Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Shaull Dissertation Final.pdf (1.45 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Paternal Legacy in Early English Texts

Shaull, Erin Marie Szydloski
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8273-2958
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1448913159

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, English.
This dissertation argues that literature in Old English and early Middle English characterizes legacy-giving as a serious obligation of fatherhood and key paternal role. I contend that the father’s legacy in this cultural context can be understood to include property, heirlooms, wisdom, and kin ties. This project contributes to the emerging study of fatherhood, which has begun to examine fatherhood as a previously under-explored phenomenon that is both a cultural institution and a part of many men’s lived experiences. I examine Anglo-Saxon law-codes, Old English wisdom poetry, Beowulf, and the Middle English texts The Proverbs of Alfred and Layamon’s Brut in order to argue for the cultural importance of this fatherly role. I argue that many of the same cultural markers of Anglo-Saxon paternal legacy continue to be relevant after the Norman Conquest, but that the Norman practice of strict patrilineal primogeniture alters certain aspects of fatherhood. While Old English literature prizes a relationship between father and son that includes an ongoing giving of self on the part of the father, early Middle English literature prefers an ideal father who serves as a prototype for the son, dying just as the son reaches adulthood.
Christopher Jones, PhD (Advisor)
Leslie Lockett, PhD (Committee Member)
Karen Winstead, PhD (Committee Member)
277 p.
Literature; Medieval Literature; Middle Ages
Old English literature; Middle English literature; fatherhood; Medieval England; Anglo-Saxon law; Old English wisdom poetry; Precepts; Vainglory; Beowulf; The Proverbs of Alfred; Layamons Brut

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Shaull, E. M. S. (2015). Paternal Legacy in Early English Texts [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1448913159

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Shaull, Erin. Paternal Legacy in Early English Texts. 2015. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1448913159.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Shaull, Erin. "Paternal Legacy in Early English Texts." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1448913159

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1448913159
673
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.