Medieval Death Trip

A Podcast Exploring the Wit and Weirdness of Medieval Texts

Tag: Gaimar

MDT Ep. 101: Concerning Danish Devastations, a Devilish Pope, a Deceitful Duke, and English Decline

Detail of King Cnut with an axe from the British Library, Royal MS 14 B vi.

It’s back to basics in Ep. 101 as we return to the Chronicle of Melrose to hear about the years surrounding the turnover of the English kingdom from Anglo-Saxon monarchs to Danish ones, including the mystery of the death of King Edmund Ironside and whether or not he was assassinated by a fellow English noble.

Today’s Texts:

  • The Chronicle of Melrose. Edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, vol. 4, part 1, Seeley’s, 1856, pp. 79-242. Google Books.
  • John of Worcester [erroneously identified as Florence of Worcester]. The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester. Edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, vol. 2, part 1, Seeley’s, 1857, pp. 167-372. Google Books.
  • Gaimar. Gaimar [Metrical Chronicle]. Edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, vol. 2, part 2, Seeleys, 1854, pp. 729-810. Google Books.

References:

  • Mack, Katharin. “Changing Thegns: Cnut’s Conquest and the English Aristocracy.” Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, vol. 16, no. 4, 1984, pp. 375–87. JSTOR.
  • Broun, Dauvit, and Julian Harrison. “Introduction.” The Chronicle of Melrose Abbey: A Stratigraphic Edition, vol. 1, Boydell Press, 2007, pp. 1-269.

Image: Detail of King Cnut with an axe from the British Library, Royal MS 14 B vi.

MDT Episode 27: Concerning Another Take on the Love of Edgar and Aelfthryth

On this episode, get a different version of the story of Edgar’s love for the married Aelfthryth, this time in a blending of history with courtly romance from Gaimar’s L’Estoire des Engleis.

Today’s Text:

  • Gaimar. Gaimar. In The Church Historians of England. Vol. 2, Part 2. Ed. and Trans. Joseph Stevenson. London: Seeleys, 1854. [Available through Google Books.]
  • William of Malmesbury. Chronicle of the Kings of England. Ed. J.A. Giles. Trans. John Sharpe and J.A. Giles. London: George Bell & Sons, 1895. [Available at Google Books.]
  • Bartholomaeus Anglicus. De proprietatibus rerum. Ed. Robert Steele. Trans. John Trevisa. At The Medieval Bestiary.

References:

  • Gransden, Antonia. Historical Writing in England. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1974.
  • Bell, A. “Gaimar and the Edgar-Ælfðryð Story.” Modern Language Review 21.3 (July 1926): 278-287.
  • Bell, Alexander. “Gaimar as Pioneer.” Romania 97 (1976): 462-80.
  • Press, A.R. “The Precocious Courtesy of Geoffrey Gaimar.” Court and Poet. Ed. Glyn S. Burgess. Liverpool: Francis Cairns, 1981. 267-276.

 

Image: Museum Meermanno, MMW, 10 B 25, Folio 37r (via The Medieval Bestiary)

Museum Meermanno, MMW, 10 B 25, Folio 37r

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