For Pastoral Care and Political Gain: Ælfric of Eynsham's Preaching on Marital Celibacy

FOR PASTORAL CARE AND POLITICAL GAIN: ,ELFRIC OF EYNSHAM'S PREACHING ON MARITAL CELIBACY By RORERT K. UPCHURCH Writing early in the last decade of the tenth century, the Anglo-Saxon monk JSlfric begins his Second Series of Catholic Homilies with a sermon for Christmas Day.1 The second of five Old English sermons he wrote for the Nativity, it combines dense doctrinal matters with concrete advice about how Christians should commemorate the birth of Christ.2 After discussing Christ's Incarnation and Virgin Birth, and the Old Testament prophecies anticipating his appearance, ¿Elfric concludes the sermon with a series of instructions directing believers how to conduct themselves at Christmas. Of particular interest is his singling out of clsennyss, an Old English word for 1 The following abbreviations are used throughout: Assmann = Bruno Assmann, ed., Angelsächsische Homilien und Heiligenleben, Bibliothek der angelsächsischen Prosa 3 (Kassel, 1889; Darmstadt, 1964). CHI = JElfric's Catholic Homilies: The First Series, ed. Peter Clemoes, EETS s.s. 17 (Oxford , 1997). CHII = Mlfric's Catholic Homilies: The Second Series, ed. Malcolm Godden, EETS s.s. 5 (Oxford, 1979). LS = JElfric's Lives of Saints Being a Set of Sermons of Saints' Days Formerly Observed by the English Church, ed. and trans. Walter Skeat, EETS o.s. 76, 82, 94, 114 (London, 1881-1900; repr. as two vols., 1966). Pope = Homilies of Aïlfric: A Supplementary Collection, ed. John Pope, EETS o.s. 259-60 (London, 1967-68). Each collection is cited by item and line number. Citations of Assmann that do not include an item number refer to page numbers. I have expanded the ampersands and contractions in CHI and have replaced with a "g" the yogh in Assmann. I have also modernized Skeat's punctuation and capitalization where appropriate. All translations are my own. This article is a substantially revised version of Chapter 1 of my PhD dissertation, "The Hagiography of Chaste Marriage in JElfric's Lives of Saints" (The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 2001). Portions of the essay were presented at the annual meeting of Fontes Anglo-Saxonici held at King's College, London in April 2000 and at the Old English Division's Open Session of the 2000 MLA Annual Meeting held in Washington, DC. Special thanks are due to E. Gordon Whatley for his continued support and encouragement and to Jenny Adams for her trenchant criticisms and unstinting good cheer. I also wish to thank the anonymous readers at Traditio for their helpful comments and James Cox, Paul Menzer, Mary Swan, and Karen Upchurch for reading earlier drafts of this essay. The four other sermons are: CHI.2, LS 1, Pope 1, and item 9 in Belfour's collection (Twelfth-Century Homilies in Ms. Bodley 343, ed. A. O. Belfour, EETS o.s. 137 [London, 1909; repr. Woodbridge, Engl., 1998]). 40TRADITIO "chastity" or "purity," as the virtue to be most highly prized among the laity: We sceolon eac cristes acennednysse. and his gebyrdtide mid gastlicere blisse wurSian. and us sylfe mid godum weorcum geglengan. and us mid godes lofsangum gebysgian. and Sa Sing onscunian. Se crist forbytt. part sind leahtras. and deofles weorc. and 9a Sing lufian Se god bebead. part is eadmodnys. and mildheortnys. rihtwisnys. and soSfaestnys. œlmesdseda. and gemetfœstnys. gebyld and clœnnyss; í>as Sing lufaS god and huru Sa clœnnysse Se he sylf Surh hiñe, and Surh bset clœne maeden his modor astealde; Swa eac ealle his geferan Se him filigdon ealle hi waeron on claennysse wuniende. and se maesta dál JDaera manna {je gode geSeoS burh claennysse hi geSeoS. (CHII.1.277-87) [We ought also to honor the birth and nativity of Christ with spiritual joy, and adorn ourselves with good works, and occupy ourselves with songs of praise to God, and shun those things which Christ forbids, which are sins and works of the devil, and love those things which God commanded, that is humility and mercy, justice and truth, almsgiving and self-control, patience and chastity. These things God loves, and especially chastity, which he established through himself and the chaste virgin, his mother. So also all of his companions who followed him...