most clearly in Virgil’s Aeneas, whose forced departure from Troy takes a positive spin as it develops into a search for a new patria. Claasen argues that ‘myth’ and ‘literature’ must be coupled in this respect: ‘We need to consider the manner in which individual authors retell the same stories.’ By this line of reasoning, it may be that later ideals of Anglo-Saxon Christians developed in part from well-known classical authors who wrote about exile. Dislocation has long been recognized as a culturally significant topos by ethnographers and folklorists, and cross-cultural continuities have been identified. Numerous forms and interpretations of exile woven into the literature and traditions of peoples throughout the world reveal that exile is a multi-colored and well-used strand in the pattern of human memory and perception. Arnold van Gennep’s 1909 work Les Rites de Passage stands as the foundational work on this facet of the human condition. Van Gennep was a prominent folklorist and ethnographer who identified and assessed those ceremonies and rituals which pervasively accompany change across cultures. Van Gennep observed three subdivisions of ceremonial change: preliminal ‘rites of separation’, liminal ‘transition rites’ and postliminal ‘rites of incorporation’. These rites form a cyclical pattern of pivoting ‘magic circles’: the individual is severed from his/her community, then experiences the absence of home and people, and finally returns. The categories and concepts which embody them [the magic circles] operate in such a way that whoever passes through the various positions of a lifetime one day sees the sacred where before he has seen the profane, or vice versa. Such changes of condition do not occur without disturbing the life of society and the individual, and it is the function of rites of passage to reduce their harmful effects. By passing from one state to another, an individual or group undergoes ‘magico-religious’ separations and incorporations: they meet and cope with change. Van Gennep notes that such separation and incorporation may be physical as well as psychological. Boundaries between territories may be natural or fabricated, but the inhabitants are cognizant of how
appeal to both metaphorical and literal understandings of exile. Patrick Conner adopts a New Historicist approach to the poems in the Exeter Book by reading them alongside guild statutes produced at Exeter. In doing so, he argues that The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Riming Poem, Resignation A and Resignation B all contain elements that refer to exile, salvation, and spiritual rewards in terms of capital. Thus Conner concludes that the elegies ‘once functioned to perpetuate, to guarantee, and to strengthen the social relationships necessary to the production of a monastic economic hegemony. Stanley Greenfield’s examination of Anglo-Saxon poetry provides crucial reading toward our understanding of exile through the period. In his 1955 article ‘The Formulaic Expression of the Theme of ‘Exile’ in Anglo-Saxon Poetry’, Greenfield followed Francis Magoun, Jr.’s identification of repeating words and phrases indicative of patterns in grammatical-metrical structure. Greenfield’s aim was to further explore ‘verbal formulas’ as they relate to poetic themes, in this instance focusing on the theme of exile. He demonstrated found that four aspects of exile are repeatedly expressed by Anglo-Saxon poets: status, deprivation, state of mind and movement. He acknowledged that these are not the only aspects of exile to be found in Old English poetry, but argued through the presentation of numerous key phrases that these features of exile received special emphasis by multiple poets of the age, particularly The Wanderer, The Seafarer and The Wife’s Lament. In 1953, Greenfield had already considered the role of exile as a sub-theme in ‘The Theme of Spiritual Exile in Christ I’. His argument here focused on how, rather than why, exile was incorporated as a theme. Greenfield argued that Christ I is primarily concerned with celebrating the Nativity, combining the sense of joy at Christ’s arrival with that of sorrow for man’s spiritual exile from Heaven and God. Greenfield identified five instances of the subtheme of exile within Christ I: expulsion from Paradise, despair after the Fall, exiles in Limbo awaiting the Harrowing of Hell, the scattering of the flock after
