Investigating English Sanctity in the Middle English St. Erkenwald

Abstract

Abstract: This essay extends the analysis of an earlier article, published in the previous issue of Studies in Philology , which argues for an Anglo-Saxon cultural identity for the nameless man in the tomb in the Middle English St. Erkenwald . The present essay examines the fictional scenario of the poem, involving the exhumation and investigation of an early English saintly body during renovations at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, within the context of the historical investigations of Anglo-Saxon saints' cults in the decades following the Conquest of 1066, proceedings that track the nationwide cathedral-building program inaugurated by the Normans. The poem's emotional staging of a skeptical high-ranking prelate questioning the body, flanked by an anxious community, and the conspicuous absence of written documentation concerning the body capture the spirit and methodology of the historical investigations conducted by Norman prelates on early English saints pending reinterment in new ecclesiastic buildings. The poem emulates features of post-Conquest hagiography of early English saints in its long historical proem, while challenging the vision of history it proclaims. The source text of the Trajan legend and its importance to pre-Conquest society underscore and reassert early English formulations of salvation, supplying the distinctly early English mode of baptism of tears. The poem subtly undermines the investigatory process, defending early English identity in post-Conquest society.