The naming of Guthlac
This study discusses the passages in Felix’s Vita Sancti Guthlaci which refer to the naming of the saint. It suggests that Felix’s ideas as to the source and meaning of the name are problematic in that they do not obviously reflect vernacular naming patterns and they were not passed on by Old Englis...
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| Format: | Article |
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Brepols
2015
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35753/ |
| _version_ | 1848795153951621120 |
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| author | Cavill, Paul |
| author_facet | Cavill, Paul |
| author_sort | Cavill, Paul |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This study discusses the passages in Felix’s Vita Sancti Guthlaci which refer to the naming of the saint. It suggests that Felix’s ideas as to the source and meaning of the name are problematic in that they do not obviously reflect vernacular naming patterns and they were not passed on by Old English writers. It is argued that this might be because Felix’s obscure Latin has been mistaken, and that he might have wanted to refer to Guthlac’s ‘land’ and ‘tribe’ not as the source of his name, but as being named after him. It is pointed out that Felix’s vocabulary in the naming passages bears striking resemblance to that in a passage of Jerome’s translation of the Regula Pachomii which relates it to desert monasticism, the dominant paradigm for Felix’s hagiography. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:27:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-35753 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:27:34Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Brepols |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-357532020-05-04T17:09:07Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35753/ The naming of Guthlac Cavill, Paul This study discusses the passages in Felix’s Vita Sancti Guthlaci which refer to the naming of the saint. It suggests that Felix’s ideas as to the source and meaning of the name are problematic in that they do not obviously reflect vernacular naming patterns and they were not passed on by Old English writers. It is argued that this might be because Felix’s obscure Latin has been mistaken, and that he might have wanted to refer to Guthlac’s ‘land’ and ‘tribe’ not as the source of his name, but as being named after him. It is pointed out that Felix’s vocabulary in the naming passages bears striking resemblance to that in a passage of Jerome’s translation of the Regula Pachomii which relates it to desert monasticism, the dominant paradigm for Felix’s hagiography. Brepols 2015-07-01 Article PeerReviewed Cavill, Paul (2015) The naming of Guthlac. Nottingham Medieval Studies, 59 . pp. 25-47. ISSN 0078-2122 http://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.NMS.5.107333 doi:10.1484/J.NMS.5.107333 doi:10.1484/J.NMS.5.107333 |
| spellingShingle | Cavill, Paul The naming of Guthlac |
| title | The naming of Guthlac |
| title_full | The naming of Guthlac |
| title_fullStr | The naming of Guthlac |
| title_full_unstemmed | The naming of Guthlac |
| title_short | The naming of Guthlac |
| title_sort | naming of guthlac |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35753/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35753/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35753/ |