Apparel Oft Proclaims the Man
An austere Bishop of Winchester scolded St Edith for her comely nun’s habit, but the young woman’s eyes saw further than his.
961-984
King Ethelred the Unready 978-1016
An austere Bishop of Winchester scolded St Edith for her comely nun’s habit, but the young woman’s eyes saw further than his.
961-984
King Ethelred the Unready 978-1016
This post is number 1 in the series St Edith of Wilton
St Edith of Wilton was a daughter of King Edgar (r. 959-975). The nuns of the convent, which was ruled by her mother Wulfthryth, wore rather nice habits and the Bishop of Winchester did not did not think them suitable. Edith, however, was not one to judge a book by its cover.
translated by J. A. Giles
I HAVE heard one circumstance of her, from persons of elder days,* which greatly staggered the opinions of men: for she led them into false conclusions from the splendour of her costly dress, being always habited in richer garb than the sanctity of her profession seemed to require.
On this account, being openly rebuked by St Ethelwold,* she is reported to have answered with equal point and wit, that the judgment of God was true and irrefragable,* while that of man, alone, was fallible, for pride might exist even under the garb of wretchedness. Wherefore, “I think,” said she, “that a mind may be as pure beneath these vestments, as under your tattered furs.”*
The bishop was deeply struck by this speech; admitting its truth by his silence, and blushing with pleasure that he had been chastised by the sparkling repartee of the lady, he held his peace.
translated by J. A. Giles
Next in series: St Edith’s Thumb
Chiefly Goscelin (fl. 1050-1090), a monk from Saint-Omer in France who served as secretary to Herman, Bishop of Sherborne in Wiltshire, and a chaplain to the nuns of Wilton Abbey. His ‘Life of St Edith’ can be read (in Latin ) in J. P. Migne’s ‘Patrologia Latina’ MPL 155 cols 0109-0116B.
That is, not to be disputed or opposed.
Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984, was a dedicated reformer of England’s monasteries, which he believed had fallen from the ideals of St Benedict of Nursia. A severe disciplinarian, Æthelwold also took it on himself to follow a recent innovation on the Continent and ban married priests from serving, as unworthy of the altar.
Goscelin tells us that Edith actually wore a rough horsehair shirt under her elegant habit, but of course Æthelwold did not know (or ask).
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.