Surrogate objects in early medieval English literature and material culture

Abstract

Informed by the idea of the Extended Mind, this dissertation explores how the early medieval English conceptualised their world in partnership with the objects they had at their disposal – and how these relationships with objects became encoded into their literary culture. In order to do so, this thesis introduces the idea of the “surrogate object” – an object which facilitates problem solving by allowing subjects to use basic manual or perceptual skills to perform cognitive labour which would otherwise have to take place entirely in the head. This concept, adapted from the emerging field of cognitive archaeology, allows us to analyse not just the appearance or provenance of important medieval objects, but also the psychological roles that they could perform in the lives – and in the literature – of the early medieval English.

Thesis is embargoed until 31st July 2030.

Date of Award	Jul 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Sponsors	Northern Ireland Department for the Economy
Supervisor	Marilina Cesario (Supervisor) & Joe Morrison (Supervisor)