Table Of ContentKATERN 1
WRITING THE WILTON WOMEN
Goscelin’s Legend of Edith and Liber confortatorius
__________________
MEDIEVAL WOMEN: TEXTS AND CONTEXTS
Editorial Board under the auspices of the
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Hull
Juliette Dor (Université de Liège)
Constant J. Mews (Monash University)
Anneke Mulder-Bakker (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)
Barbara Newman (Northwestern University)
Nicholas Watson (Harvard University)
Jocelyn Wogan-Browne (Fordham University)
Editorial Assistants
Maryna Mews
Edna Ruth Yahil
VOLUME 9
WRITING THE WILTON WOMEN
Goscelin’s Legend of Edith and Liber confortatorius
Edited by
Stephanie Hollis
with
W. R. Barnes, Rebecca Hayward, Kathleen Loncar,
and Michael Wright
F
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Writing the Wilton women : Goscelin’s Legend of Edith and Liber confortatorius. –
(Medieval women : texts and contexts ; 9)
1.Goscelin of St Bertin. Liber confortatorius 2.Goscelin of St Bertin. Vita
Edithae 3.Edith, Saint 4.Wilton Abbey 5.Monastic and religious life of women
– England – Wiltshire – History – To 1500 6.Convents – England – Wiltshire
– History – To 1500 7.Benedictine nuns – England – Wiltshire – History – To
1500 8.Monastic and religious life of women – Early works to 1800
9.Spiritual life – Early works to 1800 10.Hermits – Early works to 1800
I.Hollis, Stephanie II.Barnes, W.R.
248.8'943
ISBN 2503514367
© 2004, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
D/2004/0095/61
ISBN: 2-503-51436-7
Printed in the EU on acid–free paper.
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviations ix
Contributors xi
Introduction 1
STEPHANIE HOLLIS
Part 1—Goscelin’s Legend of Edith
TRANSLATED BY MICHAEL WRIGHT AND KATHLEEN LONCAR
Note on the Translation of the Legend of Edith 17
MICHAEL WRIGHT
Chapter Headings in Rawlinson 21
The Vita of Edith 23
The Translatio of Edith 69
Part 2—Goscelin’s Liber confortatorius
TRANSLATED BY W. R. BARNES AND REBECCA HAYWARD
Note on the Translation of the Liber confortatorius 97
W. R. BARNES AND REBECCA HAYWARD
Prologue 99
Book I 101
Book II 125
Book III 151
Book IV 175
Appendix: Textual Emendations 209
W. R. BARNES AND REBECCA HAYWARD
Part 3—The Wilton Women: Subjects and Audience
Goscelin’s Writings and the Wilton Women 217
STEPHANIE HOLLIS
St Edith and the Wilton Community 245
STEPHANIE HOLLIS
Edith as Contemplative and Bride of Christ 281
STEPHANIE HOLLIS
Wilton as a Centre of Learning 307
STEPHANIE HOLLIS
Part 4—The Liber confortatorius: The Writer and the Reader
Spiritual Friendship and Gender Difference in the Liber confortatorius 341
REBECCA HAYWARD
Goscelin’s Liber confortatorius: Complaints and Consolations 355
REBECCA HAYWARD
The Anchorite’s Progress: Structure and Motif in the Liber confortatorius 369
REBECCA HAYWARD AND STEPHANIE HOLLIS
The Female Reader in the Liber confortatorius 385
REBECCA HAYWARD AND STEPHANIE HOLLIS
Goscelin’s Greeks and Romans 401
W. R. BARNES
Afterword 419
STEPHANIE HOLLIS
Works Cited 431
Index 443
Acknowledgements
This project could not have been undertaken without the award of a University of
Auckland Postdoctoral Fellowship. The authors wish to thank the University of
Auckland Research Committee for this award, as well as for a subsequent travel
grant for the Postdoctoral Fellow, Rebecca Hayward. We would also like to thank
staff of the University of Auckland Library for their assistance, particularly Linda
George and Christine Jackson. We are indebted to Giles Margetts for his generous
assistance with microtexts.
Acknowledgements are due to the British Library (for microfilm of British
Library, Sloane MS 3103, fols 1–114), the National Library of Wales (for microfilm
of Cardiff, Public Library, MS I. 381, fols 81–120), the Gotha Landesbibliothek (for
photocopy of Gotha, Landesbibliothek, MS I. 81, fols 188v–203), and the Royal
College of Physicians of London, for permission to reproduce fol. 76 of the Wilton
Psalter.
