Chapter II: Christian Poetry (1)

1. CAEDMONIAN SCHOOL

[Concerning the man Caedmon, we have nothing but Bede's account in his _Ecclesiastical History_ (see p. 179 below) and Caedmon's Hymn.

_Genesis_ was first published in Amsterdam 1655, next in 1752. The first editions brought _Genesis_ under Caedmon's name, because of Bede's account. There is, however, no such clue in the manuscript. The assignment of _Genesis_ to Caedmon was questioned by Hicks as early as 1689. The Caedmonian authorship was defended in the early part of the nineteenth century by Conybeare and Thorpe. It is now agreed that all the Caedmonian Paraphrases are probably by different authors.

Cf. A. S. Cook, "The Name Caedmon," _Publications of the Modern Language Association of America_, vi, 9, and "Caedmon and the Ruthwell Cross," _Modern Language Notes_, v, 153.]

CAEDMON'S HYMN

[Text used: Kluge, _Angelsaechsisches Lesebuch_.

Prose translation: Kennedy, _The Caedmon Poems_, p. xvii.

The poem is interesting in that it is found in two texts, the Northumbrian and the West Saxon. It is the only thing we have that was undoubtedly written by Caedmon.]

Now shall we praise the Prince of heaven,
The might of the Maker and his manifold thought,
The work of the Father: of what wonders he wrought
The Lord everlasting, when he laid out the worlds.
5 He first raised up for the race of men
The heaven as a roof, the holy Ruler.
Then the world below, the Ward of mankind,
The Lord everlasting, at last established
As a home for man, the Almighty Lord.
_Primo cantavit_ Caedmon _istud carmen_.

6. The many synonyms (known as "kennings") make this passage impossible
to translate into smooth English. This fact is true in a measure of
all old English poetry, but it is especially the case with this hymn.

BEDE'S DEATH SONG

[Text used: Kluge, _Angelsaechsisches Lesebuch_.

This poem was attributed to Bede, who died in 735, by his pupil, Cuthbert, who translated it into Latin. The Northumbrian version is in a manuscript at St. Gall.

These verses are examples of gnomic poetry, which was very popular in Old English literature. Miss Williams, in her _Gnomic Poetry in Anglo-Saxon_ (Columbia University Press, 1914), p. 67, says that this is the earliest gnomic expression in Old English for which a definite date may be set.

Text criticism: Charlotte D'Evelyn, "Bede's Death Song," _Modern Language Notes_, xxx, 31.]

Before leaving this life there lives no one
Of men of wisdom who will not need
To consider and judge, ere he sets on his journey,
What his soul shall be granted of good or evil--
5 After his day of death what doom he shall meet.

1. Bede, the author of the _Ecclesiastical History of England_, was the
greatest figure in the English church of the seventh and eighth
centuries.

SELECTIONS FROM GENESIS

[The poem readily divides itself into two parts: _Genesis A_, the bulk of the poem, and _Genesis B_, lines 235-853. The latter is a translation from the Old Saxon. The passage here translated is from _Genesis A_.

GENESIS A

Critical edition of _Genesis A_: F. Holthausen, _Die aeltere Genesis_, Heidelberg, 1914.

Translation: C. W. Kennedy, _The Caedmon Poems_, New York, 1916, p. 7.

Partial translation: W. F. H. Bosanquet, _The Fall of Man or Paradise Lost of Caedmon_, London, 1869.

Date and place: Early eighth century; Northern England. The author was obviously acquainted with _Beowulf_.

Source: Vulgate Bible; first twenty-two chapters.]

The Offering of Isaac

2845 Then the powerful King put to the test
His trusted servant; tried him sorely
To learn if his love was lasting and certain.
With strongest words he sternly said to him:
"Hear me and hasten hence, O Abraham.
2850 As thou leavest, lead along with thee
Thy own child Isaac! As an offering to me
Thyself shalt sacrifice thy son with thy hands.
When thy steps have struggled up the steep hill-side,
To the height of the land which from here I shall show you--
2855 When thine own feet have climbed, there an altar erect me,
Build a fire for thy son; and thyself shalt kill him
With the edge of the sword as a sacrifice to me;
Let the black flame burn the body of that dear one."
He delayed not his going, but began at once
2860 To prepare for departure: he was compelled to obey
The angel of the Lord, and he loved his God.
And then the faultless father Abraham
Gave up his night's rest; he by no means failed
To obey the Lord's bidding, but the blessed man
2865 Girded his gray sword, God's spirit he showed
That he bore in his breast. His beasts then he fed,
This aged giver of gold. To go on the journey
Two young men he summoned: his son made the third;
He himself was the fourth. He set forward eagerly
2870 From his own home and Isaac with him,
The child ungrown, as charged by his God.
Then he hurried ahead and hastened forth
Along the paths that the Lord had pointed,
The way through the waste; till the wondrous bright
2875 Dawn of the third day over the deep water
Arose in radiance. Then the righteous man
Saw the hill-tops rise high around him,
As the holy Ruler of heaven had shown him.
Then Abraham said to his serving-men:
2880 "O men of mine, remain here now
Quietly in this place! We shall quickly return
When we two have performed the task before us
Which the Sovereign of souls has assigned us to do."
The old man ascended with his own son
2885 To the place which the Lord had appointed for them,
Went through the wealds; the wood Isaac carried--
His father the fire and the sword. Then first inquired
The boy young in winters, in these words of Abraham:
"Fire and sword, my father, we find here ready:
2890 Where is the glorious offering which to God on the altar
Thou thinkest to bring and burn as a sacrifice?"
Abraham answered (he had only one thing
That he wished to perform, the will of the Father):
"The Sovereign of all himself shall find it,
2895 As the Lord of men shall believe to be meet."
Up the steep hill struggled the stout-hearted man,
Leading the child as the Lord had charged,
Till climbing he came to the crest of the height,
To the place appointed by the powerful Lord,
2900 Following the commands of his faithful Master.
He loaded the altar and lighted the fire,
And fettered fast the feet and hands
Of his beloved son and lifted upon it
The youthful Isaac, and instantly grasped
2905 The sword by the hilt; his son he would kill
With his hands as he promised and pour on the fire
The gore of his kinsman. --Then God's servant,
An angel of the Lord, to Abraham loudly
Spoke with words. He awaited in quiet
2910 The behests from on high and he hailed the angel.
Then forthwith spoke from the spacious heavens
The messenger of God, with gracious words:
"Burn not thy boy, O blessed Abraham,
Lift up the lad alive from the altar;
2915 The God of Glory grants him his life!
O man of the Hebrews, as meed for thy obedience,
Through the holy hand of heaven's King,
Thyself shall receive a sacred reward,
A liberal gift: the Lord of Glory
2920 Shall favor thee with fortune; his friendship shall be
More sacred than thy son himself to thee."
The altar still burned. Abraham was blessed
By the King of mankind, the kinsman of Lot,
With the grace of God, since he gave his son,
2925 Isaac, alive. Then the aged man looked
Around over his shoulder, and a ram he saw
Not far away fastened alone
In a bramble bush-- Haran's brother saw it.
Then Abraham seized it and set it on the altar
2930 In eager haste for his own son.
With his sword he smote it; as a sacrifice he adorned
The reeking altar with the ram's hot blood,
Gave to his God this gift and thanked him
For all of the favors that before and after
2935 The Lord had allowed him in his loving grace.

