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PoetoftheMedievalModern ElaineTreharneGregWalker
PoetoftheMedievalModern ReadingtheEarlyMedievalLibrary withDavidJones FRANCESCABROOKS GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford, , UnitedKingdom
OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries
©FrancescaBrooks
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SERIESEDITOR ’ SPREFACE OxfordTextualPerspectives isaseriesofinformativeandprovocative studiesfocusedupontexts(conceivedofinthebroadestsenseofthat term)andthetechnologies,cultures,andcommunitiesthatproduce, inform,andreceivethem.Itprovidesfreshinterpretationsoffundamentalworks,images,andartefacts,andofthevitalandchallenging issuesemerginginEnglishliterarystudies.Byengagingwiththecontextsandmaterialityofthetext,itsproduction,transmission,and receptionhistory,andbyfrequentlytestingandexploringtheboundariesofthenotionsoftextandmeaningthemselves,thevolumesinthe seriesquestionconventionalframeworksandprovideinnovativeinterpretationsofbothcanonicalandlesswell-knownworks.Thesebooks willoffernewperspectives,andchallengefamiliarones,bothonand throughtextsandtextualcommunities.Whiletheyfocusonspecific authors,periods,andissues,theynonethelessscanwiderhorizons, addressingthemesandprovokingquestionsthathaveamoregeneral applicationtoliterarystudiesandculturalhistoryasawhole.Eachis designedtobeasaccessibletothenon-specialistreaderasitisfreshand rewardingforthespecialist,combininganinformativeorientationina landscapewithdetailedanalysisoftheterritoryandsuggestionsfor furthertravel.
ElaineTreharne and GregWalker
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ThisbookbeganitslifeasaresearchprojectfundedbytheLondonArts andHumanitiesPartnershipandtheArtsandHumanitiesResearch Council,withoutwhosesupportitwouldnothavebeenpossible. Icouldnothaveembarkedonthisprojectwithoutthementorshipof ClareA.LeesandJoshuaDavies,who,alongwithSarahSalihandthe medievalistcommunityatKing’sCollegeLondonmorebroadly,fosteredaresearchculturethatwasopen,collaborative,andincredibly inspiring.IamgratefulfortheadviceandencouragementoftheEarly CareerResearchForumintheCentreforLateAntiqueandMedieval Studies,whoofferedfeedbackonanearlydraftofthisbook,and especiallyformyfriendsandcollaboratorsFranAllfrey,Charlotte Rudman,BethanyWhalley,CharlotteKnight,andCarlKears.Ihope thatIwillalwaysbeabletocountthemamongstmyfriendsand colleagues:the fieldofMedievalStudieswillbericherforthem.Much oftheeditingprocesstookplaceinthemarginsofateachingpostat UniversityCollegeLondon,whereIwassustainedandinspiredbymy colleagues,especiallyXineYao,SusanIrvine,NatalieJones,EzraHorbury,andRachelHolmes.Iowethegreatestdebtheretomystudents, whochallengedmeduringthistimetocontinuallythinkinnewways andtobeabetter,morecriticalthinkerandwriter.
Iamgratefulforthegenerosityanddedicationofthearchivists, librarians,andcuratorsattheNationalLibraryofWales(Llyfrgell GenedlaetholCymru),theTateGalleryArchives,CamberwellCollege ofArts,TheDitchlingMuseumofArtandCrafts,ThomasFisherRare BookLibrary,theGeorgetownUniversityBoothFamilyCenterfor SpecialCollections,andtheBeineckeRareBookandManuscript Library,particularlytoJenniferToewsattheThomasFisherand AdrienneSharpeattheBeineckefortransatlanticscansofdocuments IrealizedwereimportantwhenIwasalreadyhalfwaybackacrossthe world.Iamalsogratefulforpermissiontoreproduceextractsfrom DavidJones’spublishedworks,unpublishedmanuscriptsandcorrespondence,aswellasimagesofsomeofhisartworks,fromFaberand FaberLtd,BridgemanImages,TheDavidJonesSociety,andaboveall fromTheEstateofDavidJones.FundsfromtheLeverhulmeTrust
andtheLeavisFundattheUniversityofYorkhavemadethereproductionoftextandimageinthisbookpossible.Thanksalsomustgo toGregWalker,ElaineTreharne,AimeeWright,JayaprakashP.,Ian Brookes,andtheanonymousreviewers,whohaveallhelpedtomake thisabetterbook.
