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Bede's Cædmon, “The Man Who Had No Story” (Irish Tale-Type 2412B)

2006; Routledge; Volume: 117; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00155870600707821

1469-8315

John D. Niles,

Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies

Abstract Although various analogues have been cited to Bede's account of the poet Cædmon, none are very close. The plot of a tale well known in modern Irish and Scottish tradition, however, “The Man Who Had No Story” (Irish type 2412B), resembles the first part of Bede's chapter so closely as to suggest that Bede shaped his account under the influence of this narrative pattern, which must, therefore, be assumed to be of some antiquity. Clinching this connection is the motif that Cædmon, a lowly cowherd, is called by name by his mysterious interlocutor. Naturally, Bede turned this tale-type to his own purposes by emphasising devotional features that are not a normal part of the tale. Moreover, he added the story of Cædmon's later life and pious death. Bede's monastic milieu was not impervious to oral culture, it seems. His account of Cædmon involves much myth-making, and it is best read as an example of the storyteller's art. Notes [1] One of these motives is clear: Bede shapes his chapter so as to call attention to God's power to work miracles on earth. In addition, Bede's manner of telling the full story of Cædmon's career and death ensures that any interest accruing to this person as a vernacular poet is firmly subsumed into the world of Latin monastic learning, the world that Bede himself both inhabited and esteemed. [2] By calling attention to the mythopoeic aspects of Bede's history, I do not wish to deny that there was a historical Cædmon, a monk who, in preceding years, had gained some fame for his vernacular verse. There very probably was such a man, for Bede would scarcely have wanted to face possible criticism for having invented him. What is at stake, both here and elsewhere in the Ecclesiastical History, is Bede's ability to shape the materials of life into memorable forms, while subordinating every incident to the devotional purposes that animate his work as a whole. [3] An overview of analogues to the Cædmon story proposed in the scholarly literature up to the early 1970s is provided by Lester (Citation1974). Lester's atomistic analysis of these parallels, however, is not conducive to distinguishing which elements pertain to the narrative core of the tale and which are incidental. O'Donnell (Citation2005) devotes his chapter 2 (“Sources and Analogues”) to discussion of the story's many proposed analogues, of which he counts approximately forty-five to the story and a few more to Cædmon's Hymn. O'Donnell's approach to these proposed parallels, too, is somewhat atomistic, as befits the ad hoc and impressionistic manner in which the authors of these studies have tended to advance them. My own preferred method of inquiry is to ask whether there is any well known tale-type, or abstract narrative pattern, to which the story of Cædmon can meaningfully be related, for any one individual tale that might be cited as a parallel will have idiosyncracies that undercut that comparison as soon as it is made. I am grateful to O'Donnell for his generosity in having sent me a copy of his precise and wide-ranging study in advance of publication. [4] As is discussed by Dobbie (Citation1942, c, note 3) and by Andersson (Citation1974). [5] Pound (Citation1929). Working in a comparable vein, Osborn (Citation1989, 16–17) discusses inter alia several Old Norse and Celtic parallels to the theme of poetic inspiration through dream visions, while Lord (Citation1993) discusses singers from Turkey and the Fiji Islands whose inspiration is said to have come via a dream. [6] Chappell (1934) cites a Scots Gaelic analogue culled from Campbell (Citation1890–93, vol. II, 33–5), but the tale he discusses has only a glancing relation to either Bede or the tale-type I will discuss. Likewise Vincent (Citation1946) cites a rather remote Irish parallel. Ireland (Citation1997) calls attention to an Irish poet, Colmán mac Lénéni (died ca. 606), who refers to his own “inspired sleep” as the source of a poem. I am grateful to Dr Ireland for providing generous and expert assistance in regard to scholarship on the Irish side. [7] O'Sullivan (Citation1966, 274) notes that “one hundred and thirty-seven versions of it have been recorded in Ireland.” That number might be substantially augmented if a systematic effort to record the tale were made at the present time. [8] The prolonged, intimate cultural contact between three different ethnic groups (the Saxons, the Irish, and the Britons) in Bede's Northumbria is discussed by Ireland (Citation1986). Similarly, Atherton (Citation2002, 82) emphasises that Bede's Northumbria had “many international connections” and was “an ideal situation for religious, cultural and literary contacts,” particularly at the monastery of Whitby under Abbess Hild (c. 614–680), who had been influenced by both the Roman mission from Canterbury and the Irish mission from Iona. O'Brien (Citation1993) presents archaeological evidence showing that traffic between Ireland and England went both ways, for some burial types associated with Anglo-Saxon England can also be traced in Ireland at this time. [9] O'Donnell (2005, §§ 1.2–1.5). So as to facilitate the present analysis, I