1. This selection is based directly on the biblical account of the
offering of Isaac. The clearness with which the picture is visualized
by the poet, and the fine restraint in the telling of the dramatic
incident make this passage a fitting close for the paraphrase of
Genesis.

2928. _Haran_, the brother of Abraham, is mentioned in Genesis, 11:26,
ff.

SELECTIONS FROM EXODUS

[Critical edition: Francis A. Blackburn, _Exodus and Daniel_, Boston and London, 1907, Belles-Lettres Series.

Translation: Kennedy, _The Caedmon Poems_, p. 99.

There can be no doubt that both _Exodus_ and _Daniel_ are by different hands from _Genesis A_ or _Genesis B_, and they are themselves by different authors.]

The Crossing of the Red Sea

When these words had been uttered the army arose;
300 Still stood the sea for the staunch warriors.
The cohorts lifted their linden-shields,
Their signals on the sand. The sea-wall mounted,
Stood upright over Israel's legion,
For day's time; then the doughty band
305 Was of one mind. The wall of the sea-streams
Held them unharmed in its hollow embrace.
They spurned not the speech nor despised its teaching,
As the wise man ended his words of exhorting
And the noise diminished and mingled with the sound.
310 Then the fourth tribe traveled foremost,
Went into the waves, the warriors in a band
Over the green ground; the goodly Jewish troop
Struggled alone over the strange path
Before their kinsmen. So the King of heaven
315 For that day's work made deep reward,
He gave them a great and glorious victory,
That to them should belong the leadership
In the kingdom, and triumph over their kinsmen and tribesmen.
When they stepped on the sand, as a standard and sign
320 A beacon they raised over the ranks of shields,
Among the godly group, a golden lion,
The boldest of beasts over the bravest of peoples.
At the hands of their enemy no dishonor or shame
Would they deign to endure all the days of their life,
325 While boldly in battle they might brandish their shields
Against any people. The awful conflict,
The fight was at the front, furious soldiers
Wielding their weapons, warriors fearless,
And bloody wounds, and wild battle-rushes,
330 The jostling of helmets where the Jews advanced.
Marching after the army were the eager seamen,
The sons of Reuben; raising their shields
The sea-vikings bore them over the salt waves,
A multitude of men; a mighty throng
335 Went bravely forth. The birthright of Reuben
Was forfeited by his sins, so that he followed after
In his comrade's track. In the tribes of the Hebrews,
The blessings of the birthright his brother enjoyed,
His riches and rank; yet Reuben was brave.
340 Following him came the folk in crowds,
The sons of Simeon in swarming bands,
The third great host. With hoisted banners
Over the watery path the war-troop pressed
Dewy under their shafts. When daylight shone
345 Over the brink of the sea, --the beacon of God,
The bright morning,-- the battle-lined marched.
Each of the tribes traveled in order.
At the head of the helmeted host was one man,
Mightiest in majesty and most renowned;
350 He led forward the folk as they followed the cloud,
By tribes and by troops. Each truly knew
The right of rank as arranged by Moses,
Every man's order. They were all from one father.
Their sacred sire received his land-right,
355 Wise in counsel, well-loved by his kinsmen.
He gave birth to a brave, bold-hearted race,
The sage patriarch to a sacred people,
To the Children of Israel, the chosen of God.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The folk were affrighted with fear of the ocean;
Sad were their souls. The sea threatened death;
The sides of the hill were soaked with blood;
450 Gory was the flood, confusion on the waves,
The water full of weapons; the wave-mist arose.
The Egyptians turned and journeyed backward;
They fled in fright; fear overtook them;
Hurrying in haste their homes they sought;
455 Their pride had fallen; they felt sweep over them
The welling waters; not one returned
Of the host to their homes, but behind they were locked
By Wyrd in the waves. Where once was the path
The breakers beat and bore down the army.
460 The stream stood up; the storm arose
High to the heavens, the harshest of noises.
Dark grew the clouds. The doomed ones cried
With fated voices; the foam became bloody.
The sea-walls were scattered and the skies were lashed
465 With the direst of deaths; the daring ones were slain,
The princes in their pomp-- they were past all help
In the edge of the ocean. Their armor shone
High over the hosts. Over the haughty ones poured
The stream in its strength. Destroyed were the troop
470 And fettered fast; they could find no escape.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Egyptians were
For that day's work deeply punished,
Because not any of the army ever came home;
Of that mighty multitude there remained not a one
510 Who could tell the tale of the traveling forth
Who could announce in the cities the sorrowful news
To the wives of the warriors of the woeful disaster.
But the sea-death swallowed the sinful men,
And their messengers too, in the midst of their power,
515 And destroyed their pride, for they strove against God.

