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Cynewulf: The Ascension Of Christ

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Cynewulf: The Ascension Of Christ

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University Microfilms
300 N orth Z e e b R oad
Ann A rbor, M ichigan 48106
A X erox E d u catio n C om pany
74-26,057
WILLIAMS, S. J., Michael Anthony, 1944-
CYNEWULF: THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST.
University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1974
Language and Literature, general
University Microfilms, A XEROX C om pany, Ann Arbor, M ichigan
(c) Copyright by
MICHAEL ANTHONY WILLIAMS, 5.3.
1974
THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED.
CYNEWULF: THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST
by
MICHAEL ANTHONY WILLIAMS, S.O.
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(English)
June 1974
UNIVERSITY O F SO U T H E R N CALIFORNIA
T H E G R A D U A T E SC H O O L.
U N IV E R SIT Y PA R K
L O S A N G E L E S . C A L IF O R N IA 9 0 0 0 7
This dissertation, written by
..M lcM el.A n tb .c> n y„W A l.U am & /..s J.,................
under the direction of Ai s. . . . Dissertation Com
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by The Graduate
School, in partial fulfillment of requirements of
the degree of
D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y
Dean
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
44 - ?TO4JVl / J | ' .
Chairman
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION ...................................... 1
II. DIPLOMATIC T E X T .................................. 37
III. READING TEXT...................................... 59
IV. NOTES AND COMMENTARY............................. 81
V. APPENDIX.............................................331
VI. A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................338
VII. GLOSSARY.............................................350
ii
Abbreviations of Uorks Frequently Cited
Anglia. Beibl.
A5PR
BB
BEV
B-T
Cony./Conybeare
r 1
Cony.
C./Cook
Cosijn
Das
"Diction"
Beiblatt zur Anqlia.
The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records.
Volume III, The Exeter Book, ed.
G. P. Krapp.
Bonner BeitrMoe zur Anolistik.
Moritz Trautmann, "Berichtungen,
ErklHrungen und Vermutungen zu
Cynewulfs Uerken," Bonner Beitraqe
zur Anqlistik. XXIII (1907), 85-146.
Joseph Bosuorth, An Anglo-Saxon
Dictionary. rev. and enl. by T.
Morthcote Toller, London, 1954.
J. 3. Conybeare, Illustrations of
Anglo-Saxon Poetry. London, 1826.
3. J. Conybeare, "Account of a Saxon
MS. Preserved in the Cathedral
Library at Exeter," Archaeoloqia,
XVII (1914), 18-108.
A. S. Cook, The Christ of Cynewulf.
Boston, 1900.
P. J. Cosijn, "Anglosaxonica IV,"
Beitr&qe zur Geschichte der
dautschen Sprache und Literatur.
XXIII (1898), 109-130.
Satyendra K. Das, Cynewulf and the
Cynewulf Canon, Calcutta, 1942.
Robert E. Diamond, "The Diction of
the Signed Poems of Cynewulf,"
Philological Quarterly. XXXVIII
(April, 1959), 228-241.
EECP
EETS
Ettm./EttmUller
Facsimile/MS
Go.
Gr./Grein
GUA
"Image"
"Imitation"
Charles U. Kennedy, Early Enqlish
Christian Poetry. Neu York, 1963.
Early English Text Society.
Luduig Ettmllller, Enqla and Seaxna
Scopas and Boceras, Quedlinburg and
Leipzig, 1850.
The Exeter Book of Old English
Poetry. with Introductory Chapters
by R. !J. Chambers, Max Ftirster,
and Robin Flouer. London, 1933.
Photographic facsimile of the Exeter
Book.
Israel Gollancz, Cyneuulf's Christ,
London, 1892.
Israel Gollancz, The Exeter Book,
Part I, The Early English Text
Society, Vol. CIV, London, 1895.
Both Gollancz texts in agreement.
Christian W. M. Grein, Bibliothek
der angelsSchsischen Poesie, Vol.
II, GBttingen, 1858.
Christian Id. M. Grein, Bibliothek
der anoelsSchischen Poesie, rev.
Richard P. UUlker and Bruno Assmann,
Vol. Ill, Leipzig, 1898.
Peter Clemoes, "Cyneuulf's Image of
the Ascension,” in England before
the Conquest: Studies in Primary
Sources Presented to Dorothy
Uhitelock. ed. by Peter Clemoes and
Kathleen Hughes, Cambridge, 1971.
□ liver 3. H. Grosz, '.'Man's Imitation
of the Ascension: The Unity of
Christ II," IMeophiloloqus, LIV
(October, 1970), 398-408.
JJJ
"Kyneuulf"
"Lacuna"
Muinzer/M.
PBB
PG
PL
Plummer
Poetry
PPTS
"Rhythmik"
Schaar
Ernst A. Kock, "Jubilee Jaunts and
Jottings, 250 Contributions to the
Interpretation and Prosody of Old
West Teutonic Alliterative Poetry."
Lunds Universitets Araskrift. NF.,
Avd. 1, Bd. 14, Nr. 26 (1918).
Moritz Trautmann, "Kyneuulf der
Bischof und Dichter," Bonner
Beitr&qe zur Anqlistik" I (1898),
1-123.
John C. Pope, "The Lacuna in the
text of Cyneuulf's Ascension
(Christ II, 556b)," in Studies in
the Language, Literature and
Culture of the Middle Ages and
Later, ed. by E. Bagby Atuood and
Archibald A. Hill, Austin, 1969.
Louis A. Muinzer, The Signed Poems
of Cyneuulf. Unpublished Disserta
tion, Princeton University, 1956.
Paul and Braune's BeitrSqe zur
Geschichte der deutschen Sprache
und Literatur.
Migne, Patroloqia Graeca.
Migne, Patroloqia Latina.
C. Plummer, ed., Venerabilis Bedae
Opera Historica, Oxford, 1896.
R. K. Gordon, Anglo-Saxon Poetry.
London, 1926.
Palestine Pilgrims Text Society.
Eduard Sievers, "Zur Rhythmik des
germanischen Alliterationsverses,
III," BeitrMqe zur Geschichte der
deutschen Sprache und Literatur.
“ X (1885), 451-545.
Claes Schaar, Critical Studies in the
Cyneuulf Group. Lund, 1949.
Sprachschatz
Studies
Th./Thorpe
Tobler
"Unity"
Von der Uarth
"Zu Cyneuulf"
Christian U. PI. Grein, Sprachschatz
der anqelsflchischsn Dichter. rev.
ed. by 3. 3. Ktthler, Heidelberg,
1912.
Kenneth Sisam, Studies in the
History of Did English Literature,
Oxford, 1953.
Benjamin Thorpe, Codex Excniensis,
London, 1842.
Titus Tobler and Augustus Molinier,
Itinera Hierosolymitana et
Descriptiones Sanctae Terras, 2
Vols., Geneva, 1879-85.
Kenneth Plildenberger, "The Unity of
Cyneuulf’s 'Christ' in the Light of
Iconography," Speculum. XXIII (3uly,
1948), 426-432.
3ohann 3. Von der Uarth, Metrisch-
sprachliches und textkritisches zu
Cyneuulfs Uerken, Halle, 1908.
Eduard Sievers, "Zu Cyneuulf,"
Neusprachliche Studien (Die Neueren
Sprachen, 6^ Beheft), 1925, 60-81.
vi
I. INTRODUCTION
The Manuscript
Cyneuulf's poem on the Ascension (generally re
ferred to by the title Christ II) is preserved in the
Exeter Book, one of the four great codices of Old
English poetry. The Exeter Book derives its name from
its place of preservation, the library of Exeter
Cathedral, Exeter, Devon. This manuscript contains a
great variety of Old English poetry, including tuo of the
four signed poems of Cyneuulf— Christ II and Juliana.
The manuscript uas donated to the library of Exeter
Cathedral by Leofric, the first bishop of Exeter, uho
died in 1D72.'*' Leofric's literary donations to the
Cathedral library uere extensive and varied, and are
listed in three accounts, one of uhich is bound into
2
the Exeter Book itself, fol. la-2b. This donation list
mentions i. mycel enqlisc boc be qehuilcum binqum on
leoduisum qeuorht, and the customary inference that the
mycel enqlisc boc is indeed the Exeter Book itself has
3
never been seriously challenged.
The Exeter Book contains 131 parchment leaves;
the first leaf, houever, is blank and is not included
in this numeration, although FOrster considers it to be
4
part of the original manuscript. Folios 1-7 contain
1
miscellaneous material of a legal nature and apparently
are not of the original manuscript. The literary mater
ial of the Exeter Book begins on folio B with Christ I,
the opening of uhich is missing. Scholars have not
ascertained with certainty exactly hou many leaves are
missing at the beginning of the codex, and FOrster adds
that "Seven leaves, at least, have been lost in the
interior of the volume, besides the leaves missing at
5
the beginning of the Exeter Book proper." The first
five folios of the manuscript are damaged by cutting and
by the spillage of some liquid, and the final fourteen
folios show severe fire damage.6 There are seventeen
gatherings in the manuscript, containing eight leaves
each, excluding the miscellaneous matter of the first
seven folios. The dimensions of the folio leaves, ac
cording to Fflrster, are 310-320 x 210-218 mm. The text
is inscribed on the leaves in a space measuring c. 240
x 160 mm. The leaves are also ruled throughout with
incised lines, the number of lines per leaf varying
between 23 and 21, the usual number being 23 in the
7
earlier portion of the manuscript. Accents are used
sparingly in the Exeter Book compared uith other Old
English manuscripts, and ornamentation is restricted to
figures incised into the margins of six folios by some
pointed instrument, but without color or ink. These
g
figures seem to have been added at some later date. The
abbreviations used in the manuscript are the standard
g
ones for ond. baet, bonne and the letters m and ru
Punctuation is likewise sparingly used. Capitalization,
spacing, and other marks and symbols are used to indi
cate the beginning and end of individual poems in the
Exeter Book, and to indicate sectional divisions within
the texts of individual poems. The only punctuation mark
which occurs with any regularity is the point. There is,
for example, regular use of metrical pointing in the
manuscript between lines 41b-117a of Christ II. In this
section, pointing occurs at the end of each half-line,
with only a few irregularities.
The Exeter Book is generally dated to the latter
half of the tenth century,^ although the poetry con
tained in the manuscript collection is of an earlier
12
date. The quality of the script is clear and graceful,
and is generally accepted as the work of a single
13
scribe. The Exeter Book has been transcribed and
edited several times, and the recent facsimile edition
with its comprehensive introductory essays is an invalu
able aid to both student and scholar.
t
The Text
The text of Christ II begins towards the middle
of folio 14a of the Exeter Book and continues to folio
20b. The quality of the text offers no major diffi
culties to the editor in the areas of legibility or
clarity, although recent scholarship has demonstrated the
lass of one folio uithin the text of Cyneuulf's poem.^
The text of the poem is divided into five sections in
the manuscript by means of spacing, punctuation, and
capitalization. There are several erasures and correc
tions in the text, and the origin and appropriateness of
these corrections uill be examined fully in the notes
and commentary.^ Punctuation uithin the text of the
poem is rare, uith the exception of the use of regular
metrical painting in 11. 41b-117a. The use of large and
small capitals follows the general scribal practice
17
throughout the whole of the manuscript.
The position of this poem in the Exeter Book has
given rise to much scholarly debate centered about the
relationship of Christ II to the poems uhich immediately
precede (Christ I) and follow it (Christ III). The
problem has resolved itself into two basic questions:
are the first three poems of the Exeter Book (Christ I,
II, III) really one poem, and is Cyneuulf the author of
each?
The single poem theory uas first proposed by
18
Franz Dietrich in 1853, and his lead uas followed 1
such editors as Gollancz (1892) and Cook (1900) who
vigorously defended the organic unity of composition and
19
authorship. Much of this scholarly debate, however,
rested upon the misunderstanding or even the ignoring of
the scribal evidence of the Exeter Book manuscript
itself concerning the manuscript indications of divisions
20
between poems and within individual poems. The air was
cleared in 1940 by Augustine Philip in an important study
21
of actual scribal practice in the manuscript itself.
This study demonstrated rather conclusively that the
Exeter Book scribe, through his use of punctuation,
capitalization, and spacing, himself regarded the first
three compositions in the Exeter Book as three separate
22
poems. The study of the scribal evidence of the
manuscript has also been bolstered by metrical, liter
ary, and linguistic research, with the result that the
one-poem theories are generally discounted in present
23
□Id English studies.
Allied to this question of unity is the question
of Cynewulfian authorship. Modern scholarship has gen
erally restricted the Cynewulf canon to the four signed
compositions, poems into which Cyneuulf has woven his
24
runic signature. Hence, there are few scholars who
would propose genuine Cynewulfian authorship for the
25
compositions known as Christ I and Christ III.
Although such theories of unity of authorship
6
and composition have been called into question, there may
indeed exist a loose, thematic association between the
first three poems in the Exeter Book. This is an ex
ternal unity based upon similarity of subject-matter
2 6
and theological content. These three poems review the
span and meaning of the Christ event: his advent into
the world of man (Christ i) and subsequent departure
(Christ II). and his second coming at the end of time as
judge of mankind (Christ III). Such a juxtaposition is,
in my belief, not entirely accidental, and may indicate
the skill and theological perception of a compiler or
27
editor. Whether such a selection and juxtaposition of
independent compositions into a theological framework is
due to the Exeter Book scribe himself, or to some former
compiler, is, of course, only matter for conjecture.
Cynewulf and His Work
The corpus of Old English poetry has come down
to the modern reader in frustrating anonymity, with one
notable exception. Into the texts of four Old English
poems an individual poet has woven his name by means of
a runic acrostic, and has thus preserved his identity
and artistry for posterity. The discovery of the
identity of Cynewulf came in 1840, with Kemble's
demonstration that the runes of Elene, Juliana. and
o p
Christ II combine to spell the name Cynewulf/Cynwulf.
7
Shortly after Kemble's discov/ery, a fourth composition
uas added to the Cyneuulf canon, uhen Napier deciphered
a Cyneuulfian rune signature in a short poem in the
29
Uercelli Book, The Fates of the Apostles*
The manuscript evidence reveals tuo alternate
spellings of the poet's name: Cyneuulf appears in the
runes in Juliana and Elene, uhile Cynuulf is the form
to be found in Christ II and Fates of the Apostles.
Eduard Sievers, in an article of major importance for
Cyneuulf studies, demonstrated conclusively that the
tuo forms of the poet's name are merely alternate
n . 30
spellings.
These tuo forms of the poet’s name are, houever,
of extreme importance for dating and placing the corpus
of Cyneuulf's uork. Linguistic studies have shoun that
the form Cynuulf uas a common Anglian variant in Old
English usage. Concentrating on the form Cyneuulf.
scholars have placed the name in the period during or
after the transition of medial i to e in Old English
31
usage. Although this transition is not chrono
logically uniform throughout Old English usage, the
documentary appearance of the Cyne- form is generally
traced in Southern charters to c. A.D. 740, and in
South Midland texts to c. 770. On the basis of this
linguistic evidence, the earliest date for Cyneuulf's
literary work would be after the middle of the eighth
32
century. Northumbrian documents, such as the
Lindisfarne Liber Vitae, however, indicate that the
older form Cyni- survived there at least into the early
decades of the ninth century. The import of this evi
dence is that Cynewulf, if he was indeed a Northumbrian,
could not have written much before the beginning of the
ninth century. Even the possible identification of
Cynewulf as a Mercian would not push the terminus _a quo
for his compositions beyond the closing years of the
eighth century. On the basis of this linguistic evi
dence, the consensus of scholarship is to date Cyneuulf's
work to the late eighth century or the early part of the
ninth. Whether the poet uas a Northumbrian or a
Merican has never been resolved with certitude.
Linguistic analysis of the signed poems simply points to
Anglian origin, although the surviving manuscripts are in
34
the standard later West Saxon.
The problem of the identity of Cynewulf remains.
