(Un)staþolfæstnes and its Problems: Grounding Minds in Early Medieval England

IF 0.3 0 HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Open Library of Humanities Pub Date : 2023-10-17 DOI:10.16995/olh.9560
Merel Veldhuizen
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Abstract

The Old English text Solomon and Saturn includes a list of materials from which Adam, the first man, is made. A pound of cloud constitutes his modes unstaðelfæstnes [mind’s unsteadfastness / instability]. Various other texts from early medieval England also refer to the mod, or mind, as an intrinsically unstable and changeable entity, using key terms such as staðelfæst [grounded / stable] and staðolian [to ground / stabilise]. In many of these texts, this instability is mentioned as an inherent quality of mind. Instability, contingency and change are regarded as integral and typical features of the mind but equally, there are warnings for the waywardness of the mind. The literature frequently encourages readers to ground and maintain control over their minds. Sources recommend restraining and training the mind to ‘govern’ and ‘steer’ it, and they even refer to the possibility of finding mental stability in another foundation. This article considers these seemingly contradictory portrayals of minds and instructions for grounding them, and delivers a more nuanced conception of what (physical) freedom early medieval people would imagine their minds to have, and what foundations they considered helpful for grounding them.
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(1)staþolfæstnes及其问题:中世纪早期英格兰的基础思想
古英语文本所罗门和土星包括一个材料清单,从亚当,第一个人,是由。一磅云构成了他的模式unsta / elfæstnes[心神不定/不稳定]。来自中世纪早期英格兰的各种其他文本也将mod或心智称为本质上不稳定且多变的实体,使用了诸如staðelfæst[接地/稳定]和staðolian[接地/稳定]等关键术语。在许多这些文本中,这种不稳定性被认为是心灵的内在品质。不稳定性、偶然性和变化被认为是精神的整体和典型特征,但同样,对精神的任性也有警告。文学作品经常鼓励读者扎根并保持对自己思想的控制。消息来源建议限制和训练思想,以“支配”和“引导”它,他们甚至提到在另一个基础上找到精神稳定的可能性。这篇文章考虑了这些看似矛盾的思想描述和指导,并提供了一个更细致的概念,即早期中世纪的人们会想象他们的思想拥有什么样的(身体)自由,以及他们认为哪些基础有助于他们的思想。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Open Library of Humanities
Open Library of Humanities HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-
CiteScore
1.30
自引率
20.00%
发文量
24
审稿时长
15 weeks
期刊介绍: The Open Library of Humanities is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal open to submissions from researchers working in any humanities'' discipline in any language. The journal is funded by an international library consortium and has no charges to authors or readers. The Open Library of Humanities is digitally preserved in the CLOCKSS archive.
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