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Matheliende is published quarterly by the students and faculty of Anglo-Saxon Studies at The University of Georgia.
Matheliende welcomes any and all correspondence and articles. Such material should be addressed to Mr. Alex Bruce, Park Hall, The University of Georgia. Copyright 1994 Alexander M. Bruce
WHAT COMES NEXT? THOUGHTS ON GETTING HIRED
By Alex Bruce
As we approach the completion of our degrees, a major concern of ours becomes, "Will I get the type of job I want?" For most of us, that means getting a tenure-track position in a college or university. Getting such a position is not at all a certainty; as ever, the job market is highly competitive. One of our quests as graduate students thus becomes making ourselves as marketable as possible.
But what exactly does that entail? Our system would have us believe that the key to successful employment is publishing. So strongly are we indoctrinated with that belief that we may feel that if we aren't submitting manuscripts for publication by the end of our first quarter of residency, then we are somehow behind schedule. Such preoccupation, some professors feel, pulls us away from our task of getting a good education in our field.
Certainly having published does play in one's favor. As Dr. Kretzschmar notes, "You're competing against people who have published, perhaps extensively. People who have been out of graduate school for some time. You need to publish to stay competitive with them." Dr. Zatta concurs: "You've got to be realistic in your search, and recognize that other graduate students are publishing."
Dr. Zatta, though, is quick to admit that publishing is not the only key to finding the right job. "It's also important to make contacts. At times I felt as if even though a job was advertised, it really wasn't. The search committee knew whom they wanted already; advertising the position was a mere formality." She feels that knowing people can certainly make a difference.
To meet others in our field, every professor recommends going to conferences. Dr. Mitchell specifically recommends attending the Old and Middle English sessions at major conferences like SAMLA. Dr. Shaw and Dr. Evans agree, though Dr. Evans adds, "It's important to concentrate on making friends rather than mere contacts. Be a young professional at these conferences; find people with like interests and really get to know them. Don't be cynical or opportunistic, but genuine."
All professors interviewed agreed that we should also try to participate in these conferences. Dr. Henken believes that it's important for us to give papers at as high a level as possible, at the national or even international level. And even if we aren't presenting, we should be attending as many conferences as possible because, as Dr. Kretzschmar notes, "The articles we read in journals are often 2 or 3 years out-of-date; the best way to stay on top of your field is to attend conferences and hear first-hand what people are doing."
We can also make ourselves more marketable by what we do in the classroom, both as teachers and students. We should show that we have experience teaching a variety of classes; in addition to teaching 101 and 102 (and occasionally a sophomore survey class), we can offer to help professors by teaching a class for them when they are forced to be absent. Dr. Ruppersburg comments that English departments are primarily looking for people dedicated to teaching, people who are willing to teach and want to teach well. He suggests that in our cover letters we stress such dedication.
In our own studies we should seek to have a wide base of knowledge. Dr. Mitchell strongly feels that, as medievalists, we should choose our two languages from Latin, German, or French (though knowing something of all three is certainly to our benefit); we should also take Old English as a course in our program of study, not to satisfy the language requirement. He adds that we should be well-versed in Chaucer, since we "will have occasion to teach him more than any other [medieval] writer." Dr. Zatta recommends that we take courses on the history of the English language, for often the resident medievalist is expected to teach such courses. Dr. Henken feels that it is important to know something of other disciplines; we should explore taking relevant history, religion, art, or philosophy classes so that we can bring that knowledge to our own area of study.
In discussing the fortunes of recent graduates, Dr. Provost supports the benefits of diversity. He comments that a willingness to teach all levels, an ability to write well, and a knowledge of linguistics helped some medieval scholars find university positions. Although these graduates weren't working explicitly in medieval studies, none had to abandon the field completely.
As for our dissertations, Dr. Ruppersburg urges us to choose our topics wisely. Certainly we should pursue topics that interest us, but at the same time we should consider whether our dissertation can be published. We should also, in describing our dissertation on a cover letter, seek to show how our research has greater implications, how we can apply our specific work to our general field of medieval studies (and perhaps the study of literature as a whole). In fact, he reminds us that the cover letter is the most important element of any job application; we should craft our letter to show all our talents, not just our research or teaching or service.
Finding a job will be challenging. Yet getting the type of job we want is not impossible; with good preparation we can make the task much more manageable. Perhaps the best advice comes from Dr. Henken: "Show initiative. Get out and do something." We can show such initiative in studying, teaching, presenting papers, and publishing; it is up to us, though, how much we are willing to do.
