Franciscan versus Dominican Responses to the Knight as a Societal Model: The case of the "South English Legendary"

Abstract

STUDIES FRANCISCAN VERSUS DOMINICAN RESPONSES TO THE KNIGHT AS A SOCIETAL MODEL: THE CASE OF THE "SOUTH ENGLISH LEGENDARY" I During the thirteenth century, two collections of religious literature circulated freely among the clergy and, quite possibly, the laity, with the first one being the Legenda áurea by Jacobus de Vorágine and the second one being the South English Legendary.1 Although both texts remained popular long after the date they were written, it was the Legenda áurea which first engendered critical attention; consequently, it has only been within the last few years that the South English Legendary has prompted the same degree of scholarly scrutiny. In what, therefore, amounts to a rebirth of interest in this text, scholars have turned their attention to a reassessment of the theories concerning authorship and Legenda áurea indebtedness in an attempt to chart new avenues for future research. As part of this effort, I would like to explore one of these avenues as it is formulated, implicitly, in the early work of Klaus P. Jankofsky. Against the backdrop of his article titled "Personalized Didacticism,"2 wherein he briefly refers to the SEL author's attempt to "humanize the saint," I would like to describe one way in which Franciscan spirituality might have played a role in shaping the kind of saintly efficatio 1 Jacobus de Vorágine, Legenda áurea, vulgo Historia Lombardica dicta, edited by Theodor Graesse (Dresdae and Lipsiae, 1846); Charlotte D'Evelyn and Anna J. Mills, eds., The South English Legendary, Early English Text Society, Original Series, No. 169 (London: Oxford University Press, 1927). 2 Klaus P. Jankofsky, "Personalized Didacticism: The Interplay of Narrator and Subject Matter in the South English Legendary," TAIUS 10 (1977) 74· 12KAREN BJELLAND presented in each lection.3 In so doing, I hope to lay the foundation for a new way of approaching hagiography. For anyone who has had cause to review the history of SEL scholarship, the debate over the religious affiliation of the author holds certain implications when the typical saintly portrait becomes the object of contemplation. This is especially true when one gives thought to the meaning and significance of such labels as "monastic" style (i.e., Benedictine) and "fraternal" style (i.e., Franciscan, Dominican ). Consequently, it becomes very important for one to note that, while some of the earliest work done by Madden and Horstmann stressed the possibility that the SEL was monastic in its origins and orientation,4 recent work in the field now tends to vindicate Mrs. Brown's statement in favor of mendicant authorship;5 thus, while there may have been a brief period of disagreement over the matter of which fraternal order sponsored the SEL,6 the initial claims put forth by Hinnebusch and Pfander concerning Dominican authorship have now been overturned in favor of a reading which supports Franciscan authorship of the text.7 As a result of this, a growing 8 The term "effictio" belongs to the field of medieval rhetoric. In Geoffrey of Vinsauf's Poetria nova, "effictio" refers to the depiction or representation of a person's physical appearance, while "notatio" refers to the description of his character. Although many medievalists use the term "effectio" to refer to any description that an author might provide for a given character, such that the distinction between the two terms has now totally collapsed, one ought to bear it in mind for some authors will tend to favor the former over the latter. Moreover, the distinction can prove to be useful in highlighting an author's reliance on a unit of information which does not fall into either category (e.g., reference to a character's social standing within the community). For further information, see Poetria nova of Geoffrey of Vinsauf, translated by Margaret F. Nims (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1967) 61-62. 4 Frederick Madden, Havelok (London: The Roxburghe Club, 1928) iii; Carl Horstmann, ed., Altenglische Legenden: Neue Folge (Heilbronn: Verlag von Gebr. Henniger, 1881) xliv. 6 Beatrice Daw Brown, The Southern Passion, Early English Text Society, Original Series, No. 169 (London: Oxford University, 1927) c, civ, xcviii-xcix. 6 William A. Hinnebusch, O.P., TAe Early English Friars Preachers (Rome: Ad S...