Thomas D Hill
Cornell University, English, Faculty Member
- Old English, Middle English, and Old Norse Languages, Literature, and Culture, Comparative medieval literature and culture (German, English, Old Norse & Old French), English, Medieval Studies, Legal History, Philology, and 6 moreMedieval Literature, Old Norse Literature, Manuscripts (Medieval Studies), Medieval Scandinavia, Middle Ages, and Old English Literatureedit
Research Interests:
Scholars concerned with editing and interpreting the Old English Metrical Charms would all readily agree on two points. The first is that these are some of the most enigmatic texts in the corpus of Old English and indeed in the whole of... more
Scholars concerned with editing and interpreting the Old English Metrical Charms would all readily agree on two points. The first is that these are some of the most enigmatic texts in the corpus of Old English and indeed in the whole of the medieval English literary corpus. The second is that the charms reflect a curious kind of syncretism in which Christian formulas and prayers and what seem to be older “pagan” elements are conjoined in a deliberate synthesis. This is, in fact, one of the most fascinating aspects of these texts; in this respect they are comparable to such artistic monuments as the Gosferth Cross or the Franks (Auzon) Casket in which native (pagan) iconography is juxtaposed with Christian scenes.1 In the present paper I would like to offer solutions to some problems in two of the most enigmatic of these texts, the “Journey Charm” and “Against a Sudden Stitch / Wið Faerstice.” The logic of conjoining these two studies is that the first draws upon Biblical exegesis and no less an authority than Augustine to resolve certain problems in the “Journey Charm,” while the second calls attention to a hitherto unnoted parallel to the “Faerstice” charm in an Old Norse Icelandic þattr about the pagan past, providing a “Germanic” analogue to elucidate an Old English Christian text. As I hope to show, however, these categories of Christian and “pagan” are so thoroughly conflated in the metrical charms that it is hard to sort them out. We are dealing with deeply syncretic texts which transcend these simple catagories of literary and cultural history, and that is at least part of their fascination. The terms “Germanic,” “Christian,” “pagan,” and “syncretic” are all charged and to some degree controversial in the context of Old English studies—even when sanitized to some degree by scare quotes. In broad outline it can be said that previous generations of Old English scholars, fol-
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The literature on the fragmentary Old English poem Maldon has in the last few years become rather extensive; scholars have argued about whether the poem is fundamentally Christian or secular, whether it is historically accurate or not and... more
The literature on the fragmentary Old English poem Maldon has in the last few years become rather extensive; scholars have argued about whether the poem is fundamentally Christian or secular, whether it is historically accurate or not and whether it celebrates the heroism of ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
One of the most memorable and hideous scenes in Njáls saga is the death of the apostate viking chief Bróðir. According to the account of the battle of Clontarf in the saga, after the Irish forces had won the victory most of Brian... more
One of the most memorable and hideous scenes in Njáls saga is the death of the apostate viking chief Bróðir. According to the account of the battle of Clontarf in the saga, after the Irish forces had won the victory most of Brian Boru's bodyguard left the king in order to pursue the survivors. Bróðir, who had been hiding in the woods near the battlefield, saw that the king was relatively unprotected, and took the opportunity to break through the line of men who were protecting King Brian and kill him.
Research Interests: Psychology, Philosophy, Art, Irish, Tradition, and 4 moreBattlefield, Historical Studies, Victory, and battle
In the Old English poem Andreas, the narrative begins with the imprisonment and suffering of Matthew, who is blinded and forced to drink a magic potion which is intended to reduce him to bestiality. This drink, which literarily is... more
In the Old English poem Andreas, the narrative begins with the imprisonment and suffering of Matthew, who is blinded and forced to drink a magic potion which is intended to reduce him to bestiality. This drink, which literarily is directly descended from Circe's potion, fails to be effective in this case, and Matthew prays to God for help in his affliction. God responds directly and tells Matthew that He will bring help. God's help is mediated by the apostle Andrew, and immediately before God summons Andrew He is apostrophized in the following passage: þa w æs gemyndig, se Ðe middangeard gestaÐelode strangum mihtum. hu he in ellþeodigum yrmÐum wunode belocen leoÐubendum, þe oft his lufan adreg for Ebreum ond Israhelum, swylce he Iudea galdorcræftum wiÐstod stranglice.1
Research Interests: Psychology, Philosophy, Theology, Narrative, Tradition, and 5 moreHebrews, Historical Studies, Israelites, Summons, and apostle
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Delivering the Damned in the Old English Anonymous Homilies and Jón Árason's Ljómur
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... tively that Hunnish funeral practices were assimilated by the warriors of Germania. Recently, however, the historian Javier Arce has analyzed the ... 7-Javier Arce, "Imperial Funerals in the Later Roman Empire: Change and... more
... tively that Hunnish funeral practices were assimilated by the warriors of Germania. Recently, however, the historian Javier Arce has analyzed the ... 7-Javier Arce, "Imperial Funerals in the Later Roman Empire: Change and Continuity," ...