By Brad Bedingfield
In the 10th century, several Benedictine monks, including abbot Aethelwold of Winchester, began to revive both secular and religious learning. This revival, which called for both increased literacy and the strict regularization of Christian doctrine, swept up one of Aethelwold's young proteges, Aelfric. Aelfric worked continuously to encourage education through his writings and homilies; in fact, his works were the most notable of the period, leading James Hurt to refer to the 10th century as "the Age of Aelfric."
From 987 to 1005, when he became abbot of Eynsham, Aelfric taught at a monastery at Cernel. Much like Alfred the Great a century earlier, Aelfric was concerned with the almost epidemic lack of Latin literacy. He was also vexed by the confusion among clergy over basic Christian principles and the inability of the "simple" to understand these vital principles. Most of his literary works were written while teaching at Cernel, and his educational concerns clearly coincided with his literary goals.
What we have of the works of Aelfric is rather extensive. A few years after arriving at Cernel, he wrote two series of homilies, the Sermones Catholici (published in two separate volumes as Catholic Homilies I and II by the EETS). Each series, covering one calendar year, consists of forty homilies written to be performed on particular days or occasions. Most of these homilies were written in "plain English; so that our message might the more readily reach the hearts of those who read or hear, to the profit of the souls of those who cannot be taught in any other tongue than that to which they were born" (CH I, p.1, trans. from Latin by Hurt, p. 42). Because Aelfric felt that Latin was vital to a proper understanding of Christian theology, he compiled a Latin Grammar and Glossary, the first written in English. He also wrote a treatise on astronomy and chronology called De Temporibus Anni, to respond to the uncertainty over when, exactly, Easter and its related holy days should be. Despite his often expressed reluctance to translate scripture, he made extensive translations or paraphrases of parts of the Bible. His sermons include numerous translated passages, and his translations of Genesis 1-24 and Numbers 13-26, along with loose versions of Joshua and Judges, make up part of the "Old English Heptateuch." He also wrote a Letter to Sigeweard in which he outlines each book of the Bible and explains its place in scripture in relation to the Bible as a whole. Throughout his translations and moral exegeses runs a solid Christian orthodoxy, explaining and affirming vital truths scripturally acceptable to clergy and understandable to laymen.
In accordance with his goal of making scriptural truths understandable to laymen, Aelfric's style is clear and, generally, simple. At the same time, his sense of dramatic effectiveness is profound. He makes use of rhythm, repetition, parallelism, alliteration, and references to his audience to draw his hearers into the sermon. His affinity for poetic devices was so pronounced, in fact, that much of his later work, including part of Catholic Homilies II and his Lives of Saints, has been studied as poetry. Aelfric wrote in accordance with patristic stylistic aims, expressed by Cicero and Augustine as "docere, delectare, movere" (to inform, to please, to move). While informing, Aelfric was able to "move" his hearers into personal, meaningful understanding of their relationships with God and with the Christian community.
One of Aelfric's most studied homilies, the Sermo de Sacrificio in Die Paschae (no. xv in Godden's EETS edition of CH II), demonstrates his ability to clarify theological ambiguities and to move his audience simultaneously. The homily was intended for performance before the paschal distribution of the Eucharist. Aelfric's purpose is
The "twynung" to which Aelfric refers is the uncertainty concerning how literally the doctrine of transubstantiation should be taken. Since Paul had clearly asserted that the Eucharist should only be taken with a clear conscience and without doubts, any uncertainty concerning the Eucharist could, indeed, be damaging. Thus, for the participants, the debate over whether the sacraments must be considered the actual, literal, physical body and blood of Christ had grave, and perhaps eternal, significance. In this passage, Aelfric expresses his concern for his audience, uses both the Old and New Testaments to support his position, places the discussion in the overall context of Christian history, and focuses his discussion on the audience's imminent participation in this vital ceremony with his sense of dramatic immediacy ("the ge nu gan sceolon").
In the rest of the homily, Aelfric attempts to illustrate and explain orthodox (i.e. grounded in scriptural and/or patristic authority) belief concerning the Eucharist. Though the full effect of Aelfric's anecdotes, illustrations, and repetitions can only really be appreciated by reading the entire homily, the style is evident in the following excerpt:
With clear and emphatic prose ("and mid. . ."), he reinforces the personal importance of the discussion to the participants with the reminder that the Eucharist "us lifes edwist forgifth." The parallelism makes clear the dichotomy between the physical and ghostly aspects of the loaf and the wine.