SpecialmentionmustbemadeoftheFacebookgroup venatorformarum:theDavidJonesexchange;Iamalsothankfulforwordsof wisdom,warmth,andsupportfromfellowDavidJonesscholarsand enthusiastsincludingHilaryDavies,KathleenHendersonStaudt,Paul Robichaud,TomGoldpaugh,AnnePrice-Owen,BradfordHaas,and AnnaSvendsen,amongstmanyothers.Iamindebtedtoallthosewho havetaughtandmentoredmethroughoutmydevelopmentasa researcher,especiallytoVirginiaLangum,whogavemetheideathat Imightonedaybecomeamedievalist,toLeoMellor,who firstpointed meinthedirectionofDavidJones,andtoChrisJonesandElaine Treharne,whohavemadenavigatingthe firstfewyearsaftermyPhD feelfullofpossibilityandpotential.
TomyvariationsonathemeRebecca,Natalie,Cat,Sophie,and especiallyMichaela,mysuperstarproofreader,thankyouformore thanadecadeofloveandfriendship.Icouldnothaveaskedforbetter friendsthroughoutthisprocessthanCharlotteandJames,whohave continuallyraisedmeup theyreallyarethedreamteam.Thanksalso tomyNannyBobby,GrandpaColin,andauntsSueandSally,whose loveandsupporthastaughtmenottobeshyofambition.Tomy GrandmaPatty,who,aswellassharingbottlesofProseccoandfamily historieswithmeonmywaytoandfromthearchivesinAberystwyth, hasalwayscheeredmysuccesses.Tomymumanddad,GiniandSam, towhomIowesomuchIdonotknowhowtobegin thankyoufor yourendlesssupportandencouragement;ithasmadeallofthis possible.Finally,thisbookisforBrian,whoknowswhathislove, partnership,andwisdommeantome.
LISTOFABBREVIATIONS TheAnaTheAnathemata:Fragmentsofanattempted writing,DavidJones(Padstow:FaberandFaber, [])
ACommentary RenéHague, ACommentaryonTheAnathemata ofDavidJones (Wellingborough:Christopher Skelton, )
Guthlac’ s VitaVitaSanctiGuthlaciAuctoreFelice
TheLibraryTheLibraryofDavidJones,NationalLibraryof Wales,Aberystwyth
Sweet’ s Reader HenrySweet, AnAnglo-SaxonReaderinProseand VersewithGrammar,Metre,NotesandGlossary (Oxford:ClarendonPress, [])
Thorpe’ s Analecta BenjaminThorpe, AnalectaAnglo-Saxonica: ASelection,inProseandVerse,fromAnglo-Saxon AuthorsofVariousAgeswithaGlossary (London: JohnRussellSmith, )
Abbreviationsforarchivalholdings BRBMLBeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,Yale University,NewHaven,USA
CCACamberwellCollegeofArts,UniversityoftheArts London,England
GUBFCGeorgetownUniversityBoothFamilyCenterfor SpecialCollections,WashingtonD.C.,USA
NLWNationalLibraryofWales(LlyfrgellGenedlaethol Cymru),Aberystwyth,Wales
TFRBLThomasFisherRareBookLibrary,Universityof Toronto,Canada
TGATateGalleryArchive,London,England
Alltranscriptionsfromcorrespondence,handwrittenmanuscripts,or notesandmarginaliafrombooksinTheLibraryofDavidJones, NationalLibraryofWales,arediplomatic.Ihavenotreproduced herecrossed-throughwords,phrases,orsentences,unlesstheyare specificallyofinterest.Thisisprimarilybecausetheygenerallyrepresentmisspeltrepetitionsofwordsorthingsthathavesubsequently beenrephrasedbyJonesandthereforedonotprovideuswithany additionalinsight.
NationalLibraryofWales ItemsfromtheDavidJones(ArtistandWriter)PapersattheNational LibraryofWalesarereferencedinthefollowingway:NLW,reference codeforthefonds,referencecodeforthesub-sub-fonds,(itemnumber),itemdescription,dateofcreationwheregiven.
Thefollowingisakeytothecodesforfonds,sub-fondsandsub-subfonds,whichcorrespondtothoseprovidedbytheNationalLibraryof Wales.
DavidJones(ArtistandWriter)Papers – GB DJONES[Fonds]
LiteraryManuscripts – L[Sub-fonds]
-TheAnathemata – LA
-OtherLiteraryPapers – LO[Sub-sub-fonds] Correspondence – C[Sub-fonds]
-LetterstoDavidJones – CT
-DraftLettersfromDavidJones – CF[Sub-sub-fonds]
Research,articles,andaccumulatedpapers – R[Sub-fonds]
-Articles,Scripts,andPoems – R [Sub-sub-fonds]
ReferencehasalsobeenmadetoNLW,MS E,DavidJones’ s LetterstoStuartPiggott.
