The Hagiographical Tradition of St. Eustace Placidas in the Early Middle Ages
Date of Award
Spring 2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Medieval Studies
First Advisor
Thornbury, Emily
Abstract
This dissertation uses the popular and widely read legend of St. Eustace Placidas to argue that the genre of hagiography served as a key literary interface between religious and political authorities to define orthodox belief and right living in the turbulent early medieval world. In turn, vernacular rewritings of the holy legends offer evidence for the ways that medieval Christians adapted religious texts to define the proper roles for clerics and laity alike. The dissertation pursues three main argumentative strands: first, that hagiographical writings participated actively in the theological and intellectual debates of early medieval Christianity, offering an imaginative space in which to play out these ideas; second, that saints’ legends were not merely lowbrow narratives fit only for the edification of the uneducated, but were often artistic literary creations worthy of critical attention; and third, that the popular Christian narratives of the Early Middle Ages underwent a steady process of revision, vernacularization, and adaptation that facilitated lay access to, engagement with, and eventually control over the sacred narratives. On these grounds, I seek to underscore the critical role that hagiographical stories such as the Legend of St. Eustace played in the development of Christian literary and devotional culture in the medieval Mediterranean world and Western Europe. Each chapter examines a different stage in the Eustace Legend’s integration into the literary cultures of the Early Middle Ages, including its translation from Greek into Latin in papal Rome, its subsequent dissemination throughout Europe, its adaptation into rhythmical Latin verse, and its translation into Old English during the English Benedictine Reform. Quantitative methodologies such as GIS mapping, statistical analyses of style, and computational stemmatology contribute to my arguments throughout.
Recommended Citation
Koepke, Carson, "The Hagiographical Tradition of St. Eustace Placidas in the Early Middle Ages" (2024). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 1436.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/1436