While the clear dichotomy between the physical and spiritual aspects of the sacraments expressed in the homily may seem, in places, to have protestant overtones (in fact, later Anglican apologists published corrupt versions of this homily in support for their anti-popish positions), Aelfric resists such a misconception with frequent assertions that the sacraments are, indeed, as holy as if they were literally Christ's flesh. The most poignant of these assertions come in the form of two anecdotes in the middle of the homily (lines 159-73). In the first, the bread, just before being presented, is transformed into a bloody finger. In the second, an angel appears on the altar, carves up a baby, and presents its flesh and blood as the Eucharist. These examples support Aelfric's position that the sacraments consist of a perishable physical nature and a holy spiritual nature, separate but coexisting. The emphasis on the holiness of the Eucharist is necessary to sustain the sense of the importance of the ceremony for the participants. They are reminded that, in a spiritual if not physical sense, they are about to eat the body and blood of Christ, thereby reestablishing their link to God and the Christian community. The participants, by the end of the homily, have resolved their confusion over the physical appearance of the sacraments and are emotionally prepared for the most sacred of Christian ceremonies.
Aelfric's appealing style and dramatic power evident in this and other homilies influenced other religious writers, including Archbishop Wulfstan, with whom Aelfric had correspondence. Ultimately Aelfric's influence constitutes a large part of the foundation of the writings of later medieval sermon composers; as well, his emphasis on writing in the vernacular inspired much of Anglo-Saxon literature. Such is his legacy; the "Age of Aelfric" has had long-lasting repercussions.
By Jonathan Foggin
Nearly thirteen hundred years ago, perhaps at the same time the Beowulf poet was describing the funeral of Scyld Scefing, a large wooden ship was dragged up to the bluffs above the river Deben in East Anglia. There a spectacular burial took place as the ship was loaded with magnificent treasure before being covered with earth. Early this century, archaeologists excavating the mounds at the site uncovered one of the most exciting finds of the 20th century, not just because of the treasure, but also because of the information we have gained from it. The meticulous work of Charles Phillips and his team in 1939, augmented by subsequent campaigns, has resulted in a greater understanding of the Anglo-Saxons. Though archaeology alone cannot pinpoint Sutton Hoo within the historical context, the site has been dated to the mid-7th century, thus giving us a better view of a misty time in Anglo-Saxon history.
The initial assumption was that a royal burial mound had been found. While there is circumstantial evidence linking this site to Redwald, a seventh century East Anglian chieftain and "Bretwalda," or English high king, this interpretation is based upon coincidence and assumption. During the mid-seventh century, there were at least four successive rulers in East Anglia: Redwald, Earpwald, Sigbert, and Egric. Considering the lack of precision possible in dating coins from this period, attributing this burial to one particular person makes little sense. Nor should we let this pursuit blind us to the true value of this site. What the evidence from Sutton Hoo tells us is not who was buried, but what was thought about him and his position in society; this is the window Sutton Hoo provides into early Anglo-Saxon culture.
England in the 6th and 7th centuries was a brutal and violent place where a king was likely to end his reign with his head and hands set up as an enemy's trophy. During the first half of the 7th century, five East Anglian kings died a violent death. By the 8th century, in an effort to strengthen their royal claims, Anglo-Saxon kings had constructed elaborate genealogies for themselves, often tracing their ancestry back to gods and heroes, or grafting themselves onto other lines through an invented forefather. The desire to confirm legitimacy forced early Anglo-Saxon kings to look to the past for the origins of their power, a necessity for which tangible evidence can be seen in the Sutton Hoo burial.
The 8th-century East Anglian kings apparently looked to Sweden to find ways of solidifying their position. Some claimed Swedish heroes like the mythical hero Wuffa as an ancestor. The burial at Sutton Hoo also reflects a strong Swedish influence, both the artifacts and the manner in which the burial was carried out. If this Swedish connection is a viable one, we may be seeing evidence of the East Anglian dynasty looking back to half-remembered roots as a source of its authority.
The most obvious of the Swedish parallels we can see is the type of grave. The practice of "ship burials" is found in only one other place in the Germanic world: east Sweden. The rich grave at Valsgarde near Uppsala displays a striking similarity to Sutton Hoo in the manner of burial, as well as in the situation of the site. As in Sutton Hoo, the Valsgarde chieftain was inhumed in a clinker-built ship on a prominent ridge overlooking a river. From such similarities, unique to east Suffolk and the Uppsala region, it has been suggested that the Redwald's dynasty did indeed come from eastern Sweden.
