Quae Non Habet Intellectum: The Disappearance Of Fifth-Foot Spondees From Dactylic Hexameter Verse

Abstract

The dactylic hexameter was the most frequently used of the classical Greek and Roman metres. It was praised by ancient and medieval authors alike for its versatility, being suited to both loft y and common subjects. This chapter investigates Anglo-Saxons' attitudes to spondaic verses, contextualising them within the earlier history of Latin hexameter verse before investigating the ideas and influence of the Anglo-Saxon authors Aldhelm and Bede. Spondaic verses have a very distinctive character: they lack the dum-di-di-dum-dum cadence that for most people, presumably even in antiquity, is the most recognisable part of the hexameter line. The roots of the dactylic hexameter extend as far back as the oral epic traditions of the Greeks, and possibly even earlier. There was, however, one prominent exception to the tendency of Latin hexameter poetry to be more spondaic than Greek - the fifth foot of the hexameter. Keywords: Anglo-Saxon; dactylic hexameter; Greeks; Latin hexameter