The Displacement of the Body in Ælfric’s Virgin Martyr Lives by Alison Gulley (review)

Alison Gulley’s well-presented volume assesses Ælfric’s body of work on female virgin martyrs. These include Agnes, Agatha, Lucy, Eugenia, and the married saints Daria, Basilissa, and Cecilia. Gulley compares the Old English accounts from Ælfric’s Lives of the Saints with their Latin sources, and concludes that the English works emphasised the spiritual nature of the saints’ purity, rather than its physical aspect. Indeed, Gulley argues that Ælfric ‘displaces’ the physical body in his lives to emphasise the spiritual importance of the virgins’ sacrifices. While this was certainly not a new concept in the Middle Ages, nor in Anglo-Saxon England, Gulley successfully argues for the important place of this discourse within Ælfric’s body of work.

Chapter 1 introduces the topic, with Gulley focusing on the contextual background for Ælfric’s work. Chapter 2 discusses the patristic background concerning the status of women within the Church and the concept of spiritual chastity. This section covers some familiar territory, such as the patristic interpretations of the writings of St Paul, but provides a necessary context for Gulley’s broader argument. Gulley also looks briefly at the work of the earlier Anglo-Saxon hagiographer, Aldhelm, and refers to him throughout her discussion. Nevertheless, further comparison with Aldhelm’s de Virginitate and reference to scholarship concerning this work would not have gone astray. The following five chapters go into detail concerning the works themselves, with Gulley comprehensively analysing each of the lives, quoting extensively from both the Old English and their Latin sources.

Gulley’s topic is well defined and touches on relevant aspects of Anglo-Saxon history, including the Benedictine Reform, which she uses to frame her discussion of Ælfric’s approach. This is a welcome addition to scholarship concerning one of the most prolific Anglo-Saxon authors, and to scholarship concerning Old English hagiography. Gulley’s work also makes a valuable contribution to our broader understanding of gender and the body in Anglo-Saxon England.