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Imitatio in Early Medieval Spirituality: The Dream of the Rood, Anselm, and Militant Christology

Imitatio in Early Medieval Spirituality: The Dream of the Rood, Anselm, and Militant Christology Chapter 11 : The Dream of the Rood, Anselm, and Militant Christology Augusta State University While we often say that Anselm of Canterbury founded a tradition of medieval affective spirituality, no tradition arises in a vacuum. Anselm produced his works of meditative literature within intersecting Latin and vernacular traditions of affective spirituality established in the Anglo-Latin works of monastic writers (Alcuin, Bede, among others), as well as in vernacular religious poetry. This paper addresses the conjunction of imitatio and vengeance in The Dream of the Rood and in Anselm's prayers and meditations. My particular concern is the implications of this conjunction for the development of a rising militant Christianity during the early Crusade era.1 We might expect The Dream of the Rood to support this development, since the poem connects heroic behavior to its account of the Passion. Anselm's prayers and meditations, I will show, also unexpectedly address the issue of vengeance for the death of Christ. Both The Dream of the Rood and Anselm's writings use patterns of identification to associate vengeance with devotion. In The Dream of the Rood, the imitatio crucis distances the Dreamer from the sufferings of the heroic Christ, directing the Dreamer away http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Essays in Medieval Studies West Virginia University Press

Imitatio in Early Medieval Spirituality: The Dream of the Rood, Anselm, and Militant Christology

Heckman, Christina M.
Essays in Medieval Studies , Volume 22 (1)
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West Virginia University Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 Illinois Medieval Association.
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1538-4608
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Abstract

Chapter 11 : The Dream of the Rood, Anselm, and Militant Christology Augusta State University While we often say that Anselm of Canterbury founded a tradition of medieval affective spirituality, no tradition arises in a vacuum. Anselm produced his works of meditative literature within intersecting Latin and vernacular traditions of affective spirituality established in the Anglo-Latin works of monastic writers (Alcuin, Bede, among others), as well as in vernacular religious poetry. This paper addresses the conjunction of imitatio and vengeance in The Dream of the Rood and in Anselm's prayers and meditations. My particular concern is the implications of this conjunction for the development of a rising militant Christianity during the early Crusade era.1 We might expect The Dream of the Rood to support this development, since the poem connects heroic behavior to its account of the Passion. Anselm's prayers and meditations, I will show, also unexpectedly address the issue of vengeance for the death of Christ. Both The Dream of the Rood and Anselm's writings use patterns of identification to associate vengeance with devotion. In The Dream of the Rood, the imitatio crucis distances the Dreamer from the sufferings of the heroic Christ, directing the Dreamer away

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Essays in Medieval Studies – West Virginia University Press

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