The romances of previous Cyneuulf scholarship notwith
standing, all that may be asserted with any degree of
certainty is that Cyneuulf remains to us as a name with
out a body. Previous attempts to construct an identity
and biography for the poet were often based upon the
literal interpretation of the "personal" information
contained in the runic passages in the signed poems,
especially in Elene. It has been shown, however, that
these runic passages are more formulaic and rhetorical
35
than autobiographical, and thus are of little value
in establishing facts concerning the life and identity
the poet. Other scholars have gone outside the signed
poems and turned to historical documents in an attempt
3 6
to trace the identity of the poet. Although the name
Cynewulf appears with some frequency in Old English
documents (and thus should serve as an indication of th
ultimate unreliability of the documentary approach),
three possible identifications for the poet have been
proposed. The first candidate is a certain Cenwulf,
Abbot of Petersborough and later Bishop of Worcester,
37
who died in 1006. This identification is, however,
incompatible with the linguistic dating of Cynewulf's
poems, and uas early abandoned. A second candidate is
Cynewulf, Bishop of Lindisfarne from A.D. 737-780
38
(d. 782). There is, however, no documentary evidence
to identify this man as a poet, and his dates are like
wise too early for Cynewulf's work. A third possi-
39
bility, proposed by Cook, is a certain Cyneuulf, a
priest of Dunwich, who is recorded to have attended the
Synod of Clovesho in A.D. 813. This Cynewulf also
remains only a name, and, though his dates might fit
10
into the period assigned to the Old English poet, the
sheer unavailability of additional positive evidence
should make any editor uary of asserting such an identifi
cation as probable.
Although the identity of the historical Cyneuulf
still remains a teasing mystery, the internal evidence of
his poetry does permit certain general statements to be
made. Since all of the signed poems are derived from
Latin source material and shou real familiarity uith
the Scriptures and genuine theological sophistication, it
is generally presumed that he uas a cleric. The literary
merits of his poems, especially Elene and Christ II, re
veal that Cyneuulf uas a literary craftsman of no mean
ability. And the runic signatures also reveal a man
and artist genuinely proud of his uork, uith the
legitimate human desire that his name and art not be
forgotten.
Source
Cyneuulf has derived his treatment of the
Ascension from the closing sections of Gregory the
40
Great's homily for Ascension Day. The dependence of
Cyneuulf's poem upon its Latin homiletic source uas
41
first pointed out by Dietrich in 1853. A. S. Cook,
in his edition of The Christ of Cyneuulf also called
j
11
attention to an important analogue in a hymn by Bede,
uhich is of particular interest for its lyrical treat
ment of the arrival of the ascending Christ at the gates
42
of Heaven and the angelic dialogue uhich ensues. The
relevant passages from Gregory's homily and Bede's hymn
are reproduced in the Appendix. There is also a marked
similarity betueen the "gifts of men" passage in
Cyneuulf's poem (11. 220ff) and another Did English poem
in the Exeter Book, The Gifts of Pfe n. No direct liter
ary relationship can be proven in this case, and the
probability is that both Cyneuulf and the author of
The Gifts of nan uere drauing upon common sources and
traditions.
Cyneuulf's treatment of the Ascension follous
the general progression of ideas in the closing sec
tions of Gregory's homily: the meaning of the uhite
garments, the reversal of the sentence of death and
corruption, the fuqel metaphor derived from Dob, the
gifts given to men, the leaps passage, the return of
Christ as judge, and the necessity of spiritual imitation
of the Ascension. Into this general structure, Cyneuulf
has inserted his oun material. He adds, for example, a
vivid and psychologically realistic narration of the
Ascension event itself, including Christ's triumphant
arrival in Heaven. But more characteristic of Cyneuulf's
12
genius is his poetic elaboration of ideas and images
uhich are only mentioned by Gregory in passing. The
judgment day theme, for example, is expanded by
Cyneuulf uith terrifying vividness, and the concluding
metaphor of the Christian life as sea voyage, left un
developed by Gregory, is transformed by Cyneuulf into
one of the most striking passages in Old English poetry.
Cyneuulf's treatment of his source material, then, is
not limited to mere paraphrase, but shous considerable
poetic craft as uell as theological competence.
Structure and Imagery
Cyneuulf's treatment of Gregory's homily reveals
the level of originality of the Old English poet:
elaborating images, adding neu material, and everyuhere
vivifying and dramatizing his basic material. The
thematic structure of Cyneuulf's treatment of the
Ascension may be outlined as follous:
I. Introduction, and the posing of the
exegetical question concerning the uhite garments of
the angels (1-14). Beginning of the description of the
Ascension event (14-36). Christ’s final charge to the
assembled Apostles (37-51). Continuation of the narra
tion of the Ascension event (52-66). Appearance and
speech of the angels to the Apostles explaining and
interpreting the event they have uitnessed (67-77).
13
II. Conclusion of the speech of the angels to
the Apostles (78-87). Christ ascends to take His throne
in Heaven (88-93), Continuation of the narration of the
Ascension event: the Apostles' reaction and the return
to Jerusalem (93-106a). Description of the arrival of
the ascending Christ before the gates of Heaven uith the
uhite-robed angels (l06b-117). Angelic dialogue before
the gates, identifying Christ and the throng accompanying
Him and further explaining the Ascension event (I17a-146).
Reflections on the meaning of the Ascension, man’s free
choice in accepting or rejecting salvation, concluding
doxology (147-160).
III. Thanksgiving as man's response to God;
the gifts given to man; the beauty of the physical world;
the healing of the feud between God and man caused by
Adam’s sin (161-187). Return to another meditation on
the Ascensinn event; the fuqel image from Job (188-219);
elaboration of the gifts given to men; the correct use
and interpretation of spiritual gifts; warning against
pride (220-246).
IV. Further meditations centered about the Ascen
sion and its theological meaning; image of the jewels as
types of Christ and the church (247-272). Figurative
interpretation of the Ascension and whole life of Christ
as a series of leaps (273-307a). Nan must imitate the
14
Ascension by raising his mind from earthly to spiritual
things; Christian life as battle uith the forces of evil;
concluding doxology (307b-339).
V. Christ uho has ascended as king uill return
as judge; personal meditation on sin and judgment (340-
357). Rune passage containing Cyneuulf's signature,
continuing the thematic material on sin and judgment
(358-368a). Vivid description of the final judgment
(368b-410). Concluding meditation on the Christian life
as sea voyage and pilgrimage (411-427).
The above outline clearly reveals that Cyneuulf’s
poem does not exhibit the carefully-controlled narrative
unity of other Old English poems. Its unity, rather,
is one of association of moods and themes grouped about
the Ascension event itself. Cyneuulf's thought repeatedly
returns to the Ascention event itself and then branches
out in neu meditations and images summoned to explore the
spiritual meaning of that event. There is, houever, one
problem uith the unity of Cyneuulf's poem, the lacuna
(betueen 1. 117b-118a) caused by the loss of one folio
43
from the Exeter Book. Pope's discovery of this lacuna
in the manuscript text ansuers many of the previous
scholarly accusations of carelessness on the part of the
poet. The loss of this manuscript leaf, houever, does
not seriously impair the appreciation of the artistry and
15
subtlety of Cyneuulf’s creation.
Cyneuulf's poetic treatment of the Ascension
blends traditional Christian and Germanic imagery and
motifs. This fusion of Christianity uith the Germanic
mode of expression is of major importance in the advance
ment of vernacular Christian literature in Anglo-Saxon
England. Furthermore, Cyneuulf's transposition of the
Biblical narrative and theology of the Ascension into
the idiom and thought frameuork of his oun culture gives
both an immediacy and universality to the Christian
message for his hearers. The meaning of the Ascension
becomes a present reality through image, metaphor, and
diction. Consequently, Christ is described in Germanic
images as breqa (l. 17), sincqiefan (l. 21), hlaford
(l. 22), and the ApostlBS are characterized as his
comitatus (his beqna qedryht qeladade, leof ueorud
11. 18b-19a). In this Germanic frameuork, then,the
Ascension of Christ becomes the triumphant return of the
traditional and victorious Germanic hero to his city and
people. Furthermore, the division betueen God and man
caused by the sin of Adam is recast by the poet in terms
of the Germanic concept of the blood-feud: hubs maeste
(l. 129), faehba maeste (l. 178). Later in the poem, the
spiritual struggle betueen the individual Christian and
the forces of.evil is concretized and vivified in terms of
16
battle images drawn from vernacular poetic tradition
(cf. 11. 317ff.).
On a deeper level, Cynewulf's choice and juxta
position of images expresses the theological meaning of
the poem itself. In his description of Christ, Cyneuulf
frequently juxtaposes human and divine images (e.g., (Da
se aebelinq cwom, beorn in Betlem, 11. 9b-10a) uhich
in themselves illustrate imagistically the divine-human
fusion in the person of Christ. Likewise, the thrust of
the whole poem is centered around the re-unification of
man and God, of the earthly and the heavenly, through
the Ascension event. Consequently, Cynewulf's evocation
of the beauties of nature and the ordinary patterns of
human life is geared towards the understanding of such
phenomena as gifts and manifestations of God's presence
in the concrete world of time and events. For Cyneuulf,
the divine has deeply interpenetrated the human and
reveals itself to those who have the eyes of faith.
Cynewulf does not wish to lead his audience away from
the concrete world of their everyday lives, but rather
wishes them to understand that world as manifesting the
spiritual dimension of human existence.
Cyneuulf's elaboration of Gregory's homily is
also characterized by a sense of drama, tension, and
psychological realism. In the Ascension Day homily,
17
Gregory immediately answers the exegetical problem posed
by the white garments of the angels upon the occasion of
the Ascension. Cynewulf, however, never specifically
answers this question, although it is posed in the open
ing lines of the poem. Actually, the whole poem becomes
an answer to the question— a dramatic presentation of the
theological meaning of the Ascension event, symbolized in
the white garments of the angels. Cynewulf also adds
emotion, drama, and psychological realism to his recre
ation of the Ascension scene itself, contrasting the
tumultuous joy of the angels (11. 52, 63b-64) and the
visual splendor of the ascending Christ (11. 65b-66)
with the deeply-felt sadness of the Apostles at the de
parture of the Lord (11. 60, 98-101a). The Ascension
event is further dramatized by both auditory and visual
imagery as well as by dramatic speech and song. Recent
studies have also pointed out the influence of Christian
iconography and liturgy upon Cynewulf's dramatization of
the Ascension event.^ Movement also plays an important
role in the poem. The upward movement of the ascending
Christ is to be matched by the raising of the mind and
heart of the believer to the spiritual world. Likewise,
the movement of the "leaps” passage may be interpreted
as symbolic of the movement of the soul to new levels of
spiritual insight into the Christian mystery.^
18
In order to draw the audience into the experience
of the Ascension event itself and thus unlock its spir
itual meaning for them, Cynewulf has employed the tradi
tional and concrete Germanic imagery of the lord-
comitatus relationship. Besides this, there are other
involving devices in Cynewulf's poem which are no less
important. In the description of the Ascension event,
the poet remarks cyninq ure qewat (l. 55b), thus placing
both himself and his audience at the scene itself, and
linking them to the Apostles as part of Christ's
comitatus. This sense of the here-and-now reality of
the Ascension event is reinforced by Cynewulf's descrip
tion of the actual physical scene (11. 56a: burh baes
temples hrof) just as it would have appeared in his own
day.^ The actual Ascension of Christ is narrated in
its entirety by means of a shifting point of view— the
Ascension is seen from both the perspective of the
Apostles who are left behind on earth and from the
perspective of the angelic throng who accompany Christ
to the gates of Heaven. Thus, Cynewulf skillfully
employs a number of rhetorical and imagistic devices
to arouse both emotional and intellectual participation
on the part of the audience. The audience is drawn
into the actual physical event, and, through this
participation, into the mystery of redemption symbolized
in that event.
19
The influence of Latin rhetoric upon Cynewulf has
47
been pointed out by a number of scholars. The use of
assonance and rhyme and carefully wrought antitheses
(I50b-158a) as well as the carefully developed metaphors
in 11. 257-264 and 11. 411-427 reveal the conscious art
of a skillful and educated craftsman.
Cynewulf’s Theology
If Cynewulf was indeed a cleric and well-versed
in Latin literature, as nearly all scholars would seem
to agree, the richness of his theology should come as no
surprise. Cynewulf’s poem is not only a carefully
wrought verbal structure, but is also a sophisticated
theological treatment of the multiple meanings of the
Ascension event itself.
Cynewulf situates the Ascension event as both
salvation history and as the personal experience of
spiritual mysteries. As a salvation event, Cynewulf
sees the Ascension as essentially linked to both the
Nativity and the Final 3udgment as elements of one
continuous drama of salvation. In this scheme, the
Ascension becomes the sign and pledge of man's redemp
tion from the power of sin, for in the person of the
ascended Christ, humanity is exalted to that union with
God which had been lost through the sin of Adam. Hence,
20
Cyneuulf, like St. Paul and the Patristic writers of
Church tradition, seas Christ as the neu Adam, who re
enacts in reverse direction the process of Adam's fall
and thus undoes it, reversing in himself, through his
death-resurrection-ascension, the separation of mankind
from God.^ Cyneuulf duells at length (11. 177-190)
upon the reversal through Christ of the sentence of
death and suffering laid upon mankind after Original
Sin. Furthermore, Cyneuulf sees the Ascension as the
sign and inauguration of a neu covenant between angels
and men (11. 42b-46), which settles the ancient "feud."
In these meditations on the meaning of the Ascension,
Cynewulf's vision expands beyond the literal event
itself into the vision of an entire universe centered
around Christ. In the description of the Ascension
event, Cyneuulf has grouped men, angels, the audience,
and nature as part of one great harmony around the
ascending Christ. An entire uorld-order is symbolized
here, with Christ as both center and source of this neu
unity. Old and New Testaments are also symbolically
linked in the persons of the Apostles and the Patriarchs
who are also ascending with Christ— biane ilcan breat be
qe her on stariad (l. 131). To these, Cyneuulf joins his
audience and himself, and all in turn are joined to the
angelic uorld in one great act of unity. This neu
integration is physically reflected in the world of
21
nature, uith the beauty and fertility of the physical
world seen as pledge and rev/elation of God's care for
men (11. 161-173). In the Genesis narratives (Genesis
3.17-19), the earth was cursed and would be a place of
pain and struggle for man; but Cynewulf's picture of a
benevolent nature illustrates the primitive unity and
harmony of man and nature, a harmony once disrupted by
Adam's sin but now restored through Christ. All of
these disparate elements are united by the poet into a
complex unity with broad theological implications. In
choice of image, in diction and rhetoric, Cynewulf's
poem literally _is what it means.
Unity, then, or rather the re-establishment of
unity between man and God, between the natural and
supernatural worlds, is at the heart of Cynewulf's
perception of the meaning of the Ascension. But how are
Christians in Cynewulf's own day to grasp and under
stand this relationship? The poet's answer, derived
ultimately from certain remarks in Gregory's homily,
is for man to adopt a special point of view, a particu
lar mode of looking at reality. This is the vision of
faith which looks at and through the concrete, historical
world and grasps spiritual meaning. Man truly imitates
and participates in the reality of the Ascension (i.e.,
in the reality of redemption) by raising his own mind
22
from earthly concerns to eternal truths. The uorld, then
becomes full of "signs" uhich both conceal and reveal
spiritual truth. It is the task of the individual
Christian, through meditation and right living, to learn
to see things jLn jjaere qodcondan qaestes stren £du (1.
199). Thus, Cyneuulf stresses and actually demonstrates
throughout the poem the interpretation of signs, words,
and events in order to grasp their hidden, their spiritua
meaning (e.g., the fuqel image, the "leaps" passage, the
rune passage). The poet offers to his audience a
methodology for true Christian living in the uorld. This
"spiritual" understanding takes place on many levels—
events, words, images, all have a richness uhich is lost
to the eye of the unbeliever (11. 199-205). Thus,
Cyneuulf demonstrates the hidden and spiritual meanings
of such images as Job's fuqel, the gifts given to men,
the "leaps"of Christ, in order to instruct his audience
in a particular way of looking at reality. Gregory, in
his homily, capsulizes this entire theology into one
49
expression: Notate verba, siqnate mysteria. Uhat is
important for Cyneuulf, as for Gregory, is the mystery
uhich lies at the heart of words and human events. The
world of nature, and even the ordinary occupations of
everyday life all have meanings uhich go beyond surface
appearances. Finally, even the runic acrostic uhich both
conceals and reveals the poet's name becomes the emblem
23
of this dual nature of reality.^
Christ II is concerned, then, uith knowledge and
its relation to concrete life. This concern uith the
concealing-revealing nature of reality is also at the
heart of the Augustinian concept of art and literature,
51
uith its stress upon the unique power of words. Man
is not passive in such a spirituality, but has a real
and active role to play in his own interior growth.
Cyneuulf also realistically points out that this kind of
spiritual vision involves freedom and choice on the part
of the individual in living a truly Christian life.
Like the Dews whose deorc oewit and heortan staenne
(11. 201, 202) could not understand the image of the
fuqel. and hence the mystery of Christ, not all men will
achieve this unique vision. Yet, the consequences of
man's free choice are quite concrete, as Cyneuulf
points out in the extended descriptions of the day of
Judgment. The point uhich the poet wishes to make,
however, is more positive— spiritual vision is possible
and open to all because of the spiritual gifts given to
mankind at the Ascension.