re-number O'Donnell's paragraphs and omit his explanatory notes. [10] For discussion of this point see Cavill (Citation2002, 4–5). Cavill's inference that Bede knew Cædmon's name from a written source (now lost) is intriguing, although speculative. If Bede did have a written source for the name, one need not conclude that he necessarily had a written source for the whole story. [11] As in Betsy Whyte's story “The Man and the Boat,” in Philip (Citation1995, 52–4). In other published versions of tale-type 2412B, the man is variously said to be a horse trainer, a plowman, or an itinerant harvester, if any trade for him is specified. In short, the protagonist is normally of humble occupation and rural roots. [12] The folkloric motif present here—“Person Accidentally Met Unexpectedly Knows the Other's Name,” motif N762 in Thompson (Citation1955–8)—is a characteristic component of tale-type 2412B. For two variants including this motif see Zimmerman (2001, 542 and 543). The first of these tales, dating from 1828, features “Joan Coleman of Kinsale,” a woman of poor means who is addressed by name by “a very old man, with a long beard, roasting another man as old as himself on a spit before a great fire.” The other tale, from the same era, features “Ned Sheehy,” a serving man who is addressed by name in similar circumstances. For another instance see O'Sullivan (1966, 182–4), a tale recorded in 1933 featuring “Rory O'Donoghue,” a peddler who is repeatedly addressed by name in one or another magical setting. [13] Almqvist (1969–70, 60). Timoney's story appears in that article at pp. 51–5 (in Irish) and 55–9 (in English). In quoting from the English version I use this translation, which is reprinted in Glassie (Citation1985, 319–23). [14] The pronominal form agat, which occurs at this point in the Irish version of the tale as published in Béaloideas, is here replaced with aige for the sake of grammaticality. The translation given here—“the man who has the story to tell” —is slightly more precise than the one published in Béaloideas, which reads “the man who will have a story to tell.” What the man will always be able to tell is this story, not just any. Moreover, Timoney's wording implies that this story stands out among others. I am grateful to Patricia Lysaght for linguistic advice at this point. [15] Zimmerman (2001, 544), paraphrasing Mac Cárthaigh (Citation1980). What Mac Cárthaigh claims is that “Although classified as a Folktale, and though bearing a good deal of resemblance to the accepted form of the Western European folktale in its humour and its sometimes multi-episodic structure, the story does however have more in common with the Folk Legend in both its closeness to reality and in its use of topical social themes” (116–17). [16] See note [11]. In a forthcoming study (Niles c. 2006) I offer a paraphrase of a different performance of that tale as I recorded it from Whyte in 1986. Whyte is one of the storytellers discussed in Niles Citation1999 (166–72 passim). [17] “The Man Who Had No Story to Tell,” as told by Willie MacPhee and as published by Douglas (1987, 67–9). For another Scottish version see MacColl and Seeger (1986, 80–3) (“The Laddie That Became a Lass,” as told by Belle Stewart). [18] Verse 15a of the Old English poem known as Durham, in Dobbie (1942, 27). [19] “Nam saepe illo de Brittania adlatai serpentes, mox ut proximante terris nauigio odore aeris illius adtacti fuerint, intereunt” (Colgrave and Mynors Citation1969, 18–19). [20] In chapter 1 of a forthcoming collection of essays titled Old English Heroic Poetry and the Social Life of Texts, I discuss Bede's account of the coming of the English (and the Old English translation of Bede's account) as an example of early medieval mythopoesis. As for his famous story of the English slave-boys in Rome, with its onomastic punning on Angli and “angels,” Deira and de ira, and Ælle and “allelujia,” such wordplay is “a common feature in early Irish narratives (both vernacular and Latin), with some claiming that it derives from, or is heavily influenced by, Isidore of Seville's etymologizing style” (pers. commun. from Colin Ireland, 25 May, 2005). [21] Zaleski (Citation1987) provides a bibliography of both primary sources (pp. 248–54) and secondary sources (pp. 254–7) relating to medieval instances of this extremely popular narrative genre, of which Bede's account of the “Vision of Dryhthelm” (from book 5, chapter 12 of his Historia) was one of the most influential examples. [22] For a concise account of this narrative genre see Brunvand (Citation1996). Brunvand defines the urban legend as “an apocryphal contemporary story, told as true but incorporating traditional motifs, and usually attributed to a friend of a friend (FOAF).” He notes that some modern urban legends “may have ancient and/or rural prototypes” (p. 730). See further Brunvand (Citation1999), one of the more recent and comprehensive of his many anthologies of these tales. [23] In a brief tribute that runs along similar lines, Byrhtferth of Ramsey refers to Bede as se æglæca lareow (“the awe-inspiring teacher”), using a Beowulfian-style adjective (āg-l;¯ce) that might mean something like “monstrous good!” if here it is not merely, as has been suspected, a corruption of ;¯-glēawa “learned in law.” See Healey Citation1986–, s.v. āg-l;¯ce (adj.). [24] Baker and Lapidge 1995, 46 (Beda […] astrologus uenerandus) and 48 (Beda […] se arwurÐa rimcræftiga).