ReferencestobooksfromtheLibraryofDavidJonesarefootnoted throughoutandincludetheirNLWcallnumberinbrackets,for example:(NLW ).AnydatesrelatedtoJones’sacquisitionofthe volumewillbeincludedinsquarebracketsthe firsttimethebookis referenced.
ThomasFisherRareBookLibrary ItemsfromtheThomasFisherRareBookLibraryarereferencedinthe followingway:location,referencecodeforthefonds,box.no.,item description,dateofcreationwheregiven.TheitemsintheDavidJones Papersarelocatableviatheirdateofcreation theyarenotorganized byfolder.
Jones(David)PapersMSColl
LettersandNotesfromDavidJonestoRenéandJoanHague.
–. – Box
LettersandTypescriptsbyRenéHague. –
. – Box
BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary andGeorgetownUniversityBoothFamily CenterforSpecialCollections
ItemsfromtheBeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibraryandthe GeorgetownUniversityBoothFamilyCenterforSpecialCollectionsare referencedinthefollowingway:location,referencecodeforthefonds, box.no.,folderno.,itemdescription,dateofcreationwheregiven.
BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary SomeofthelettersfromtheBeineckearchivecouldnotbeconsulted in situ atthelibraryasitwasclosedatthetimeofmyvisit.Thesewere consultedatGeorgetowninstead,whereXeroxcopiesarekept.AsIdo nothavefoldernumbersfortheseletters,theirexactlocationisprovidedwithreferencetotheGUBFCbox.
DavidJonesletterstoHarmanGrisewood, – [Onebox] –GENMSS
GeorgetownUniversityBoothFamily
CenterforSpecialCollections HarmanGrisewoodPapers, – GTM-GAMMS Box [sub-fonds]
-CorrespondenceII:JonestoGrisewood[series] Box
-XeroxcopiesofLettersfromtheBeinecke Box
-CorrespondenceV:AboutDavidJones Box
-AboutDavidJones(miscellaneous) Box
-DavidJonesManuscripts
MichaelRicheyPapers, – GTM-GAMMS Correspondence[OneBox]
PamelaDonnerPapers, – GTM- Correspondence[OneBox]
TateGalleryArchive ItemsfromtheTateGalleryArchivearereferencedinthefollowing way:location,referencecodeforthefonds,itemdescription,dateof creationwheregiven.
FileofninelettersfromDavidJonestoE.C.Hodgkin(–) –TGA /
TheNicoleteGrayArchiveattheTateGalleryArchiveisafamilyloan (GrayArchive(Loan)).Itdoesnothaveanarchivalreferencenumber andisnotsearchableintheonlinearchivecatalogue.Thearchive includeslettersfromDavidJonestoNicoleteGrayandHelen Sutherland.
CamberwellCollegeofArts ItemsintheCamberwellCollegeofArtsArchiveareunsorted.Items fromthisarchivewillbereferencedinthefollowingway:location, referencecodeforthefonds,itemdescription,dateofcreationwhere given.
CamberwellCollegeofArts – GB
Table
.TableofOldEnglishwordsandcompoundsfromHenry Sweet’ s Anglo-SaxonReader foundin TheAnathemata. Source:Author’ sown
Figures
.DavidJonesreading.StillphotographfromtheMabon Studio filmofDavidJones,CalvaryNursingHome,Harrow, .WiththankstoAnnePrice-Owen,Jasmine Hunter-Evans,andtheDavidJonesSociety
. ExiitEdictum, ,inscriptioninopaqueandwatercolours, . cm,TateGallery,London.Photo©Tate. BypermissionoftheDavidJonesEstate/BridgemanImages
.Notesinthe flyleafofCollingwoodandMyres, Roman BritainandtheEnglishSettlements (NLW ).Reproduced withpermissionoftheLicensorthroughPLSclear.Scan ©LlyfrgellGenedlaetholCymru/NationalLibraryofWales
.AnexampleofJonessight-readingOldEnglishfrom BenjaminThorpe’ s AnalectaAnglo-Saxonica (NLW ). Scan©LlyfrgellGenedlaetholCymru/NationalLibrary ofWales
.Manuscriptpagefromthe PastoralCare sentbyKing AlfredtoWorcester,reproducedinHodgkin, AHistory oftheAnglo-Saxons (NLW ).Scan©Llyfrgell GenedlaetholCymru/NationalLibraryofWales
.Press-cuttingfoundbetweenthepagesofThorpe, AnalectaAnglo-Saxonica (NLW ).Scan©Llyfrgell GenedlaetholCymru/NationalLibraryofWales
. StGregoryandtheSlaves, ,watercolour, cm, DitchlingMuseumofArtandCraft,Ditchling.Photo ©SamMoore.BypermissionoftheDavidJones Estate/BridgemanImages
.NLW,GB DJONES,LO/,(),mapofearly medievalBritain.BypermissionoftheDavidJones Estate.Scan©LlyfrgellGenedlaetholCymru/National LibraryofWales
Ongyredehine, ,inscriptioninwatercolours, . . cm,LlyfrgellGenedlaetholCymru/National LibraryofWales.Photo©LlyfrgellGenedlaethol Cymru/NationalLibraryofWales.Bypermissionofthe DavidJonesEstate/BridgemanImages
. Engraving from TheRimeoftheAncientMariner, –, copperengraving, . cm.Photo©TheBritish LibraryBoard.BypermissionoftheDavidJones Estate/BridgemanImages
.TFRBL,MSColl ,Box ,unpublishedletterto Hague, August .Scan©ThomasFisherRare BookLibrary.BypermissionoftheDavidJonesEstate.