As Cynewulf's vision of the Christian life is
an active one, so is his vision of the role and function
of poetry. His poem both conceals and reveals spiritual
truths, and demands the participation of the audience
j
24
in unlocking its deeper meaning. Finally, as Grosz
points out: "The poem as a whole suggests that poetry
can be a vehicle by uhich both the poet and his audience
52
can transcend earthly concerns." Christ II, then, is
a carefully wrought structure of great verbal and
poetic beauty to uhich is joined deep theological
insight. It stands uith Elene as a mature and
sophisticated example of Cynewulf's genius.
25
Introduction: Notes
■'"For a detailed treatment of the biography of
Leofric, including extensive quotation of primary
sources, see R. U, Chambers' introductory essay
(Facsimile, pp. 5-9).
2
The second Old English version of Leofric's
donation list is preserved in MS. Auct. D. 2.16, fol.
2a-2b, in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. This list,
along uith the list bound into the Exeter Book itself,
is dated to the second half of the eleventh century
(ASPR. pp. ix-x). The third version of the donation
list is the Middle English Charter no. 2570, preserved
at Exeter Cathedral. This Charter is dated to the
fifteenth century. All three donation lists are edited
and reproduced by FBrster (Facsimile, pp. 18-32).
^ASPR. p. ix.
4
Facsimile, p. 55.
5
Facsimile, p. 55.
^Facsimile, pp. 35-36.
7
Facsimile, pp. 55-60, and especially the de
tailed diagrams of the Exeter Book gatherings.
26
8
Facsimile, p. 60; ASPR, p. xiv. These figures
are: a rosette (fol. 64b); an angel's head, uith uings
(fol. 78a); a B tuice (Fol. 80a); a uoman's figure (fol.
87b); a P tuice and a veiled hand tuice (fol. 95b); a
man on horseback, upside doun (fol. 123a).
g
Facsimile, pp. 60-61.
■^Facsimile, pp. 61-62; flSPR. pp. xxi-xxiv. In
the introductory essay on the Exeter Book, A5PR (p. xxi)
remarks that "Throughout the greater part of the
manuscript, the point is sporadic in its occurrence, and
could hardly have been intended to serve as a metrical
punctuation such as ue find in the 3unius manuscript."
Pointing is also employed in the runic passages, and
FBrster (Facsimile, p.. 62, note 21) points out that the
scribe distinguished in his pointing betueen runes uhich
are to be taken singly, and a series of runes uhich are
to be read as a group. In the latter case, the rune
groups are set off by points, uith no pointing betueen
the runes of the group themselves. See also the ex
tensive listing of large and small capitals in the
manuscript, as uell as the tables of accents and sec
tional divisions, flSPR, pp. lxviii-lxxxviii.
^Noting Sisam's discovery of a similarity of
script betueen the Exeter Book and Lambeth MS 149,
27
Flouer (Facsimile, p. 89) remarks: "Ue shall probably
not be very Far wrong in placing the writing of these two
manuscripts between 970 and 990, and rather early than
late in that period." flSPR (p. xiii) also dates the
handwriting of the Exeter Book to the second half of the
tenth century. Muinzer (p. xxxiv) adds that "/Uolfgang/
Keller, the only paleographer who has published a
systematic study of Insular script, first believed that
the Exeter script must date from 960-80 /flnqel-
sgichsische Palaeoqraphie. I, p. 40^, and later
Angelsachsische Schrift," Hoops' Reallexikon. I, 102"J
narrowed his estimate somewhat to the reign of Edgar
(959-75)."
12
See Facsimile, p. 2. Whether the Exeter Book
scribe was himself the original compiler of this collec
tion of poetry is open to debate. Sisam (RES, X, 340ff.)
believes that the Exeter Book scribe worked continuously
from an already made collection. Muinzer (p. xxxix)
adds a further reflection: "Even if we suppose that the
even quality of the scribe's writing indicates that he
copied continuously (an assumption uhich not all will
make), there is no one who can say that he did not
copy 'continuously' from a sequence of manuscripts,
selected from the collections of his scriptorium."
28
1 ^
Flouer (Facsimile, p. 83) holds that the
manuscript shows evidence of the work of several
scribes.
"^See especially Chambers' account of the history
and editions of the Exeter Book (Facsimile, pp. 33-43).
■^See John C. Pope, "Lacuna," pp.210-219. The
problem of this lacuna is discussed in detail in the
notes and commentary to 11. 117-119.
16
See Muinzer (p. xxxv) who cautions: "It will
be seen, however, that the hand of a corrector is to be
recognized in certain emendations of the Juliana and
Christ II manuscript texts . . . the editor need ob
serve only that we should be extremely cautious in de
termining the hand responsible for such textual correc
tions; scholars in the past have been somewhat prone
to attribute emendations of the text to this later
corrector, whereas the evidence appears clearly insuf
ficient to allow any attribution at all. In such
cases, it is impossible to say with any certainty that
the Exeter scribe himself did not correct his text,
opinion to the contrary."
17
See flSPR, pp. lxviii-lxxxviii.
18
Franz Dietrich, "Cynevulfs Crist," Zeitschrift
fUr deutsches flltertum. IX (1853), 193ff.
29
■^Cook (pp. xxi-xxv) offers a checklist of
eighteen arguments for unity, and concludes (p. xxv)
that "... there is a strong presumption, amounting in
my judgment to certainty, that the three divisions are
by the same author, Cyneuulf; that they stand in organic
relation to one another; and that they may thus be fairly
regarded as forming, in combination, a single poem.
This of course does not exclude the possibility that the
three parts may have been uritten at different times."
20
For clear and detailed summaries of these
problems, see especially A5PR, pp. xxvii-xxix; Schaar,
pp. 104-108. Dubois also opts for a single poem theory.
21
Brother Augustine Philip, "The Exeter Scribe
and the Unity of the Crist," POOL A L \ l (December, 1940),
903-909. This article also incorporates a valuable
review of scholarship up to 1940.
22
Augustine Philip concludes (p. 909): "This
brief survey of the actual usage in the Old English MSS
brings out the fact that the Exeter scribe uas more care
ful and consistent than the scribes of either the Junius
or Uercelli MSS in his use of capitals and terminal signs
to distinguish betueen separate poems and divisions
within the same poem. And the facsimiles from the Exeter
Book are sufficient without further argument to
30
demonstrate that the Exeter scribe regarded the first
three pieces, dealing respectively uith the Advent, the
Ascension, and the Judgment Day, as independent poems."
23
See Sisam, Studies, p. 11, 104; Schaar, pp.
104-108, 326; Das, p. 237. See also Muinzer's sensible
and cautionary treatment of the question, pp. xvi-xxi.
24
Sisam, Studies, p. 12; Das, p. 237; Schaar, p.
326. See also Greenfield, History, p. 108 and Urenn,
Study, p. 123.
25
Muinzer, in his treatment of the Cyneuulf canon
(pp. xvi-xxvii) adds a cautionary note uhich is uell
taken (p. xviii): "Thus, uhile feu today uill declare
that Cyneuulf definitely urate certain of the unsigned
poems, scholars must avoid rushing to the other extreme
and stating that Cyneuulf could not have uritten any but
the four compositions uhich he signed."
A perception of some sort of unity betueen
these three compositions lies, I think, at the heart of
past efforts to demonstrate a strict unity of both
composition and authorship. S. Moore, "The Did English
Christ: Is It A Unit?" JEGP, XIV (October, 1915), pp.
550ff. points out the traditional theological association
of Incarnation-Ascension-Judgment to be found in the
uarks of Augustine, Bede and others. More recently,
Kenneth Mildenberger ("Unity," p. 432) has pointed out
31
the extensive association of these three motifs in
ico'-'ographic traditions: ’ ’The association of the three
themes of Advent (the Virgin Mother), Ascension, and
Judgment seems, then, to have had considerable currency
in Christian iconography in the eastern Mediterranean
region during the sixth and seventh centuries. The
iconography uhich combines these three motifs found its
uay to Northumbria, apparently through Egypt, by the end
of the seventh century. Here it uas inscribed on the
venerated St. Cuthbert's coffin, uhich uas placed on
perpetual display at Lindisfarne. Christ, an eighth
century literary product of the same Northumbrian
monastic culture, is likeuise concerned uith the same
three principal motifs. Both the poetic material and
the icon seem to indicate the uorking of some unifying
idea nouhere explicit but inherent in the recurrent
combination of the motifs, a unifying idea undoubtedly
apparent to contemporary Christians. Such an explanation
of unity must be accepted indisputably in the case of
the Oriental Ascension iconography, and by analogy may
be reasonably ascribed to the three-part Christ
poetry." See also Peter Clemoes1 important study,
"Cyneuulfs Image of the Ascension," in England Before
the Conouest: Studies in Primary Sources Presented to
Dorothy Uhitelock. ed. by Peter Clemoes and Kathleen
32
Hughes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971),
pp. 293-304.
r y n
flSPR (p. xxvii) states: "That the similarity
of these three parts is great enough to justify the con
viction that ue have in them elements of a work con
ceived as a unity is a point on uhich there may uell be
difference of opinion, though the probabilities are that
at least the person uho combined these parts into the
manuscript form intended them to be so regarded." Muin-
zer (p. xxi) adds: "As both manuscript and common
sense rule against the unity of the Christs, ue may
safely take it that Cyneuulf signed only one of the
three poems, and that the relation of the three is due
to skill in anthologizing. This same skill and planning
is obvious not only here, but in the grouping of the tuo
Guthlac poems of the manuscript, in the insetting of
Genesis B into the Junius Manuscript text of Genesis A.
and indeed in the general lay-out of the four great
poetic codices of the period . . ." See also Sisam,
Studies, p. 11.
28
Johannes M. Kemble, "On Anglo-Saxon Runes,"
Archaeolooia, XXVIII (1840), 327-372.
29
See his study in Zeitschrift flir deutsches
Alterthum. XXXIII (1888), 60ff.
33
30
Eduard Sievers, "Zu Cyneuulf," Anglia, XIII
(1891), 1-25.
31
See especially Sisam's critical treatment of
the linguistic evidence, Studies, pp. 2-7. For a sum
mary of nineteenth century scholarship bearing on the
identity and dates of Cyneuulf, see K. Jansen, "Die
Cyneuulf-Forschung von ihren Anfangen bis zu
Gegenuart," BJB, XXIV (1908), 1-53 and also Cook, pp.
lxx-lxxi, note 3. A valuable modern treatment of the
evidence is that of Kennedy, The Earliest English Poetry
(London: Oxford'University Press, 1943), pp. 200ff.
32
Sisam, Studies. p. 3.
33
Sisam, Studies. p. 7 definitely assigns
Cyneuulf to the ninth century, as does Greenfield,
History, p. 109.
34
Sisam, Studies, p. 2 urites: "It is, then, a
fair deduction that Cyneuulf urote in the Anglian
dialect— in Northumbrian or Mercian. A number of
special reasons derived from the Cyneuulf legend and
the literary prestige of Northumbria have inclined most
critics in that direction: but there is no ponderable
evidence for the one kingdom or the other."
34
35
Carleton Broun, "The Autobiographical Elements
in the Cyneuulfian Rune Passages," English Studies,
XXXVIII (October, 1907), 196-233.
36
See especially Charles U. Kennedy, The Earliest
English Poetry, pp. 200ff. All of Kennedy’s treatment of
Cyneuulf (pp. 198-234) shous uelcome balance and liter
ary appreciation. See also Cook, p. lxx, note 3 and also
Frederick Tupper, "The Philological Legend of Cyneuulf,"
PMLA, XXVI (3une, 1911), 235-279.
37
First proposed by Kemble, "On Anglo-Saxon
Runes," Archaeologia. XXVIII (1840), 362.
38
This identification uas proposed by Dietrich
in Disputatio de Cruce Ruthuellensi (Marburg, 1865), p.
14.
39
This identification uas proposed in elaborate
detail by Cook, pp. lxxii-lxxvi.
^Migne, £L 76, cols. 1213-1219. The material
most pertinently related to Cyneuulf's poem is in cols.
1218-1219.
^Franz Dietrich, "Cyneuulfs Christ,"
Zeitschrift fUr deutsches Alterthum. IX (1853), 204.
4 2
Migne, £L 94.624-626. See also the text in
Cook, pp. 116-118. This hymn is discussed in H. Gneuss,
35
Hymnar und Hvmnen im enqlischen Mittelalter (TUbingen,
1968), p. 53.
AT
John C. Popb , "Lacuna," pp. 210-219.
44See Mildenberger, "Unity" and Clemoes, "Image"
throughout.
a 5
Grosz, "Imitation," p. 400.
4^See Clemoes, "Image," p. 300, note 4. The
site of the Ascension is treated in the notes and com
mentary to 1. 56a.
47
Concerning such rhetorical effects, Kennedy,
The Earliest English Poetry, p. 204, writes: "...
an excellent example of those conscious devices of
structure uhich demonstrate the importance of the Latin
influence upon Cyneuulf's uork. These are not the
qualities of the older Germanic tradition, but of a
metrical art definitely influenced by medieval rhetoric."
See also Sisam, Studies, pp. 27-28.
A Q
See Romans 5.12-21 and 1 Corinthians 15.21-22.
A concise and readable handbook of Patristic doctrines
on the nature of Christ is P. Smulders, The Fathers on
Christology (De Pere, Uisconsin: St. Norbert Abbey
Press, 1968).
49fligne, PL,, 76. 1213.
36
^Grosz, "Imitation," p. 407.
51
See Grosz, "Imitation," note 6. A valuable
and comprehensive study is Bernard F. Huppe, Doctrine
and Poetry (Neu York: State University of Neu York,
1959).
^Grosz, "Imitation," p. 407.
i
i
II. DIPLOMATIC TEXT
NU BU GEORNLICE GAEST/gerynum
mon se maera modcraefte sec
(Durh sefan snyttro (Daet {ju soQ uite
hu { 3aet geeode {3a se ael/mihtiga
ancenned ueard { 3urh claenne had
si|D|3an he marian maegda ueolman
maerre meoulan mundheals geceas.
| 3 a e t | 3 a e t i n h u i t u m h r a e g l u m g e u e r e d e
e n g l a s n e o d e o u d u n { 3 a s e ae{ 3 e l i n g c u o m
1 0 b o e r n i n b e t l e m b o d a n u a e / r o n g e a r u e
|3 a { 3u r h h l e o f s o r c u i d e h y r d u m c y d d o n
s a e g / d o n s o d n e g e f e a n ( 3a e t t e s u n u u a e r e
i n m i d d a n g e a r d m e o t u d e s a c e n n e d
i n b e t l e m e h u a e { 3 r e i n b o c u m n e c u i d
{ 3 a e t h y i n h u i t u m { 3 a e r h r a e g l u m o d y u d e n .
i n fsa ae{ 3 e l a n t i d s u a h i e e f t d y d o n .
^T3a se brega maera to bethania
{seoden (3rymfaest his {3«gna gedryht
geladade leof ueo/rud hy fsaes lareoues
20 on { 3am uildaege uord ne gehyru/don
(440)
(450)
37
38
hyra sincgiefan sona uaeron gearue
haeled mid hlaford to (paere halgan byrg
(aaer him tacna fela ti/res brytta
onurah uuldres helm uordgerynum
aer/hon upstige ancenned sunu
efenece beam agnum faeder
haes ymb feouertig |ae he of foldan aer
from dea/de aras dagena rimes.
Kaefde ha gefylled sua aer bi/foran sungon
30 uitgena uord geond uoruldinnan
jaurh his hr°winga hegnas heredon.
lufedun leofuendum lifes agend
faeder frumsceafta he him faegre |aaes
leofum gesifaum lean aefter geaf
"Ihaet uord acwaed ualdend engla
gefysed frea mihtig to faeder rice
ge/feod ge on ferdde naefre ic from hueorfe
ac ic lufan symle laeste uid eouic
1 eou meaht giefe -|mid uunige
40 auo to ealdre fcaet epu aefre ne bid
(460)
(470)
39
hurh gife mine go/des onsien. (480)
Farad nu geond ealne. yrnemme grund.
geond uiduegas. ueoredum cydad.
badiad "Jbremad. bearhtne galeafan.
fuluiad folc under roderum.
hueorfad to heofonum. hergas breotah*
fyllad 7 ^eo/9a€** feondscype duaescad.
sibbe sauad. on sefan man/na.
jDurh meahta sped. ic eou mid uunige.
50 ford on frofre. "7 eoiJ Frida healde.
strengdu satholfaestre. (fol. 15a) on stoua gehuare.
