Dunkling, Judith (2021) ‘Holyest Erth of England?’ Glastonbury Abbey: Saints, Sanctity and Pilgrimage. Masters thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
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Dunkling, Judith (2021) MA Holyest Erth of England thesis.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License CC-BY-NC-ND Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
This paper examines the principal point that one will hear or read about Glastonbury during the medieval period: is that its abbey was a great centre of pilgrimage in England, along with Canterbury and Walsingham. Research concerning aspects of the abbey’s history and pilgrimage status is relatively scarce for such a venerable abbey, and this is because of the perceived unreliability of the primary texts relating to the monastic community’s history. This study draws on the principal primary texts from the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie by William of Malmesbury and Cronica Sive Antiquitates Glastoniensis Ecclesie by John of Glastonbury. The cults of various saints were promulgated at Glastonbury during the abbey’s history. These are examined in three groups: firstly, early saints from the Celtic regions, some of whom play a role in the foundation narratives of the abbey. Secondly, St Dunstan who represents a period of intense monastic reform in the late tenth century, and is symbolic of the call to holiness of life through a monastic vocation. Thirdly, there are two saints who feature in the Bible, namely the Blessed Virgin Mary and Joseph of Arimathea. In addition, King Arthur is a figure who plays a significant role in the abbey’s history, but who defies categorisation into any of the above. Even by the standards of medieval religious houses, Glastonbury held an extensive collection of relics, and the significance of these is examined using the four surviving relic lists. Despite the abbey’s reputation as a major pilgrimage centre, this study shows how little contemporaneous textual and archaeological evidence for pilgrimage to Glastonbury survives. The possibility of Glastonbury Tor also being a focal point for medieval pilgrimage to the town is considered. The final chapter explores the role of antiquity in the development of the abbey’s self-understanding, spirituality, and even its architectural development during the medieval period. This paper argues that it was the holiness engendered by its perceived antiquity, rather than the cult of specific saints, that is the key to understanding the life of, and pilgrimage to, Glastonbury Abbey from the early medieval period through to its suppression in 1539.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
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| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain |
| Divisions: | Theses and Dissertations > Masters Dissertations |
| Depositing User: | Victoria Hankinson |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Jul 2024 13:44 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Jul 2024 13:44 |
| URI: | https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/3057 |
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