guthlac

In a continued effort to make my blog more boring - I've decided to talk about a specific document from the 12th century: the Guthlac Roll. The manuscript itself is presently located at the British Library, and it details the life of St. Guthlac, a hermit that lived in eastern England in the 7th century. The roll was made shortly after the Norman conquest of England. Details of the manuscript are depicted in circular form that possibly were meant as templates for stained glass windows. Stained glass windows with artwork similar to the Guthlac Roll can be found in the window of the North Rose at Lincoln Cathedral.

Guthlac was born the son of a local noble, and after being inspired by heroes of old, fought in the army of Æthelbald of Mercia. He became a monk at twenty-four and then moved out to an island where he lived the rest of his life as a hermit. Guthlac gained notoriety as people sought his spiritual guidance, and later gave refuge to the future king of Mercia, who built Crowland Abbey in his honor. The Abbey itself still stands today, though it has fallen into disrepair since the 16th century.

Many details of Guthlac's life come from The Vita sancti Guthlaci written by Felix after his death. Guthlac endured many temptations and hardships during his life, and was rescued by St. Bartholomew from demons that tormented him (see above). He dressed in animal skins, lived off of scraps of bread, and drank a cup of muddy water before sunset. This no doubt attributed to his declining health and illness that accompanied him towards the end of his life. Two Old English poems known as Guthlac A and B from the Exeter Book are possibly based on Felix's work. Both are derived from orally transmitted tales, much like Beowulf, that were of interest to Anglo-Saxon audiences of the time. Much information regarding Guthlac and his sister Pega were lost over time after the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

sources:
http://www.bl.uk/
http://www.umilta.net/pega.html by Alexandra Olsen
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/history.hti
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guthlac