Books by Toby R Beeny
Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies , 2020
This volume brings together examinations of pragmatic meaning and proverbs of the Medieval North.... more This volume brings together examinations of pragmatic meaning and proverbs of the Medieval North. Pragmatic meaning, which relies upon cultural and interpersonal context to go beyond the simple semantic and grammatical meaning of an utterance, has a fundamental connection with proverbs, which also communicate a deeper meaning than what is actually said. Essays in this volume explore this connection by examining the language of generosity, conversion, friendship, debate, dragon proverbs, and saints' lives. These essays are inspired by the works of Thomas A. Shippey, who has been a pioneer in the study of wisdom poetry and pragmatics in medieval literature.
Published Work by Toby R Beeny
Literary Speech Acts of the Medieval North: Essays Inspired by the works of Thomas A. Shippey, 2020
Drawing on both pragmatic linguistics and oral tradition scholarship, this paper examines the Old... more Drawing on both pragmatic linguistics and oral tradition scholarship, this paper examines the Old English discourse marker hwæt within Beowulf, examining how it structures both discourse and narrative. This area has been understudied, as most Old English pragmatic work has focused on non-fictional and prose works. This is understandable, since Old English poetry presents difficulties for discourse analysis, as there is not often conversation in the conventional, modern sense. I demonstrate that the word hwæt is not present merely as metrical filler, but rather signals shifts in discourse in a way that was conventional to the original Anglo-Saxon audience.
Conference Presentations by Toby R Beeny
In this paper I examine using J.R.R. Tolkien’s short story “Leaf by Niggle” in the undergraduate ... more In this paper I examine using J.R.R. Tolkien’s short story “Leaf by Niggle” in the undergraduate classroom, either in the context of a literature course, or as part of a composition course that uses literature. I have taught this story in over twenty sections and have graded well over 500 student essays on the story.
“Leaf by Niggle” is a short story (almost a fairy-tale) that focuses on an artist living in a village that doesn’t value art. He struggles with the conflict between his day-to-day obligations and the creative vision he has inside. Then he dies, and the story shifts to a tale of the afterlife set in a purgatorial zone, then shifts again in an ongoing spiritual progression.
I’ve found that this story is a fantastic piece in which to discuss allegorical technique, semi-autobiographical fiction, and Christian symbolism. But the main reason I teach it is because of hope. Because while Tolkien was a modern writer, he was never a modernist. Where many modernist and post-modernist writers project an aura of despair (such as in Eliot’s Wasteland) or nihilism (Cormac McCarthy’s novels), Tolkien remains always an author of hope. His writing is the light shining in the darkest hour, not the surrender to that darkness. His insistence on hope is a driving theme in both of his more-famous works: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. For those of us who are unable to teach such longer works, a shorter tale like “Niggle” allows us to share with our students that sense of hope, something I find they desperately need in a time when many of them feel hopeless.
International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2017
In this paper I examine Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica for its intended audience and purpose. Whil... more In this paper I examine Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica for its intended audience and purpose. While most of Bede's work was exegetical in nature, the HE stands out as the only work dedicated to a king and concerned with a wide array of secular figures and events. In light of this, my central argument is that Bede intended the HE to be read as ecclesiastical advice literature, and that in it he both criticizes rulers of his own time while also outlining a political framework that he wanted Anglo-Saxon rulers to adopt. His criticism of rulers is presented indirectly through exempla, as Bede indicates in the Preface: “Should history tell of good men and their good estate, the thoughtful listener is spurred on to imitate the good.”
Specifically, I argue that Bede hoped to influence the behavior of King Ceolwulf of Northumbria, who would later abdicate the throne to join a monastery. Bede did not approve of kings who abandoned their duties. Thus, Bede wrote of kings, like Oswald, who were considered holy while also maintaining authority and who also led their men in battle (HE III.2). Bede utilized rhetoric here that would have appealed to Ceowulf's pride in his Northumbrian kin, a pride that Bede seems to have shared. Understanding the HE as advice literature—and even as a precursor of the later so popular mirrors-for princes genre—allows a clearer understanding of Bede's conception of kingship, which emphasized the concept of the holy war leader.