[B]ymerelycallingtoremembrancetheLindisfarneGospels,the Glastonburythorn,theAlfredjewel,weexperienceaheighteningof ourperceptions forgottenthingsbegintoshape wesitupandtake notice.
DavidJones, ‘TheRolandEpicandOurselves’ Introduction MedievalModernAnglo-WelshIdentities Forsixteendaysin adebateragedinthecorrespondencepages of TheTimes abouttheplaceof Beowulf andcompulsoryOld EnglishintheEnglishLiteraturecourseattheUniversityofOxford.1 Theinitialheadlineon November, ‘DonsbattleoverAnglo-Saxon’ , had,accordingtotheLeaderonthefollowingday,openeda ‘gulf betweentheattackandtheSaxondefence’ thatwas ‘asbroadas Offa’sDyke’ . 2 Indefenceof Beowulf ProfessorCampbellwroteofthe dangersofEnglishbecominga ‘softoption’ amongststudents,while thoseattackingitsinclusioninthesyllabussuggestedthatit ‘failedto preparethestudentforanything’.AcademicsincludingJ.N.L.Myres, DorothyWhitelock,PeterClemoes,J.DoverWilson,RosemaryWoolf, andevenBertramColgravewithhisperspectiveonthe ‘American Example’,allweighedin.3 On NovembertheLeaderclaimed
1 TheTimes,correspondencepages, November– November .Accessedvia GaleNewsVault <https://www.gale.com/intl/primary-sources/historical-newspapers> [accessed: ..].Allsubsequentreferencesto TheTimes inthisintroductionwere accessedvia GaleNewsVault
2 TheTimes,editorials/leaders: ‘DonsBattleoverAnglo-Saxon’ , November ; ‘Is BeowulfReallyNecessary?’ , November
3 SchoolteachersandeventhenovelistBryher,whohadwrittena noveltitled Beowulf:ANovel,alsocontributedtothedebatealongwithmembersofthegeneral
PoetoftheMedievalModern:ReadingtheEarlyMedievalLibrarywithDavidJones.FrancescaBrooks, OxfordUniversityPress.©FrancescaBrooks2021.DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198860136.003.0001
‘BeowulftheConqueror’ inthe ‘preliminaryskirmishbeforenextyear’ s ninehundredthanniversaryoftheNormanConquest’ . 4 ‘[T]heshieldwall’ ofthe ‘Beowulfians ’ wasproclaimed ‘unbroken’:theLeadersuggestedthat ‘flourishingagaininthehomeoflostcauses,[Beowulf might]nowproveimmortal’ . 5
ThepoetandartistDavidJones(–)missedthecorrespondenceinthedailypapersbutwassenttheclippingsbyafriendsothathe couldbelatedlyfollowthedebate.Inaletterwrittentohisfriend E.C.Hodgkin,sonoftheOxfordhistorianandtheauthorof AHistory oftheAnglo-Saxons,RobertHowardHodgkin,Joneswrotethathewas gladtheLeaderhadtakenthesideofthedefence.Yet,hecontinuedby protestingthattheyhaddoneso:
justa shade too flippantlyIratherfelt.Theattitudeofsomeofthese confoundeddons&educationalistsreOldEnglish(language&lit) remindsmeofthoseClassicaldonsIoccasionallymetinthe s who always notonlyasatacticalpublicposebuteveninprivate conversation,defendedtheteachingofGreekandLatinonutilitarian grounds thatitmademen write and think clearly(whichwasatbest ahalf-truthandatworstjustobviousballs)they ought tohave defendeditbecauseitispart(andanessentialpart)ofourwhole culturalheritage.6
Ananecdoteina lettertoColinWilcockson,amedievalistand friendofJones,confirmsthedepthofJones’sadmirationfor Beowulf as anessentialpartofBritishculture.Joneswrotethat ‘achapcametosee meabitbackwhotalkedalotabout Beowulf ’.Thevisitorapparently claimedthat ‘BeowulfisOurLord’ andJonesaddedhispassionate agreement, ‘[w]ell,ofcourse’ . 7 InthelettertoHodgkin,Joneswenton public.DorothyWhitelock, ‘IsBeowulfNeeded’,andPeterClemoes, ‘ProseandPoetry?’ , TheTimes, November ,correspondencepages;J.DoverWilson, ‘IsBeowulf Needed?’,andRosemaryWoolf, ‘VernacularLiterature’ , TheTimes, November , correspondencepages;J.N.L.Myres, ‘SoundGrounding’ , TheTimes, November , correspondencepages.
