Ælfric of Eynsham | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 955 |
| Died | c. 1010 (agedc. 55) |
| Occupation | Monk |
Ælfric of Eynsham (Old English:Ælfrīc;Latin:Alfricus, Elphricus;c. 955 – c. 1010) was anEnglishabbot and a student ofÆthelwold of Winchester, and a consummate, prolific writer inOld English ofhagiography,homilies,biblical commentaries, and other genres. He is also known variously asÆlfric the Grammarian (Alfricus Grammaticus),Ælfric of Cerne, andÆlfric the Homilist. In the view ofPeter Hunter Blair, he was "a man comparable both in the quantity of his writings and in the quality of his mind even withBede himself."[1] According to Claudio Leonardi, he "represented the highest pinnacle of Benedictine reform and Anglo-Saxon literature".[2]
Ælfric was educated in theBenedictineOld Minster atWinchester underSaint Æthelwold, who was bishop there from 963 to 984. Æthelwold had carried on the tradition ofDunstan in his government of theabbey ofAbingdon, then inBerkshire, and at Winchester he continued his strenuous support for theEnglish Benedictine Reform. He seems to have actually taken part in the teaching activities of the abbey.
Ælfric no doubt gained some reputation as a scholar at Winchester, for when, in 987, theabbey of Cerne (atCerne Abbas inDorset) was finished, he was sent by Bishop Ælfheah (Alphege), Æthelwold's successor, at the request of the chief benefactor of the abbey, theealdormanÆthelmær the Stout, to teach the Benedictine monks there. This date (987) is one of only two certain dates we have for Ælfric, who was then in priest's orders. Æthelmaer and his fatherÆthelweard were both enlightened patrons of learning, and became Ælfric's faithful friends.
It was at Cerne, and partly at the desire, it appears, of Æthelweard, that he planned the two series of his English homilies, compiled from theChristian fathers, and dedicated toSigeric,Archbishop of Canterbury from 990 to 994. (The series were edited byBenjamin Thorpe and published in 1844–1846 for theÆlfric Society and edited more recently byMalcolm Godden andPeter Clemoes for theEarly English Text Society.) TheLatin preface to the first series enumerates some of Ælfric's authorities, the chief of whom wasGregory the Great, but the short list by no means exhausts the authors whom he consulted. In the preface to the first volume he regrets that, except forAlfred's translations, Englishmen had no means of learning the true doctrine as expounded by the Latinfathers.John Earle (Anglo-Saxon Literature, 1884) thinks he aimed at correcting the apocryphal, and to modern ideas superstitious, teaching of the earlierBlickling Homilies. He may also have translated the Pseudo-BasilianAdmonition to a Spiritual Son.
The first series of forty homilies is devoted to plain and direct exposition of the chief events of the Christian year; the second deals more fully with church doctrine and history. Ælfric's teaching on theEucharist in theCanons and in theSermo de sacrificio in die pascae (ibid. ii.262 seq.) was appealed to by theProtestant Reformation writers as a proof that the early English church did not hold the Roman doctrine oftransubstantiation.[3] Ælfric of Eynsham also denied theImmaculate Conception of theVirgin Mary.[3]
After the two series of homilies, around 995 he wrote three works to help students learn Latin – theGrammar, theGlossary and theColloquy. First compiling, or overseeing the compilation of a Latin grammar, known as theExcerptiones de Prisciano, fromPriscian'sInstitutiones grammaticae andDonatus'sArs maior, Ælfric then adapted this Latin grammar into English,[4] creating what is considered the first vernacular Latin grammar in medieval Europe.[5]: 106 In his glossary the words are not in alphabetical order, but grouped by topics. Finally, hisColloquy was intended to help students to learn how to speak Latin through a conversation manual. It is safe to assume that the original draft of this, afterwards maybe enlarged by his pupil and copyist,Ælfric Bata, was by Ælfric, and represents what his own scholar days were like.
A third series of homilies, theLives of the Saints (hagiography), dates from 996 to 997.[6] Some of the sermons in the second series had been written in a kind of rhythmical,alliterative prose, and in theLives of the Saints the practice is so regular that most of them are arranged as verse by their editorW. W. Skeat.[3] Appended to theLives of the Saints there are two homilies,On False Gods andThe Twelve Abuses. The first one shows how the Church was still fighting against the ancient religion of Britain, but also against the religion of the Danish invaders.
Ælfric was asked by Æthelweard to translate theBook of Genesis up to the story of Abraham and Isaac, along with selections from other books of theHexateuch. Against his better judgment, Ælfric agreed because he knew it would be done regardless of whether he helped or not. This, theOld English Hexateuch, was revolutionary, for it was the first time that the Old Testament was translated from Latin into Old English.[7] To his translation of Genesis, he wrote a preface. This preface was to ensure that readers understand they ought not believe that the practices of the ancient Israelites were still acceptable for Christians. In his preface, Ælfric employs the same writing techniques that King Alfred used in his preface to a translation of theCura Pastoralis byPope Gregory I. Also notable is that in his translation of Genesis Ælfric did not just translate it word for word from the Latin, which was common due to the belief that the word order of sacred Scripture was itself sacred. Rather, he translated much of it by its meaning.