accepted as mere artistic preference. The author’s inclusions and omissions should be understood as the conscious choices of a master, with effects carefully calculated for his audience. I contend that Bede’s decisions about the structure of the narrative on Edwin were intended to draw the reader’s attention to a particular episode in the king’s life: his period in exile. By presenting this part of Edwin’s story as an analepsis, Bede was able to position an influential, previous event at the centre of his narrative. Bede did this because of, rather than despite, the resulting breach in chronological order. Furthermore, the interruptions occasioned by the papal letters of Popes Boniface and Honorius were similarly designed to position Edwin’s exile story in the centre of Bede’s account, forming an envelope structure which frames and contextualizes the analeptic climax of Edwin’s exile. The effect of this envelope is reinforced by a second thematic envelope formed by Bede’s presentation of Edwin’s warrior- and Christian-kingship in the narrative present. These literary constructs and Bede’s use of Edwin’s exile story as a focal point for his narrative will be defined and examined in turn below, as will the typological and figural connections to the Bible Bede’s work invites within the text. 2.2: Edwin’s Exile as Analeptic Climax I begin this discussion with an examination of the climactic analepsis of Bede’s frame narrative: Edwin’s exile experience at the court of King Rædwald. First I should clarify the literary terminology I adopt here. ‘Analepsis’ is a narratological term for a passage which functions as a flashback within a story, wherein a forward-moving narrative is broken up by one or more accounts of earlier events. A ‘frame narrative’ is a story which holds another story within it, in our case the analepsis. Historically, Edwin’s exile followed Æthelfrith’s invasion of Deira, either c.590-2 or c.604. However, Bede begins his story in a narrative present concurrent with Edwin’s post-exile rule (reigned 616-633)
similarly, ‘being divinely prompted to do so.’ Later in the same chapter, Bede notes that the pagan priest Coifi’s destruction of the pagan temples was done ‘through the inspiration of the true God’. Presented as they are in the chapter following the account of Edwin’s mystical encounter, the reader is invited to see not only divine providence in the conversion of Edwin’s counsellors, but also retrospectively in the king’s mysterious visitation in exile. Bede places Edwin’s exile at the heart of a mission and election narrative which details the conversion of Northumbria and the spread of Christianity. We have already seen a few examples of biblical references and allusions in Bede’s narrative about Edwin. His inclusion of Pope Boniface’s letter quoting I Corinthians is particularly striking: Paul’s letter was sent to the foundling Christian Church in Corinth, while Pope Boniface’s letter to Æthelburh addresses the needs of the foundling Church in Northumbria. The pope’s letter is itself reminiscent of scripture. The typological resonance between the apostolic Church and the converts of Paulinus is first articulated by Pope Boniface’s quotation, but there is little doubt that Bede would have been aware of the signifance of Pope Boniface’s choice of scripture when he included the pope’s letter in II.11. By incorporating the pope’s letter into the HE, Bede shared a papal endorsement of a typological link between the new Christians of Northumbria and the early Christians of the New Testament. Readers of the HE who continued to read through the account of Edwin’s exile in II.12 and the conversion of his counsellors in II.13 might recall the pope’s letter and more clearly view this connection between the Northumbrians and the apostolic Church. Readers may also have recognized that both groups were connected by the same New Covenant, and so were among God’s newly elect. Edwin’s exile is crucial to Bede’s promotion of election in his account of the king. For instance, Bede alludes to other typological connections in the episode concerning Edwin’s exile by depicting Paulinus
development of the ASC, drafted in an earlier phase and in many ways truer to the lost common stock than are other extant versions. Based on Bately’s conclusions, I will refer to the A version of the ASC in the discussion below. Our chief source for Alfred is Asser’s Life. As the first known work primarily about the life of an English layman, the Life has often been held alongside Einhard’s earlier Vita Karoli Magni. Both give intimate portrayals of their subjects based on the authors’ first- and second-hand experiences while serving in their respective royal courts. However, whereas Einhard composed his work several years after Charlemagne’s death, Asser was working on the Life during Alfred’s reign. Asser was thus able to secure information from the king, other members of the court, and from his own memory during a period more immediate to the events he relates; he was not, as Einhard had been, limited to what he had witnessed and could remember. Of course Asser also had at his disposal a version of the ASC, as discussed above, and nearly half of the Life is closely based on it. He was also familiar with a range of sources which