Research Interests: Art and Literary studies
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... Who from the high watchtower of [providentia/ divine knowledge] sees all things and knows what is fitting for each person and what he knows to be fitting, he brings [it] about.) This striking figure of the 'alta providentiae... more
... Who from the high watchtower of [providentia/ divine knowledge] sees all things and knows what is fitting for each person and what he knows to be fitting, he brings [it] about.) This striking figure of the 'alta providentiae specula', the high watch-tower of providence, from which ...
Research Interests:
the Middle English poem Patience is a relatively brief poem, but it is one of the best and most interesting narrative poems in the language. As one of the texts preserved in London, british Library, MS Cotton Nero A. x, it has almost... more
the Middle English poem Patience is a relatively brief poem, but it is one of the best and most interesting narrative poems in the language. As one of the texts preserved in London, british Library, MS Cotton Nero A. x, it has almost inevitably been overshadowed to some degree by comparison with the other poems in the manuscript, two of which (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl) are among the greatest poems in the English literary tradition as a whole, and the other a very interesting poem in its own right (Cleanness). biblical paraphrase, even poetic biblical paraphrase, is not a genre (or subgenre) that is taken very seriously, at least in the modern world, and Patience is a reasonably close retelling of the biblical book of Jonah.1 For these reasons, presumably, Patience has received less critical and editorial attention than either Gawain or Pearl. those critics who have worked on Patience, however, have been impressed by the artistry and sophistication of the poet, and there are some (among whom I would count myself) who would argue that it is as great a literary achievement (albeit on a smaller scale) as either Gawain or Pearl. the poem is not simply a paraphrase of the biblical narrative concerning the prophet Jonah, swallowed by a sea monster and then spewed onto dry land to prophesy doom to the citizens of Nineveh: it is in effect a revision and rewriting of a central biblical text. Scripture is not often comic, and while there is some measure of irony in the Vulgate version of the story, it is not a particularly funny narrative. the poet, however, has revised this narrative and made it richly comic. the portrait of Jonah, the chosen prophet, who speaks
Research Interests:
The object of this paper is to identify a particular stylistic feature in the Old English Genesis A, to point out its affinities in Anglo-Latin historical literature (particularly in the historical writings of Byrhtferth of Ramsey), and... more
The object of this paper is to identify a particular stylistic feature in the Old English Genesis A, to point out its affinities in Anglo-Latin historical literature (particularly in the historical writings of Byrhtferth of Ramsey), and to discuss the implications of those affinities. In conclusion I propose to discuss the literary history of this motif and some occurrences in other Old English poems — notably in Beowulf. I will thus move from fairly mechanical problems of source-study and stylistic affinity to some important ideological and literary issues, but unfortunately the more important issues are also more difficult to resolve.
Research Interests: Philosophy, Art, Literature, Poetry, Ideology, and 3 moreTradition, Historical Studies, and Affinities
Au XII siecle, les hagiographes ne peuvent accepter l'affirmation de la " Vita " de saint Kentigern : il serait miraculeusement ne d'une vierge, Thaney. Une version plus " orthodoxe " est alors elaboree, en... more
Au XII siecle, les hagiographes ne peuvent accepter l'affirmation de la " Vita " de saint Kentigern : il serait miraculeusement ne d'une vierge, Thaney. Une version plus " orthodoxe " est alors elaboree, en plusieurs etapes. Le mythe scandinave, rapporte par Saxo Grammaticus dans ses " Gesta Danorum ", du subterfuge employe par Odin pour violer Rinda sans qu'elle s'en rende compte, est imite par l'hagiographe chretien du XII siecle
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
OLD ENGLISH LITERARY SCHOLARSHIP concerned with the vernacular riddles, most of which are preserved in the Exeter Book, has tended to be concerned with the "solutions" to the riddles. Despite the claim by folklorists that... more
OLD ENGLISH LITERARY SCHOLARSHIP concerned with the vernacular riddles, most of which are preserved in the Exeter Book, has tended to be concerned with the "solutions" to the riddles. Despite the claim by folklorists that riddles as often as not allow for two or more solutions, in the field of Old English, scholars characteristically argue for one or another "new" solution for one or another riddle, a new solution which will now resolve difficulties which have troubled Old English scholars and critics for a century or more. This is, one must acknowledge, a natural response to the challenge which the riddles and especially the unsolved ones present, but one consequence of this tendency is that those riddles whose solution is "obvious"--that is, those riddles whose solution has been agreed upon by scholars since the beginning of the serious study of these texts--have tended to be neglected in the process of commentary and analysis. The Old English "Sun Riddle" (Riddle Six) has been doubly cursed in this respect. Not only is there