299. Moses has just finished telling the children of Israel that he has
been able to make the sea part its waves so that they may walk across
unharmed.

307, 308. This passage is obscure in meaning.

310. The tribe of Judah lead the way. They are followed by the tribe of
Reuben (v. 331) and then by the tribe of Simeon (v. 340). This order
is perhaps taken from Numbers, chapter ii.

331. The Children of Israel are called "sailors" in the poem, but no
satisfactory explanation has been made of the usage.

335, 336. See Genesis 49:4.

354. This refers to God's promise to Abraham. See Genesis 15:18; 22:17.

2. CYNEWULF AND HIS SCHOOL

[Aside from Caedmon's Hymn, the only Old English poems whose author we know are four bearing the name of Cynewulf, _Christ_, _Juliana_, _Elene_, and _The Fates of the Apostles_. In these he signs his name by means of runes inserted in the manuscript. These runes, which are at once letters of the alphabet and words, are made to fit into the context. They are [image: Anglo-Saxon runes: cen,yr,nyd,eoh,wynn,ur,lagu,feoh]

Several other poems have been ascribed to Cynewulf, especially _Andreas_, _The Dream of the Rood_, _Guthlac_, _The Phoenix_, and _Judith_. Except for internal evidence there is no proof of the authorship of these poems. The Riddles were formerly thought to be by Cynewulf, but recent scholars have, with one notable exception, abandoned that theory.

Many reconstructions of the life of Cynewulf have been undertaken. The most reasonable theories seem to be that he was Cynewulf, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who died about 781; or that he was a priest, Cynewulf, who executed a decree in 803. There is no real proof that either of these men was the poet. For a good discussion of the Cynewulf question, see Strunk, _Juliana_, pp. xvii-xix, and Kennedy, _The Poems of Cynewulf_, Introduction.

Of the signed poems of Cynewulf, selections are here given from _Christ_ and _Elene_.]

_a_. CYNEWULF

SELECTIONS FROM THE CHRIST

[Critical edition: Cook, _The Christ of Cynewulf_, Boston, 1900. Text and translation: Gollancz, _Cynewulf's Christ_, London, 1892. Translation: Kennedy, _The Poems of Cynewulf_, pp. 153, ff. The poem consists of three parts:

1. Advent, largely from the Roman breviary.
2. Ascension, taken from an Ascension sermon of Pope Gregory.
3. Second coming of Christ, taken from an alphabetical Latin hymn on
the Last Judgment, quoted by Bede.

Is there enough unity to make us consider it one work? Cook thinks we can. The differences in the language and meter are not so striking as to make it unlikely. The great objection to it is that the runes occur at the end of the second part, which is not far from the middle of the entire poem. In the three other poems signed by Cynewulf the runes occur near the end.]

1. Hymn to Christ

. . . . . . . . . . . to the King.
Thou art the wall-stone that the workmen of old
Rejected from the work. Well it befits thee
To become the head of the kingly hall,
5 To join in one the giant walls
In thy fast embrace, the flint unbroken;
That through all the earth every eye may see
And marvel evermore, O mighty Prince,
Declare thy accomplishments through the craft of thy hand,
10 Truth-fast, triumphant, and untorn from its place
Leave wall against wall. For the work it is needful
That the Craftsman should come and the King himself
And raise that roof that lies ruined and decayed,
Fallen from its frame. He formed that body,
15 The Lord of life, and its limbs of clay,
And shall free from foemen the frightened in heart,
The downcast band, as he did full oft.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2. Hymn to Jerusalem

50 O vision of happiness! holy Jerusalem!
Fairest of king's thrones! fortress of Christ!
The home-seat of angels, where the holy alone,
The souls of the righteous, shall find rest unceasing,
Exulting in triumph. No trace of sin
55 Shall be made manifest in that mansion of bliss,
But all faults shall flee afar from thee,
All crime and conflict; thou art covered with glory
Of highest hope, as thy holy name showest.
Cast now thy gaze on the glorious creation,
60 How around thee the roomy roof of heaven
Looks on all sides, how the Lord of Hosts
Seeks thee in his course and comes himself,
And adopts thee to dwell in, as in days agone
In words of wisdom the wise men said,
65 Proclaimed Christ's birth as a comfort to thee,
Thou choicest of cities! Now the child has come,
Born to make worthless the work of the Hebrews.
He bringeth thee bliss; thy bonds he unlooseth;
He striveth for the stricken; understandeth their
needs,--
70 How woeful men must wait upon mercy.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. This poem begins in the fragmentary manner indicated by the
translation.