Even stronger evidence for a Swedish connection comes from a number of artifacts found within the grave at Sutton Hoo, the most striking of which are the great helmet and shield. Upon first examination they are almost indistinguishable from similar artifacts found in Sweden. Likewise, their iconography shows direct Scandinavian influence in the form of mythological scenes. The dancing and fallen warrior motifs on the Sutton Hoo helmet are identical to themes pictured on a helmet from Valsgarde, while the interlace pattern on the shield bears a striking resemblance to the design on the shield from Vendel, another Uppsala site. These similarities imply a Swedish influence going back a considerable way, since the grave goods, as heirlooms, are likely to have been antiques when they were interred with the body.
Several of the Sutton Hoo artifacts also demonstrate the tendency of the Germanic tribes, including the Anglo-Saxons, to stress their link to Roman authority and tradition; by doing so the East Anglian dynasty would foster an image of sovereignty extending back to the Caesars. The magnificent helmet exhibits this desire well. In design, this helmet most closely represents those used by late Roman mailed calvary in parade dress. Likewise, the scene of a warrior riding down an enemy, found on the side of the helmet, was a common motif on late Roman coin issues. The intrusion of the Roman elements among the decidedly barbarian scenes also found on the helmet illustrates the long-lasting influence and appeal of Rome.
While to the Anglo-Saxons these Roman and Swedish artifacts may have represented the legitimacy of the East Anglian dynastic past, other grave goods certainly served to illustrate the king's power and wealth. The origins of the Sutton Hoo finds range from the Celtic West to the Byzantine East and paint a picture of a kingdom with possible trade connections throughout the 7th-century Western world.
At the site we find items from both Celtic Britain and Germanic Europe. A group of Celtic artifacts, including hanging bowls (a pair of silver vessels decorated with intricate scroll work) show an appreciation of Celtic treasure. Another group of foreign relics found in the Sutton Hoo burial is a small horde of Merovingian gold coins. Although in the context of a royal burial the 37 coins may not be an indication of great wealth, each coin seems to have been selected from a different mint, suggesting a royal treasury, as well as trade with Gaul, probably in the form of slaves. Apparently the rulers of East Anglia had some sort of commercial connection with the successors of the Roman Empire in the West.
Additionally, we have examples of contact with the Eastern Empire at Sutton Hoo. A fluted silver bowl found near the mail coat depicts the bust of a Byzantine lady with hair piled high in a classical style. Likewise, a silver dish found at the burial site was made in a Byzantine workshop around A. D. 500. Despite the second rate quality of both pieces (at least by Byzantine standards), they clearly support the power and extensive foreign contact of the East Anglian kings.
The diversity of the Sutton Hoo finds raises important questions of how the East Anglian kings acquired their treasure. Given the chaotic and violent state of seventh-century England, it is likely that a number of the pieces found at Sutton Hoo were taken as plunder from neighboring kingdoms--Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, or even Frankish. Nonetheless, the amount of treasure in the grave from across the Channel indicates that substantial trade was reaching the shores of England at this time. There is literary evidence for slave trade with Rome (see Bede, II, 1), which, when taken in conjunction with the Sutton Hoo finds, indicates greater economic contact between England and the Continent than previously imagined.
The rulers of East Anglia in the 7th century were undoubtedly warrior kings, but as we see from the finds at Sutton Hoo, they exhibited a desire to add credence to their royal claims through something other than military might. The connection they emphasized with both their Germanic past and an ostensible link with Rome may have augmented the considerable power the kings already possessed. That this power existed is clearly evident from the diversity of wealth contained within the Sutton Hoo treasure. Whether the artifacts found in the Sutton Hoo burial were acquired through trade, plunder, or a combination of both, we cannot know; however, we can see that the Anglo-Saxon ruling class had a cosmopolitan taste and enjoyed the status those foreign luxury items conveyed. Sutton Hoo has indeed offered quite a window into this poorly-understood time.
Aelfric "Moves" the Saxons
Anglo-Saxon Scholarship: The First Three Centuries. Ed. Carl Berkhout and Milton McC. Gatch. Boston: Hall and Company, 1982.
Godden, Malcolm. Aelfric's Catholic Homilies: The Second Series. London: Published for the Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1979.
Hurt, James. Aelfric. Twayne's English Author Series 131. New York: Twayne, 1972.
Sutton Hoo: Window to the Anglo-Saxon Past
Bede. A History of the English Church and People. Trans. Leo Sherley-Price. Rev. by R. E. Latham. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.
Campbell, James, Eric John and Patrick Wormold. The Anglo-Saxons. Gen. ed. James Campbell. New York: Penguin Books, 1982.