Remaking the Mould: Scriptural Types and Anglo-Saxon Heroes in "The Dream of the Rood," "Elene," and "Judith"

Abstract

My thesis explores the cultural and gender syncretic processes of Old English literature in three Anglo-Saxon poems: The Dream of the Rood, Elene, and Judith. Throughout my research I attempt to answer the question of syncretism as it is applied to Anglo-Saxon concepts of heroes and heroism in literature. While Old English scholars (including John M. Hill, Hugh Magennis, and Jane Chance) have developed this line of inquiry previously, my work pushes back on several assumptions that hinder their analyses. In particular, I resist the tendency of late 20th-century criticism to dichotomize the Germanic and Christian aspects of the texts, contending that since Latin Christianity was completely indigenized over a hundred years prior to the writing of these poems, it is impossible to discern a pre-Christian set of values and social norms. Instead, I discuss the converging influences of monastic and secular aspects of Anglo-Saxon in relation to the literary hero. I also examine the complex gender dynamics and performances that manifest in these three poems, arguing that the triumphant hero or heroine is able to succeed through a wide-ranging set of both masculine and feminine performances. Here I incorporate a subtle commentary of gender theory — especially Judith Butler’s theory of performativity — to complement my own textual criticism. As this sort of gender syncretism meets with the culturally syncretic writings of the Anglo-Saxon poets, a new and idealized type of hero emerges, one who accomplishes victory through both spiritual and secular, as well and masculine and feminine performances.