2. See Psalms 118:22.

3. Joseph and Mary

[_Mary_] "O my Joseph, O Jacob's son,
165 Kinsman of David, the king renowned,
Dost thou plan to turn from thy plighted troth,
And leave my love?"
[_Joseph_] "Alas, full soon
I am oppressed with grief and deprived of honor.
I have borne for thee many bitter words,
170 Insulting slurs and sorrowful taunts,
Scathing abuses, and they scorn me now
In wrathful tones. My tears I shall pour
In sadness of soul. My sorrowful heart,
My grief full easily our God may heal,
175 And not leave me forlorn. Alas, young damsel,
Mary maiden!"
[_Mary_] "Why bemoanest thou
And bitterly weepest? No blame in thee,
Nor any fault have I ever found
For wicked works, and this word thou speakest
180 As if thou thyself with sinful deeds
And faults wert filled."
[_Joseph_] "Far too much grief
Thy conception has caused me to suffer in shame.
How can I bear their bitter taunts
Or ever make answer to my angry foes
185 Who wish me woe? 'Tis widely known
That I took from the glorious temple of God
A beautiful virgin of virtue unblemished,
The chastest of maidens, but a change has now come,
Though I know not the cause. Nothing avails me--
190 To speak or to be silent. If I say the truth,
Then the daughter of David shall die for her crime,
Struck down with stones; yet still it were harder
To conceal the sin; forsworn forever
I should live my life loathed by all people,
195 By men reviled." Then the maid revealed
The work of wonder, and these words she spoke:
"Truly I say, by the Son of the Creator
The Savior of souls, the Son of God,
I tell thee in truth that the time has not been
200 That the embrace of a mortal man I have known
On all the earth; but early in life
This grace was granted me, that Gabriel came,
The high angel of heaven, and hailed me in greeting,
In truthful speech: that the Spirit of heaven
With his light should illumine me, that life's Glory by me
205 Should be borne, the bright Son, the blessed Child of God,
Of the kingly Creator. I am become now his temple,
Unspoiled and spotless; the Spirit of comfort
Hath his dwelling in me. Endure now no longer
Sorrow and sadness, and say eternal thanks
210 To the mighty Son of the Maker, that his mother I have become,
Though a maid I remain, and in men's opinion
Thou art famed as his father, if fulfillment should come
Of the truth that the Prophets foretold of his coming."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

164. This passage is especially interesting in being one of the first
appearances of the dialogue form in old English. Some scholars have
gone so far as to think that we have here the germ from which English
drama comes, but there does not seem reason to believe that the scene
ever received any kind of dramatic representation.

4. Rune Passage

Not ever on earth need any man
780 Have dread of the darts of the devil's race,
Of the fighting of the fiends, whose defense is in God,
The just Lord of Hosts. The judgment is nigh
When each without fail shall find his reward,
Of weal or of woe, for his work on the earth
785 During the time of his life. 'Tis told us in books,
How from on high the humble one came,
The Treasure-hoard of honor, to the earth below
In the Virgin's womb, the valiant Son of God,
Holy from on high. I hope in truth
790 And also dread the doom far sterner,
When Christ and his angels shall come again,
Since I kept not closely the counsels my Savior
Bade in his books. I shall bear therefore
To see the work of sin (it shall certainly be)
795 When many shall be led to meet their doom,
To receive justice in the sight of their Judge.
Then the _C_ourageous shall tremble, shall attend the King,
The Righteous Ruler, when his wrath he speaks
To the worldlings who weakly his warning have heeded
800 While their _Y_earning and _N_eed even yet could have easily
Found a comfort. There, cowering in fear,
Many wearily shall wait on the wide plain
What doom shall be dealt them for the deeds of their life,
Of angry penalties. Departed hath _W_insomeness,
805 The ornaments of earth. It _U_sed to be true
That long our _L_ife-joys were locked in the sea-streams,
Our _F_ortunes on earth; in the fire shall our treasure
Burn in the blast; brightly shall mount,
The red flame, raging and wrathfully striding
810 Over the wide world; wasted shall be the plains;
The castles shall crumble; then shall climb the swift fire,
The greediest of guests, grimly and ruthlessly
Eat the ancient treasure that of old men possessed
While still on the earth was their strength and their pride.
815 Hence I strive to instruct each steadfast man
That he be cautious in the care of his soul,
And not pour it forth in pride in that portion of days
That the Lord allows him to live in the world,
While the soul abideth safe in the body,
820 In that friendly home. It behooveth each man
To bethink him deeply in the days of his life
How meekly and mildly the mighty Lord
Came of old to us by an angel's word;
Yet grim shall he be when again he cometh,
825 Harsh and righteous. Then the heavens shall rock,
And the measureless ends of the mighty earth
Shall tremble in terror. The triumphant King
Shall avenge their vain and vicious lives,
Their loathsome wickedness. Long shall they wallow
830 With heavy hearts in the heat of the fire bath,
Suffer for their sins in its surging flame.

779. The passage following contains the runes from which we obtain the
name Cynewulf. The runes are at once a word and a letter, in the same
way that our letter _I_ is also the symbol for the first personal
pronoun. In the places where the meaning fits, Cynewulf has written
the runes that spell his name.

804. In this passage the runes omit the _e_ of the poet's name, although
it is found in the other runic passages.

SELECTIONS FROM THE ELENE

[Critical edition: Holthausen, _Kynewulf's Elene_, Heidelberg, 1905.

Translation: Kennedy, _The Poems of Cynewulf_, pp. 87 ff.; Kemble, _The Poetry of the Codex Vercelliensis_, with an English translation, London, 1856.

Source: _Acta Sanctorum_ for May 4.

The first passage describes the vision of the cross by the Emperor Constantine, the second the finding of the true cross by his mother, Helena, in Old English, "Elene."

The poem is usually regarded as Cynewulf's masterpiece.]