Eugene Lane Occasional Papers in Ancient Studies, 2016
In this paper I argue that Eusebius' Vita Constantini (c. 339), and Gildas' De excidio et conques... more In this paper I argue that Eusebius' Vita Constantini (c. 339), and Gildas' De excidio et conquestu Britanniae (c. 540) ofter two early examples of advice literature for kings, a form that would develop into an established genre by the later Middle Ages. Both of these works are struggling with the concept of Christian kingship, a concept that did not see consensus amongst ecclesiastical writers. For example, writing almost a century later in De civitate Dei (c. 426), Augustine dismisses the importance of earthly institutions and instead promotes identifying with a spiritual kingdom. This is strikingly different that Eusebius' vision of a Christian emperor who can establish the Kingdom of God upon earth, and who directly participates in God's providence. Both Augustine and Gildas wrote theological responses to barbarian invasions, and both tried to make sense of their collapsing societies. But Gildas, like later medieval writers, drew upon the vision of Eusebius rather than Augustine. In his long historical sermon, he sees the Britons as a new Israel, and applies Old Testament prophecies to his own people. In this recycling of Hebrew motifs, he identifies strongly with Samuel, who was the priest and adviser to Saul, the first king of Israel. Gildas contrasts the bad kingship of Saul with the good kingship of David, and uses these models to offer his own vision of kingship based upon these biblical models, and upon the model of Samuel as adviser to kings. He embraces the semi-legendary figure of Ambrosius Aurelianus (who would later be known as King Arthur) as an exemplum of proper Christian kingship, just as Eusebius presents Constantine as the ideal ruler. These late classical texts would serve as important examples for early medieval writers such as Bede, not only in laying a groundwork of Christian kingship, but also in presenting models of ecclesiastical advice literature.
This paper is part of my larger dissertation project where I examine how Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics used political rhetoric within religious works to effect political change, especially the ways in which these writers shaped the duties and roles of kings. I argue that a number of texts produced by these ecclesiastics can be understood as advice literature or mirrors for princes. While the genre of advice literature in England is generally considered to have begun only in the Middle English period, I show that this sub-genre already existed during the Anglo-Saxon period, and draws upon models that are older still.
Mid-America Medieval Association, 2012
In this paper I examine three “fealties” at work in Malory's Le Morte Darthur, each of which is a... more In this paper I examine three “fealties” at work in Malory's Le Morte Darthur, each of which is associated with a character: 1) Arthur's fealty to the fellowship of the Round Table; 2) Galahad's fealty to God; and 3) Lancelot's fealty to Guinevere within the context of courtly love. These three fealties are representative of the virtues that the ideal chivalric knight is supposed to possess as espoused by Romantic and chivalric literature. As I argue in this paper, however, these fealties are ultimately exclusive of one another and incompatible—a knight cannot serve one without somehow detracting from the others. Through this contradictory representation of fealties, Malory looks back nostalgically to a lost time of high chivalry while simultaneously showing the reader that such a time could have never existed in the first place.
Each of these fealties is advocated by chivalric literature of the later Middle Ages. Geoffroi De Charny, perhaps the greatest knight of the fourteenth century, wrote at least three books on chivalry, helped found the Order of the Star, was the bearer of the Oriflamme, and was an active campaigner in the Hundred Years' War. He mourned the loss of chivalry, and expounded on the nobility to be found in loyalty to one's feudal lord, to God, and to one's lady. Yet there are numerous tensions and conflicts that he passes over in silence. What does a knight do when his lord makes demands of him that run counter to his faith? How does he engage in a secret love affair with a married woman while remaining a good Christian? What happens when his lady makes demands on him that conflict with his lord's wishes? De Charney avoids these issues through categorical separation in his text. In contrast, Malory brings them together and does so to disastrous effect.
