Bound by Words: Oath-taking and Oath-breaking in Medieval lceland and Anglo-Saxon England

258 Pages·2016·1.7 MB·English

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Dissertations Graduate College
12-2014
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Gregory L. Laing
Western Michigan University, [email protected]
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BOUND BY WORDS: THE MOTIF OF OATH-TAKING AND OATH-BREAKING IN
MEDIEVAL ICELAND AND ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND

by

Gregory L. Laing

A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate College
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
English
Western Michigan University
December 2014

Doctoral Committee:

Jana K. Schulman, Ph.D., Chair
Eve Salisbury, Ph.D.
Larry Hunt, Ph.D.
Paul E. Szarmach, Ph.D.
BOUND BY WORDS: THE MOTIF OF OATH-TAKING AND OATH-BREAKING IN
MEDIEVAL ICELAND AND ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND

Gregory L. Laing, Ph.D.

Western Michigan University, 2014

The legal and literary texts of early medieval England and Iceland share a common
emphasis on truth and demonstrate its importance through the sheer volume of textual
references. One of the most common applications of truth-seeking in these sources occurs in
the swearing of oaths. Instances of oath-taking and oath-breaking, therefore, are critical textual
loci wherein the language of swearing unites an individual’s socially constructed reputation and
his personal guarantees under the careful supervision of the community. Traditionally, scholars
looking at truth and attestation from the later medieval period tend to view early cases of
swearing as procedural, artless, or largely instinctive. In “Bound by Words,” I examine the
complexity and decisiveness of early swearing through a critical study of speech-act theory and
by looking at law as a specific type of literature. Overall, this study of Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic
texts brings together the major legal and literary sources to explore those moments when words
attempt to guarantee action or when narratives focus on the contravention of that system.
Such motifs invest language with the power to provide justice, yet these texts also demonstrate
the potential for words to cause harm and thus treat them with appropriate caution.
Ultimately, the project confronts this dependence on and apprehension toward swearing to
demonstrate the critical ways that these legal and literary texts attempt to negotiate the power
in and peril of trusting others.
Copyright by
Gregory L. Laing
2014
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the countless number of individuals who have contributed
to my education and to the pursuit of this degree, without any of whom I might never have been
able to produce this dissertation. While I cannot mention everyone by name, I would like
especially to thank a few people for their guidance, support, and patience with me as I labored
to fully appreciate the details of oath-taking and oath-breaking. My committee chairperson, Dr.
Jana K. Schulman, deserves my deepest thanks for her insightful suggestions and her tireless
effort to inspire me with a heart-felt love of this subject. I also would like to thank her for first
leading me to this topic during a wonderful seminar at the Newberry Library on the
intersections of Anglo-Saxon law and literature, as well as in her subsequent Old English and Old
Norse courses that continue to be among my fondest memories of my graduate school.
Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Eve Salisbury for always being an inspirational
example, whose expert wisdom I had the privilege of witnessing first-hand during the semester
of working with her on the British Literature teaching practicum. Additionally I will never forget
how Dr. Salisbury’s seminar on medieval English literature helped me to realize not only the
scope, but also the intellectual and linguistic depths of these indispensable texts. Dr. Paul E.
Szarmach also deserves my gratitude for inspiring me to purse the study of Old English. His
seminar on Beowulf, co-taught with Dr. Schulman, still inspires me to ponder the nuances of
translation and intensity of language. His numerous insights, especially those related to Anglo-
Saxon homiletic and hagiographical texts, has been invaluable. Sincere thanks must also be
ii
Acknowledgments – continued

given to Dr. Larry Hunt for his efforts as outside reader, his invaluable discussions with me over
a variety of topics, and his genuine support as a colleague. I cannot thank the members of my
committee enough for their contributions to my academic progress, or for their patience in
working with me during this painstaking process.
Finally, I would like to thank my family for their love and support. My wife, Kim,
continues to be my advocate and friend, whose unwavering support has made all of this writing
possible. My daughter, Jordan, has always reminded me to strive to achieve something more
out of my life. My parents, Charles and Diana, were influential in encouraging me to pursue my
love of things medieval, and I am especially grateful to them for all of their many words of
encouragement throughout this process.

Gregory L. Laing

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................................... ii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................. vi
CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 21
TRACING THE PATHWAYS OF TRUTH ........................................................................................ 21
An Etymological Analysis of the Vocabulary of Sworn Language ......................................... 21
The Oath ................................................................................................................................ 27
Judicial Oaths ........................................................................................................................ 33
Oaths of Loyalty .................................................................................................................... 36
The Pledge ............................................................................................................................. 38
The Vow ................................................................................................................................. 46
The Truth ............................................................................................................................... 53
“Sooth” .................................................................................................................................. 59
Later Developments .............................................................................................................. 63
CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................... 70
CHAPTER 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 72
SAFEGUARDING SWEARING WITHIN THE LAW ......................................................................... 72
Legal Prohibition and the Protection of Sworn Language .................................................... 72
Legal Approaches to Swearing .............................................................................................. 78
“Truth” Within the Laws ....................................................................................................... 82
The Pledge in the Laws .......................................................................................................... 96
THE OATH IN ANGLO-SAXON AND ICELANDIC LAW ................................................................ 107
The Coronation Oath ........................................................................................................... 107
Oath of Office ...................................................................................................................... 114
Judicial Oaths ...................................................................................................................... 119
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE FOR THE LEGAL APPLICATION OF SWORN LANGUAGE ............... 135
CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................... 141
CHAPTER 4 ................................................................................................................................... 143
SWEARING AS A LITERARY MOTIF ........................................................................................... 143
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Table of Contents - continued

The Scope of Verbal Guarantees within Literary Texts ....................................................... 143
Swearing as the Literary Motif of “Society” ........................................................................ 164
Swearing as the Literary Motif of “Testing” ........................................................................ 187
Swearing as the Motif of “Deception” ................................................................................ 203
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 226
CHAPTER 5 ................................................................................................................................... 228
THE SUCCESSION OF SWEARING MOTIFS IN LEGAL AND LITERARY CONTEXTS ...................... 228
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................. 236

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ASC ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicle”
ASE Anglo-Saxon England
Band Bandamanna saga
Beo Klaeber’s Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed.
BTS An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Supplement
DA Diplomatarium Anglicum Ævi Saxonici
DI Diplomatarium Islandicum
DOE Dictionary of Old English
DOEWC Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus
EETS Early English Text Society
Gen Genesis, ed. George Krapp.
Gesetze Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, ed. Liebermann.
Grágás The Laws of Early Iceland: Grágás, ed. and trans. Dennis, Foote, and Perkins.
Grett Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar
Haralds Saga Haralds Saga ins Hárfagra
ÍF Íslensk Fornrit
Jb Jónsbók. Kong Magnus Hakonssons Lovbog for Island. Ed. Ólafur Halldórsson.
Jónsbók Jónsbók: The Laws of Later Iceland, ed. and trans. Schulman.
JEGP Journal of English and Germanic Philology
K Grágás. Islædernes lovbog i fristatens tid, ed. Vilhjálmur Finsen.

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MED The Middle English Dictionary
Njála Brennu-Njáls saga
OEN Old English Newsletter
OED Oxford English Dictionary
St Grágás efter det Arnamagnæanske Haandskrift, ed. Vilhjálmur Finsen.
Vkv “Völundarkviða,” eds. Gustav Neckel and Hans Kuhn
Wan “The Wanderer,” eds. George P. Krapp and Elliott Van Kirk Dobbie.

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