unanimity among those scholars concerned with riddles that this riddle is best solved by the term "sun," but an Anglo-Saxon scribe spoiled the game by marking the riddle twice with the runic character "sigel" which denotes the concept "sun." (1) We thus have the weighty testimony of a native speaker in this particular instance. But the fact that the riddle has been relatively ignored does not mean that there are no textual or conceptual problems with it. And in order to analyze and illuminate these problems it is first necessary to quote the riddle and offer a tentative translation. Mec gesette sod sigora waldend Crist to compe. Oft ic cwice baerne, unrimu cyn eorpan getenge, naete mid nipe, swa ic him no hrine, ponne mec min frea feohtan hatep. Hwilum ic monigra mod arete, hwilum ic frefre pa ic aer winne on feorran swipe; hi paes felad peah, swylce paes opres, ponne ic eft hyra ofer deop gedreag drohtad bete. (2) (1-10) Christ, the true lord of victories, created me for battle; often I burn living ones, a countless race close to the earth. [I] afflict them with evil, even though I touch them not, when my Lord commands me to fight. Sometimes I cheer the mind of many--sometimes I comfort those whom I previously fought with very much at a distance. They feel that though and likewise the reverse when I--in the course of time--better [their] condition over the vast tumult [of the sea?]. There are a number of interpretive problems that these lines present, but the overall argument of the riddle is clear. The essential concept in the Old English "Sun Riddle" is that the Sun is a warrior created by Christ for battle (compe); he burns multitudes, and afflicts them with evil from afar and yet he comforts them as well. Men feel the comfort as well as the affliction when he betters their condition over the depth of disorder. (3) The essence of this account of the sun is that the sun plays two roles. It is hostile; it burns and afflicts humans and yet it sometimes comforts those whom it afflicts. It is fair to say that this riddle is very rare if not unique in the context of Old English and early medieval literature generally, in its emphasis upon the hostile and destructive aspect of the sun. At least four of the ten lines of the poem are concerned with the sun as hostile and threatening. England (and presumably Anglo-Saxon England) has a relatively mild and moderate climate, but hot days occur in the summer (particularly the late summer) so the notion that the sun might burn on occasion is not necessarily surprising, but the poet goes beyond talking about the heat of the sun in summer. The sun afflicts [naete] with evil [nid]; it fights and struggles in battle with humans from afar. The parallels adduced by Williamson are not directly relevant. …
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Philosophy and Lament
New Norse Studies, edited by Jeffrey Turco, gathers twelve original essays engaging aspects of Old Norse–Icelandic literature that continue to kindle the scholarly imagination in the twenty-first century. The assembled authors examine the... more
New Norse Studies, edited by Jeffrey Turco, gathers twelve original essays engaging aspects of Old Norse–Icelandic literature that continue to kindle the scholarly imagination in the twenty-first century. The assembled authors examine the arrière-scène of saga literature; the nexus of skaldic poetry and saga narrative; medieval and post-medieval gender roles; and other manifestations of language, time, and place as preserved in Old Norse–Icelandic texts. This volume will be welcomed not only by the specialist and by scholars in adjacent fields but also by the avid general reader, drawn in ever-increasing number to the Icelandic sagas and their world.
Table of Contents Preface; Jeffrey Turco, volume editor: Introduction; Andy Orchard: Hereward and Grettir: Brothers from Another Mother?; Richard L. Harris: “Jafnan segir inn ríkri ráð”: Proverbial Allusion and the Implied Proverb in Fóstbrœðra saga; Torfi H. Tulinius: Seeking Death in Njáls saga; Guðrún Nordal: Skaldic Poetics and the Making of the Sagas of Icelanders; Russell Poole: Identity Poetics among the Icelandic Skalds; Jeffrey Turco: Loki, Sneglu-Halla þáttr, and the Case for a Skaldic Prosaics; Thomas D. Hill: Beer, Vomit, Blood and Poetry: Egils saga, Chapters 44-45; Shaun F. D. Hughes: The Old Norse Exempla as Arbiters of Gender Roles in Medieval Iceland; Paul Acker: Performing Gender in the Icelandic Ballads; Joseph Harris: The Rök Inscription, Line 20; Sarah Harlan-Haughey: A Landscape of Conflict: Three Stories of the Faroe Conversions; Kirsten Wolf: Non-Basic Color Terms in Old Norse-Icelandic
Table of Contents Preface; Jeffrey Turco, volume editor: Introduction; Andy Orchard: Hereward and Grettir: Brothers from Another Mother?; Richard L. Harris: “Jafnan segir inn ríkri ráð”: Proverbial Allusion and the Implied Proverb in Fóstbrœðra saga; Torfi H. Tulinius: Seeking Death in Njáls saga; Guðrún Nordal: Skaldic Poetics and the Making of the Sagas of Icelanders; Russell Poole: Identity Poetics among the Icelandic Skalds; Jeffrey Turco: Loki, Sneglu-Halla þáttr, and the Case for a Skaldic Prosaics; Thomas D. Hill: Beer, Vomit, Blood and Poetry: Egils saga, Chapters 44-45; Shaun F. D. Hughes: The Old Norse Exempla as Arbiters of Gender Roles in Medieval Iceland; Paul Acker: Performing Gender in the Icelandic Ballads; Joseph Harris: The Rök Inscription, Line 20; Sarah Harlan-Haughey: A Landscape of Conflict: Three Stories of the Faroe Conversions; Kirsten Wolf: Non-Basic Color Terms in Old Norse-Icelandic