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Record Number: 9928 Author(s)/Creator(s): Swenson , Karen. Contributor(s): Title: Juliana's Role in the "Mannjafna&00F0;r" Source: Old English Newsletter 25, 3 (Spring 1992): Appendix A: Abstracts of Papers in Anglo-Saxon Studies. Conference paper presented at the Twenty-Seventh Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, May 7-10, 1992, Tenth Symposium on the Sources of Anglo-Saxon Culture, Session 83: "Sources Description: Article Type: Conference Paper Abstract Subject (See Also): Cynewulf, Poet- Juliana Hagiography Literature- Verse Mannjafnadr (Old English: Competitive Comparison of Men) Women in Literature Award Note: Geographic Area: British Isles Century: 9-10 Primary Evidence: Illustrations: Table: Abstract: Genre dictates that we read "Juliana" as the enactment and fulfillment of a known teleology; we see both the temporal process by which Juliana achieves her martyrdom and the timeless fact that Juliana as a figure of Christ, conquers temporal processes. This temporal process and this timeless fact are depicted through agonistic narrative and dialogue. The central structure of "Juliana" is the long verbal battle between Juliana and the fiend, a battle which may be analyzed as mannjafnaðr, or a formal, competitive comparison of men. Aspects of the oral mannjafnaðr structure also pervade the text as two cultures--pagan and Christian--each use standards of strength and truth to assert the superiority of their rival lords. The two cultures use similar techniques (assertions, boasts, insults) and have similar goals (winning the verbal battle and possessing Juliana). These similarities lead to a consideration of Juliana both as the representative of one lord and as the female body over which rival cultures and lords do battle. As a representative speaker, Jualiana from the start assumes the rhetorical posture of a Germanic hero, a posture she will retain throughout the dialogues which comprise much of the text. As the body, however, Juliana becomes emblematic of woman's life, sexuality, and death, which are the actual focus of this battle of definition. Control of Juliana through definition of her is the goal of the contestants. Through generic conventions, the reader, like Juliana herself, is drawn into complicity with the culture which defines her death as glorious martyrdom of obedience to a unique lord, but attention to the text's mannjafnaðr elements reveals similarities between the two cultures which vie for control. [Reproduced by permission of the Old English Newsletter. http://www.oenewsletter.org/OEN/index.php.] Related Resources: Author's Affiliation: Virginia Polytechnic Institute Conference Info: - , - Year of Publication: 1992. Language: English ISSN/ISBN: 00301973

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