There is no certain proof that he remained at Cerne. It has been suggested that this part of his life was chiefly spent at Winchester; but his writings for the patrons of Cerne, and the fact that he wrote in 998 hisCanons as a pastoral letter forWulfsige, the bishop ofSherborne, thediocese in which the abbey was situated, afford presumption of continued residence there.[3]
1005 is the other certain date we have for Ælfric, when he left Cerne for nobleman Æthelmær's new monastery inEynsham inOxfordshire, a long eighty-five-mile journey inland. Here he lived out his life as Eynsham's first abbot, from 1005 until his death. After his elevation, he wrote hisLetter to the Monks of Eynsham, an abridgment for his own monks of Æthelwold'sDe consuetudine monachorum, adapted to their rudimentary ideas ofmonastic life; a letter to Wulfgeat of Ylmandun; an introduction to the study of the Old and New Testaments (about 1008, edited byWilliam L'Isle in 1623); a Latin life of his master Æthelwold; two pastoral letters for Wulfstan,archbishop of York and bishop of Worcester, in Latin and English; and an English version ofBede'sDe Temporibus.[3]
The last mention of Ælfric Abbot, probably the grammarian, is in a will dating from about 1010.
Ælfric left careful instructions to future scribes to copy his works carefully because he did not want his works' words marred by the introduction of unorthodox passages and scribal errors. Through the centuries, however, Ælfric's sermons were threatened byViking axes and human neglect when – some seven hundred years after their composition – they nearly perished in London'sCotton Library fire that scorched or destroyed close to 1,000 invaluable ancient works.
Ælfric was the most prolific writer in Old English. His main theme is God's mercy. He writes, for example: "The love that loves God is not idle. Instead, it is strong and works great things always. And if love isn’t willing to work, then it isn’t love. God’s love must be seen in the actions of our mouths and minds and bodies. A person must fulfil God’s word with goodness." ("For Pentecost Sunday")
He also observes in "For the Sixth Day (Friday) in the Third Week of Lent" and in "For the First Sunday After Pentecost": "And we ought to worship with true humility if we want our heavenly God to hear us because God is the one who lives in a high place and yet has regard for the deep down humble, and God is always near to those who sincerely call to him in their trouble. . . . Without humility no person can thrive in the Lord."
And in the "Fifth Sunday After Pentecost" he wrote: "Bosses who cannot permit those working under them to know kindness during this life of labour should never themselves enjoy lives of luxury because they could easily be kind to their workers every day. And then they would have some kindness in their souls. God loves kindness".
Contrast this leitmotif of God's mercy withArchbishop Wulfstan's trenchant pulpiteering and thundering sermons. Ælfric by no means expressed the popular opinion of the time. His forward-thinking views toward women (though they were not 'modern' views, by any stretch of the imagination) and his strong stance on 'clǽnnes', or purity, were more extreme than others during that time (see for instance hishomily on Judith). This was, no doubt, related to his service under the monastic reformer Saint Æthelwold in the monastery at Winchester.
A Blue Plaque was unveiled in Eynsham, in recognition of Ælfric’s work, in 2022.[8]
Until the end of the nineteenth century, the true identification of Ælfric had been problematic, primarily because Ælfric had often been confused withÆlfric of Abingdon, who served asArchbishop of Canterbury. Though Ælfric had formerly been identified with the archbishop, thanks to the work of Lingard and Dietrich, most modern scholars now identify Ælfric as holding no higher office than abbot of Eynsham. However, in the past, there have been attempts to identify him with three different people:
(1) As above, Ælfric was identified withÆlfric of Abingdon (995–1005), Archbishop of Canterbury. This view was upheld byJohn Bale;[9] byHumfrey Wanley;[10] byElizabeth Elstob;[11] and byEdward Rowe Mores,Ælfrico, Dorobernensi, archiepiscopo, Commentarius (ed.G. J. Thorkelin, 1789), in which the conclusions of earlier writers on Ælfric are reviewed. Mores made him abbot of St Augustine's at Dover, and finally archbishop of Canterbury.
(2) SirHenry Spelman, in hisConcina …[12] printed theCanones ad Wulsinum episcopum and suggested ÆlfricPutta or Putto,Archbishop of York, as the author, adding some note of others bearing the name. The identity of Ælfric the grammarian with Ælfric archbishop of York was also discussed byHenry Wharton, inAnglia Sacra.[13]
(3)William of Malmesbury[14] suggested that he was Abbot ofMalmesbury andBishop of Crediton.
The main facts of his career were finally elucidated by Eduard Dietrich in a series of articles in theZeitschrift für historische Theologie,[15] which formed the basis of subsequent writings on the subject.[3]
Transcripts of the Pastoral Letters for Wulfstan in Latin, and several of the OE letters
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ælfric".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 255.