JC , v (490)
H)a ueard semnmga(.) sueg on lyste.
hlud gehyred. heofonengla fareat.
ueorud ulitescyne. uuldres aras.
cuomun on cordre. cyning ure geuat.
(Durh (Daes tem/ples hrof. jaaer hy to segun.
faa he leofes (Da gen. last uearde/dum.
on ham hingstede. he9nas gacorene.
gesegon hi on heahhu. hlaford stigan.
60 godbearn of grundum. him uaes geomor sefa.
40
hat aet heortan. hyge murnende.
jaaes ( db hi sua leofne. leng ne mostun.
geseon under suegle. song ahofun.
aras ufancunde. aerating heredum.
lofe/dun liffruman. leohte gefegun.
| 3e of fsaes haelendes. heafelan lixte.
gesegon hy aelbeorhte. englas tuegen.
faegre ymb p frumbearn. fraetuum blican.
cyninga uuldor. cleopedon of heahfcu.
70 uordum uraetlicum. ofer uera mengu.
beorhtan reorde. huaet bidad ge.
galilesce. guman on huearfte.
Nu ge sueotule geseod. sodne dryhten.
on suegl faran. sigores agend.
wile up heonan. eard gestigan.
aefDelinga ord. mid (Das eng/la gedryht.
ealra folca fruma(.) faeder ejoelstoll
(500)
(510)
UE mid (lyslice. |Dreate uillad.
ofer heofona ge/hlidu. hlaford fergan.
80 to (Daere beorhtan byrg. mid |Das blidan gedryt.
s a l r a s i g e b e a r n a . (Daet s e l e s
, te^
( f o l . 1 5 b ) T a e ( D e le s t e . (De ge her on s t a r i a d .
"Jin f r o f r e g e se o d . fr a e t u u b l i c a n .
u i l e e f t sua |Deah. eordan maegde.
s y l f a g e s e c a n . s i / d e h erge.
"J(Don g e d e m a n . d a e d a g e h u y l c e .
(Dara de gefre/medon. folc under roderum.
* O a u a e s u u l d r e s u e a r d . u o l c n u b i f e n g u n .
h e a h e n g l a c y n i n g . o f e r h r o f a s u p p .
90 haligra helm. hyht uaes geniuad.
b l i s i n b u r g u m . (Durh (D aes b e o r n e s c y m e ,
g e s a e t s i g e h r e m i g . o n jaa s u i j D r a n h a n d ,
e c e e a d / f r u m a . a g n u m f a e d e r .
g e u i t a n h i m (Da g o n g a n . t o h i e r u s a / l e m .
h a e l e d h y g e r o f e . In (Da h a l g a n b u r g ,
g e o m o r m o d e . f ) o n a n h y g o d n y h s t .
up s t i g e n d e . e a g u m s e g u n .
h y r a u i l g i f a n . ( D a e r u a e s u o p e s h r i n g .
t o r n e b i t o l d e n . u a e s s e o t r e o u l u f u .
1 0 0 h a t a e t h e o r t a n . h r e d e r i n n a n u e o l l .
41
(520)
(530)
42
o
b orn breostsefa. bidan eal/le baer. (540)
jaegnas brymfulle. (Deodnes gehata.
i n f j a e r e t o r h t a n b y r i g . t y n n i h t (Da g e n .
s u a h i m s y l f b i b e a d . s u e g l e s a g e n d .
aer/(Don up stige. ealles ualdend.
o n h e o f o n a g e h y l d h u i t e c u o m a n .
eorla eadgiefan. englas togeanes.
^Daet is uel cueden. sua ge/uritu secgad.
g
$ him aelbeorhte englas togeanes.
1 1 0 i n |Da h a l / g a n t i d . h e a p u m c u o m a n .
sigan on suegle. ba uaes symbla maest. (550)
geuorden in uuldre. uel baet gedafenad.
( D a e t t o ( D a e / r e b l i s s e . b e o r h t e g e u e r e d e .
i n (D a e s b e ° d n e s b u r g . b e 9 n a s c u o m a n .
u e o r u d u l i t e s c y n e . g e s e g o n u i l d u m a n .
o n h e a h / s e t l e . h e o f o n e s u a l d e n d .
folca feorhgiefan. fraetuum (fol. 16a) ealles ualdend
middangeardes ~ J maegenbrymmes
ha/fad nu se halga helle bireafod
120 ealles baes gafoles be hi gear/dagum
In jaaet orlege unryhte suealg.
Nu sind forcume/ne *| in cuicsusle
gehynde -jgehaefte. In hellegrund
du/gu^um bidaeled deofla cempan
nilhtan uifjerbrogan uige spouan
uaepna uyrpu si|3(Dan uuldres cyning
heo/fonrices helm hilde gafremede
u i (3 his ealdfeondum a/nes meahtum
( 3aer he of haefte ahlod hu|Da maeste.
130 of feon/da byrig folces unrim.
(Disne ilcan fareat |ae ge her on/stariad
uile nu gesecan saula nergend
gaesta giefstol godes agen beam
aefter gudplegan nu ge geare cunnon
huaet se hlaford is se |aisne here laeded
nu ge fromlice freondum togeanes
gongad glaedmode geatu ontynad
uile Into eou ealles ualdend
cyning on ceastre cordre ne lytle
140 fyrnueorca fruma folc gelaedan
43
(560)
(570)
44
In dreama dream de he on deoflum genom (580)
(Durh his sylfes sygor sib sceal gemaene
englu 7aeldum a ford heonan
uesan ui/deferh. uaer is aetsomne
godes 7 monna gaesthalig treou
lufu lifes hyht 7 ealles leohtes gefea-
l^uaet ue nu gehyrdan hu (aaet haalubearn
| 3urh his hydercyme hals eft forgeaf
gefreode 7 gefreo^ade folc under uolc/num
maere meotudes sunu p nu monna gehuylc
cuic (fol. 16a) ^endan her uunat geceosan mot (590)
sua helle hienfau sua heofo/nes maerfau
sua leohte leoht sua da lafaan niht
sua fDrym/mes (Draece sua bystra uraece.
sua mid dryhten dream sua mid deoflum hream.
sua uite mid ura(3um sua uuldor mid arum
/
sua lif sua dead sua him leofre bid
to gefremman/ne {Denden flaesc 7 gaest
uuniad in uorulde uuldor fraes age
jatynysse |arym ( 3onc butan ende:^
45
^DAET is (Daes uyrde £te uerbeode
secgen dryhtne £onc duguda gehuylcre
(ds us sid 7aer simle gefremede
(Durh monigfealdra maegna geryno.
he us aet giefed "laeh/ta sped
uelan ofer uidlond 7ueder li(De
under suegles hleo sunne 7 ^°na
aefaelast tungla eallu scinad
heofon/condelle heale(3um on eordan
170 dreosed deaw 7ren dugude ueccafD
to feorhnere fira cynne
iecad eorduelan. (Daes ue ealles sculon
secgan (Done *71of. faeodne ussu.
"]huru |Dae/re haelo. (De he us to hyhte forgeaf.
da he (Da yrmpdu. eft oncyrde
aet is upstige (De ue aer drugon
7ge(Dingade fjeod/buendum.
uid faeder suaesne faehfaa maeste
cyning anbo/ren cuide eft onhuearf
180 saulum to sibbe se (ae aer sungen
(600)
(610)
46
(jurh yrne hyge. aeldu to sorge. (620)
Ic (Dec o f e r e o r d a n g e u o r h / t e . o n | D a e r e (du s c e a l t yrm(Dum
l i f g a n .
u u n i a n i n g e u i n n e ( f o l . 17a) u r a e c e d r a o g a n
f e o n d u m t o h r o f D o r f u s l e o d g a l a n
“ J t o ( D a e r e i l c a n s c e a l t e f t g e y e o r f D a n
y y r m u m a u e a l l e n £ o n a n y i t e s f y r
o f | D a e r e e o r d a n s c e a l t e f t g e s e c a n .
J-juaet us jais se ae/faeling ydre gefremede
(oa he leomum onfeng "|lichoman
190 monnes magutudre. si(D(aan meotodes sunu
engla e|Del up gestigan (630)
uolde yoeroda god. (js se yilla bicyom
. *
h e a / n u m t o h e l p e o n (Da h a l g a n t i d .
/
b i (Don g i e d d a u r a e c i o b s u a h e c u d e
h e r e d e h e l m u e r a h a e l e n d l o f e d e
y m i d s i b l u f a n s u n u u a l d e n d e s
f r e o n o m a n c e n d e 7 h i n e f u g e l n e m d e
(Done i u d e a s . o n g i e t a n n e m e a h t a n .
In d a e r e g o d c u n d a n g a e s t e s s t r e n g d u
200 y a e s (D a e s f u g l e s f l y h t f e o n d u m on e o r ( i a n .
47
dyrne “Jdegol. fam fe deorc geuit
haefdon on hrefre heortan staenne.
Moldan hi fa torh/tan. tacen oncnauan.
fe him beforan fremede. freobearn godes.
/
monig mislic. geond middangeard
sua se faela fugel. flyges cunnode.
huilu engla eard. up gesohte.
modig meahtum strang. fane maran ham.
huilum he to eorfan eft gestylde
210 furh gaestes giefe grundsceat sohte.
uende to uorulde bi fon se uitga song,
he uaes upp hafen engla faedmum
in his fa miclan. meahta spede.
heah "fhalig ofer heofo/na frym.
We meahtan fa faes fugles. fly^t gecnauan.
(fol. 17b) fre faes upstiges Tsaec fremedon
* 7faet ne gelyfdon ^te lif/fruma
In monnes hiu ofer maegna frym
halig from hrusan ahafen uurde.
220 ^>a us geueordade se fas uorld gescop
(640)
(650)
godes gaestsunu ~ J us gief e sealde
uppe mid englum ece stafaelas
•jeac monigfealde modes snyt/tru
seou Tsette geond sefan manna.
Sumum uord/lafDe wise sended
on his modes gemynd hurh his mu^es gaest
aedele 7giet. se maeg ealfela.
singan ^secgan bam bid snyttru craeft
bifolen on ferde. Sum maeg fingru wel.
230 hlude fore haelefDum hearpan stirgan.
gleobeam gretan. Sum maeg godcunde.
reccan ryhte ie. Sum maeg ryne tungla.
secgan side gesceaft. Sum maeg searolice
uordcuide uritan. Sumu uiges sped,
giefed aet gu(3e |jon gargetrum
ofer scildhreadan sceotend sendad
fla/c or flangeueorc. Sum maeg fromlice
ofer sealtne sae sunduudu drifan
hreran holmbraece. Sum maeg hean/ne beam
240 staelgne gestigan. Sum maeg styled sueord.
48
(660)
(670)
49
uae/pen geuyrcan. Sum con uonga bigong,
uegas uidgielle sua se ualdend us
godbearn on grundum his giefe bryt/tad.
Nyle he aengum anum. ealle gesyllan
gaestes snyt/tru (3y laes hi gielp scefa|3e
(aurh his anes craeft ofer ofDre ford:-j
(fol. 18a) BUS god meahtig geofum unhneauum.
cyning al/uihta craeftum ueordaf}
eordan tuddor suylce eadgum blaed
250 seled on suegle sibbe raerefD
ece to eal/dre engla "fmonna
sua he his ueorc ueor|aad. bi (oon se uitga cuaed
£ ahaefen uaeren halge gimmas
haedre heofon/tungol healice upp.
sunne *| mona. huaet sindan £>a
gim/mas sua scyne buton god sylfa
he is se sodfaesta sun/nan leoma
englu 7 eor€l 1Jarufn ae£»ele scima
ofer mid/dangeard mona lixed
250 gaestlic tungol sua seo godes circe
(680)
(690)
50
faurh gesomninga sodes “Jryhtes (700)
beorhte bliced sua hit on bocum cuid
sifafaan of grundum godbearn a/stag.
t
cyning claenra gehuaes faa seo circe her.
aefyllen/dra eahtnysse bad.
under hae|aenra. hyrda geuealdu
jaaer da synsceadan sofaes ne giemdon
gaestes faearfe ac hi godes tempel
braecan 7 baerndon blodgyte uorhtan
270 feo dan T^yldon huae(are ford bicuom
faurh gaestes giefe. godes (aegna blaed (710)
aefter upstige ecan dryhtnes.
bi (aon Salomon song. sunu dauifaes
giedda gearosnot/tor. gaestgerynu
ualdend uer(aeoda uord acuaed
cud }aaet geueorded j&te cyning engla
meotud meahtu suid munt gestylled
gehleaped hea dune hyllas ycnol/las.
beurid mid his uuldre. uoruld alysed
280 ealle eord (fol. 18b) buend (aurh faone aefaelan styll.
uaes se forma hlyp ba he on faemnan astag
maeged unmaele baer mennisc hiu
onfeng bu/tan firenum to frofre geueard
eallu eorduaru uaes se o/^er stiell
bearnes gebyrda (3a he In binne uaes
in cildes hiu clabum beuunden
ealra (3irymma (srym uaes se bridda hlyp
rodorcyninges raes (Da he on rode astag
faeder fro/fre gaest uaes se feorda stiell
290 in byrgenne (3a he (3°ne beam ofgeaf
foldaerne faest uaes se fifta hlyp
ba he helluerena heap forbygde
In cuicsusle cyning inne gebond
feonda foresprecan fyrnum teagum
gromhydigne baer he gen liged
In carcerne clommum gefaestnad
synnu gesaeled. uaes se siexta hlyp
haliges hyhtplega ba he to heofonum astag
on his ealdcydde ba uaes engla breat
300 on ba halgan tid hleahtre blibs
51
(720)
(730)
uynnTT geuorden gesauan uuldres {Drym
aefjelinga ord edles neosan
beorhtra bolda |Da ueard burguaru.
eadgum ece gefea. ae|Delinges plBga
f3us her on grundum godes ece beam
ofer heahhleo(DU hlypu stylde
modig aefter muntum sua ue men sculon
heortan gehygdum hlypum styllan
of maegne In maegen maerfaum tilgan
310 ‘ J5 ue to (Dam hyhstan hrofe gestigan
halgu ueorcu fiaer is hyht blis
gejDungen (Degnueorud is us |oearf micel
■jSue mid heortan haelo secen.
baer ue mid gaeste georne (fol. 19a) gelyfad
fDaet (Daet haelobearn heonan up stige
mid usse lichoman lifgende god
for|3on ue a sculon idle lustas.
synuunde forseon )Daes sellSn gefeon
habbad ue us to frofre faeder on roderum
320 aelmeahtigne he his aras fmnan
52
(740)
(750)
53
halig of heah(3u hider onsended
(Da us gescildafs uid sec^andra
englum aarhfarum fa± laes unholdan.
uunda geuyrcen |3on urohtbora
In folc godes ford onsendad
of his braegdbogan biterne strael
forfDon ue faeste sculon uid (3am faeyscyte
symle uaerlice. uearda healdan
fay laes se attres ord in gebuge
330 biter bordgelac under banlocan
feonda faersearo (Daet bid frecne uund
blatast banna utan us beorgan (3a
(jenden ue on eordan eard ueardigen
utan us to faedar freofDa uilnian
bid/dan beam godes 7lDone blidan gaest
■£he us gescilde uid sceadan uaepnum.
lafara lygesearuum se us lif for/geaf
leomu lie gaest se him lof symle
|Durh uoruld uorulda uuldor on heofnu:7
(760)
(770)
54
340 NE fearf him ondraedan deofla straelas
aenig on eordan aelda cynnes
gromra garfare gif hine god scildef
duguda dryhten is fam dome neah
ue g e/lice sceolon leanu,hleotan
sua ue uidefeorh ueorcu hlo/dun
geond sidne grund us secgad bee
hu aet aerestan ead(fol.19b)mod astag
In middangeard maegna goldhord
In faemnan faedm freobearn godes.
350 halig of heahfu huru ic uene me.
7eac ondraede. dom dy refran..
