The Old English Life of Machutus

236 Pages·1984·18.401 MB·English, Old English, Latin

by  Bili of Aleth, David Yerkes (ed.)

THE OLD ENGLISH LIFE OF MACHUTUS

the
old english
life of
m achutus
edited by
DAVID YERKES
published in association with
The Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto
by University of Toronto Press
Toronto Buffalo London
© University of Toronto Press 1984
Toronto Buffalo London
Printed in Canada
ISBN 0-8020-5626-1
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Bili, 9th cent.
[Vita Sancti Machutis. Latin & Old English)
The Old English Life of Machutus
(Toronto Old English series, ISSN 0821-4298 ; 9)
By Bili, a deacon of the 9th century.
Text in Latin and Old English, with notes in English.
Bibliography: p. xi
Includes indexes.
ISBN 0-8020-5626-1
I. Malo, Saint, d. ca. 621. 2. Christian saints-
France - Biography. I. Yerkes, David, 1950-
II. University of Toronto. Centre for Medieval
Studies. III. Title. IV. Title: The Old English
Life of Machutus. V. Series.
BR1720.M273B5413 1983 281’.4’0924 C83-098371-6
This book has been published with the help of a grant from
the Publications Fund of University of Toronto Press.
contents
GENERAL EDITOR’S PREFACE vü
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
BIBLIOGRAPHY xi
SIGNS AND ABBREVIATIONS xxiii
INTRODUCTION xxv
History and Description of the Old English Manuscript xxvii
The Latin Source xxxiii
Language, Date, and Place of Origin of the Translation xxxvi
Format of the Edition xliii
THE OLD ENGLISH TEXT AND ITS LATIN SOURCE 1
OLD ENGLISH GLOSSARY 109
INDEX OF LATIN WORDS 167
INDEX OF MANUSCRIPTS AND ANNOTATED PRINTED BOOKS 186
toronto old english series
General Editor Editorial Board
ROBERTA FRANK P.A.M. CLEMOES
J.E. CROSS
H. GNEUSS
J.F. LEYERLE
M.B. PARKES
E G. STANLEY
1 Computers and Old English Concordances edited by Angus Cameron,
Roberta Frank, and John Leyerle
2 A Plan for the Dictionary o f Old English edited by Roberta Frank
and Angus Cameron
3 The Stowe Psalter edited by Andrew C. Kimmens
4 The Two Versions of Wærferth's Translation o f Gregory’s Dialogues:
An Old English Thesaurus David Yerkes
5 Vercelli Homilies IX-XXIII edited by Paul E. Szarmach
6 The Dating o f Beowulf edited by Colin Chase
7 Eleven Old English Rogationtide Homilies edited by Joyce Bazire
and James E. Cross
8 Old English Word Studies: A Preliminary Author and Word Index
Angus Cameron, Allison Kingsmill, and Ashley Crandell Amos
9 The Old English Life o f Machutus edited by David Yerkes
general editor’s preface
The Toronto Old English Series, an offshoot of the Dictionary of Old English
project, has three reasons for existence. The first is to publish Old English
texts not yet in print, in order to provide citations for the Dictionary. The
second is to replace editions whose treatment of the text is unsatisfactory for
dictionary use. The third is to provide bibliographies, semantic studies, and
other tools useful for the Dictionary.
The present volume contains the first reliable edition of an Old English
translation of Dili’s ninth-century Vita Sancti Machutis. Little is known for
certain about this saint, whose name - commemorated in the French port of
Saint-Malo on the English Channel — is a household word from Manitoba (in
Saint Malo on the Rat River) to the Falklands (les Iles Malouines). According
to one witness, Machutus was able to kindle dead cinders by the warmth of
his zeal; in a comparable way, David Yerkes has breathed new life into the
charred remains of the Old English text, twenty-eight folios of which survived
the Ashbumham House conflagration of 1731.
The General Editor wishes to thank the Editorial Board of the series, as
well as Angus Cameron and Ashley Crandell Amos, Co-editors of the Dictio­
nary of Old English, for their continuing support. My greatest debt is owed
once again to Anna Burko, who copy-edited the manuscript and typed the
camera-ready copy with unmatched ardour and craftsmanship.
R.F.
March 1983