Romantic literature has, at times, been accused of having only war and lust as the motivating factors for its characters. Yet this oversimplifications cannot explain Galahad's piety, Arthur's devotion to his knights, or Lancelot's weeping at the healing of Sir Urre. Indeed, Lancelot, out of all the characters of the Morte, strikes the reader as the most nuanced and “modern” because of his internal conflicts and complex characterization. By examining his actions in light of the three fealties, one can see that his conflict arises through his attempts to simultaneously remain true to the Round Table, to Guinevere, and to God. The result is that he betrays Arthur, is excluded from being a Grail Knight proper, and is constantly accused of betrayal by Guinevere. If Camelot's greatest knight fails to unify the knightly virtues, what hope could any mortal man have? It is my position that Malory was acutely aware of these irresolvable fealties and chose to bring them to the forefront in Lancelot in order to show that these very fealties cause the fall of Camelot.
Dissertation by Toby R Beeny
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Books by Toby R Beeny
Published Work by Toby R Beeny
Conference Presentations by Toby R Beeny
“Leaf by Niggle” is a short story (almost a fairy-tale) that focuses on an artist living in a village that doesn’t value art. He struggles with the conflict between his day-to-day obligations and the creative vision he has inside. Then he dies, and the story shifts to a tale of the afterlife set in a purgatorial zone, then shifts again in an ongoing spiritual progression.
I’ve found that this story is a fantastic piece in which to discuss allegorical technique, semi-autobiographical fiction, and Christian symbolism. But the main reason I teach it is because of hope. Because while Tolkien was a modern writer, he was never a modernist. Where many modernist and post-modernist writers project an aura of despair (such as in Eliot’s Wasteland) or nihilism (Cormac McCarthy’s novels), Tolkien remains always an author of hope. His writing is the light shining in the darkest hour, not the surrender to that darkness. His insistence on hope is a driving theme in both of his more-famous works: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. For those of us who are unable to teach such longer works, a shorter tale like “Niggle” allows us to share with our students that sense of hope, something I find they desperately need in a time when many of them feel hopeless.
Specifically, I argue that Bede hoped to influence the behavior of King Ceolwulf of Northumbria, who would later abdicate the throne to join a monastery. Bede did not approve of kings who abandoned their duties. Thus, Bede wrote of kings, like Oswald, who were considered holy while also maintaining authority and who also led their men in battle (HE III.2). Bede utilized rhetoric here that would have appealed to Ceowulf's pride in his Northumbrian kin, a pride that Bede seems to have shared. Understanding the HE as advice literature—and even as a precursor of the later so popular mirrors-for princes genre—allows a clearer understanding of Bede's conception of kingship, which emphasized the concept of the holy war leader.
This paper is part of my larger dissertation project where I examine how Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics used political rhetoric within religious works to effect political change, especially the ways in which these writers shaped the duties and roles of kings. I argue that a number of texts produced by these ecclesiastics can be understood as advice literature or mirrors for princes. While the genre of advice literature in England is generally considered to have begun only in the Middle English period, I show that this sub-genre already existed during the Anglo-Saxon period, and draws upon models that are older still.
Each of these fealties is advocated by chivalric literature of the later Middle Ages. Geoffroi De Charny, perhaps the greatest knight of the fourteenth century, wrote at least three books on chivalry, helped found the Order of the Star, was the bearer of the Oriflamme, and was an active campaigner in the Hundred Years' War. He mourned the loss of chivalry, and expounded on the nobility to be found in loyalty to one's feudal lord, to God, and to one's lady. Yet there are numerous tensions and conflicts that he passes over in silence. What does a knight do when his lord makes demands of him that run counter to his faith? How does he engage in a secret love affair with a married woman while remaining a good Christian? What happens when his lady makes demands on him that conflict with his lord's wishes? De Charney avoids these issues through categorical separation in his text. In contrast, Malory brings them together and does so to disastrous effect.
Romantic literature has, at times, been accused of having only war and lust as the motivating factors for its characters. Yet this oversimplifications cannot explain Galahad's piety, Arthur's devotion to his knights, or Lancelot's weeping at the healing of Sir Urre. Indeed, Lancelot, out of all the characters of the Morte, strikes the reader as the most nuanced and “modern” because of his internal conflicts and complex characterization. By examining his actions in light of the three fealties, one can see that his conflict arises through his attempts to simultaneously remain true to the Round Table, to Guinevere, and to God. The result is that he betrays Arthur, is excluded from being a Grail Knight proper, and is constantly accused of betrayal by Guinevere. If Camelot's greatest knight fails to unify the knightly virtues, what hope could any mortal man have? It is my position that Malory was acutely aware of these irresolvable fealties and chose to bring them to the forefront in Lancelot in order to show that these very fealties cause the fall of Camelot.
