WOOING GROUP

(Wohunge Group)

The Wooing Group (Wohunge Group) includes the title piece,loe Wohunge of ure Laured(The Wooing of Our Lord),On Lofsong of ure Loured(A Song of Praise Concerning Our Lord),On wel swu´?e God Ureisun of God Almihti(An Exceedingly Good Orison to God Almighty),On Lofsong of ure Lefdi(A Song of Praise Concerning Our Lady), as well as the two fragmentary renditions of the final two pieces,On Ureisun of ure Lourede(An Orison to Our Lord), andloe Oriesun of Seinte Marie(An Orison to Saint Mary). All are 13th-century pieces written in the West Midlands dialect J. R. R. Tolkien christened the “AB” language (a standard written—rather than spoken—dialect, characterized by French and Norse loanwords, colloquial expressions, conservative spelling, and similarities to Old English syntax). Only one direct source has been found for any member of the Wooing Group:On Lofsong of ure Lefdihas its origins in an 11th-century Latin prayer by Marbod of Rennes,Oratio ad sanctum Mariam.While the other texts certainly share correlations with other prayers of the same era, they appear to be substantially original in composition.loe Wohungesurvives in only one manuscript, London, British Library, MS Cotton Titus D.xviii (ff. 127r–133r), and the other three pieces of theWooing Groupare not found with it; instead, they are found at the end ofANCRENEWISSEin London, British Library, MS Cotton Nero A.xiv.While there is no general agreement among scholars as to authorship,Ancrene Wisse, the KATHERINE GROUP, and the Wooing Group are often combined, albeit loosely, into a confederation of texts. They are connected by manuscript tradition, as many of the texts appear and reappear in manuscripts in various combinations. Perhaps most significantly, there exist numerous thematic parallels among the group, including a focus on a suffering human Christ who has a personal relationship with the primarily female audience, and a connection to anchoresses.Anchoresses were women who completely withdrew from earthly life by having themselves enclosed in small cells attached to churches, from which they could never depart. They communicated with servants and visitors through a window that looked out on the churchyard, and observed Mass and received communion through a window that was directed towards the high altar. As contemplatives, the anchoresses’ primary purpose was to pray, seeking complete union with God.

The pieces are written in lyrical prose, and combine COURTLY LOVE imagery of Christ as the perfect lover-knight with more earthy eroticism. Similarly, the texts combine nuptial metaphors with crucifixion imagery, blending divine marriage with shared divine pain. Jesus is at once the desired spouse and the suffering savior. In particular, the title piece outlines all the qualities that Christ has that make him the perfect spouse, and these are all defined in human terms. Christ is handsome, kind, noble, wealthy, generous, and loving. The other members of the Trinity make only rare appearances. For instance, God the Father is referred to only in the context of providing Jesus with a kingdom. Similarly, the Virgin Mary is invoked as a pure, unstained advocate for the female speaker’s cause, but not fleshed out as an individual figure. W.Meredith Thompson, an early editor ofWooing Group, put forth the claim that it was written by a woman for other women, probably anchoresses, and thatloe Wohungeitself was written with one specific anchoress in mind.While this view is appealingly optimistic, it is rather unlikely, as the works appear more performative and directive than personal. Other scholars have suggested attributing common, but unknown, authorship toAncrene Wisse, the Katherine Group, particularlyHALIMEIDENHAD, and the Wooing Group.

Related to the Wooing Group, but not technically a part of it, is the 14th-century textA Talkyng of the Loue of God(A Discussion of the Love of God). This work, extant in two different manuscripts, is composed of large portions ofOn Uriesun of ure Louredeandloe Wohunge of ure Laured, along with SAINT ANSELM of Canterbury’sLiber meditatio et orationumand original work. Though the primary source materials for this treatise were composed for women, evidence suggests thatA Talkyngwas intended for a male monastic audience.

To a great extent, traditional scholarship has overlooked the Wooing Group in favor of its more prominent companions, especiallyAncrene Wisse. The few early investigations focused primarily upon philology, diction, and vocabulary.More recently, scholars have begun investigating the implications of gender and sexuality found in the Wooing Group as well as its place in the anchoritic context and the culture of late medieval piety. More investigation into these texts is needed in the future. These endeavors should be aided by the recent translations of Wooing Group andA Talkynginto modern English, making the texts accessible to a wider audience.

■ Innes-Parker, Catherine. “Ancrene Wisseandloe Wohunge of ure Lauerd: The Thirteenth-Century Female Reader and the Lover-Knight,” inWomen, the Book, and the Godly: Selected Proceedings of the St.Hilda’s Conference, 1993, edited by Lesley Smith and Jane H. M. Taylor. Vol. 1 of 2. Cambridge: Brewer, 1995.

■ Sauer, Michelle M.TheWohunge GroupandA Talkyng of the Loue of God:Translated from the Middle English with introduction, notes, and interpretive essay. Library of Medieval Women Series. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell and Brewer, forthcoming.

■ ———.“ ‘Prei for me mi leue suster’: The Paradox of the Anchoritic ‘Community’ in Late Medieval England,”Prose Studies26 (2003): 153–175.

■ Thompson,W.Meredith, ed.loe Wohunge of Ure Laured. Edited from British Museum MS Cotton Titus D.xviii, together withOn Uriesun of Ure Lourerde;On Wel Swu´?e God Ureisun of God Almihti;On Lofsong of Ure Louerde;On Lofsong of Ure Lefdi;loe Oreisun of Seinte Marie. EETS 241. London: Published for the Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1958.

■ Westra, Salvina, ed.A Talkyng of the Loue of God.Edited from MS Vernon(Bodleian 3938)and Collated with MS Simeon(Brit.Mus.Add.22283). The Hague:Martinus Nijhoff, 1950.