This dissertation examines the effects of maternal figures in the texts of the Auchinleck manuscript to create a better understanding of the how the collection was communicating with its female audience. The religious contexts that foreground the arguments herein are the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 and the Cult of the Virgin Mary, both of which had everyday implications for the laity. The Auchinleck manuscript, a large miscellaneous compilation, was likely compiled between 1330 and 1340 in or near London. The prevailing theory of ownership suggests that the volume was compiled under the patronage of a buyer who intended to use it in his manorial household. This framework of readership implies that women of different social statuses may have had opportunities to interact with these texts, and thus the lessons these women gleaned would be rather general, appealing to pious ideals. In the middle ages, women were categorized into three spiritual estates: maiden, wife, and widow, and of these three, virginity was valorized as the optimal state for spiritual purity, with widowhood being ranked the second best estate. For the many women in the middle ages who could not choose the path of virginity, which often meant joining a monastic community, their next best option was to get married and bring Christian children into the world. The maternal figures in the texts examined here present several models of behavior for women, encouraging them to participate in a community of Christian maternity. Through the sacrifice of their bodies, these readers are told, they can access spiritual glory. The first chapter focuses on a cluster of four extant opening texts in the manuscript to discern how maternity, literacy, and inscription together can result in mass conversion. The second chapter considers the affect upon the reader of the many narratives of the Virgin Mary and their neighboring texts. The juxtaposition between Mary, the apex of Christian femininity, and less perfect women provides accessible models of behavior for women susceptible to sin. The third chapter considers the Breton lay Sir Degaré as a case study for the issues of incest and abandonment that preoccupied the Church in the Middle Ages. The fourth chapter analyzes Lay Le Freine as a locus for the maternal community, bringing together a biological mother, a midwife, a wet nurse, and an abbess to raise a child in the Christian community. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 3, 2018. / Auchinleck, Codicology, Maternity, Medieval, Motherhood / Includes bibliographical references. / David F. Johnson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles Brewer, University Representative; Jami Fumo, Committee Member; Margaret K. Hanson, Committee Member.

My dissertation is an attempt to produce an edition of the Latin text that may approximate what was available in early Medieval England. I have collated five manuscripts from that time period in England so as to determine the type of text that might have been used as a basis to translate Gregory's Dialogues into Old English. Someone utilizing my text may be able to evaluate where the Old English translation of Gregory's Dialogues differs from the standard critical Latin text (de Vogue's) and seek to determine which recension of the Latin text of the Dialogues might have produced those results. / A Dissertation submitted to the Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2016. / November 15, 2016. / Gregory's Dialogues / Includes bibliographical references. / David F. Johnson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jonathan Grant, University Representative; David Levenson, Committee Member.

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