^Donn eft cymed engla feoden
^ie ic ne heold teala p me haelend min
on bocum bibead Ic faes brogan sceal
geseon synuraece faes fe ic sod talge
faer monig beod on gemot laedad
fore onsyne eces deman
fon.ft.ceacad. gehyred cyning maedlan.
rodera ryhtend. spre/can refe uord
36D fam fe him aer in uorulde uace hyrdon
(780)
(790)
(jen/dan.A•It- y|oast meahtan
frofre findan (3aer sceal forht monig
on (aa uongstede uerig bidan
huaet him aef/ter daedum daman uille
urajsra uita bijt) se.^.scaecen
eor(3an fraetua .ft.uaes longe
.r.flodum bilocen lif/uynna dael
. fion foldan (Don fraetue sculon
byrnan on baele blac rasetted
370 recen raada leg refse scribed.
geond uoruld uide uongas hreosad
burgstede berstad brond bid on tyhte
aeled ealdgestreon unmurnlice
gaesta gifrast ^ geo guman haoldan
henden him on eordan onmedla uaes.
for(Don Ic leofra gehuone laeran uille
joaet he na agaale gaestes joearfe
ne on gylp geote (aenden god uille
he her in uorulde uunian mote
380 somed simian sauel in lice
55
(800)
(810)
i
in (Dam gaesthofe scyle gumana gehuylc
on his geardagu geor/ne bifDencan
]£ us milde bicuom meahta ualdend
aet (fol. 20a) aerestan (Durh (Daes engles uord.
bid nu eorneste (Don eft cymed
rede 7 ryhtuis rodor bid onhrered
7 bas miclan gemetu middangeardes
beheofiad. (Don beorht cyning leanad
(Daes ( db hy on eorfDan eargum daedum
390 lifdon leahtrum fa. (Daes hi longe sculon
ferduerige onfon In fyrbade
uael/mum biurecene ura|Dlic 7lean.
(Don maegna cyning on gemot cymed
(Drymma maeste (Deodegsa bid
hlud gehy/red bi heofonuoman
cuanendra cirm cerge reotad
fore onsyne eces deman
(Da (De hyra ueorcum uace tru/uiad.
^Daer bi(D odyued egsa mara
400 (Don from frumgescea/pe gefraegen uurde
56
(820)
(830)
57
aefre on eordan faaer bid aeghuylcum
synuyrcendra on (Da snudan tid
leofra micle (Don eall faeos laene gesceaft
(□aer he hine sylfne on (Dam sige/(Dreate
behydan maege (Don herga fruma
ae(Delinga ord eallum demed
leofum ge ladum lean aefter ryhte
(Deoda gehuylcre is us hearf micel
ue gaestes ulite aer |Dam gry/rebrogan
410 on (Da® gaesnan tid georne bi(Dencen.
Nu is (Don gelicost sua ue on laguflode
ofer cald uaeter ceolu lidan
geond sidne sae sundhengestum
floduudu fer/gen is (Daet frecne stream,
yda ofermaeta (De ue her on lacad
geond (Das uacan uoruld uindge holmas
ofer deop gelad uaes se drohtad strong
aerfjon ue to londe geliden (fol. 20b) haefdon
ofer hreone hrycg pa us help bicuom
420 (Jaet us to hae/lo hyfre gelaedde
(840)
(850)
godes gaestsunu "] us giefe sealde
faaet ue oncnauan magun ofer ceoles bord
huaer ue saelan sceolon sundhengestas
ealde ydmearas ancrum faeste
utan us to [Daere hyde hyht stafDelian.
[Da us gerymde rodera ualdend
427 halge on heah[Du (Da he heofonum astag:-^:-^
58
(8 6 0 )
: 7
III. READING TEXT
I
Nu du geornlice gaestgerynum
mon se maera, modcraefte sec
burh sefan snyttro, baet fiu sod uite
hu baet geeode, be se aelmihtiga
acenned ueard burh claenne had,
sibban he Marian, maegda ueolman,
maerre meoulan, mundheals geceas,
baet baer in huitum hraeglum geuerede
englas ne odeoudun, ba se ae^eling cuom,
10 boern in Betlem. Bodan uaeron gearue
ba burh hleoborcuide hyrdum cyddon,
saegdon sodne gefean, baette sunu uaere
in middangeard meotudes acenned,
in Betleme. Huaebre in bocum ne cuid
baet hy in huitum baer hraeglum odyuden
in ba aebelan tid, sua hie oft dydon
da se brega maera to Bethania,
beoden brywfaest, his be9na gedryht
geladade, leof ueorud. Hy baas lareoues
20 on bam uildaege uord ne gehyrudon,
(440)
(450)
59
60
hyra sincgiefan. Sona uaeron gearue (460)
haeled mid hlaford to jaaere halgan byrg,
faaer him tacna fela tires brytta
onurah, uuldres helm, uordgerynum,
aerjDon up stige ancenned sunu,
efenece beam agnum faeder,
haes ymb feouertig he he of foldan aer
from deade aras dagena rimes.
Haefde ha gefylled, sua aer biforan sungon,
30 uitgena uord, geond uoruld innan,
hurh his hrou,inga. Jegnas heredon, (470)
lufedun leofuendum lifes agend,
faeder frumsceafta.. He him faegre haes,
leofum gesihum, lean aefter geaf,
ond paet uord acuaed ualdend engla,
gefysed, frea mihtig, to faeder rice:
"Gefeod ge on ferdde! Naefre ic from hueorfe,
ac ic lufan symle laeste uid eouic,
ond eou meaht giefe, ond mid uunige
40 auo to ealdre, hast eou aefre ne bid
61
(Durh gife mine godes onsien.
Farad nu geond ealne yrmenne grund,
geond uiduegas, ueoredum cydad,
bodiad ond bremad beorhtne geleafan,
ond fuluiad folc under roderum,
hueorfad to heofonum; hergas breotafa,
fyllad ond feogad, feondscype duaescad,
sibbe sauad on sefan manna
|3urh meahta sped. Ic eou mid uunige
50 ford on frofre, ond eou fride healde
strengdu sta|Dolf aestre on stoua gehuare."
0a ueard semninga sueg on lyfte
huld gehyred; heofonengla ^reat,
ueorud ulitescyne, uuldres aras,
cuomun on cordre. Cyning ure geuat
burh |3aes temples hrof, (3aer hy to segun,
ba be leofes (3a gen last ueardedun
on jDam (3ingstede, fjegnas gecorene.
Gesegon hi on heahbu hlaford stigan,
60 godbearn of grundum. Him uaes geomor sefa,
(480)
(490)
62
hat aet heortan hyge murnende, (500)
baes be hi sua leofne leng ne mostun
geseon under suegle. Song ahofun
aras ufancunde, aebeling heredun,
lofedun liffruman, leahta gefegun
he of baes haelendes heafelan lixta.
Gasegon hy aelbeorhte englas tuagen
faegre ymb baet frumbearn fraetuum blican,
cyninga uulder. Cleopadon of heahbu
70 uordum uraetlicum ofer uera mengu
beorhtan reorde: "Huaet bidad ge, (510)
Galilesce guman, on huearfte?
I \lu ge sueotule geseod sodne dryhten
on suegl faran, sigores agend;
uile up heonan eard gestigan
aebelinga ord mid bas engla gedryht,
ealra folca fruma, faeder epelstoll.
II
Ue mid byslice breate uillad
ofer heofona gehlidu hlaford fergan
SO to baere beorhtan byrg, mid bas blidan gedry_ht,
63
ealra sigebearna faaet seleste
□nd aefieleste, |3e ge her on stariad
ond in frofre geseod fraetuum blican;
uile eft sua (Deah eordan maegde
sylfa gesecan side herge,
ond bonne gedeman daeda gehuylce
faara de gefremedon folc under roderum."
Ba uaes uuldres ueard uolcnum bifongen,
heahengla cyning, ofer hrofas upp,
90 haligra helm. Hyht uaes geniuad,
blis in burgum, (aurh (Daes beornes cyme;
gesaet sigehremig on (Da suifaran hand
ece eadfruma, agnum faeder.
Geuitan him (aa gongan to Hierusalem
haeled hygerofe, in (3a halgan burg,
geomormode, (Donan hy God nyhst
up stigende eagum segun,
hyra uilgifan. Jaer uaes uopes hring;
torne bitolden uaes seo treoulufu;
100 hat aet heortan hreder innan ueoll,
(520)
(530)
!
i 64
beorn breostaefa. Bidon ealle ba0r
(aegnas farymfulle jaeodnes gehata
in (aaere torhtan byrig tyn niht (aa gen,
sua him sylf bibead suegles agend,
aer|aon up stige ealles ualdend
on heofona gehyld. Huite cuoman
eorla eadgiefan englas togeanes.
Baet is uel cueden, sua geuritu secgad,
baet him aelbeorhte englas togeanes
110 in ba halgan tid heapum cuoman,
sigan on suegle. j j > a uaes symbla maest
geuorden in uuldre. Uel ba0t gedafenad
baet to baere blisse beorhte geuerede
in ba0S bBQdnes burg begnas cuoman,
ueorud ulitescyne; gesegon uilcuman
on heahsetle heofones ualdend,
117 folca feorhgiefan, fraetuum . . .
117A......................... "eallss ualdend
118 middangeardes ond maegenbrymmes.
119 Hafad nu se halga helle bireafod
120 ealles b08s gafoles be hi geardagum
(540)
(550)
65
in (Daet orlege unryhte suealg.
Nu sind forcumene, ond in cuicsusle
gehynde ond gehaefte, in hellegrund
dugufDum bidaeled, deofla cempan.
Ne meahtan ui|3erbrogan uige spou^n,
uaepna uyrpurn, sl^an uuldre3 cyning,
heofonrices helm, hilde gefremede
ui(3 his ealdfeondum anes meahtum,
l^aer he of haefte ahlod hufaa maeste
130 of feonda byrig, folces unrim,
f^isne ilcan bre0t t 30 9e her on stariad.
Uile nu gesecan saula nergend
gaesta giefstol, Godes agen beam,
softer gudplegan. Nu ge geare cunnon
huaet se hlaford is se faisne here laeded.
Nu ge fromlice freondum togeanes
gongad glaedmode. Geatu ontynad!
Uile in to eou ealles ualdend,
cyning, on ceastre, cordre ne lytle,
140 fyrnueorca fruma, folc gelaedan.
(560)
(570)
66
in dreama dream, de he on deoflum genom
burh his sylfes sygor. Sib sceal gemaene
englum ond aeldum a ford heonan
uesan uideferh. Uaer is aetsomne
Godes ond monna, gaesthalig treou,
lufu, lifes hyht, ond ealles leohtes gefea.
Huaet, ue nu gehyrdan hu fDaet haelubearn
burh his hydercyme hals eft forgeaf,
gefreode ond gefreobade folc under uolcnum,
150 maere meotudes sunu, baet nu monna gehuylc
cuic bendan her uunad geceosan mot
sua helle hienbu sua heofones maerbu,
sua baet leofe leoht sua da laban niht,
sua b^ymmes bra8ce sua bystra uraece,
sua mid dryhten dream sua mid deoflum hream
sua uite mid urabum sua uuldor mid arum,
sua lif sua dead, sua him leofre bid
to gefremmanne, benden flaesc ond gaest
uuniad in uorulde. Uuldor baes age
160 brynysse brym> bonc butan ende.
(580)
!l
(590)
67
III
baette uer|peode
duguda gehuylcre,
simle gefremede
maegna geryno.
ond ashta sped,
ond ueder li^e
Sunne ond mona,
Baet is (3aes uyrde baette uer|peode (600)
secgen dryhtne faonc
(db u s sid ond aer
£urh monigfealdra
He us aet giefed,
uelan ofer widlond,
under suegles hleo.
aefDelast tungla, eallum scinad,
heofoncondelle, haele(Dutn on eordan.
170 Dreosad deau ond ren, dugude uecca^
to feorhnere fira cynne, (610)
iecad eorduelan. _Jaes ue ealles sculon
secgan (aonc ond lof (Deodne ussum,
ond huru j^aere haelo fae he us to hyhte forgeaf
da he jaa yrmpdu eft oncyrde
aet his upstige (De ue aer drugon,
ond ge(3ingade {Deodbuendum
uid faeder suaesne faeh(Da maeste,
cyning anboren. Cuide eft onhuearf
180 saulum to sibbe, se fae aer sungen uaes
faurh yrne hyge aeldum to sorgo:
"Ic jaec o£ eordan geuorhte, on faaere [au
yrmjaum
uunian in geuinne ond uraece dreogan,
feondum to hrofaor fusleod galan,
ond to (Daere ilcan scealt eft geueorjaan
uyrmum aueallen; fjonan uites fyr
of (Dasre oordan scealt eft gesecan."
Huaet, us |ais se ae|aeling ydre gefremede
|aa he leomum onfeng ond lichoman,
190 monnes magutudre. Sifa|aan meotodes sunu
engla efael up gestigan
uolde, ueoroda God, us se uilla bicuom
heanum to helpe -on foa halgan tid.
Bi faon giedd auraec lob, sua he cude,
herede helm uera, haelend lofede,
□nd mid siblufan sunu ualdendes
freonoman cende, ond hine fugel nemde,
faone Iudeas ongietan ne meahtan
in daere godcundan gaestes strengdu.
200 Uaes (aaes fugles flyht feondum on eor|aan
68
(620)
scealt
lifgan,
(630)
dyrne ond degol, (Dam pe deorc geuit
haefdon on hrefire, heortan staenne.
Noldan hi (Da torhtan tacen oncnauan
(De him baforan fremede freobearn Godas,
monig mislic, geond middangeard.
Sua se faela fugel flyges cunnode:
huilum engla eard up gesohte,
modig meahtum strang, (Done maran ham;
hwilum he to eordan eft gestylde
210 |Durh gaestes giefe, grundsceat sohte,
uende to uorulde. Bi |Don se uitga song:
,THe waes upp hafen engla faedmum
in his (Da miclan meahta spede,
heah ond halig, ofer heofona (Drym."
Ne meahtan (Da (Daes fugles flyht gecnauan
( db (Daes upstiges ondsaec fremedon,
ond (Daet ne gelyfdon, baette liffruma
in monnes hiu ofer maegna (3rym,
halig from hrusan, ahafen uurde.
220 0a us geweordade se (Das world gescop,
69
(640)
(650)
70
Godes gaestsunu, ond us giefe sealde,
uppe mid englum ece stafaelas,
□nd eac monigfealde modes snyttru
seou ond sette geond sefan monna.
Sumum uordla|3e uise sended
on his modes gemynd burh his mufaes gaest,
aedele ondqiet; se maeg ealfela
singan ond secgan (3am bid snyttru craeft
bifolen on ferde. Sum maeg fingrum uel
230 hlude fore haele^um hearpan stirgan,
gleobeam gretan. Sum maeg godcunde
reccan ryhte ae. Sum maeg ryne tungla
secgan, side gesceaft. Sum maeg searolice
uordcuide uritan. Sumujn uiges sped
giefed aet gu|ae, bonne gargetrum
ofer scildhreadan sceotend sendad,
flacor flangeueorc. Sum maeg fromlice
ofer sealtne sae sunduudu drifan,
hreran holmbraece. Sum maeg heanne beam
240 staelgne gestigan. Sum maeg styled sueord,
(660)
(670)
71
uaepen, geuyrcan. Sum con uonga bigcng, (680)
uegas widgielle. Sua se ualdend us,
godbearn, on grundum his giefe bryttad.
Nyle he aengum anum ealle gesyllan
gaestes snyttru, |oy laes hirn gielp sce|3(3e
(Durh his anes craeft ofer o(3re ford.
11/
Bus God meahtig geofum unhneauum,
cyning aluihta, craeftum, ueorda(3
eorfDan tuddor; suylce eadgum blaed
250 seled on suegle, sibbe raerefD
ece to ealdre engla ond monna. (690)
Sua he his ueorc ueorfaad. Bi (son se uitga cuaed
baet ahaefen uaeren halge gimmas,
haedre heofontungol, healice upp,
sunne °nd mona. Huaet sindan (3a
gimmas sua scyne buton God sylfa?
He is se sodfaesta sunnan leoma,
englurn. ond eorduarum aedele scima.
Ofer middangeard mona lixed,
260 gaestlic tungol; sua seo Godes circe
i
(Durh gesomninga sodes ond ryhtes
beorhte bliced. Sua hit on bocum cuib>
sibban of grundum godbearn astag,
cyning claanra gehwaes, ba seo circe har
aefyllendra eahtnysse bad
under haebenra hyrda geuealdum.
Jaer da synaceadan so^es ne giemdon,
gaestas bearfe, ac hi Godes tempel
braecan ond baerndon, blodgyte uorhtan,
270 feodan ond fyldon. Huaebre ford bicuom
(Durh gaestes giefa Godes |3egna blaed
aefter upstige ecan dryhtnes.
Bi faon Salomon song, sunu Dauibes,
giedda gearosnottor gaestgerynum,
ualdend uerfDeoda, ond baet uord acuaed:
"Cud (Daet geueorded, baette cyning engla,
meotud meahtum suid, munt gestylled,
gahleaped hea dune, hyllas ond cnollas
beurid mid his uuldre, uoruld alysed,
280 ealle eordbuend, burh b°ne aebelan styll.