4 ‘BeowulftheConqueror’ , TheTimes, November ,editorials/leaders.
5 ‘BeowulftheConqueror’ .
6 TGA, /,unpublishedlettertoE.C.Hodgkin, November
7 LettertoColinWilcockson, December ,publishedinColinWilcockson, ‘NotesonSomeLettersofDavidJones’,in Agenda, (), –.
tosuggestthatintheirdefensivepositionon Beowulf andOldEnglish thedons ‘werelikethoseWelshmenforwhomthoughWelshisan actuallivinglanguageasyetneverbestirthemselvesinthedefenceof thatheritageontheonegroundonwhichitmustbedefended’ 8 Here DavidJones,anAnglo-Welshpoetandartistwhosearchiveisheldat theNationalLibraryofWalesinAberystwyth,andwhoislaudedasone ofthegreat figuresofWelshmodernism,defendsOldEnglishinthe sametermswithwhichhewoulddefendtheWelshlanguageandWelsh tradition.OldEnglishwasanessentialpartofJones’slivingheritage.
InbeginningherewithJones’sresponsetothe Beowulf correspondence,Iwanttounderlinethecentraltenetsofthisbook.Firstly,that DavidJones’sengagementwithOldEnglishandAnglo-Latinmaterial representsamajorcreativeandscholarlyprojectthatdeservestobe includedinourhistoriesoftwentieth-centurymedievalisms.Secondly, thatwithinstudiesofJones’sworkwecannotfullyunderstandthispoet andartist’sengagementwithWelshmaterialsunlesswearealsoattentivetothewaysinwhichthisisentangledbothantagonisticallyandat timesproductivelywiththeEnglishtradition.JustasSeamusHeaney’ s Beowulf translationrevivifiedtheOldEnglishepicinanUlster voice,sothatanIrishpoetmight ‘cometotermswiththatcomplex historyofconquestandcolony,absorptionandresistance,integrityand antagonism’ thathadbothprecededandfollowedthepoem,Jones’ s reworkingofearlymedievalliteratureandculturegrappleswithalong historyofWelshandEnglishviolenceandcoexistence,collusion,and oppression.9 Thisbookusesnewarchivalevidencetoilluminatethe influenceofOldEnglishliteratureandlanguage,andearlymedieval historyandculturefromEngland,onDavidJonesandhislong,late modernistpoem TheAnathemata: FragmentsofanAttemptedWriting ().10 ThefocusonJones’svisualandverbalincorporationof
8 TGA, /,unpublishedlettertoE.C.Hodgkin, November .Jonesmade thesamecomparisonofthepositionofWelshandOldEnglishtraditioninanundated essaypublishedposthumouslyas ‘OntheDifficultiesofOneWriterofWelshAffinity WhoseLanguageisEnglish’,in TheDyingGaulandOtherWritings (London:Faberand Faber, ),pp. –.
9 SeamusHeaney, ‘Translator’sIntroduction’,in Beowulf:AVerseTranslation,ed. DanielDonoghue(London:Norton, ),pp.xxiii–xxxviii(p.xxxviii).
10 DavidJones, TheAnathemata:FragmentsofanAttemptedWriting (Padstow:Faber andFaber, []).Subsequentreferencesto TheAnathemata willbecitedparentheticallywithinthetext.On ‘latemodernism’,see:TyrusMiller, LateModernism:Politics,
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materialfromtheearlymedievalEnglishtraditionwillilluminatethe politicalimplicationsofJones’sconstructionofAnglo-Welshand Catholicidentitiesin TheAnathemata ,presentingthepoemasa challengetonationallychargedrepresentationsofearlymedieval Britainacrossthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturies.Atatimewhen theMiddleAgesareincreasinglyweaponizedinfar-rightpolitical discourseandthefutureoftheUnitedKingdomisthreatenedbyBrexit, thisstudyexamineshowtheearlymedievalpasthasbeenresourcedto bothshoreupandchallengeEnglishhegemoniesacrossBritishculture andaskshowoneAnglo-Welshpoettriedtore-envisionthisdynamic.
