Medievalism in the Medieval: Gothic Elements in Old English Literature
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Authors
Pettit, Kent M.
Issue Date
2013-05-07
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Kent Pettit , Old English Literature , Medievalism , Gothic--literature , Classical--literature , Anglo-Saxon--History and Culture , Saints , Saints--Women , Beowulf , Guthlac A and Andreas , Anglo-Saxon classics , Gothic fiction (Literary genre)--21 century--History and Criticism
Alternative Title
Abstract
The eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Gothic genre of literature is difficult to define. In
reality, the genre is a set of tropes rather than a clearly articulated literary system.
Interestingly, these Gothic elements are also apparent in several works in the Old English
poetic tradition. Though these poems likely date some 800 years before the rise of the
Gothic, a proto-Gothic impulse runs through Beowulf, Guthlac A, Andreas, and Juliana.
This study intends to draws parallels between the classic Gothic elements of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and these works of Old English literature. An
examination of the elements common to both is centered in setting, villains, victims, and
supernatural/superhuman rescuing agents. Extensive research has been done in Anglo-
Saxon history and culture in order to understand the influences behind the early medieval
literary works at hand. In addition, thorough research into ancient and medieval saints’
lives, particularly the hermitic warrior tradition, has been carried out to trace the
connection between the liminality and monstrous aspects of this tradition and the Gothic.
Special attention has also been given to the female saints’ lives tradition, linking
patriarchal and sadistic oppressors to Gothic villains. Although definition is elusive, a
definition of the Gothic has also been addressed. Through close readings of several key
texts, this discussion attempts to reveal the connections between literature of vastly
different times and cultural situations. The shared Gothic tropes suggest a connection,
but the juxtapositions of radically different cultures both in the early medieval period and
the Gothic/Romantic period may explain equally common impulses.
Description
A Thesis submitted by Kent M. Pettit to the Graduate School Valdosta State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English in the Department of English of the College of Arts and Sciences.