72
(700)
(710)
73
Uaes se forma hlyp fra he on faemnan astag, (720)
maeged unmaele, ond fraer mennisc hiu
onfeng butan firenum; fraet to frofre geueard
eallum eorduarura. Uaes se ofrer stiell
bearnes gebyrda, fra he in binne uaes
in cildes hiu, clafrum beuunden,
ealra frrymma frrym. Uaes se frridda hlyp
rodorcyninges raes, fra he on rode astag,
faeder frofre gaest. Uaes se feorda stiell
• <
290 in byrgenne, fra he frone beam ofgeaf,
foldaerne faest. Uaes se fifta hlyp (730)
fra he helluarena heap forbygde
in cuicsusle; cyning inne gebond,
feonda foresprecan, fyrnum teagum,
gromhydigne, fraer he gen liged
in carcerne clommum gefaestnad,
synnum gesealed. Uaes se siexta hlyp
haliges hyhtplega, fra he to heofonum astag,
on his ealdcydde. Jfa uaes engla frreat
300 on fra halgan tid hleahtre blifre
74
uynnum geuorden; gesauan uuldres l^rym,
asjaelinga ord, edles neosan,
beorhtra bolda; ba ueard burguarum
eadgum ece gefea ae^elinges plaga.
Jus her on grundum Godes ece beam
ofer heahhleobu hlypum stylde,
modig aefter muntum. Sua ue men sculon
heortan gehygdum hlypum styllan
of maegne in maegen, maer(3um tilgan,
310 baet ue to bam hyhstan hrofe gestigan
halgujn ueorcum, (Daer is hyht ond blis,
ge^ungen faegnueorud. Is us (aearf micel
baet ue mid heortan haelo secen,
baer ue mid gaeste georne gelyfad
baet baet haelobearn heonan up stige
mid usse lichoman, lifgende God.
Forbon ue a sculon idle lustas,
synuunde, forseon, ond baes sellran gefeon.
Habbad ue us to frofre faeder on roderum
320 aelmeahtigne. He his aras b°nan,
(740)
(750)
75
halig, of heahjau hider onsended,
jaa us gescildab uid scebbendra
eglum earhfarum, bi laes unholdan
uunde geuyrcen, bonne urohtbora
in folc Godes ford onsended
of his braegdbogan biterne strael.
For(3on ue faeste sculon uid bam faerscyte
symle uaerlice uearde healdan,
by laes se attres ord in gebuge,
330 biter bordgelac, under banlocan,
feonda faersearo. Jaet bid frecne uund,
blatast benna. Utan us beorgan faa,
benden ue on eordan eard ueardigen;
utan us to faeder freoba uilnian,
biddan beam Godes ond {Done blidan gaest
baet he us gescilde uid sceaban uaepnum,
labra lygesearuum, se us lif forgeaf,
leomu, lie ond gaest. Si him lof symle
burh uoruld uorulda, uuldor on heofnujn.
(760)
(770)
76
340 Ne fiearf him ondraedan deofla straelas
aenig on eordan aelda cynnes,
gromra garfare, gif hine God scildeb,
duguda dryhten. Is bam dome neah
baet ue gelice sceolon leanurn hleotan,
sua ue uidefeorh ueorcura hlodun
geond sidne grund. Us secgad bee
hu aet aerestan eadmod astag
in middangeard maegna goldhord
in faemnan faedm, freobearn Godes,
350 halig of heahbu. Huru, ic uene me
ond eac ondraede dom dy rebran,
donne_ eft cymed engla be°den,
be ic ne heold teala baet me haelend min
on bocum bibead. Ic baBS brogan sceal
geseon, synuraece, bBBS be so^ talge,
baer monig beod on gemot laeded
fore onsyne eces deman.
J^onne.h. cuacad, gehyred cyning maedlan,
rodera ryhtend sprecan reba uord
360 bam be him aer in uorulde uace hyrdon,
(780)
(790)
77
dendan.A • ond -f. . yfaast meahtan
frofre findan. J»aer sceal forht monig
on dajE uongstede uerig bidan
huaet him aefter daedum deman uille
ttjradra uita. Bid se.p.scaecen
eordan fraetua. .f|.uaes longe
•T.flodum bilocen, lifuynna dael,
. Pfon foldan. ^onne fraetue sculon
byrnan on baele; blac rasetted
370 recen reada leg, rede scrided
geond uoruld uide. Uongas hreosad,
burgstede berstad. Brond bid on tyhte,
aeled ealdgestreon unmurnlice,
gaesta gifrast, daet geo guman heoldan,
denden him an eordan onmedla uaes.
Fordon ic leofra gehuone laeran uille
daet he ne agaele gaestes dearfe>
ne on gylp geote, denden God uille
daet he her in uorulde uunian mote,
380 somed sidian sauel in lice,
(800)
(810)
78
in (Dam gaesthofe. Scyle gumena gehuylc
□ n his geardagum georne bibsncan
baet us milde bicuom meahta ualdend
aat aarestan burh bees engles uord;
bid nu eprneste bonne eft cymed,
rede ond ryhtuis. Rodor bid onhrered,
ond bas miclan gemetu middangeardes
beofiad, bonne beorht cyning leanad
baes be hy on eorban eargum daedum
390 lifdon leahtrum fa. Jaes hi longe sculon
freduerige onfon in fyrbade,
uaelmum biurecene, urablic ondlean.
?onne maegna cyning on gemot cymed
brymma maeste, be°degsa bid
hlud gehyred bi heofonuoman,
cuaniendra cirm; cerge reotad
fore onsyne eces deman,
ba be hyra ueorcum uace truuiad.
Oaer bib odyued egsa mara
400 bonne from frumgesceape gefraegen uurde
(820)
(830 )
79
aefre on eordan. Jaer bid aeghuylcum
synuyrcendra on (3a snudan tid
leofra micle bonne eall bGOS laene gesceaft
baer he hine sylfne on bam sigebreate
behydan maege, b°nne herga fruma,
aebelinga ord, eallum demed,
leofum ge ladum, lean aefter ryhte,
beoda gehuylcre. Is us bearf micel
baet ue gaestes ulite aer bam gryrebrogan
410 on bGG gaesnan tid georne bibencen.
Nu is b°n gelicost sua ue on laguflode
ofer cald uaeter ceolurn lidan,
geond sidne sae sundhenbestum,
floduudu fergen. Is baet frecne stream,
yda ofermaeta, be ue her on lacad
geond bas uacan uoruld, uindge holmas
ofer deop gelad. Uaes se drohtad strong
aerbon ue to londe geliden haefdon
ofer hreone hrycg; ba us helpe bicuom,
420 baat us to haelo hybe gelaedde,
(840)
(850)
80
Godes gaestsunu, ond us giefe sealde
fiaet ue oncnauan magun ofer ceoles bord
huaer ue saelan sceolon sundhengestas,
ealda ydmearas, ancrum faeste.
Utan us to (aaere hyde hyht stafaelian,
da us gerymde rodera ualdend,
427 h a l g e on h e a h ( D U , (3a h e h e o f o n u m a s t a g .
(860)
IV. NOTES AND COMMENTARY
1. The Ascsnsion (Christ II) begins towards the
middle of folio 14a of the Exeter Book. The first nine
lines of the folio page contain the concluding lines of
The Advent. The next two lines are blank, and The Ascen
sion begins uith the entire first manuscript line in cap
itals: NVBUGEORNLICE GAEST. The initial capital N ex
tends through six manuscript lines.
qaestqerynum. U., Go., qaest qerynum. apparently
not recognizing that the uord is a compound.
2. mon se maera. Sisam (Studies, p. 11) sees in
these uords a possible reference to a patron: "The Ascen
sion , then, was written for the instruction, and perhaps
at the request, of some great man. There is no means of
knowing who Cynewulf's patron was; and there is just the
chance that the lost opening of The Advent referred to
him again."
5. burh claenne had. Th. translates "through
state of purity"; Go.'*' "in purity"; Gordon (Poetry. p.
141) "in purity"; Kennedy (EECP, p. 98) "in purest
birth."
81
82
6. Marian. Cook (p. 119) observes "Gen., not
acc. "
maeqda. Gr. note tnaeqde?
7. mundheals. Go.^ catalogues this uord as a
hapax legomenon. and (note, p. 162) translates "the
safety uhich comes from the protection (mund) afforded by
another." Gollancz also cites similar uses of heals
compounds in heals-maeqed. Gen. 2155, and heals-qebedda,
Beou. 63, and adds "mund-heals may have had a similar
meaning, 'beloved maiden.'" In his text, however,
Gollancz translates the uord as "protector." Cook (note,
p. 119) similarly translates mund-heals as "sanctuary,
shelter." Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz, p. 484) queries
"salus tutelae?" Gordon (Poetry, p. 14l) interprets
mundheals as "protection," and Kennedy (EECP. p. 98)
translates "shelter." Hotlhausen (flnolia Beibl. IX, p.
355) suggests a possible emendation with the query "1st
statt mundheals nicht vielleicht -heolstor zu schreiben?"
A5PR (note, p. 250) notes Holthausen's suggestion, but
the emendation is not adopted. Muinzer, Cook and all
other editors follow the MS reading mundheals.
8-16. The poet now turns to the question posed
by Gregory the Great in section 9 of his Horn, in Evanq.
Liber II. XXIX; "Hoc autem nobis quaerendum est.,
83
quidnam sit quod nato Domino apparuerunt angeli, at tamen
non leguntur in albis yestibus apparuisse; ascendente
autem Domino, missi angali in albis leguntur yestibus
apparuisse. Sic etenim scriptum est: Videntibus illis
aleuatus est, 6t nubes suscepit eum ab oculis eorum.
Cumque intuerentur in caelum auntem ilium, ecce duo yiri
steterunt juxta illos in yestibus albis (Act. i.9). In
albis autem v/estibus gaudium et solemnitas mentis
ostenditur. Quid est ergo quod, nato Domino, non in
albis yestibus, ascendente autem Domino, in albis
yestibus angeli apparent, nisi quod tunc magna solem
nitas angelis facta est, cum caelum Deus homo penetrayit?
Quia, nascente Domino, yidebatur diyinitas humiliata;
ascendente yero Domino, est humanitas exaltata. Albae
etenim yestes exaltationi magis congruunt quam humili-
ationi. In assumptione ergo ejus angeli in albis
yestibus yideri debuerunt, quia qui in natiyitate sua
apparuit Deus humilis, in ascensions sua ostensus est
homo sublimis." (PL.» 76.1218). In his commentary on
The Acts of the Apostles (£L. 92.942) Bede follows the
interpretation of Gregory.
Gregory’s homily and the Scriptural account of
the Ascension in Acts 1.1-12 form the focal point of
Cynewulf’s poem. To this focal point the poet will add
a series of thematic meditations on the meaning and
84
theology of the Ascension, returning to the basic Ascen
sion scene at the end of each major development. Thus,
Cyneuulf creates not only a rhythmic pattern in his poem,
but also insures unified development of themes around a
central core.
A comparison of 11.8-16 of Cynewulf's poem with
its source in Gregory's homily reveals the poet's method
of literary composition. In the Latin homily, Gregory
immediately answers the question about the significance
of the white clothing of the angels at the Ascension
event. Cynewulf, on the other hand, does not immediately
provide an answer to the rhetorical question, but pre
sents instead a vivid recreation of the Ascension scene
itself. The Anglo-Saxon poet thus maintains suspense and
engages the imagination of his audience. Gregory's ques
tion is answered in Cynewulf's poem by the imaginative
re-creation on the part of the audience of the joy and
splendor of the Ascension scene itself.
Clemoes ("Image," p. 295, note 4) sees an addi
tional distinction between the role of the angels at the
Nativity and at the Ascension: "at the former 5 - .e., the
Nativity^ the angels were Christ's messengers readily
helping their leader when he set out on his noble ex
pedition (448br53a); at the latter the Ascension/^
they were welcoming back their victorious king." It
might also be noted that the account in Acts 1.9 does
85
not contain the word angels, mentioning only tTduo v/iri
. . . in vestibus albis." That angels assumed the male
human form in earthly appearances is common in both Old
and New Testaments, and Gregory's identification of the
duo viri is rooted in Church tradition.
10. beorn. Citing El_. 391, Cook (note, p. 119)
suggests a reading of beam, although he retains the MS
reading in his text. Note the contrast in this sentence
between aebeling (9b) and beorn (10a). The child born at
Bethlehem is no ordinary child, but God’s Son. The word
beorn has rich connotations, and the poet, through the
syntactic contrast of two nouns, illustrates one of the
major themes of the poem: the humble scene of the
Nativity of Christ as beorn (Gregory's divinitas humili-
ata) is contrasted with the tumultuous and triumphant
Ascension of Christ as aebelinq (humanitas exaltata).
The human-divine nature of Christ is embedded in
Cynewulf’s choices of vocabulary, particularly the
compound nouns employed to describe and illustrate in
themselves the joining of humanity and divinity in the
person of Christ: e.g. efenece bearn (1.26); qodbearn
(1.6D, 243, 263); frumbearn (1.68); haelubearn (1.147);
freobearn godes (1.204). Cynewulf's vocabulary makes
Christological statements, and keeps before the audi
ence's eyes the reality of the human-divine fusion in the
86
person of Christ. Through allusion to the humble circum
stances of Christ's Nativity as beorn at the very moment
of his triumphant Ascension as cyning and aebeling«
Cyneuulf imparts a tension and vividness to his descrip
tions.
11. hyrdum. The first announcement of the birth
of the Christ-child uas made by angels to a group of shep
herds (Luke 2.8-14).
cyddon. Muizer (note, p. 118): "Uith £ altered
from _a?"
12b-14a. An echo of Luke 2.11.
14b-16a. The statements of Gregory and Cyneuulf
are accurate. The Gospels make no mention of the gar
ments of the angels announcing the Nativity to the shep
herds .
14. bocum. Clemoes ("Image," p. 197, note 2)
points out that Cyneuulf's regular word for the Scrip
tures is bee, as in line 146, uhich contrasts uith
geuritu, 108b, indicating a non-Scriptural source.
cuid. Sievers ("Rhythmik," 475) uould emend to
cuided.
15. Muinzer, in his text, divides this line
87
differently than all other editors: baet hy in hwitum/
baer hraeolum odywden.
17. da. MS , small capital; breqa. Th.,
Gr. breqo, although both acknowledge the MS reading
breqa; flSPR "uith a altered from a?" Muinzer (note,
p. 118): "a, almost certainly corrected from _o."
Bethania. Luke is the only Gospel account to
mention a location of Bethania for the Ascension scene
(cf. Luke 24.50). The village of Bethany is located at
the foot of the east slope of the Mount of Olives, the
traditional site of the Ascension.
18. his beqna qedryht. The description of the
Apostles as a typical Germanic comitatus illustrates the
blend of Christian and Germanic viewpoints in the poem.
Clemoes ("Image," p. 197) indicates that the comitatus
image applies to all followers of Christ, and thus gives
a universality to the poem: "... a symbol which is
intended to be universal, inclusive for all mankind.
This is the symbolism of the comitatus in the poem,
responding to Christ as a single, undifferentiated body."
This is but one of the devices employed by the poet to
involve his audience in the action of the poem. In
Cynewulf's account of the Ascension, which is based on
the Scriptural narratives, the Virgin Mary is not men
tioned as present at the scene, although she is included
88
in many of the early Christian iconographic recreations
of the scene. Cf. Clemoes ("Image," p. 304, note l),
Mildenberger ("Iconography," passim), and especially E. T.
Dewald, "The Iconography of the Ascension," American
Journal of Archaeoloov. Second Series, XIX (1915), 277-
319.
19. lareoues. Not a chance epithet, for the
Gospels describe Christ as instructing his Apostles just
before the Ascension, commissioning them to preach the
Gospel to all men (cf. Mark 16.15-20J Luke 24.45-53; Acts
1.1-9). Christ is also frequently described in the
Gospels as rabbi, uith the meaning of teacher.
21. sincqiefan. Cynewulf's use of a traditional
Germanic image in a Christian context illustrates the
richness which the Christian preacher or poet could draw
out of conventional images and ideas. There is a second
level of meaning here, for Christ is a treasure-giver on
a spiritual plane. The treasure is his teaching, which
brings men salvation (cf. Matthew 13.44).
Sona waeron qearwe. Cook (note, p. 119) comments
on the construction: "For the construction with to, see
El. 23; _An. 1371; here there seems to be an ellipsis of
a verb of motion."
22. halqan byrq. Jerusalem.