1. The Vision of the Cross

. . . . . . . . Heart-care oppressed
The Roman ruler; of his realm he despaired;
He was lacking in fighters; too few were his warriors,
His close comrades to conquer in battle
65 Their eager enemy. The army encamped,
Earls about their aetheling, at the edge of the stream,
Where they spread their tents for the space of the
night,
After first they had found their foes approach.
To Caesar himself in his sleep there came
70 A dream as he lay with his doughty men,
To the valiant king a vision appeared:
It seemed that he saw a soldier bright,
Glorious and gleaming in the guise of a man
More fair of form than before or after
75 He had seen under the skies. From his sleep he awoke,
Hastily donned his helmet. The herald straightway,
The resplendent messenger spoke unto him,
Named him by name --the night vanished away:
"O Constantine, the King of angels bids--
80 The Master Almighty, to make thee a compact,
The Lord of the faithful. No fear shouldst thou have,
Though foreign foes bring frightful war,
And horrors unheard of! To heaven now look,
To the Guardian of glory: Thou shalt gain there support,
85 The sign of victory!"
Soon was he ready
To obey the holy bidding, and unbound his heart,
And gazed on high, as the herald had bade him,
The princely Peace-weaver. With precious jewels adorned,
He saw the radiant rood over the roof of clouds,
90 Gorgeous with gold and gleaming gems.
The brilliant beam bore these letters
Shining with light: "Thou shalt with this sign
Overcome and conquer in thy crying need
The fearsome foe." Then faded the light,
95 And joining the herald, journeyed on high
Unto the clean-hearted company. The king was the blither,
And suffered in his soul less sorrow and anguish,
The valiant victor, through the vision fair.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

92. This is a translation of the famous Latin motto _in hoc signo
vinces_.

2. The Discovery of the Cross

Striving in strength and with steadfast heart,
830 He began to delve for the glorious tree
Under its covering of turf, till at twenty feet
Below the surface concealed he found
Shut out from sight, under the shelving cliff,
In the chasm of darkness --three crosses he found,
In their gloomy grave together he found them,--
835 Grimy all over, as in ancient days
The unrighteous race had wrapped them in earth,
The sinful Jews. Against the Son of God
They showed their hate as they should not have done
Had they not harkened to the behests of the devil.
840 Then blithe was his heart and blissful within him.
His soul was inspired by the sacred tree.
His heart was emboldened when he beheld that beacon
Holy and deep hidden. With his hands he seized
The radiant cross of heaven, and with his host he raised it
845 From its grave in the earth. The guests from afar
And princes and aethelings went all to the town.
In her sight they set the three sacred trees,
The proud valiant men, plain to be seen
Before Elene's knee. And now was joy
850 In the heart of the Queen; she inquired of the men
On which of the crosses the crucified Lord,
The heavenly Hope-giver, hung in pain:
"Lo! we have heard from the holy books
It told for a truth that two of them
855 Suffered with him and himself was the third
On the hallowed tree. The heavens were darkened
In that terrible time. Tell, if you can,
On which of these roods the Ruler of angels,
The Savior of men suffered his death.
860 In no wise could Judas --for he knew not at all--
Clearly reveal that victory tree
On which the Lord was lifted high,
The son of God, but they set, by his order,
In the very middle of the mighty city
865 The towering trees to tarry there,
Till the Almighty King should manifest clearly
Before the multitude the might of that marvelous rood.
The assembly sat, their song uplifted;
They mused in their minds on the mystery trees
870 Until the ninth hour when new delight grew
Through a marvelous deed. --There a multitude came,
Of folk not a little, and, lifted among them,
There was borne on a bier by brave-hearted men
Nigh to the spot --it was the ninth hour--
875 A lifeless youth. Then was lifted the heart
Of Judas in great rejoicing and gladness.
He commanded them to set the soulless man,
With life cut off, the corpse on the earth,
Bereft of life, and there was raised aloft
880 By the proclaimer of justice, the crafty of heart,
The trusty in counsel, two of the crosses
Over that house of death. It was dead as before
The body fast to the bier: about the chill limbs
Was grievous doom. Then began the third cross
885 To be lifted aloft. There lay the body,
Until above him was reared the rood of the Lord,
The holy cross of heaven's King,
The sign of salvation. He soon arose
With spirit regained, and again were joined
890 Body and soul. Unbounded was the praise
And fair of the folk. The Father they thanked
And the true and sacred Son of the Almighty
With gracious words. --Glory and praise be his
Always without end from every creature.

829. After Constantine has accepted Christianity, his mother Helena
(Elene) undertakes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land for the purpose of
discovering the true cross. After many failures she finally learns
where it is hidden. The passage here translated relates the discovery
of the cross.

_b_. ANONYMOUS POEMS OF THE CYNEWULFIAN SCHOOL

THE DREAM OF THE ROOD

[Critical edition: Cook, _The Dream of the Rood_, Oxford, 1905.

Author: "Making all due allowance, then, for the weakness of certain arguments both pro and con, the balance of probability seems to incline decidedly in favor of Cynewulfian authorship."--Cook.

Translations: English Prose: Kemble. Verse: Stephens, 1866; Morley, 1888; Miss Iddings, 1902.

The poem has much in common with _Elene_, especially the intimate self-analysis. Portions of it are on the Ruthwell Cross in Dumfriesshire. It is claimed as Cynewulf's, but there is nothing to indicate this except the beauty of style, which has caused it to be called "the choicest blossom of Old English Christian poetry."]