inspired his own style and narrative construction, the aim of which seems to have differed from that of the Chronicler. Richard Abels, for instance, views the ASC as a history of the ‘rise of Wessex and the house of Alfred’, focussing on the trials and successes of warfare in an attempt to encourage its audience to support burdensome measures demanded by Alfred to secure defenses. This implies that the intended audience of the ASC was composed of individuals near to the court and the demands of government; Asser’s access to a version of the ASC, as a member of Alfred’s court, supports this view. Identifying the potential audience for Asser’s Life may help to better understand the choices he made about exilic allusions and portrayals of exiles in his work. Like the ASC, Asser crafted the Life so as to encourage support for the king, although Asser’s intentions have been debated. Abels suggests that Asser gave his loyalty and love in response to Alfred’s largesse, saying ‘The Life of King Alfred was a manifestation of this
love.’ Also like the ASC, the Life was meant for the benefit of multiple audiences, including the royal court, the king’s sons, and Alfred himself, yet the potential for a Welsh audience, perhaps at Asser’s home monastery of St. David’s, has also been voiced. Keynes and Lapidge agree with the argument for a Welsh readership, as proposed first by Marie Schütt and supported later by Dorothy Whitelock. James Campbell, however, maintains that this may not have been exclusively intended by Asser, and that evidence supporting a Welsh readership could as easily be taken to reflect Asser’s own ‘Welshness’ rather than that of his audience. Though largely supportive of the Welsh argument, Campbell also suggests that, beyond royal interests involving Wales, Alfred himself was ‘the prime intended audience’ for Asser’s Life: When a richly endowed author produces a work dedicated to his royal dominus, and presents him in a uniformly and intensely favourable light, is it not likely that it is for the royal eye that it is intended? An Occam’s razor approach such as Campbell’s is compelling, and its adoption makes it easier to consider Asser’s intended audience to have been as broad, if not broader, than that of the Chronicler. However, such speculation on the Life’s potential dissemination is made difficult by the work’s unfinished status; no ‘completed’ version of the Life survives in the limited manuscript evidence. The only known original manuscript was destroyed in the Cotton Library fire. A hand-drawn facsimile had been made nine years earlier, and written descriptions remain from early antiquarians who had viewed the manuscript prior to its destruction. There are also two transcripts which were copied prior to the manuscript’s destruction, including manuscript ‘Co’ (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 100), which was made for the use of its owner Archbishop Parker, and manuscript ‘B’ (British Library, Cotton MS. Otho A xii), of unknown origin but possibly dating to the late sixteenth century. Agreements between all of these are substantial. Because all transcripts and facsimiles were derived from the same source, we have no other version of the Life
The ‘divine inspiration’ which led to an English victory here will be discussed further below, but for now we should note that this account of the siege at Countisbury demonstrates a remarkable reversal in Alfred’s fortune in the Life which heralds the king’s emergence from exile. Without proffering extensive details, Asser tells us in c.55 that after Easter of 878 Alfred established a stronghold at Athelney, manned by the few men who accompanied him in league with the thegns of Somerset. From here he appears to have led small skirmishes against Viking forces, and though no specifics are given in the Life or the ASC, Alfred’s efforts seem to have drawn the attention of both present and potential supporters, whose reception of the king at Egbert’s Stone is mentioned in both the ASC and the Life. ASC ‘A’ 878 7 him to comman þær ongen Sumorsæte alle 7 Wilsætan 7 Hamtunscir se del se hiere behinon se was 7 his gefægene wærun …and there came to meet him all the people of Somerset and of Wiltshire and of that part of Hampshire which was on this side of the sea, and they rejoiced to see him. VÆ c.55 Ibique obviaverunt illi omnes accolae Summurtunensis pagae et Wiltunensis, omnes accolae Hamtunensis pagae, qui non ultra mare pro metu paganorum navigaverant; visoque rege, sicut dignum erat, quasi redivivum post tantas tribulationes recipientes, immenso repleti sunt gaudio. And there all the inhabitants of Somerset and Wiltshire and all the inhabitants of Hampshire – those who had not sailed overseas for fear of the Vikings – joined up with him. When they saw the king, receiving him (not surprisingly) as if one restored to life after suffering such great tribulations, they were filled with immense joy. Asser’s account of Alfred’s reception echoes closely that of the king’s father, Ӕthelwulf, whose son Ӕthelbald (Alfred’s eldest brother) attempted to prevent Ӕthelwulf from returning to his rightful throne in 856, as discussed above. Upon Æthelwulf’s return from Rome, and presumably after dealing with the conspiracy to prevent his return, Asser
