Blickling homilies
Encyclopedia
The Blickling Homilies are the second largest collection of anonymous homilies written in Old English. The Blickling Homilies are written in prose
and said to have been written down by possibly two different scribes
before the end of the 10th century. This might be one of the oldest collection of homilies to survive.
The Blickling Homilies are incomplete. The majority of the study surrounding them has been focused on finding their origin, which is still mostly unknown. The dozens of anonymous homilies written in Old English are compared to one another to draw parallels in an attempt to find common origins or authors. Old English scholar D. G. Scragg has developed a manuscript sigla
to organize, list, and evaluate the numerous collections of anonymous writings.
, W.H. Scheide Collection, The Blickling Homilies. They contain 19 quires (a set of papers in a manuscript, by our modern standard 24 or 25 papers). The 11th quire is missing and there are probably four more missing at the very beginning of the text. The first quire opens in the middle of a sentence (Scragg 299). Not much of the text in these homilies overlaps with too many other homilies, but the study of how and where they overlap is still very much in progress.
The homilies have been named for the Blickling Hall in Norfolk
, England
. The first account of the book is that it was used as an oath book in the city of Lincoln. Then in 1724 the officials in Lincoln gave it to William Pownall, who in turn sold it to Richard Ellys
of Nocton
, Lincolnshire
who was an ancestor of the Marquess of Lothian
. The seat of the Marquess of Lothian had held the book for nearly 200 years previously. In 1932, the 11th Marquess sold the homilies to relieve his debt to Cortlandt Field Bishop, who in 1938, sold them to the Scheide family of Titusville
, Pennsylvania
who in turn donated them to the Princeton University Library
, where they have remained ever since.
, but only include Sundays which the compiler saw fit. The second and fourth Sundays in Lent are not discussed, but the first and third are. Passion Sunday
, Palm Sunday
, and Holy Week
are also included. There are three homilies dealing with Rogation Days. Ascension Day is the eleventh, and the twelfth day is Pentecost. The rest of the homilies in the collection are saints’ feast days.
The main focus of these homilies is concentrated on the immediate connection of the readers and their moral lives. The writings begin by stating the greatness of Christ’s power and glory and lets the reader know that God is everything, and that all people should be more God-like. It attempts to persuade readers of this in a very straightforward manner. The homilies in this collection are mostly not exegetical (meaning that they do not explain the gospels) but rather they straightforwardly give instructions. Attempts at in-depth interpretation or explanation of the gospels are often not as clearly written. The Blickling Homilies essentially convey the idea that fasting, almsgiving, and resisting temptation are the best preparation for the Lenten season.
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
and said to have been written down by possibly two different scribes
Scribes
Scribes is a minimalist and extensible text editor for GNOME that combines simplicity with power. Scribes focuses on ways workflow and productivity can be intelligently automated and radically improved...
before the end of the 10th century. This might be one of the oldest collection of homilies to survive.
The Blickling Homilies are incomplete. The majority of the study surrounding them has been focused on finding their origin, which is still mostly unknown. The dozens of anonymous homilies written in Old English are compared to one another to draw parallels in an attempt to find common origins or authors. Old English scholar D. G. Scragg has developed a manuscript sigla
Sigla
Sigła is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Aleksandrów, within Biłgoraj County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies approximately east of Aleksandrów, south-east of Biłgoraj, and south of the regional capital Lublin....
to organize, list, and evaluate the numerous collections of anonymous writings.
Manuscript
The Blickling Homilies, simply named ‘B’ in the list compiled by Scragg, are officially called the Princeton University LibraryPrinceton University Library
Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 37,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is headquartered in the Harvey S...
, W.H. Scheide Collection, The Blickling Homilies. They contain 19 quires (a set of papers in a manuscript, by our modern standard 24 or 25 papers). The 11th quire is missing and there are probably four more missing at the very beginning of the text. The first quire opens in the middle of a sentence (Scragg 299). Not much of the text in these homilies overlaps with too many other homilies, but the study of how and where they overlap is still very much in progress.
The homilies have been named for the Blickling Hall in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The first account of the book is that it was used as an oath book in the city of Lincoln. Then in 1724 the officials in Lincoln gave it to William Pownall, who in turn sold it to Richard Ellys
CB Richard Ellis
CBRE Group, Inc. , a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm . The Company has approximately 31,000 employees , and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices worldwide...
of Nocton
Nocton
Nocton is a village south of Lincoln in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. To the east of the village is Nocton Fen, and a small area known locally as Wasps Nest....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
who was an ancestor of the Marquess of Lothian
Lothian
Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
. The seat of the Marquess of Lothian had held the book for nearly 200 years previously. In 1932, the 11th Marquess sold the homilies to relieve his debt to Cortlandt Field Bishop, who in 1938, sold them to the Scheide family of Titusville
Titusville
-United States of America:*Titusville, Birmingham, Alabama*Titusville, Florida*Titusville, New Jersey*Titusville, a former community in Malone , New York*Titusville, Pennsylvania...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
who in turn donated them to the Princeton University Library
Princeton University Library
Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 37,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is headquartered in the Harvey S...