Anoteonterminologybecomesnecessaryhere.Overthecourseof thepastfewyears,the fieldofEarlyMedievalStudieshasbegunto acknowledgetheracialized,racist,andnationalistimplicationsofthe term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ andtheactiveviolencethatclingingtothisterminologycandoinourworkasscholars,teachers,andpublicacademics.Asignificantelementofthisworkhasinvolvedrecognitionofthe factthattheprocessof,asMaryDockray-Millerwrites,freighting ‘Anglo-Saxon’ withracialized ‘assumptionsofprivilegeandsuperiority’ isnotjustaproblemthathappens ‘outthere’ on,forexample,far-right whitenationalistwebforums,buthasbeencentraltothedisciplinary constructionof ‘Anglo-SaxonStudies’ throughoutitshistory.11 As CordJ.WhitakerandMatthewGabrieleaffirm, ‘itisclearerthanever thattheghostsofscholarlyracismandimperialismalsohavethe potentialtohauntthefutureofmedievalstudies’ . 12 Workbyscholars suchasSierraLomutoandMaryRambaran-Olmhasbeenkeyhereto raisingpublicandacademicawareness.13 InthisbookIassertmy
Fiction,andtheArtsBetweentheWorldWars (Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress, );ThomasS.Davis, ‘LateModernism:BritishLiteratureatMidcentury’ , Literature Compass, (), –;andLeoMellor, ‘The s,theSecondWorldWarandLate Modernism’,in TheCambridgeHistoryofModernism,ed.VincentSherry(Cambridge: CambridgeUniversityPress, ),pp. –
11 MaryDockray-Miller, ‘OldEnglishhasaseriousimageproblem’ , Arts& CultureDaily, May <https://daily.jstor.org/old-english-serious-image-problem/> [accessed: ].
12 CordJ.WhitakerandMatthewGabriele, ‘Mountainhaints:TowardsaMedieval Studiesexorcized’ , postmedieval, (), –
13 SierraLomuto, ‘WhiteNationalismandtheEthicsofMedievalStudies’ , IntheMiddle, December <http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com///white-nationalism-and-
commitmenttoreimaginingthe fieldofEarlyMedievalStudiesasa moreinclusivespacebymovingawayfromtheterm ‘Anglo-Saxon’ and replacingitinmanyinstanceswithmoreaccurateterminologythat locatesthisearlymedievalcultureandhistoryintheparticularitiesof timeandplace.14
Thereaderwillhavealreadynoticed,however,thatIdoretain ‘Anglo-Saxon’ whenreferringtoDavidJones’slibraryofmaterials relatedtotheperiodafterthewithdrawaloftheRomansandbefore theNormanConquest.Thereasonsforthisaretwofold.Firstly,this reflectsJones’sownterminologyandtheterminologyofthescholarship hewasengagingwith;itisuseful,therefore,inhistoricizingJones’ sown understandingoftheliteratureandcultureoftheperiod.Secondly,as thisbookseekstodemonstrate,forJonestherewasnosuchthingas ‘Anglo-SaxonEngland’:hispoetryisinvestedincontestingrather thanacceptingtheideologicalartefactofthe ‘Anglo-SaxonKingdoms’ withtheirdiscretebordersandoriginaryhistories.However,inorderto makethisargumentIhavehadtoaddressthismythologydirectly: theghosthastobenamedbeforeitcanbeexorcised.Inherbook, ImaginingAnglo-SaxonEngland:Utopia,Heterotopia,Dystopia,CatherineKarkovarguesthat ‘Anglo-SaxonEnglandisultimatelyempty spaceontoandintowhichidentitiesandideologieshavebeenwritten, a floatingsignifier ’ . 15 AsKarkovdemonstrates,theimaginingof ‘Anglo-SaxonEngland’ mayhavebegunintheearlyMiddleAges withtextslikeAlfred’sprefacetothe PastoralCare or Beowulf,but this ‘floatingsignifier ’ continuestohaunttheUKandUSAasselfprofessed ‘heirsoftheAnglo-Saxons’ . 16 Jones’sAnglo-SaxonLibrary alsorepresentstheimaginingof an Anglo-SaxonEnglandinthetwentiethcenturyasmanifestedinhistoriographicalandphilological ethics-of.html>[accessed: ];MaryRambaran-Olm, ‘MisnamingtheMedieval: Rejecting “Anglo-Saxon” Studies’ , HistoryWorkshop, November <https://www. historyworkshop.org.uk/misnaming-the-medieval-rejecting-anglo-saxon-studies/>[accessed: ..].