Lo, I shall tell you the truest of visions,
A dream that I dreamt in the dead of night
While people reposed in peaceful sleep.
I seemed to see the sacred tree
5 Lifted on high in a halo of light,
The brightest of beams; that beacon was wholly
Gorgeous with gold; glorious gems stood
Fair at the foot; and five were assembled,
At the crossing of the arms. The angels of God looked on,
10 Fair through the firmament. It was truly no foul sinner's
cross,
For beholding his sufferings were the holy spirits,
The men of the earth and all of creation.
Wondrous was that victory-wood, and I wounded and stained
With sorrows and sins. I saw the tree of glory
15 Blessed and bright in brilliant adornments,
Made joyous with jewels. Gems on all sides
Full rarely enriched the rood of the Savior.
Through the sight of that cross I came to perceive
Its stiff struggle of old, when it started first
20 To bleed on the right side. I was broken and cast down with
sorrow;
The fair sight inspired me with fear. Before me the moving
beacon
Changed its clothing and color. At times it was covered with
blood
Fearful and grimy with gore. At times with gold 'twas adorned.
Then I lay and looked for a long time
25 And saw the Savior's sorrowful tree
Until I heard it lift high its voice.
The worthiest of the wood-race formed words and spoke:
"It was ages ago --I shall always remember--
When first I was felled at the forest's edge,
30 My strong trunk stricken. Then strange enemies took me
And fashioned my frame to a cross; and their felons I raised on
high.
On their backs and shoulders they bore me to the brow of the
lofty hill.
There the hated ones solidly set me. I saw there the Lord of
Mankind
Struggling forward with courage to climb my sturdy trunk.
35 I dared not then oppose the purpose of the Lord,
So I bent not nor broke when there burst forth a trembling
From the ends of the earth. Easily might I
Destroy the murderers, but I stood unmoved.
"The Young Hero unclothed him --it was the holy God--
40 Strong and steadfast; he stepped to the high gallows,
Not fearing the look of the fiends, and there he freed mankind.
At his blessed embrace I trembled, but bow to the earth I dared
not,
Or forward to fall to the ground, but fast and true I endured.
As a rood I was raised up; a royal King I bore,
45 The Lord of heavenly legions. I allowed myself never to bend.
Dark nails through me they drove; so that dastardly scars are
upon me,
Wounds wide open; but not one of them dared I to harm.
They cursed and reviled us together. I was covered all over
with blood,
That flowed from the Savior's side when his soul had left the
flesh.
50 Sorrowful the sights I have seen on that hill,
Grim-visaged grief: the God of mankind I saw
And his frightful death. The forces of darkness
Covered with clouds the corpse of the Lord,
The shining radiance; the shadows darkened
55 Under the cover of clouds. Creation all wept,
The king's fall bewailed. Christ was on the rood.
Finally from afar came faithful comrades
To the Savior's side, and I saw it all.
Bitter the grief that I bore, but I bowed me low to their
hands;
60 My travail was grievous and sore. They took then God Almighty,
From loathsome torment they lifted him. The warriors left me
deserted,
To stand stained with blood. I was stricken and wounded with
nails.
Limb-weary they laid him there, and at their Lord's head they
stood.
They beheld there the Ruler of heaven; and they halted a while
to rest,
65 Tired after the terrible struggle. A tomb then they began to
make,
His friends in sight of his foes. Of the fairest of stone they
built it,
And set their Savior upon it. A sorrowful dirge they chanted,
Lamented their Master at evening, when they made their journey
home,
Tired from their loved Lord's side. And they left him with the
guard.
70 We crosses stood there streaming with blood,
And waited long after the wailing ceased
Of the brave company. The body grew cold,
The most precious of corpses. Then they pulled us down,
All to the earth --an awful fate!
75 They buried us low in a pit. But the loved disciples of Christ,
His faithful friends made search and found me and brought me to
light,
And gorgeously decked me with gold and with silver.
"Now mayst thou learn, my beloved friend,
That the work of the wicked I have worthily borne,
80 The most trying of torments. The time is now come
When through the wide world I am worshipped and honored,
That all manner of men, and the mighty creation,
Hold sacred this sign. On me the Son of God
Death-pangs endured. Hence, dauntless in glory,
85 I rise high under heaven, and hold out salvation
To each and to all who have awe in my presence.
"Long ago I was the greatest and most grievous of torments,
Most painful of punishments, till I pointed aright
The road of life for the race of men.
90 "Lo, a glory was given by the God of Creation
To the worthless wood --by the Warden of heaven--
Just as Mary, his mother, the maiden blessed,
Received grace and glory from God Almighty,
And homage and worship over other women.
95 "And now I bid thee, my best of comrades,
That thou reveal this vision to men.
Tell them I am truly the tree of glory,
That the Savior sorrowed and suffered upon me
For the race of men and its many sins,
100 And the ancient evil that Adam wrought.
"He there tasted of death; but in triumph he rose,
The Lord in his might and gave life unto men.
Then he ascended to heaven, and hither again
Shall the Savior descend to seek mankind
105 On the day of doom, the dreaded Ruler
Of highest heaven, with his host of angels.
Then will he adjudge with justice and firmness
Rewards to the worthy whose works have deserved them,
Who loyally lived their lives on the earth.
110 Then a feeling of fear shall fill every heart
For the warning they had in the words of their Master:
He shall demand of many where the man may be found
To consent for the sake of his Savior to taste
The bitter death as He did on the cross.
115 They are filled with fear and few of them think
What words they shall speak in response to Christ.
Then no feeling of fright or fear need he have
Who bears on his heart the brightest of tokens,
But there shall come to the kingdom through the cross and its
power
120 All the souls of the saved from the sorrows of earth,
Of the holy who hope for a home with their Lord."
Then I adored the cross with undaunted courage,
With the warmest zeal, while I watched alone
And saw it in secret. My soul was eager
125 To depart on its path, but I have passed through many
An hour of longing. Through all my life
I shall seek the sight of that sacred tree
Alone more often than all other men
And worthily worship it. My will for this service
130 Is steadfast and sturdy, and my strength is ever
In the cross of Christ. My comrades of old,
The friends of fortune, all far from the earth
Have departed from the world and its pleasures and have passed
to the King of Glory,
And high in the heavens with the holy God
135 Are living eternally. And I long for the time
To arrive at last when the rood of the Lord,
Which once so plainly appeared to my sight,
Shall summon my soul from this sorrowful life,
And bring me to that bourne where bliss is unending
140 And happiness of heaven, where the holy saints
All join in a banquet, where joy is eternal.
May He set me where always in after time
I shall dwell in glory with God's chosen ones
In delights everlasting. May the Lord be my friend,
145 Who came to earth and of old on the cross
Suffered and sorrowed for the sins of men.
He broke there our bonds and bought for us life
And a heavenly home. The hearts were now filled
With blessings and bliss, which once burned with remorse.
150 To the Son was his journey successful and joyful
And crowned with triumph, when he came with his troops,
With his gladsome guests into God's kingdom,
The Almighty Judge's, and brought joy to the angels,
And the host of the holy who in heaven before
155 Dwelt in glory when their God arrived,
The Lord Most High, at his home at last.