, where they have remained ever since.
Interpretation
There is little known about the homilies and their origin or the homilist, so the purpose and principles behind the homilies will never be fully known. The scribe(s) who put them together had a plan in choosing the sermons and wrote with a fairly consistent religious philosophy. The homilies in this collection deal primarily with LentLent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
, but only include Sundays which the compiler saw fit. The second and fourth Sundays in Lent are not discussed, but the first and third are. Passion Sunday
Passion Sunday
Passion Sunday is a name that the Roman Rite liturgy gives to the sixth Sunday of Lent, but that in the pre-1960 form of that liturgy was given to the fifth Sunday...
, Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
, and Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
are also included. There are three homilies dealing with Rogation Days. Ascension Day is the eleventh, and the twelfth day is Pentecost. The rest of the homilies in the collection are saints’ feast days.
The main focus of these homilies is concentrated on the immediate connection of the readers and their moral lives. The writings begin by stating the greatness of Christ’s power and glory and lets the reader know that God is everything, and that all people should be more God-like. It attempts to persuade readers of this in a very straightforward manner. The homilies in this collection are mostly not exegetical (meaning that they do not explain the gospels) but rather they straightforwardly give instructions. Attempts at in-depth interpretation or explanation of the gospels are often not as clearly written. The Blickling Homilies essentially convey the idea that fasting, almsgiving, and resisting temptation are the best preparation for the Lenten season.
The Homilies
- Incarnation of the Lord (In Natali Domini)
- QuinquagesimaQuinquagesimaQuinquagesima is the name used in the Western Church for the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. It was also called Quinquagesima Sunday, Quinquagesimae, Estomihi, or Shrove Sunday...
/Shrove Sunday (Dominica Prima in Quinquagesima) - The First Sunday in LentLentIn the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
(Dominica Prima in Quadragesima) - The Third Sunday in Lent (Dominica Tertia in Quadragesima)
- The Fifth Sunday in Lent (Dominica V in Quadragesima)
- Palm SundayPalm SundayPalm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
(Dominica VI in Quadragesima) - Easter Day (Dominica Pascha)
- Rogation Monday (To Þam Forman Gangdæge), called "Soul's Need" by Morrris
- Rogation Tuesday (To Þam Oþerum Gangdæge), called "Christ the Golden-Blossom" by Morris
- Rogation Wednesday (To Þam Þriddan Gangdæge), called "The End of This World is Near" by Morris
- Ascension Thursday (On Þa Halgan Þunres Dei)
- Pentecost Sunday (Pentecostent - Spiritus Domini)
- Assumption of the Virgin MaryAssumption of the Virgin MaryMany significant works of art depict the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. They include:* Assumption of the Virgin by Francesco Botticini* Assumption of the Virgin by Titian* Assumption of the Virgin by Antonio da Correggio...
(Sancta Maria Mater Domini Nostri Iesu Cristi) - The Birth of John the BaptistJohn the BaptistJohn the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
(Sancte Iohannes Baptista Spel) - The Story of SS PeterSaint PeterSaint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and Paul (Spel Be Petrus ond Paulus). Compare Passio sanctorum Petri et PauliPassio sanctorum Petri et PauliThe pseudepigraphical Passio sanctorum Petri et Pauli is a late version of the martyrdoms of the two apostles, which claims to have been written by a certain Marcellus, thus the anonymous author, of whom nothing further is known, is referred to as the "pseudo-Marcellus"...
. - A Fragment
- The Feast of St MichaelSt MichaelSt Michael was a brand that was owned and used by Marks & Spencer from 1928 until 2000.-History:The brand was introduced by Simon Marks in 1928, after his father and co-founder of Marks & Spencer, Michael Marks. By 1950, virtually all goods were sold under the St Michael brand...
the Archangel (To Sancte Michaheles Mæssan), called "Dedication of St MichaelSt MichaelSt Michael was a brand that was owned and used by Marks & Spencer from 1928 until 2000.-History:The brand was introduced by Simon Marks in 1928, after his father and co-founder of Marks & Spencer, Michael Marks. By 1950, virtually all goods were sold under the St Michael brand...
's Church" by Morris - The Feast of St Martin (To Sancte Martines Mæssan)
- St Andrew (S. Andreas); lacks beginning and ending.
External links
- In Parentheses: Old English Series - The Blickling Homilies, translated by R. Morris, online PDF