Signs of Devotion is the first longitudinal study of an
Anglo-Saxon cult from its inception in the late seventh century
through the Reformation. It examines the production and reception
of texts--both written and visual--that supported the cult of
aethelthryth, an East Anglian princess who had resisted the
conjugal demands of two political marriages to maintain her
virginity. aethelthryth forfeited her position as Queen of
Northumbria to become a nun and founded a monastery at Ely, where
she ruled as abbess before dying in 679 of a neck tumor, which was
interpreted as divine retribution for her youthful vanity in
wearing necklaces. The cult was initiated when, sixteen years after
her death, aethelthryth's corpse was exhumed, the body found
incorrupt, and the tumor shown to have been healed
posthumously.
Signs of Devotion reveals how aethelthryth, who became the most
popular native female saint, provides a central point of
investigation among the cultic practices of several disparate
groups over time--religious and lay, aristocratic and common, male
and female, literate and nonliterate. This study illustrates that
the body of aethelthryth became a malleable, flexible image that
could be readily adopted. Hagiographical narratives, monastic
charters, liturgical texts, miracle stories, estate litigation,
shrine accounts, and visual representations collectively testify
that the story of aethelthryth was a significant part of the
cultural landscape in early and late medieval England. More
important, these representations reveal the particular devotional
practices of those invested in aethelthryth's cult.
By centering the discussion on issues of textual production and
reception, Blanton provides a unique study of English hagiography,
cultural belief, and devotional practice. Signs of Devotion adds,
moreover, to the current conversation on virginity and hagiography
by encouraging scholars to bridge the divide between studies of
Anglo-Saxon and late medieval England and challenging them to adopt
methodological strategies that will foster further
multidisciplinary work in the field of hagiographical
scholarship.
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