39. The lines that follow appear with some changes on the Ruthwell Cross
in Dumfriesshire.

44. This and the following line form the basis of an inscription on a
reliquary containing a cross preserved in the Cathedral at Brussels.

JUDITH

[Critical edition: Cook, _Judith_, Boston, 1904.

Translation: _Hall, Judith, Phoenix and Other Anglo-Saxon Poems._

Manuscript: The same as the one containing _Beowulf_. It was injured by a fire in 1731. It had been printed by Thwaites in 1698 before the injury.

Authorship and date: The mixture of dialect forms seems to indicate that a northern original passed through one or more hands and that at least the last scribe belonged to the late West Saxon period. Cook thinks that it is not earlier than about 825 nor later than 937, and that it is possibly by Cynewulf.

Source: Apocryphal book of Judith.]

1. The Feast

. . . . . . . . . . She doubted [not] the gifts
In this wide world. There worthily she found
Help at the hands of the Lord, when she had the highest need,
Grace from God on high, that against the greatest of dangers
5 The Lord of Hosts should protect her; for this the Heavenly
Father
Graciously granted her wish, for she had given true faith
To the holy Ruler of heaven.
Holofernes then, I am told,
Called his warriors to a wine-feast and a wondrous and glorious
Banquet prepared. To this the prince of men
10 Bade the bravest of thanes. Then with bold haste
To the powerful prince came the proud shield-warriors,
Before the chief of the folk. That was the fourth day
Since the gentle Judith, just in her thoughts,
Of fairy-like beauty, was brought to the king.
15 Then they sought the assembly to sit at the banquet,
Proud to the wine-pouring, all his partners in woe,
Bold burnie-warriors. Bowls large and deep
Were borne along the benches; beakers also and flagons
Full to the feasters. Fated they drank it,
20 Renowned shield-knights, though he knew not their doom,
The hateful lord of heroes. Holofernes, the king,
Bestower of jewels, took joy in the wine-pouring,
Howled and hurled forth a hideous din
That the folk of the earth from afar might hear
25 How the stalwart and strong-minded stormed and bellowed,
Maddened by mead-drink; he demanded full oft
That the brave bench-sitters should bear themselves well.
So the hellish demon through the whole of the day
Drenched with drink his dear companions,
30 The cruel gold-king, till unconscious they lay,
All drunk his doughty ones, as if in death they were slain,
Every good gone from them.

1. Although the fragment begins in the middle of a line, it presents the
appearance of being practically complete. Certainly, as it stands it
makes an artistic whole: we begin and end the poem by showing how
Judith was favored of God. Within a very short space after the opening
lines we are in the midst of the action: Judith has come from her
beleaguered city of Bethulia and enchanted Holofernes by her beauty,
and Holofernes has finished his great feast by summoning her to him.
All this is put before us in the first 37 lines. The rest of the poem
is vividly conceived, from the slaying of the Assyrian king to the
final victory and rejoicing.