reasoning was for his nobles to pursue wisdom through reading or having texts recited to them, possibly including those ‘books which are most necessary for all men to know’ as described in the preface to Alfred’s translation of the Regula Pastoralis. It would be surprising if the king did not consider his own domboc to be among these works for encouraging sound judgement or ensuring fair sentences. Patrick Wormald argues elsewhere that the primary aims of early Germanic legislators, including Alfred, were ideological and political in nature; by following Roman legislators such as Justinian and Theodosius, parallels could be drawn between the Roman Empire and recently formed Germanic kingdoms while also legitimizing a king’s position as a Christian law-giver. In examining the ideological aims of early Germanic legislators, Wormald is skeptical of the practical goals of law-making, arguing that a lack of evidence for contextual use of law-codes in legal cases suggests that their practical application was not a primary concern. This is a controversial view. Wormald recognizes that Alfred included his own unique laws with those of his predecessors, that some of these laws seem to have been inspired by specific legal cases, and that they were written in the vernacular which would be more accessible to a nobility of limited levels of literacy. He also points to the survival of Alfred’s code in six manuscripts as well as the order by Edward the Elder, Alfred’s son, that reeves adhere to the domboc in their judgements. Keynes agrees with Wormald’s assessment of the ideological and political uses of legislation, but argues that Alfred’s written law may have had greater practical application than Wormald suggests. Keynes discusses the intentions of Alfred as presented in Asser’s Life, Alfred’s law-code, and the prologue to Alfred’s translation of the Regula Pastoralis, as well as references to the domboc in later law-codes of the tenth century. Keynes concludes: We may not have the dog-eared copies of King Alfred’s code which the judges actually used, but tenth-century kings certainly issued laws which
Alfred who could see his own hardships and triumphs presented as reflections of such illustrious forebears, particularly in the depths of exile and uncertainty which he shared with David and Edwin. Because Alfred was restored from exile to regain control of Wessex and England, Asser was able to portray the king’s experience as the typological fulfillment of Old Testament rulers. He was also able to portray the king as a Christ-like figure who had endured great hardships while in Somerset before successfully stemming the Viking threat to England and reasserting himself as ruler over Wessex-controlled England. By portraying the Vikings as pagan counterparts to the English, Asser emphasized the unity of the English under a pious king who ruled with both dynastic and Christian legitimacy. The promotion of Christian unity in Asser’s narrative is heightened by the theme of dislocation present in the Life, binding the king and his people through shared hardship and eventual elevation. That the king established a new Covenant with God by including Mosaic Law in his own legislation promotes the idea that Alfred and his advisors wished to portray the English as God’s chosen people (or, as Christians, among God’s chosen), further legitimizing Alfred’s claims to divinely appointed authority. Asser thus reveals through his narrative that the concepts of unity, election and Christian kingship were well in place in the Anglo-Saxon royal court by the time of his writing in 893. I have discussed how Asser’s comments and descriptions of foreigners and pilgrims in the life contributed to a theme of dislocation in the Life. Descriptions of royal exiles also contributed to Asser’s theme, and perhaps suggest the author’s preoccupation with the subject. The removals of Berhtwulf, Osberht and Burgred are all discussed in the narrative, as is the coup against Charles the Fat in Francia. Wrongful removal of these kings explains later ailments afflicting their respective kingdoms and suggests that God’s interest in kingship was not exclusive to Alfred. The author’s concerns about royal exile
