The conceptual framework of pride in the literature of early medieval England

The concept of pride figures prominently in ecclesiastical and secular writings of the early English. Despite this abundance of representations, critics have yet to achieve a complete, coherent understanding of what pride means for early English writers (especially as regards vernacular poetry). The limitation of the current critical understanding of the concept may be attributed to several causes: some studies base their theological arguments upon selective uses of homilies, while others examine analogues that are anachronistic. Another notable limitation is the general reliance of commentary on Old English materials, leaving the considerable Anglo-Latin corpus and the broader bilingual environment overlooked.

The project addresses this gap in literature by asking two central questions: what is the range of conceptualizations of pride in early English writing? How does a systematic understanding of this range allow a more nuanced interpretation of early English poetry? To answer these questions, I first compile a list of representations of pride in early English prose. Then, I will analyze the range of conceptualizations of pride, paying attention to both the linguistic context surrounding the attested instances and the broader cultural (theological) understanding shared by the educated class of the early English. This combined linguistic-cultural analysis will then guide my close reading of representations of pride in selected Old English and Anglo-Latin verse.

This research framework centralizes and clarifies the early English conceptualizations of pride in both prose and poetry, and thus illuminates systematically the different accounts of pride which appear idiosyncratic and scattered across extant Anglo-Saxon linguistic (e.g. Schabram; Low), literary (e.g. Caie; Doane; Orchard) and theological (e.g. McDaniel) scholarship. It also establishes the intricate connections between the Old English and Anglo-Latin corpora in relation to the theme of pride, which in turn serves as an important building block in reconstructing the professional minority ecclesiastical culture, as well as its transmission and ramification in a bilingual medium, in early England (see, e.g. Lapidge).

The project also improves our understanding on the significance of multilingualism on cultural development. One emerging finding of the project is that in a multilingual environment, the intellectual regime transmitted hardly follows through the traditions preserved in only one of the languages concerned. Thus, in understanding the literary constructs and cultural environment of contemporary (and medieval) multilingual societies, it is essential to consider not only the different languages in use, but more importantly the different and subtle ways in which the traditions are integrated.