2. The Slaying of Holofernes

He gave then commands
To serve the hall-sitters till descending upon them
Dark night came near. The ignoble one ordered
35 The blessed maiden, burdened with jewels,
Freighted with rings, to be fetched in all haste
To his hated bedside. His behest they performed,
His corps of retainers --the commands of their lord,
Chief of the champions. Cheerfully they stepped
40 To the royal guest-room, where full ready they found
The queenly Judith, and quickly then
The goodly knights began to lead
The holy maiden to the high tent,
Where the rich ruler rested always,
45 Lay him at night, loathsome to God,
Holofernes. There hung an all-golden
Radiant fly-net around the folk-chief's
Bed embroidered; so that the baleful one,
The loathed leader, might look unhindered
50 On everyone of the warrior band
Who entered in, and on him none
Of the sons of men, unless some of his nobles,
Contrivers of crime, he called to his presence:
His barons to bring him advice. Then they bore to his rest
55 The wisest of women; went then the strong-hearted band
To make known to their master that the maiden of God
Was brought to his bower. Then blithe was the chief in his
heart,
The builder of burg-steads; the bright maiden he planned
With loathsome filth to defile, but the Father of heaven knew
60 His purpose, the Prince of goodness and with power he
restrained him,
God, the Wielder of Glory. Glad then the hateful one
Went with his riotous rout of retainers
Baleful to his bedside, where his blood should be spilled
Suddenly in a single night. Full surely his end approached
65 On earth ungentle, even as he lived,
Stern striver for evil, while still in this world
He dwelt under the roof of the clouds. Drunken with wine then
he fell
In the midst of his regal rest so that he recked not of counsel
In the chamber of his mind; the champions stepped
70 Out of his presence and parted in haste,
The wine-sated warriors who went with the false one,
And the evil enemy of man ushered to bed
For the last time.
Then the Lord's servant
The mighty hand-maiden, was mindful in all things
75 How she most easily from the evil contriver
His life might snatch ere the lecherous deceiver,
The creature crime-laden awoke. The curly-locked maiden
Of God then seized the sword well ground,
Sharp from the hammers, and from its sheath drew it
80 With her right hand; heaven's Guardian she began
To call by name, Creator of all
The dwellers in the world, and these words she spoke:
"O Heavenly God, and Holy Ghost,
Son of the Almighty, I will seek from Thee
85 Thy mercy unfailing to defend me from evil,
O Holiest Trinity. Truly for me now
Full sore is my soul and sorrowful my heart,
Tormented with griefs. Grant me, Lord of the skies,
Success and soundness of faith, that with this sword I may
90 Behead this hideous monster. Heed my prayer for salvation,
Noble Lord of nations; never have I had
More need of thy mercy; mighty Lord, avenge now
Bright-minded Bringer of glory, that I am thus baffled in
spirit,
Heated in heart." Her then the greatest of Judges
95 With dauntless daring inspired, as he doth ever to all
The sons of the Spirit who seek him for help,
With reason and with right belief. Then was to the righteous in
mind,
Holy hope renewed; the heathen man then she took,
And held by his hair; with her hands she drew him
100 Shamefully toward her, and the traitorous deceiver
Laid as she listed, most loathsome of men,
In order that easily the enemy's body
She might wield at her will. The wicked one she slew,
The curly-locked maiden with her keen-edged sword,
105 Smote the hateful-hearted one till she half cut through
Severing his neck, so that swooning he lay
Drunken and death-wounded. Not dead was he yet,
Nor lifeless entirely: the triumphant lady
More earnestly smote the second time
110 The heathen hound, so that his head was thrown
Forth on the floor; foul lay the carcass,
Bereft of a soul; the spirit went elsewhere
Under the burning abyss where abandoned it lay,
Tied down in torment till time shall cease,
115 With serpents bewound, amid woes and tortures,
All firmly fixed in the flames of hell,
When death came upon him. He durst not hope,
Enveloped in blackness, to venture forth ever
From that dreary hole, but dwell there he shall
120 Forever and aye till the end of time,
In that hideous home without hope of joy.

52. Here begins a series of extended lines which some critics think are
intended to lend an air of solemnity to the passage. A study of the
occurrence of these long lines in this and other poems, such as _The
Wanderer_, _The Charms_, or _Widsith_, does not seem to bear out this
contention. Usually these long lines have three accents in each half.
The rules for the alliteration are the same as for the short verses.

3. The Return to Bethulia

Great was the glory then gained in the fight
By Judith at war, through the will of God,
The mighty Master, who permitted her victory.
125 Then the wise-minded maiden immediately threw
The heathen warrior's head so bloody,
Concealed it in the sack that her servant had brought--
The pale-faced woman, polished in manners--
Which before she had filled with food for them both.
130 Then the gory head gave she to her goodly maid-servant
To bear to their home, to her helper she gave it,
To her junior companion. Then they journeyed together,
Both of the women, bold in their daring,
The mighty in mind, the maidens exultant,
135 Till they had wholly escaped from the host of the enemy,
And could full clearly catch the first sight
Of their sacred city and see the walls
Of bright Bethulia. Then the bracelet-adorned ones,
Traveling on foot, went forth in haste,
140 Until they had journeyed, with joy in their hearts,
To the wall-gate.
The warriors sat
Unwearied in watching, the wardens on duty,
Fast in the fortress, as the folk erstwhile,
The grieved ones of mind, by the maiden were counselled,
145 By the wary Judith, when she went on her journey,
The keen-witted woman. She had come once more,
Dear to her people, the prudent in counsel.
She straightway summoned certain of the heroes
From the spacious city speedily to meet her
150 And allow her to enter without loss of time
Through the gate of the wall, and these words she spoke
To the victor-tribe:
"I may tell to you now
Noteworthy news, that you need no longer
Mourn in your mind, for the Master is kind to you,
155 The Ruler of nations. It is known afar
Around the wide world that you have won glory;
Very great victory is vouchsafed in return
For all the evils and ills you have suffered."
Blithe then became the burghers within,
160 When they heard how the Holy Maid spoke
Over the high wall. The warriors rejoiced;
To the gate of the fortress the folk then hastened,
Wives with their husbands, in hordes and in bands,
In crowds and in companies; they crushed and thronged
165 Towards the handmaid of God by hundreds and thousands,
Old ones and young ones. All of the men
In the goodly city were glad in their hearts
At the joyous news that Judith was come
Again to her home, and hastily then
170 With humble hearts the heroes received her.
Then gave the gold-adorned, sagacious in mind,
Command to her comrade, her co-worker faithful
The heathen chief's head to hold forth to the people,
To the assembly to show as a sign and a token,
175 All bloody to the burghers, how in battle they sped.
To the famed victory-folk the fair maiden spoke:
"O proudest of peoples, princely protectors,
Gladly now gaze on the gory face,
On the hated head of the heathen warrior,
180 Holofernes, wholly life-bereft,
Who most of all men contrived murder against us,
The sorest of sorrows, and sought even yet
With greater to grind us, but God would not suffer him
Longer to live, that with loathsomest evils
185 The proud one should oppress us; I deprived him of life
Through the grace of God. Now I give commands
To you citizens bold, you soldiers brave-hearted,
Protectors of the people, to prepare one and all
Forthwith for the fight. When first from the east
190 The King of creation, the kindest of Lords,
Sends the first beams of light, bring forth your
linden-shields,
Boards for your breasts and your burnie-corselets,
Your bright-hammered helmets to the hosts of the scathers,
To fell the folk-leaders, the fated chieftains,
195 With your fretted swords. Your foes are all
Doomed to the death, and dearly-won glory
Shall be yours in battle, as the blessed Creator
The mighty Master, through me has made known."

4. The Battle