Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Demonic Daydreams: Mind-Wandering and Mental Imagery in the Medieval Hagiography of St Dunstan

Powell, Hilary

Demonic Daydreams: Mind-Wandering and Mental Imagery in the Medieval Hagiography of St Dunstan Thumbnail


Authors

Hilary Powell



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
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

Files

Published Book Chapter (903 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
Reprinted by permission of Boydell & Brewer Ltd.




You might also like



Downloadable Citations