14 Thereare,however,parallelproblemswiththeuseof ‘earlyEnglish’ or ‘earlyEngland’ , whichIandotherscholarsarestillgrapplingwith,asthismayreinforceasensethatthetrue orpureoriginsofamodernEnglandlieintheearlymedievalkingdoms.
15 CatherineE.Karkov, ImaginingAnglo-SaxonEngland:Utopia,Heterotopia, Dystopia (Woodbridge:BoydellandBrewer, ),p. .
16 Karkov, ImaginingAnglo-SaxonEngland,p. .
scholarship,editions,translations,catalogues,andartefactsofpopular history(fromOrdnanceSurveymapstoBBCradiobroadcasts).This wasthe ‘Anglo-SaxonEngland’ Joneswasgrapplingwithashetriedto writeanewpoetichistoryofBritishCatholicidentityatthemidcentury.
DavidJonesaspoetofthemedievalmodern Inhiscross-chronologicalarthistoricalstudy, MedievalModern:Art OutofTime,AlexanderNagelproposesthat ‘[w]eareinapositionnow toseethatencounterswithmedievalartmarkthewholehistoryof modernismanditsaftermath ’ . 17 Thepresentbooktakesupthetermsof Nagel’sstudytoarguethatDavidJonesisapoetofthemedieval modern:hisvisualandverbalworkis ‘shotthrough’,toparaphrase WalterBenjamin,withpointsofconnectionwiththemedievalpast,its language,culture,history,traditions,andinstitutions.18 In DerekJarman ’sMedievalModern,RobertMillsinsiststhat ‘[t]heaim[...]isnot to medievalise Jarmanassuch,forcinghislifeandworkintoyetanother periodisingcage.ItistoletlooseJarman ’shistoricalimagination, followingtheartisthimselfashepursuestheMiddleAgesoutof bounds.’19 Temptingasitmaybetofollowthemedievalizingexample oftheNorthumbrianlatemodernistpoetBasilBuntingincomparing JonestoBishopEadfrith,scribeandilluminatorof TheLindisfarne Gospels,JonesalsopursuedtheMiddleAgesoutofbounds.20 Inhis poetryandartJonestreatedthelanguage,literature,andcultural artefactsoftheMiddleAgesasaformoflivematerialwiththe power,whenrecalledtomemory,to ‘[heighten]ourperceptions ’ and setinmotiontheprocessof ‘shaping’‘forgottenthings’ . 21 Thisshaping
17 AlexanderNagel, MedievalModern:ArtOutofTime (London:Thamesand Hudson, ),p. .
18 NagelintroduceshisbookwithanepigraphfromWalterBenjamin’ s ‘Onthe ConceptofHistory’
19 RobertMills, DerekJarman’sMedievalModern (Woodbridge:BoydellandBrewer, ),p.
20 BasilBunting, BasilBuntingonPoetry,ed.PeterMakin(Baltimore:JohnsHopkins UniversityPress, ),p.
21 DavidJones, ‘TheRolandEpicandOurselves’,in TheDyingGaulandOther Writings (London:FaberandFaber, ),pp.
(p.
isanactiveandmalleableprocessbecause,asMillsattestsofJarman, DavidJones’sMiddleAgeswereplural,multiple,contradictory:open tobeingconsistentlyreinventedashecraftedhisvisualandverbalsign ofmodernBritishCatholicidentity.AsJoshuaDaviesconcludesin hisstudyonculturalmemoryandthe ‘untimely’ MiddleAges, ‘the archiveoftheMiddleAgesisdefinedbyitsdiversityratherthanits consistency’ . 22
Althoughthisbookdrawsonpoetry,essays,art,andcorrespondence producedthroughoutJones’slifetime,thefocuswillbeonJones’ s poem TheAnathemata. TheAnathemata isapoetichistoryofBritain toldthroughthehistoryofman-as-artist,withallartunderstood,in lightofJones’sCatholicism,asaformofworship.23 Thepoem’seight sequences—‘RiteandFore-Time’ , ‘Middle-SeaandLear-Sea’ , ‘AngleLand’ , ‘Redriff ’ , ‘TheLadyofthePool’ , ‘Keel,Ram,andStauros’ , ‘Mabinog’sLiturgy’,and ‘SherthursdayeandVenusDay’—moveus fromthepre-historicalgeologicalformationsthatcreatedtheislands ofBritainandIreland,toan ‘anamnesis’ oftheCrucifixionofChrist duringtheMass,viaCelticBritain,theRomanEmpire,earlymedieval England,andthemulti-temporalpoolofLondon,tonameonlysomeof itspredominantinterests.24
Thepoem’spublicationin placesitatthemid-pointofa centuryrichwithexamplesofliterarymedievalmodernism.The sameyearalsosawthepublicationofEdwinMorgan’stranslationof
