Hilary Powell
Demonic Daydreams: Mind-Wandering and Mental Imagery in the Medieval Hagiography of St Dunstan
Powell, Hilary
Authors
Contributors
Laura Ashe
Editor
Philip Knox
Editor
David Lawton
Editor
Wendy Scase
Editor
Abstract
Richard Harris Barham was correct in his 1837 lay lampooning the legend of St Dunstan: the tale of the saint tweaking the devil’s nose was indeed one which everyone knew. In fact, so famous was the tale that Barham felt it needed no further explanation.3 Few in the nineteenth century, however, could have known of its origins, nor indeed have imagined its novelty when the story first entered the hagiographical tradition in the final decade of the eleventh century. St Dunstan (909–988) had been dead for over a century and at least two different accounts of his Life had had already been written, but Osbern of Canterbury was the first to tell this tale in his Vita S. Dunstani, written c. 1090.4 This essay explores the origins of this story, addresses why Osbern chose to introduce it into the legend of Dunstan, and asks what his careful remodelling of the tale can reveal about the purposes of hagiographical narratives.
Citation
Powell, H. (2018). Demonic Daydreams: Mind-Wandering and Mental Imagery in the Medieval Hagiography of St Dunstan. In L. Ashe, P. Knox, D. Lawton, & W. Scase (Eds.), New medieval literatures 18 (44-74). D. S. Brewer. https://doi.org/10.7722/j.ctt1wx910t
Online Publication Date | Feb 16, 2018 |
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Publication Date | Feb 16, 2018 |
Deposit Date | Jun 18, 2018 |
Publicly Available Date | Jun 18, 2018 |
Pages | 44-74 |
Series Title | New medieval literatures |
Book Title | New medieval literatures 18. |
ISBN | 9781843844914 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.7722/j.ctt1wx910t |
Publisher URL | https://boydellandbrewer.com/new-medieval-literatures-18-hb.html |
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Reprinted by permission of Boydell & Brewer Ltd.
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