89
23. tacna fela. The reference here is to
Christ's teaching in general, and especially to his mir
acles, the "signs” which rev/eal His divinity and role as
Messiah. These tacna do not compel faith, but rather
reveal to the believer who Jesus is. The Gospels of
Mark and John lay special emphasis on the "signs" of
Jesus, most of which are performed in the presence of
the Apostles, and later explained to them.
tires brytta. Again, a traditional Germanic
epithet uith rich Christian theological overtones. The
word-play here centers on the levels of meaning in tires.
The revelation of the glory (Hb. kabod) of Yahweh is a
prominent Old Testament theme, and is associated with
the presence and protective power of God. In the New
Testament, the revelation of Jesus' glory is a central
theme in the Gospel of John (cf. John 1.14). In Cyne
wulf's poem, Christ, as tires brytta. gives protection
and salvation through his teaching. The Apostles see
and share in the glory of Jesus and will also become
tires brytta for other Christians through their role as
Christ's successors in the Church. A further elaboration
of the meaning of glory in this passage may be a refer
ence to the glory of martyrdom. The Apostles win glory
through their martyrdom, and martyrdom is a special glory
for all Christians. Christian martyrdom fuses harmon
iously uith the Germanic comitatus ideal of dying for
90
one's lord. The Apostles and all Christians become the
comitatus of Christ and He alone is the source of their
glory. Kennedy (EECP, p. 98) translates the phrase as
"the Giver of Grace," seeing in the epithet possible
association uith the Christian doctrine of grace.
24. uuldres helm. This epithet adds another
dimension to the Christology uhich Cyneuulf has been de
veloping imagistically throughout the poem. Christ is
here described as protector or ruler of the heavens, and
the image is especially appropriate in connection uith
the Ascension scene itself. Furthermore, this image also
identifies Christ uith the God of the Old Testament, uho
is frequently described as lord of the uind and the uaves.
The Psalms are full of allusions to God in terms of sky,
thunder, light and storms. Cf. Psalms 8.3-4; 18.9-14;
19.1-2; 29 throughout; 97.1-7; 104.1-5. Cyneuulf
imagistically identifies Oesus uith the God of the Old
Testament, and this identification uill be repeated in
more doctrinal terms in the follouing lines.
uordqerynum. This expression is translated and
interpreted by Gordon (Poetry. p. 141) as a reference to
Christ's practice of teaching his disciples in parables.
Christ is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels as explaining
the parables as mysteries, the solution of uhich uill be
revealed only to the chosen feu. Cf. Mark 4.10-12;
91
Matt. 13.10-17. In the Gospel of Mark, Christ takes
great pains to explain thoroughly the parable of the
souer to his disciples (4.13-20); and he also explains
and unlocks the hidden meaning of the Scriptures to the
tuo disciples in the Emmaus account (Luke 24.13-35).
There is also a great deal of instructional and explan
atory material in Christ’s final meetings uith the dis
ciples prior to the Ascension itself. Christ, then,
becomes the revealer of hidden things (tacna fela . . .
onurah), and it is only through Divine aid that signs
and mysteries can rightly be interpreted. This theme
of revelation and the correct interpretation of signs
runs throughout Cyneuulf’s poem, and is clearly stated
in the opening lines uhich present the exegetical prob
lem from Gregory. Cf. Oliver 3. H. Grosz, "Man's Imita
tion of the Ascension: The Unity of Christ II,"
Neophiloloqus Liv (1970), 398-408. Grosz sees a possible
source for 11.21-24 in Mark 16.17-18 (p. 399). Cook
(note, p. 119) calls attention to Luke 14.27, 44-48. See
also Mark 4.11-12. The gift of understanding and inter
preting is not merely restricted to the Apostles, but is
an important quality of all Christian life, as Cyneuulf
uill stress later in the poem. Cyneuulf takes great
pains to point out to his audience the spiritual rich
ness hidden in uords and events. In the fuaal metaphor
92
which follows (11.216-19), Cynewulf associates the Jews in
their hardness of heart with all those who cannot or will
not interpret in daere godcundan qaestes strenqdu and
thus choose spiritual death.
25. up stige. Th., Go., up-stiqe: GUA, M.
upstiqe. but C., ASPR up stige.
ancenned. M. acenned, without explanation. All
other editors follow the MS reading ancenned.
26. efenece bearn aqnum faeder. The traditional
doctrine of the co-eternality of the Son with the Father
(and Holy Spirit) is clearly stated here. This doctrine
is rooted in the Prologue to John's Gospel (cf. John
1.1-2), while the explicit formulation of the doctrine
of the procession and eternal coexistence of the Uord
dates from Patristic times (cf. Justin, Apol. 2.6) and
was formally stated as dogma by the Council of Nicea in
A.D. 325: "Eos autem, qui dicunt: 'Erat, quando non
erat', et 'Antequam nasceretur, non erat1, et 'Quia ex
non existentibus factus est aut ex alia subsistentia vel
essentia', dicentes esse aut 'convertibilem aut muta-
bilem filium dei', hos anathematizat catholica et
apostolica Ecclesia." See H. Denzinger, Enchiridion
Symbolorurn. (32nd ed.; Freiburg: Herder, 1963), pp.
50-53. For a full treatment of the historical develop
ment of this cardinal doctrine see The New Catholic
93
Encyclopedia (Washington: Catholic University of
America, 1967), V, 565-66.
aqnum faeder. Sievers ("Rhythmik," 483) sug
gests emendation to fasdere for metrical reasons here
and also in lines 532 and 773. Sievers is followed by
Holthausen (Anglia Beibl.. IX, 355). Cook (note, p. 119)
attributes another emendation to Trautmann: "Here, and
in 211, 532, and 733, Trautmann ("Kynewulf," 77) would
read Faedder." Thorpe, in his text (Codex Exoniensis,
p. 29) apparently does not interpret aqnum faeder as
Dative after efenece, and translates "the one-begotten
Son, the co-eternal child, to his own Father . . ." The
ASPR text also breaks the phrase with a comma placed
after beam. Cook and Muinzer take the line as a single
phrase, and Cook (note, p. 119) quotes a similar expres
sion efeneadiq Bearn aqenum Faeder in H^,. 8.21. Line 26,
then, is to be interpreted: "the child, co-eternal to
(or with) his own father."
27-30a. Clemoes ("Image," p. 299, note l) re
marks on the separation of syntactic elements in these
lines: "Cynewulf uses the same device of departing from
the normal order of syntactic parts elsewhere— for ex
ample in lines 466-70a ^27-30a7, where, in referring to
the temporal link between the Ascension and the Resur
rection and to the fulfillment of prophecies which the
94
Passion had represented, he interweaves syntactic units
so that the reference becomes non-consecutive and thus
related to non-finite time.1 1 Thus, the Ascension becomes
both an event in earthly, finite time, and also an impor
tant point in the eternal, non-finite plan of God.
Cynewulf is vividly aware of this joining of the eternal
and the temporal, as exemplified by his use of such
contrasting epithets as beorn. hlaford, cyninq (cf.
note to beorn, line 10 above).
Turning to the theology of these lines, we see
that Christ, just as he unites in himself both human and
Divine natures and qualities, so also he unites in him
self both the Old and New Testaments; he is the bridge
between the Old Law and the New. Thus, in these lines,
Cynewulf interweaves syntactic elements in order to
illustrate in words the spiritual content of the passage.
Cynewulf creates a uniquely visible theology. Clemoes
also observes ("Image,, T p. 299) that this interweaving
device enables Cynewulf to transform a specific histor
ical event into "a point of non-natural, symbolic time."
Thus, the Passion (browinqa, 1.31) and the Ascension are
seen as part of a larger, unified context. Cynewulf will
employ the same interweaving device in 11.78-83.
There emerges, then, a scheme of unity and
contrast within the poem. Christ unites in himself both
i
95
human and Divine natures, both Old and New Testaments.
The Ascension event reunites the temporal and eternal
orders of creation, thereby establishing harmony between
angels and men. Likewise, in reference to the audience,
the poet implies that the individual Christian must also
reintegrate himself with the spiritual order. This union
is accomplished by faithfulness to Christ’s teachings, by
studying the Scriptures in order to unlock the spiritual
truths embedded in the signs of God's presence and work
in the world. Finally, the individual Christian must
unite himself to heaven through the correct use of the
talents and gifts bestowed upon him by God. Thus, through
meditation upon God's works and gifts, by putting to
gether the signs of the rune-passage, by seeking in prayer
the answer to the question of the "sign" of the white
garments in Gregory's question, the individual truly imi
tates the Ascension: he rises above the temporal to the
spiritual order, he reunites fallen human nature with its
creator. Cynewulf's poem presents a theology of imitation
of the Ascension through attitude of mind and daily liv
ing.
27. feowertiq. The number of days between the
Resurrection and Ascension is mentioned only in Luke's
account of the Ascension in Acts 1.1-12, esp. v. 3.
Luke's Gospel, however, contains no such time reference,
96
and seems to indicate that the Ascension may have taken
place on the day of the Resurrection itself. See The
Neu Catholic Encyclopedia (1967 ed.), I, 930-36.
Cynewulf is here following the account in Acts, for
Gregory does not mention the forty-day time scheme, nor
does he describe the Ascension itself in such detail.
Clemoes ("Image," p. 301) sees Cynewulf's time reference
as deliberate: "There are signs that Cynewulf is think
ing of his image (of the Ascension) within the framework
of the great liturgical sequence of Resurrection-
Ascension-Pentecost, for he explicitly places the
Ascension forty days after the Resurrection— when Christ
had fulfilled the universal prophecies of the Old Testa
ment through his Passion— and ten days before Pente
cost." This vision of a unified flow of interconnected
events is firmly grounded in the theology of John's
Gospel, where the Passion-Resurrection-Ascension are
seen as elements of a single, continuous action of the
return of Jesus to His Father. The Gospels also state
that the visible, corporeal departure of Jesus from the
earth at the Ascension is the necessary precondition for
the inauguration of Jesus' neu and invisible presence
on earth through the Holy Spirit.
29-30. I translate: "He had then fulfilled
through his passion the words of the prophets, as they
97
had sung before throughout the world.” This interpreta
tion is substantially the same as that of Gollancz in
his edition (Cynewulf's Christ, p. 41). Cook, in his
text, and Gordon, in his translation (Poetry, p. 141)
also take the phrase geond uoruld innan with aua aer
biforan sunqon. ASPR te,xt takes uitqena word geond
uoruld innan as a unit, and is followed by Kennedy in his
translation (EECP, p. 98). Muinzer’s textual punctuation
of the passage is vague. Cook (note, p. 120) indicates
that Grein (Dichtunqen der Anqelsachsen) mistakenly
interpreted uord as nominative, not accusative.
Haefde. The MS indicates a small capital.
30. geond uoruld innan. Gr. geond uoruld-
innan; GLJA geond uoruldinnan. Cosijn (p. 110) rejects
this position, and points out that this three-uord phrase
occurs in Panther 4. Cook (note, p. 120) calls attention
to a similar phrase in Guthlac 855, geond Bryten innan,
and concludes "in both of these /Panther 4 and Guthlac
855^ throughout expresses the whole sense, and so, I
believe, in our passage." All other textual editions
print the phrase as three words, thus taking innan as a
separate word.
31. burh his brouinqa. Christ’s redemptive
death was linked to Old Testament prophecies, especially
to the concept of the Suffering Servant which is found
98
in the prophecy of Isaiah. But consider especially the
account of Christ and the two disciples on the road to
Emmaus (Luke 24.25-27): "Et ipse dixit ad eos: 0 stulti
et tardi corde ad credendum in omnibus, quae locuti sunt
prophetae! Nonne haec oppartuit pati Christum et ita
intrare in gloriam suam? Et incipiens a Moyse et omnibus
prophetis interpretabatur illis in omnibus scripturis,
quae de ipso erant."
32. lufedun. The MS reads lufedun. Thorpe in
his text (note, p. 29) tentatively suggests emendation to
lofedun, citing line 504. Cosijn (p.110) and Won der
Uarth (p. 50) both adopt lofedun.following Thorpe. Grein,
in a note to his text (Bibliothek, p. 161) queries
"statt luf edun e.rwartet mann einen Instrumentalis:
etua lustum?" He later cancelled his suggestion in an
article (Pfeiffer’s Germania. X (1865), 416-429), citing
a verbal parallel to the MS reading in Hy.m. 8.3: lufian
leofwendum lifes aoend. Cook (note, p. 120) also notes
this parallel, and thus rejects any thought of emendation.
leofwendum. Cosijn (p.110) suggests leofwendne,
citing line 400 lofiad leoflicne. Cook (note, p. 120)
dismisses this emendation as unnecessary, citing the
verbal parallel in Hym. 8.3. Cook as well as Muinzer
places a comma in his text after leofwendum. Such punc
tuation is unnecessary and violates the sense of the
99
text.
33. him. Cook and flSPR. in their textual
punctuation, and Kennedy (EECP, p. 98) and Gordon
(Poetry, p. 141), in their translations, interpret him
as dative sing, of the 3rd pers. pronoun with leofurn
qesihum in the sense of "his beloved disciples." It is
also possible to interpret him as dative plural of the
3rd person pronoun, indirect object of geaf, with leofurn
qesibum in apposition. Such an interpretation is indi
cated by Muinzer in his textual punctuation through
insertion of commas after baes (33b) and after qesibum
(34a). The Muinzer analysis of the grammar of the pas
sage seems preferable, and is adopted in this text.
lean. A possible reference here to the commis
sioning of the Apostles to spread the Gospel message and
the investiture of these men uith Christ's oun authority
and the power to work miracles and signs. Cf. 1.39
below.
36. qefysed. Muinzer (note, p. 118) "s^ cor
rected from _r. "
37-51. Christ's sending forth of the Apostles
after the Resurrection to preach the Gospel to all man
is recorded in Matthew 28.16-20 and in Mark 16.14-18.
The passage in Matthew seems closest to Cynewulf's
1DD
version, although the Lukan narrative of the Ascension
scene in Acts is the basis of Gregory's treatment of the
scene.
37. ferdde. C. ferde. A5PR (note, p. 251) re
jects any need for emendation of the MS reading: "For
the spelling, see Ph. 476, Jul. 328."
from hueorfe. Th., Go. from-hueorfe.
39. eou meaht qiefe. Cf. Matthew 28.18 and Mark
16.17-18, in which Christ transfers to his Apostles
special powers. These powers are likewise extended to
all believing Christians.
mid wunige. Th., Go. mid-wunige. Von der Uarth
(p. 51) would add eow, but this addition seems redundant,
for eow is clearly understood as the unstated object.
31b-40a. Cf. Matthew 28.20.
40. awo. Th., Gr. awa, although both acknowledge
the MS awo. No clear reason is given for the emendation.
41. godes onsien. The word pnsien should be
interpreted here as "want, need, or lack" and not "face
or countenance." Thorpe, in his edition (p. 30) mis
translates this phrase as "God's countenance," thereby
making the line unintelligible. As a result, Thorpe
assumed the existence of a lacuna in the text: "Here
101
one or tuo lines are obviously wanting." Cook (note, p.120)
surveys Thorpe's difficulties with this word throughout the
Exeter Book. It is evident that 0E onsien has a variety of
meanings, one of which is "countenance." Hence, Thorpe's
confusion. Cynewulf's phrase is translated correctly by
Kennedy (EECP. p. 99) as "lack of good." Gordon (Poetry. p.
141) takes Qodes as a reference to the Deity and mistrans
lates the phrase as "the want of God." The lack of capital
ization of qodes in the editions of Cook, ftSPR. and Muinzer
indicates their interpretation of qodes as the substantive
"good." In the context of Christ's speech, qodes here may
possibly have the connotation of grace, or Christ presence
with, and protection of, the Apostles and the infant Church
after the Ascension.
onsien. MS onsien. The MS punctuation here pos
sibly indicates the conclusion of the first part of Christ's
speech. The second section of the discourse will be devoted
to the formal sending forth of the Apostles.
42ff. Cook (note, p. 120) points out a close
verbal parallel in Andreas 332-39:
'Farad nu geond ealle eordan sceatas
emne swa wide swa waeter bebuged
odde stedewangas straete gelicad.
Bodiad aefter burgum beorhtne geleafan
ofer foldan faedm; ic eow freode healde.
Ne (Durfan ge on fja fore fraetwe laedan,
gold ne seolfor; ic eow goda gehwaes
on eowerne agenne dom est ahwette.'
102
This passage from Andreas is based on Matthew 28.16-20,
combined with details from the earlier Gospel account of
the sending forth of the disciples to preach before the
Passion (cf. Luke 9.3; Mk. 6.8; Mt. 10.9). The account
in Cynewulf’s poem is a close paraphrase of only Matthew
28.16-20.