The editor wishes to thank Simon Forde, Constant Mews, and Jocelyn Wogan-
Browne for their advice and support, and Phillip Wheeler and Pamela Forde at the
Library of the Royal College of Physicians for their assistance. Michael Wright
wishes to acknowledge the assistance of staff at the Bodleian Library. Rebecca
Hayward wishes to acknowledge the assistance of staff at the British Library, the
Cambridge University Library, the Cardiff Public Library, the New York Public
Library, the Robarts Library, University of Toronto, the Pontifical Institute of
Medieval Studies Library, Toronto, the University of Sydney Library, and the
Widener Library, Harvard University.
Rebecca Hayward also wishes to acknowledge the advice and assistance of the
following: Jill Mann (University of Notre Dame), George Rigg (University of
Toronto), Alexandra Barratt (University of Waikato), Andrew Hughes (University of
Toronto), Paul Hayward (University of Leicester), Margaret Edgcumbe (University
of Auckland), Greti Dinkova-Bruun (University of Toronto), and the staff of the
Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, particularly David Howlett,
Carolinne White, and Theo Christchev.
viii
She would also like to thank Neil Wright, Alan and Vivienne Hayward, and Susan
Carter for their personal support, and a number of others who kindly accommodated
her during research trips: Philippa D’Eath, Claire Cowie and James Roth, Lucy
Lewis, Sarah Tolmie and Scott Morgan Straker, Ruth Harvey, Beth and Wayne
Mezitt, Jolisa Gracewood and Richard Easther, Justine Kirby, Kathleen O’Grady and
Mey Rehemtulla, Simon Christmas, Ngaire Woods and Eugene Rogan, and Deborah
and Steve Cannon.
Abbreviations
C Cardiff, Public Library, MS I. 381
CAO Corpus antiphonalium officii, ed. by René-Jean Hesbert and
René Prévost, 6 vols (Rome: Herder, 1963–79)
CCSA Corpus Christianorum Series Apocryphorum (Turnhout:
Brepols, 1990–)
CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina (Turnhout: Brepols, 1954–)
CCCM Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis (Turnhout:
Brepols, 1966–)
CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (Vienna, 1866–)
G Gotha, Landesbibliothek, MS I. 81
Liber confort Ed. by C. H. Talbot, ‘The Liber confortatorius of Goscelin of
Saint Bertin’, Analecta monastica, series 3, Studia Anselmiana,
37, ed. by M. M. Lebreton, J. Leclercq, and C. H. Talbot (Rome:
Pontifical Institute of St Anselm, 1955), 1–117
PL Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina, ed. by Jacques-
Paul Migne, 221 vols (Paris: Garnier, 1844–64)
R Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson MS C938
(R) Found only in the Rawlinson version of Vita Edithae, Chapters
2–24
Translatio Edithae Ed. by A. Wilmart, ‘La légende de Ste Édith en prose et vers par
le moine Goscelin’, Analecta Bollandiana, 56 (1938), 265–307
VCH Victoria County History
Vita Edithae Ed. by A. Wilmart, ‘La légende de Ste Édith en prose et vers par
le moine Goscelin’, Analecta Bollandiana, 56 (1938), 5–101
x
Abbreviations of Biblical Books
Am Amos Ps(s) Psalm(s)
Bar Baruch Pt Peter
Col Colossians Rom Romans
Cor Corinthians Ru Ruth
Dn Daniel Rv Revelation
Dt Deuteronomy Sg Song of Songs
Eccl Ecclesiastes Sir Sirach
Ecclus Ecclesiasticus Tb Tobit
Eph Ephesians Thes Thessalonians
Esd Esdras Ti Titus
Est Esther Tm Timothy
Ex Exodus Wis Wisdom (of Solomon)
Ez Ezekiel Zec Zechariah (Zacharaiah)
Gal Galatians Zep Zephaniah (Sophonias)
Gn Genesis
Hb Habukkuk
Heb Hebrews
Hg Haggai
Is Isaiah
Jas James
Jb Job
Jdt Judith
Jer Jeremiah
Jgs Judges
Jl Joel
Jn John
Jo Joshua
Kgs Kings (I, II Kings = I, II
Samuel; III, IV Kings =
I, II Kings)
Lam Lamentations
Lk Luke
Lv Leviticus
Mal Malachi
Mi Micah
Mk Mark
Mt Matthew
Nm Numbers
Phil Phillippians
Phlm Philemon
Prv Proverbs