The Chronicler suggests that Æthelred’s manner of rule had changed after his brief exile. The English themselves were affected by the king’s removal: if failing loyalties had been responsible for Ӕthelred’s initial expulsion in 1013, then these loyalties were successfully renewed after the king’s return in 1014. Despite these promising conditions, the Chronicler’s account lacks any enthusiasm for or celebration of Æthelred’s restoration. Recall that the Chronicler was writing with hindsight of the events up to and following Æthelred’s death, and so the mutilation of the hostages is only one of ‘all these evils’ (eallum þissum yfelum) which befell the English in 1014. The Chronicler was aware, for instance, of a remarkable number of betrayals and reversals that persisted to the end of Æthelred’s reign. Sigeferth and Morcar, two northern thegns who had been close to Ӕthelred’s sons Edmund and Ӕthelstan, were killed by Earl Eadric Streona in 1015, apparently with the king’s consent if not by his command. Edmund then married Sigeferth’s widow and established himself as king in the North against his father’s will. Edmund himself was betrayed by his new ally, Eadric Streona, who then absconded with forty ships from Æthelred’s fleet and defected to Cnut’s returned Danish army. Edmund’s attempt to lead another army in 1016 faltered because of the army’s refusal to assemble without the presence of Ӕthelred or the aid of London; Æthelred agreed to join the soldiers, but warnings of a plot against him caused the king to return to London instead. The king’s newly acquired role as warlord was limited, then, to his routing of Cnut in 1014. The betrayal of Earl Eadric would certainly have been damaging to Æthelred, and the Chronicler seems critical of the king’s continued faith in this individual. The rebellion of Æthelred’s son, however, is a startling demonstration of Æthelred’s weak grasp of power despite any initial successes after his restoration as king. Edmund was persistent in establishing his own power base and joined forces with Ealdorman Uhtred of Northumbria, further demonstrating the regional divisions which thwarted Æthelred’s
direction of the bishops’ (be biscopa dihte). Thus the witan given so much credit for enacting laws in VI Atr is again recognized in the division of its secular and ecclesiastical parts. Every mention of legislative authority in both the Latin and Old English version of VII Atr is as a cooperative partnership between the king and his councillors. In the Latin version this is expressed seven times in the preamble and individual chapters, while the Old English version only alludes to legislative authority once and then in a first person we which could refer to either the king, the council, or both. Clear evidence of the king represented as acting of his own accord is absent from all of these documents. Though the king is shown in VIII Atr as sharing his legislative authority with the witan in one instance, it is notable that this code is the only piece of legislation from Æthelred’s reign that clearly presents the king as acting alone (apart from IV Atr which, as discussed above, is problematic). Sole ascription of legislative authority to the king in VIII Atr would seem to set the code of 1014 apart from the remaining corpus of Æthelred’s laws. Is this sufficient cause to consider VIII Atr as a ‘king-centric’ text meant to reinforce the king’s legitimate authority? A look at references to the king within the text may be enlightening. Excluding instances in which legislative authority is being voiced, the word cyningc appears fifteen times in VIII Atr, usually in describing the king’s rights and responsibilities, while cynehlaford appears once at the conclusion. The word cyningc appears only four times in V Atr, and seven times in VI Atr. In the Latin version of VII Atr rex appears four times, while no mention of the king is made at all in the Old English VII Atr, V Atr uses hlaford twice, and cynehlaford once, while VI Atr also uses cynehlaford once. How might we explain these differences in legislative references to the king? To be sure, the lesser number of instances where the king is referred to may be due to differences in content or in length, particularly in the case of VII Atr which only has seven
chapters in its extant version. Yet V Atr has thirty-five chapters and VI Atr has fifty-three, and so both are of a size comparable to that of VIII Atr with its forty-four chapters. They also contain similar subject matter; V-VIII Atr are all recognized for focusing on ecclesiastical affairs. With little difference in size and content, it is truly striking how many references to the king are made in VIII Atr in comparison to its predecessors; the effect is a continual reminder of the king’s authority and presence as well as a clear statement on the king’s relationship to the Church. Further supporting the argument that VIII Atr is unusually emphatic concerning Ӕthelred’s role as king, the code also makes comments on kingship generally. In VIII Atr