Cosmetic Theology in England, c. 650–1100: Aldhelm of Malmesbury, the Venerable Bede, and Goscelin of St Bertin

Abstract

This thesis examines the concept of modesty in England, between the seventh and eleventh centuries, and analyses the influence of late antique literature on medieval English depictions of dress and adornment. In late antiquity, Christian moralists told women that the very salvation of their souls could depend on the way they dressed their bodies—a phenomenon Marcia Colish called ‘cosmetic theology’. This thesis questions whether early English ecclesiastical writers inherited this structure of thought, whereby women’s adornment was presented as dangerous, deceptive, and sinful. Chapter 1 begins by analysing the formation of cosmetic theology in the patristic period (c. 250–600), focusing on Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine, who linked the female body and its adornment to broader theological problems of sin, human agency, and the created order. Chapters 2 to 4 follow the reception of cosmetic theology by the most influential Latin authors of early medieval England: Aldhelm of Malmesbury (c. 639–709), the Venerable Bede (c. 672–735) and Goscelin of St Bertin (c. 1040–1106). These authors, active during three distinct moments of ecclesiastical development—Aldhelm during the conversion of England to Christianity, Bede during a time of corruption and crisis in the church and Goscelin in the wake of the Norman Conquest—make use of different possibilities for the rhetorical use of modesty to define female virtue and the women’s place in the church. Writing in England, they addressed their instructions on modesty to an audience which held women in comparatively high regard and perceived adornment as an important expression of power, which is evident from the authors’ emphasis on the spiritual aspect of modesty. The analysis shows that each author’s presentation of adornment responds to contemporary social and political circumstances, yet all three define female virtue as nearly synonymous with modesty and submission. In Chapter 5, Aldhelm, Bede, and Goscelin’s stand on women’s dress is compared to the same authors’ prescriptions for men, adding to them the works of Alcuin of York (c. 735–804). This comparative critical analysis demonstrates that, while the discourse of female modesty was highly entangled with sexuality, male modesty was divorced from sexual ethics and instead concerned the expression of authority. Overall, this thesis argues that late antique writings on modesty exerted significant influence on the gendered perception of virtue in early medieval England and that, despite the innovative emphasis on spirituality, cosmetic theology in England nevertheless helped to sustain the gender hierarchy. Individual women may attain holiness, primarily by demonstrating sexual purity, but women, with very rare exceptions, continued to be seen as inferior to men, and their modesty—as a sign of subordination.