22 JoshuaDavies, VisionsandRuins:CulturalMemoryandtheUntimelyMiddleAges (Manchester:ManchesterUniversityPress, ),p.
23 JonesconvertedtoCatholicismin andhisfaithwasanessentialpartofhis identityasanartist.See,forexample, ‘ArtandSacrament’,in EpochandArtist:Selected WritingsbyDavidJones,ed.HarmanGrisewood(London:FaberandFaber, ), pp. –,originallypublishedas ‘ArtandSacrament:AnEnquiry’,in CatholicApproaches, ed.E.Pakenham(London:WeidenfeldandNicolson, ),pp. –
24 Theconceptof anamnesis wascentraltoJones’ssacramentalpoeticsanditinformed hissenseofthevitalpresenceofthepastinthepresent.Inanotein TheAnathemata Joneswrote: ‘Anamnesis.Itakeleavetoremindthereaderthatthisisakey-wordinour deposits.Thedictionarydefinesitsgeneralmeaningas “therecallingofthingspast”.But whatisthenatureofthisparticularrecalling?Iappendthefollowingquotationasbeing clearandtothepoint: “It(anamnesis)isnotquiteeasytorepresentaccuratelyinEnglish, wordslike “remembrance” or ‘memorial’ havingforusaconnotationofsomething absent whichisonlymentallyrecollected.ButintheScripturesofboththeOldandNew Testament anamnesis andthecognateverbhaveasenseof ‘recalling’ or ‘re-presenting’ beforeGodaneventinthepastsothatitbecomes hereandnowoperativebyitseffects. ” GregoryDix, TheShapeoftheLiturgy,p. . ’ (,n. ).
theOldEnglishpoem Beowulf,whilein FaberandFaberhad publishedtheArgentinian-bornWelshpoetLynetteRoberts’ ssequence GodswithStainlessEars:AHeroicPoem,redolentwithearlymedieval Welshliteraryreferences,saints,andruins.Althoughallthreepoems weartheirrelationtocontemporaryeventsandpoliticswithvarying degreesofconsciousnessandforce,takentogethertheysuggestthe particularresonanceoftheearlyMiddleAgesforthebattlegroundsand bombsitesoftheSecondWorldWaranditsaftermathinlatemodernist culture.Thismid-centurymomentdoesnotstandalone,however,and neitherdoesJones’sworkasamedievalmodernistwithinthebroader arcofthecentury.Alineofinfluencecanbedrawn,forexample,from theAnglicanmedievalismofJones’sfriendandeditoratFaberand Faber,T.S.Eliot,throughJones’swork,andtothatoflaterpoetssuch asGeoffreyHill,whose MercianHymns ()reimaginestheeighthcenturyKingOffaas ‘overlordoftheM ’,andSeamusHeaney,who recognizedthat ‘asapoetofChrist’spassionandincarnation’ David Jones’slineagewent ‘suddenlypastHopkinstotheAnglo-Saxon Dream oftheRood’ . 25 DespitethefactthatJonesisfrequentlynamecheckedin studiesthatexplorethistwentieth-centurytraditionofmedievalism,he israrelyoneoftheirsubjects.However,astheconnectionsdetailed abovesuggest,Jones’sworkdidhaveaprofoundimpactontwentiethcenturypoetryinBritainandIrelandandhisinfluencecontinuestobe felttodayintheworkofpoetsandwriterssuchasPaulineStainer, RobinRobertson,andMaxPorter.
Here,itisworthsayingsomethingbrieflyaboutJones’sengagement withOldEnglishas ‘play’ inboththeradical,modernist,andthe sacramentalsense.ThroughoutthisbookIdiscussJones’sengagement withOldEnglishlanguage,texts,andartefactsintermsofplay.This arisespartlyoutofanunderstanding,whichhasgrownduringmy
25 SeamusHeaney, ‘NowandinEngland’ , TheSpectator, May , .Forfurther discussionoftherelationshipbetweenJones’spoetryandthatofEliotandHill,see,for example,StevenMatthews, ‘ProvincialismandtheModernDiaspora:T.S.Eliotand DavidJones’ , English, (), –;StevenMatthews, ‘“FeltUnities”:GeoffreyHill, T.S.EliotandDavidJones’ , LiteraryImagination, (), –.Iamindebtedto AnnaJohnson’ s ‘“WoundedMenandwoundedtrees”:DavidJonesandtheAnglo-Saxon CultureTangle’,in Anglo-SaxonCultureandtheModernImagination,ed.DavidClark andNicholasPerkins(Cambridge:Brewer, ),pp. – forintroducingmeto SeamusHeaney’ s Spectator articleonDavidJones.