Dissertation by Toby R Beeny
“Leaf by Niggle” is a short story (almost a fairy-tale) that focuses on an artist living in a village that doesn’t value art. He struggles with the conflict between his day-to-day obligations and the creative vision he has inside. Then he dies, and the story shifts to a tale of the afterlife set in a purgatorial zone, then shifts again in an ongoing spiritual progression.
I’ve found that this story is a fantastic piece in which to discuss allegorical technique, semi-autobiographical fiction, and Christian symbolism. But the main reason I teach it is because of hope. Because while Tolkien was a modern writer, he was never a modernist. Where many modernist and post-modernist writers project an aura of despair (such as in Eliot’s Wasteland) or nihilism (Cormac McCarthy’s novels), Tolkien remains always an author of hope. His writing is the light shining in the darkest hour, not the surrender to that darkness. His insistence on hope is a driving theme in both of his more-famous works: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. For those of us who are unable to teach such longer works, a shorter tale like “Niggle” allows us to share with our students that sense of hope, something I find they desperately need in a time when many of them feel hopeless.
Specifically, I argue that Bede hoped to influence the behavior of King Ceolwulf of Northumbria, who would later abdicate the throne to join a monastery. Bede did not approve of kings who abandoned their duties. Thus, Bede wrote of kings, like Oswald, who were considered holy while also maintaining authority and who also led their men in battle (HE III.2). Bede utilized rhetoric here that would have appealed to Ceowulf's pride in his Northumbrian kin, a pride that Bede seems to have shared. Understanding the HE as advice literature—and even as a precursor of the later so popular mirrors-for princes genre—allows a clearer understanding of Bede's conception of kingship, which emphasized the concept of the holy war leader.
This paper is part of my larger dissertation project where I examine how Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics used political rhetoric within religious works to effect political change, especially the ways in which these writers shaped the duties and roles of kings. I argue that a number of texts produced by these ecclesiastics can be understood as advice literature or mirrors for princes. While the genre of advice literature in England is generally considered to have begun only in the Middle English period, I show that this sub-genre already existed during the Anglo-Saxon period, and draws upon models that are older still.
Each of these fealties is advocated by chivalric literature of the later Middle Ages. Geoffroi De Charny, perhaps the greatest knight of the fourteenth century, wrote at least three books on chivalry, helped found the Order of the Star, was the bearer of the Oriflamme, and was an active campaigner in the Hundred Years' War. He mourned the loss of chivalry, and expounded on the nobility to be found in loyalty to one's feudal lord, to God, and to one's lady. Yet there are numerous tensions and conflicts that he passes over in silence. What does a knight do when his lord makes demands of him that run counter to his faith? How does he engage in a secret love affair with a married woman while remaining a good Christian? What happens when his lady makes demands on him that conflict with his lord's wishes? De Charney avoids these issues through categorical separation in his text. In contrast, Malory brings them together and does so to disastrous effect.
Romantic literature has, at times, been accused of having only war and lust as the motivating factors for its characters. Yet this oversimplifications cannot explain Galahad's piety, Arthur's devotion to his knights, or Lancelot's weeping at the healing of Sir Urre. Indeed, Lancelot, out of all the characters of the Morte, strikes the reader as the most nuanced and “modern” because of his internal conflicts and complex characterization. By examining his actions in light of the three fealties, one can see that his conflict arises through his attempts to simultaneously remain true to the Round Table, to Guinevere, and to God. The result is that he betrays Arthur, is excluded from being a Grail Knight proper, and is constantly accused of betrayal by Guinevere. If Camelot's greatest knight fails to unify the knightly virtues, what hope could any mortal man have? It is my position that Malory was acutely aware of these irresolvable fealties and chose to bring them to the forefront in Lancelot in order to show that these very fealties cause the fall of Camelot.