c.1.1, which deals with acts of homicide in churches, violators are to be pursued and denied atonement by monetary compensation. However, if the murderer should reach a place of inviolable sanctuary (swa deope friðsocne), the king himself may spare him by returning the murderer’s right to atone through compensation. This clause is followed by a chapter outlining how the murderer should make amends by paying his own wergeld to the king and to the Church. VIII Atr, c.2.1 Forðam Cristen cyning is Cristes gespelia on Cristenre þeode, and he sceal Cristes abilgðe wrecan swiðe georne. For a Christian king is Christ’s deputy among Christian people, and he must avenge with the utmost diligence offences against Christ. This is the first time at which a direct comment on kingship is made in the legislation of Æthelred’s reign. The connection between the king and Christ, and therefore the Church as the earthly body of Christ, is clearly stated, with the king acting as the worldly agent for Christ’s will. While this also burdens the king with added responsibility and, therefore, culpability should he fail to protect the interests of the Church, this statement on the role of Christian kings does much for expressing Æthelred’s Christian legitimacy and his alliance with and support for and from the Church. This clause also justifies royal
primary audience for post-exile charters and law codes. In these royal documents and decrees, the king’s recognition of the nobility’s importance, and his understanding of their desire to adhere to tradition, are evident in the themes of kingship and legitimacy expressed in their content and literary construction. The post-exile documents of Ӕthelred’s reign show repeated attempts to reassert the king’s authority as legislator and executor of justice, ordained by God to serve as his deputy on earth. The attempts made to reconfirm Ӕthelred’s position show an understanding of the fragile nature of late loyalties and the precarious position of a king who, despite his Christian legitimacy, had been forced from his kingdom, returning only under those conditions established by the leading nobility of England. I have shown how Bede and Asser refer to the divine forces effecting the exiles and restorations of Edwin and Alfred. The hardships of king and country during Æthelred’s reign also have divine explanations, according to contemporary homilists like Wulfstan and Ælfric: England was paying for its sins. Among those sins was the disloyalty and betrayal of their lawful king. Indeed, the Chronicler reveals some sympathy for Æthelred’s suffering and notes his efforts to retain control. However, the king was as culpable as his rebellious nobles: the Chronicler portrays Æthelred, throughout his reign, as ineffective and poorly advised. The king’s lack of control is communicated by the witan’s determination of the conditions for his return, further suggesting that Æthelred was considered an unjust king by his leading men. The context presented by the Chronicler helps to clarify the desperation shown by the heightened promotion of legitimacy expressed by Æthelred’s post-exile charters and law codes. Ultimately, the king failed to command or defend his people. The exile experiences of Edwin and Alfred were used to promote those kings as examples of Christian kingship and supporters of unity. In a very different way, Æthelred’s exile also presents the importance of strong leadership and national unity.
ASC ‘D’ Cubbin, Geoffrey, ed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 6: MS D. Woodbridge, 1996. ASC ‘E’ Irvine, Susan, ed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 7: MS E. Cambridge, 2004. ASE Anglo-Saxon England ASN Dumville, David and Lapidge, Michael, eds. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 17: The Annals of St Neots with Vita Prima Sancti Neoti. Woodbridge, 1984. Pp. 1-108. Attenborough, Laws Attenborough, Frederick. The Laws of the Earliest English Kings. Reprint of 1922 edition. New York, 1963. BAR British Archaeological Reports BEASE Lapidge, Michael, et. al. Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford, 2001. Bosworth-Toller Bosworth, Joseph and Toller, Thomas. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. With supplement to 1898 edition. Oxford, 1921. Campbell, Rochester Campbell, Alistair, ed. Charters of Rochester. Anglo-Saxon Charters 1. Oxford, 1973. CCSL Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina DMLBS Latham, Ronald and Howlett, David, eds. Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources. London, 1975- EDOB Freedman, David, ed. Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, 2000. EETS Early English Text Society EHR English Historical Review EME Early Medieval Europe Finberg, ECWM Finberg, Herbert. The Early Charters of the West Midlands. Second edition. Leicester, 1972.