“Gelome understandan þone mycclan dom, þe we ealle to scylon”: The Eschatological Dimension of Wulfstan’s Ordered Society

Society undergoes a profound change throughout Europe at the turn of the millennium, so abrupt that it could well pass for a revolution proper. This phenomenon affects England as well, where transformative forces disrupt the traditional social order and are accelerated by the several crises occurring in the country between the ninth and the eleventh century. In view of his interest in proper societal organisation, Archbishop Wulfstan of York is exercised by the catastrophes of the time, and he sees the resulting social chaos as a sign of the impending end of the world. Consequently, his works abound in references to the need for repentance and national reform in preparation for the Last Judgement. Wulfstan’s project to build a Holy Society pleasing to God seems all the more possible in Cnut’s reign, when England is apparently at peace and the AngloDanish establishment becomes a chance for a fresh start. With this in mind, the present paper aims at showing how Wulfstan’s activity as a statesman blends his concern with social order and the urgency for his people to redeem themselves from the sins that caused the downfall of the nation. In doing this, the focus will be on the political and legal texts where Wulfstan’s eschatological anxieties merge with his desire to realise a properly ordered Christian community, namely the Institutes of Polity and I–II Cnut.