In this thesis, the reception of classical mythology in the Old English adaptation of Boethius' 'De consolatione philosophiae' is analysed. It demonstrates that the author of the Old English...Show moreIn this thesis, the reception of classical mythology in the Old English adaptation of Boethius' 'De consolatione philosophiae' is analysed. It demonstrates that the author of the Old English Boethius is familiar with classical mythology, and that he has consciously adapted his material to make it more suitable for his Christian Anglo-Saxon audience unfamiliar with classical mythology.Show less
Gold, jewels and a cross that is able to speak: these elements are nowhere to be found in the Biblical story about the crucifixion of Christ, but they do appear in the Old English poem The Dream of...Show moreGold, jewels and a cross that is able to speak: these elements are nowhere to be found in the Biblical story about the crucifixion of Christ, but they do appear in the Old English poem The Dream of the Rood. This poem is a retelling of the Biblical story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection and there are three characters in this poem: the Dreamer, the Cross and Christ. These characters are linked, because they all experience one or multiple physical or mental transformations. The poet intended for these transformations to be an inspiration for the reader of the poem. Especially the transformation of the Dreamer is supposed to be inspirational, because the Dreamer is the most relatable character for the reader through the focus on their human nature. The question that is discussed in this thesis is: what does the transformation of the Dreamer look like and why can it be inspirational for the reader? The suggested answer to this question is that the poet of The Dream of the Rood used the character of the Dreamer to illustrate the life-changing effect that knowledge of the Bible and following the example of Christ can have on a human being. The reader of the poem is encouraged to follow in the footsteps of the Dreamer, the first step being reading The Dream of the Rood.Show less
It is a widely known fact that monks practice abstinence. Yet, the monastic scribes of the Old English riddles had to copy lines about a man raising up clothing and thrusting with something stiff,...Show moreIt is a widely known fact that monks practice abstinence. Yet, the monastic scribes of the Old English riddles had to copy lines about a man raising up clothing and thrusting with something stiff, about a girl gripping a swollen and boneless thing, and about something by a man’s thigh that often fully fills the same hole. Unlike these lines might suggest, these riddles do not concern any unholy acts, but merely butter churning, a girl kneading dough, and a key unlocking a door. The power of riddles lies in their ability to change a mundane act or object in something so vastly different it is hardly recognisable, which makes them both a fun and mentally stimulating challenge. In Anglo-Saxon times, riddles circulated in Old English as well as in Anglo-Latin; the two Anglo-Saxon riddling traditions. The majority of current research on riddles claims that the two traditions are very similar in every aspect, except for the presence of sexual riddles. That particular subtype of riddles is said to only occur in the Old English tradition. Although the classroom, where the Anglo-Latin riddles are generally believed to be used, does not strike as a fitting place for crude jokes, some evidence of traces of possible sexual riddling have been found by Andy Orchard and Mercedes Salvador-Bello. Exploratory studies such as theirs leave room for future research, which inspired this thesis.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
closed access
This thesis traces the lexical influence of Ælfric of Eynsham (c. 955-c. 1010) in two twelfth-century English translations: Ralph d'Escures' homily on the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and...Show moreThis thesis traces the lexical influence of Ælfric of Eynsham (c. 955-c. 1010) in two twelfth-century English translations: Ralph d'Escures' homily on the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and Honorius Augustodunensis' Elucidarium.Show less
This thesis studies leadership in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion by way of social network analysis (SNA) methods. I combine the fields of leadership studies and social network analysis by...Show moreThis thesis studies leadership in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion by way of social network analysis (SNA) methods. I combine the fields of leadership studies and social network analysis by constructing and analysing the social networks in The Silmarillion. I analyse which characters act as leaders in a selection of tales from Tolkien’s Silmarillion, since these tales form the basis for Middle-earth and lay bare the roots of how power and leadership function in Tolkien’s secondary world. In order to do so, I use the social network visualisation software Visone, which also enables users to conduct various calculations on the constructed networks. Social networks can lay bare the key actors in a network and show the ways in which leaders exert their power, which is why I compare the Silmarillion network to networks that depict leaders and leadership types in real life. In doing so, I examine which characters come to the fore as leaders in The Silmarillion, how they exert their power, and how realistic the social networks in Tolkien’s fictional narrative are. The characters that came to the fore as leaders when observing the social networks of The Silmarillion were mostly kings and Valar. In this way, the results indicate that leadership is presented realistically in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Silmarillion, and they also provide information about the ways in which the leaders of the work exert their power. This thesis showed that SNA can be used successfully to study works of fiction, and that it could be further used in order to obtain a deeper understanding of Middle-earth, realistic fiction, and good leadership.Show less