Old English Transciption of the Latin Hagiography of Saint Aegidius: Language and Rhetoric

Abstract

The article analyzes the methods of transcribing an anonymous Latin hagiography of St. Aegidius (British Library manuscript Tiberius Div, volume 2, 84v-87r, late eleventh century) by an anonymous author of an Old English hagiography of the same saint (mid-twelfth-century manuscript, Corpus Christi College Cambridge C 303). Errors in manuscript CCCS 303 show that the scribe copied an earlier Old English text of the eleventh century, not always understanding it well. But overall, the twelfth-century manuscript retains most of the features consistent with the norm of the eleventh-century Wessex dialect. The lexicon of the Old English text includes a number of Latin loanwords, as well as one word of Scandinavian origin. Some deviations from the written norm in phonetics and morphology show the influence of colloquial speech. The emphasis on the omnipotence of God and on the saint’s close personal contacts with God, not so noticeable in the Latin version, leads to an expansion of St. Aegidius’ epithets compared to the Latin source. The changes in the method of narration concern the rejection of ancient rhetorical techniques, primarily rhetorical questions; the replacement of historical details; and the expansion of Gospel allusions. At the same time, the Old English narrative is characterized by an increase in the emotional mood and dramatization of the story, including through the introduction of monologues and dialogues.