germanic vocabulary in Cædmon’s Hymn and the Dream of the Rood.
- Bede’s account of the poet Cædmon is the only contemporary, ostensibly non-fiction account of poetic composition and reception known from the Anglo-Saxon period. Yet he goes to considerable lengths to contrast Cædmon’s training, gift, and style of composition against that of the traditional vernacular poet. Discuss Bede’s treatment of traditional poetry in his story of Cædmon. You may wish to supplement Bede with discussions of Cædmon’s Hymn and/or the Dream of the Rood or compare it to scenes of poetic composition and performance in Beowulf (see particularly the passage between Beowulf’s fights with the Grendelkin [837-1250]).
- Hild is the greatest of the Anglo-Saxon female abbots, a group that played an unusually powerful role in the early Anglo-Saxon period. Discuss Bede’s presentation of her as a woman and a saint in the chapter from his History reprinted in our textbook (You might want to supplement this with additional reading on Hild in the full text of the Ecclesiastical History [also known as the History of the English Church and People, which is available in our library). To what extent is gender deterministic in her story? There are many good secondary resources on Hild and Bede.
- Our textbook claims several times that Bede devotes so little attention to Pagan rites, monuments, and activities because he believes that the Anglo-Saxons are now securely Christian. An alternate reading claims that Bede avoids discussing details of Pagan life because he is in fact worried that such information might provoke apostacy. Discuss the chapter on the Conversion of King Edwin in light of this debate.
- When Coifi converts to Christianity, he violates a number of what Bede informs us are Pagan traditions (carrying weapons, riding on a stallion, etc.). He then destroys the Pagan temples and idols. As the introduction to our text book points out, however, Gregory the Great famously instructed the English mission to try and co-opt Pagan sites and feasts to Christian ends (Bede himself reproduces Gregory’s letter in full elsewhere in his History). How are we to understand this Pagan priest’s actions: does Bede endorse them? Are they evidence that Cofi himself remains unreliable?
Purpose
The goal of this assignment is to give you practice in developing and writing University-level research ideas in literature and to let you enrich your reading of early medieval literature by writing about it.
Rubric
For this essay, I will be following my standard rubric.
Dues dates, length, etc.
- Due: Sunday 20 September by 23:59. Essays will be submitted electronically, either via Moodle or Turnitin. Further instructions will be given closer to the due date.
- Format: Please follow my standard style guide.
- Length: Your essay should be between 1000 and 1200 words (± 10%). This is equivalent to approx 3.5-4 full pages.