Beginning with line 42b and extending to line
117a, there is a remarkably consistent use of the point
after each half-line. ASPR (pp. xxi-xxii) points out
that only a handful of half-lines show no pointing in
this passage. They are 45a, 52a, and 77a, "unless the
dot at the end of the upstroke of a. in semninqa. 1.491a
/52a/t and in fruma, 1.516a may be taken as also
fulfilling the function of a point." My own examination
of the collotype facsimile of the Exeter Book reveals
that there is also no pointing after line 106a. Further
more, there seems to be no clear pointing after 71b and
109a, unless, in each instance, the final stroke of the
final letter e_ be taken as including a point.
42. Farad. The MS shows a small capital.
yrmenne. Cp. ybmenne qrund, Ouliana 10b, and
eormenorund. Beowulf 859. Cook (note, p. 120-21) calls
attention to the mythological connotations of the word:
"Cf. the OS irmin-. in Hel. 340, etc., and the ON
mythical names OHrmungandr, OBrmunrekr, Jttrmunfcirjotr,
103
but especially Jormungrund in Grimnismal 20." Cook also
calls attention to the treatment of this theme in Grimm,
Teutonische Mytholoqie. pp. 115-119. Grein-KHhler
(Sprachschatz. p. 167) glosses eormen, yrmemeas "uni
versalis, immensus, permagnus, universus," and explains
geond yrmenne qrund as "per totam terram," making it
parallel to geond uidueqas in line 43.
43. geond uidueqas. Th., Gr. wide ueqas. and
Gr. note (p. 16l) uid-ueqas? Both Thorpe and Grein
acknowledge the MS reading uid. Muinzer (note, p. 118)
"uith _d corrected (imperfectly) from d." The scribe
evidently began to urite e^, but then caught his error.
A5PR (note, p. 10) also calls attention to _d corrected
from d. Cook (note, p. 121), points out parallel of
geond uidueqas in Beouulf 840 and 1704.
44. Cp. Andreas 335: Bodiad aefter burqum
beorhtne qeleafan.
45. ond. Muinzer in his text prints ^nd without
explanation, although he consistently prints ond for the
MS abbreviation 7 elseuhere.
fuluiad. Cf. Matthew 28.19.
folc under roderum. Cp. 1.87b.
46. hweorfad. Gr. (note, p. 161) hweorfad hi?
104
heofonum. flSPR haebnum and notes MS heofonum.
This emendation uas first proposed by Strunk (MLN. XVII,
186-87) and accepted by Trautmann (BEV, 87). Strunk's
argument rests on the normally accepted vieu that
hueorfan is an intransitive verb. B~T and B-T Supplement
hold hueorfan in this passage to be a transitive form.
Grein-Ktihler (Sprachschatz, p. 369) also interprets
hueorf ad as transitive in this instance. Muinzer (note,
p. 119) also refutes Strunk from a structural point of
vieu: "Strunk, houever, believes that his emended version
line goes uell uith the follouing units which complete the
parallel series: 'go to the heathen; destroy their
sanctuaries; overthrou and hate them.' Houever, this
sounds better than it is, because Strunk has not con
sidered the parallel units uhich precede line 46, namely
lines 42-45; to summarize, the progression of these lines
is: 'Travel over the uorld, preach to the people, bap
tize them, turn them touards heaven, destroy their
temples (or idols), etc.* This is a perfectly orderly
progression of ideas; if, on the other hand, ue accept
Strunk's rendering, ue destroy the series by returning
to the beginning of the progression, to the journeying
among the heathens ..." Muinzer is certainly correct,
for an emendation to haebnum makes the passage redundant.
Furthermore, the follouing lines explicitly outline the
105
method to be used in turning the fole under roderum
towards heaven: destruction of temples, idols, etc.
Adoption of the MS reading in no way breaks the sense of
the passage, but rather brings out the contrast between
earthly idols and hope in heaven. This movement from
earthly things to those of heaven is completely appropri
ate to the theme of Cynewulf's poem. In this instance,
men imitate the Ascension by turning from idols to hope
in heaven. This image of upward movement would be lost
if the Strunk emendation were to be accepted. Muinzer
adds a further point: "it is pleasing to note that Das
in his University of London dissertation, the first
edition after K-D, likewise restores the text." All
editions, therefore, except ASPR follow the MS reading.
Kennedy and Gordon, in their translations, also follow
the manuscript version.
46b-47a. herqas breotab. fyHad ond feoqad.
This stern and uncompromising attitude towards paganism
is not without precedent in the early Church and in
Anglo-Saxon England. Pope Gregory, in a hortatory letter
to Ethelbert, King of Kent and overlord of the rest of
England south of the Humber, advised him to deal sternly
with the vestiges of paganism in his domains: "Et ideo,
gloriose fili, earn, quam acceptisti divinitus gratiam,
sollicita mente custodi, Christianam fidem in populis
106
tibi subditis extendere festina, zelum rectitudinis tuae
in Borum conversions multiplica, idolorum cultus inse-
quere, fanorum aedifica euerte, subditorum mores ex
magna vitae munditia, exhortando, terrendo, blandiendo,
corrigendo, et boni operis exampla monstrando aedifica
. . .1 1 This letter, uhich is dated June, 601, is
recorded in Bede (Historia Ecclesiastics, I.XXXII; Plum
mer, pp. 67-68). Gregory, houever, shous a more even-
handed and tolerant attitude in a letter uritten to
Augustine, dated July, 601: nCum ergo Deus omnipotens
vos ad reverentissimum virum fratrem nostrum Augustinum
episcopum perduxerit, dicite ei, quid diu mecum de causa
Anglorum cogitans tractavi; videlicet, quia fana
idolorum destrui in eadem gente minima debeant; sed
ipsa, quae in eis sunt, idola destruantur; aqua
benedicta fiat, in eisdem fanis aspergatur, altaria
construantur, reliquiae ponantur. Quia, si fana eadem
bene constructs sunt, necesse est, ut a cultu daemonum
in obsequio veri Dei debeant commutari; ut dum gens
ipsa eadem fana sua non videt destrui, de corde errorem
deponat, et Deum verum cognoscens ac adorans, ad loca,
quae consuevit, familiarius concurrat." This letter is
likeuise recorded by Bede (Historia Ecclesiastica. I.
XXX; Plummer, pp. 64-66, and cf. especially his detailed
note on this chapter, uhich deals uith Anglo-Saxon
107
heathenism). Bede also records (Historia Ecclesiastica.
II, XIII; Plummer, p. 113) the destruction by Coifi, a
conv/erted heathen priest, of his own temple at Goodman-
ham, a scene uhich vividly portrays the execution of
Christ's instructions as recorded by Cyneuulf:
"Statimque, abjecta superstitione vanitatis, rogavit
sibi regem arma dare et equum emissarium, quern ascendens
ad idola destruenda veniret. Non enim licuerat
pontificem sacrorum vel arma ferre, vel praeter in equa
equitare. Accinctus ergo gladio accepit lanceam in manu,
et ascendens emissarium regis, pergebat ad idola. Quod
aspiciens vulgus, aestimabat eum insanire. Nec distulit
ille, mox ut adpropiabat ad fanum, profanare illud,
injecta in eo lancea, quam tenebat; multumque gavisus
de agnitione veri Dei cultus, jussit sociis destruere
ac succendere fanum cum omnibus septis suis."
The vestiges of paganism stubbornly persisted
throughout the Anglo-Saxon period in England. Less than
a century before Cyneuulf's oun times, the Council of
Clovesho (A.D. 747) explicitly condemned "paganas
observationes, id est divinios, sortilegos, auguria,
auspicia, fylacteria, incantationes, sive omnes
spurcitas impiorum, gentiliumque errata" (Plummer, p.
60, notes).
Cyneuulf here adopts a rather harsh attitude
108
towards paganism, and his tone is not inconsistent with
the contemptuous treatment of paganism in Juliana.
Cynewulf's harshness may be a reflection of the state of
events in England in his own time. Beginning with the
brutal sack of the monastery at Lindisfarne in A.D. 793,
the Viking incursions into England increased during the
ninth century. The monasteries were rich and vulnerable
targets for the pagan marauders. Furthermore, the Viking
incursions brought about a reintroduction of paganism
into England. It is not surprising that Cynewulf puts
into the mouth of Christ a stern contempt for paganism,
and the contemporary reference of these words of warning
would not be lost on a ninth-century audience.
46b. herqas. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz, p.320)
glosses haarq. herq as "fanum, delubrium, idolum."
Cynewulf’s reference here seems to be to places of pagan
worship. Cook (note, p. 121) has a detailed treatment of
this word: "Grimm (Teut. Myth., p. 68) says that the
OHG haruc stands for fanum, delubrium, lucus, and nemus.
'It includes,' he continues, 'on the one hand the notion
of templum, fanum. and on the other that of wood, grove.
lucus.’ . . . In the Cura Past., hearg is once used for
idolum. and once for simulacrum (Bibl. Quot., pp. 28, 52).
Bn BN httrqr , cf. the Cleasby-Vigfusson Dictionary,
109
though perhaps their conclusions are not to be affirmed of
0E hearq: 'Distinction is to be made betueen hof (temple)
and horg; the hof was a house of timber, uhereas the horg
uas an altar of stone erected on high places, or a
sacrificial cairn, built in open air, and uithout images,
for the horg itself uas to be stained uith the blood of
the sacrifice; hence such phrases as, to "break" the
horgs, but to "burn" the temples. The horg uorship reminds
one of the uorship in high places of the Bible . . . In
provincial Norse a dome shaped mountain is called horq.
The uorship on horgs seems to be older than that in
temples, but uas in after times retained along uith
temple uorship . . . Many of the old cairns and hous
are no doubt horgs of high places of uorship of the
heathen age.1 Under hof, hflrqr is defined as, 'an altar.
holy circle, or any roofless place of uorship.'" For a
detailed description of Germanic rituals and places of
uorship, see Jacob Grimm, Deutsche Mytholoqie (4th ed.;
Gottingen: F. DUmmler, 1875), I, chs. 3-4.
48. sauad. Cyneuulf's choice of vocabulary here
may be a veiled reference to the parable of the souer
(Mt. 13.1-9; Mk. 4.1-9; Luke 8.4-15). The image of the
souer is appropriate to the task of evangelization uhich
Christ outlines for the Apostles. Christ's teachings can
be soun in the human heart only after ueeds and tares are
110
rooted out.In the previous linos Cyneuulf has mentioned
the destruction of pagan idols and shrines as the prepara
tion for the reception of the uord of God (cf. 11.86 and
224). The sowing of peace in the souls of men by the
Apostles parallels Christ's gift of peace to them after
the Resurrection (cf. John 20.21).
49. mid uuniqe. Th., Go. mid-uuniqe. Cf. Mt.
28.20.
qehuare. Cook qehua(m). Sievers ("Rhythmik,"
485) suggested emendation to qehuam. and uas followed by
Cosijn (p. 110) and Trautmann (BEV, 87) and Cook in his
text. Muinzer (note, p. 120) remarks: "but see the
fairly numerous dat. sing. f. citations of this form in
G.-K (qehua), especially those uith the gen. pi."
0a. Small capital in MS.
52. sueq. There is no mention of sound in the
Scriptural narratives of the Ascension, nor in Gregory's
homily. There is, houever, evidence that Patristic
writers associated songs of angelic choruses uith the
Ascension scene. In an Ascension homily of Proclus
(PG, 65.835) the activities of the angelic comitatus are
vividly described: "Alii enim cito volatu praecedebant,
coelestibus janitoribus summi regis Christi adventum
nuntiantes; alii latus cum reverenti timore stipabant,
Ill
alii coram cum hytnnis saltabant, alii aliis cum canticis
celebrabant." Bede’s Ascension hymn (£L, 94.624-26) also
records angelic song during the Ascension:
Christi sonarent gaudia
binos choros paschalia
vita nova laetantium,
binae cohortes aethera
Christum secutae ascenderent,
sedesqie caelo perpetes
inter tenerent .angelos.
Cyneuulf, then, may be drawing upon traditional descrip
tions of the Ascension scene, or he may have derived this
notion of angelic song from the Scriptural accounts of
the music of the angelic throng at the Nativity (cf.
Luke 2.13-14). Clemoes ("Image,” p. 301) remarks upon
the use of sound in this passage: "Throughout, Cyneuulf
shows a keen awareness of the impact of sound. Music,
heard loud and sudden, at the end of Christ's words to
the Apostles, heralds the act of Ascension (491-4); the
joyful song of the angels hymning the ascending Christ
(502b-5) interrupts a sequence of references to the
apostles . . . and contrasts sharply uith the sadness
that they are feeling.” Cyneuulf also employs images
of largeness and intensity (eg. hlud and breat in 1.53)
to emphasize the tumultuousness and grandeur of the
scene and its exuberant joy.
lyfte. Of all the textual editors, only ASPR
and Muinzer report the true MS reading lyste. Muinzer
(note, p. 120) observes that "all others reading MS lvfte.
including Das in his dissertation." There is, houever,
no question among the editors that the reading should be
lyfte. They simply assumed the scribe's meaning, but
failed to note uhat the MS actually reads.
53. heofonenola breat. The Scriptural accounts
of the Ascension make no mention of a throng of angels,
but simply state that Christ rose into the sky. and uas
hidden by clouds. Patristic homiletic and-exegetical
writings, houever, reveal a commonly held tradition
that the ascending Christ uas attended by throngs of
angels and accompanied by the souls of the just redeemed
from Limbo. Much of the Patristic commentary on the
angels at the Ascension scene is based upon the typo
logical exegesis of Psalm 24.7-10. The dialogue recorded
in these verses is attributed to the angels accompanying
the ascending Christ and greeting him upon arrival at the
gates of Heaven. Angels are mentioned specifically by
Cyril of Jerusalem, Catecheses XIV.13, 24-26 (£G., 33.
825ff); Athanasius, Expositio in Ps. XXIII (PG, 27.142);
Gregory of Nyssa, Drat, in Ascensionem, (PG, 46.694);
Proclus, Sermo de Domini Nostri Ascensione (PG, 65.855);
Diadochus (.PG, 65.1141); Theodoret (PG., 81.902-903); and
Hilary (£L» 9.462). The image of the angelic comitatus
113
(PL, 94.622) and the Ascension Hymn (.PL, 94.624-26). The
angelic comitatus does not figure in Gregory's Ascension
homily, but it is mentioned in Bede's homily on the
Ascension (PL., 94.180): " . . . et Dominus cum Apostolis
colloquene subito uidentibus illis elevatus est, etsi non
angelico fultus auxilio, angelico tamen comitatus
obsequio, vereque assumptus est in coelum, angelis
quoque id ipsum attestantibus ..." Neale and Little-
dale, Commentary on the Psalms (London: Bohn Masters,
1874-79), I, p. 333, states that this angelic comitatus
image occurs also in Basil, Cyril of Alexandria,
Tertullian, and Cyrpian; cf. also Mone (Hymnen, I, no.
176). An account of the Ascension similar to Cynewulf's
is also to be found in Christ and Satan 563-569 (ASPR,
I, p. 153):
Astah up on heofornum engla scyppend,
ueoroda ualdend. 9a com uolcnum sweg,
halig of hoefonum. Mid uaes hond godes
onfeng freodrihten, and hine ford laedde
to faam halgen ham heofona ealdor.
Him ymbflugon engla breatas
{Dusendmaelum.
54. ulitescyne. Th. ulite scyne. The descrip
tion of the angelic throng as ulitescyne recalls the
opening question of the poem concerning the significance
of the white garments of the angels at the Ascension.
This rhetorical question has not been answered yet, in
contrast to the immediate explanation given in Gregory's
114
homily. The suspense created by Cyneuulf at the opening
of the poem is maintained at this point. Cyneuulf never
actually gives a stated ansuer to his opening question,
but rather leaves it to the audience to make the connec
tion betueen the garment question and the joy of the
angels, uhich is described in much greater detail here
than in Gregory. Cyneuulf makes his audience put the
evidence together for themselves and thus discover spir
itual truth in a personal uay, thus fulfilling the sum
mons to meditation in the opening lines of the poem.
Cyneuulf's method here, and throughout the poem,
is a concrete illustration of the Augustinian theory of
literature, in uhich the mind derives pleasure and knou-
ledge from the active search for unifying elements.
Greenfield (History, p. 129) is certainly correct uhen
he calls attention to Cyneuulf's systematic attempt to
enliven his poem uith a tension uhich is never fully
resolved. For a full analysis of the Augustinian theory
of literature see Bernard F. Huppe, Doctrine and Poetry;
Augustine's Influence on Old English Literature (Neu
York: State University of Neu York Press, 1959); see
also Gross, "Imitation," pp. 398-401, concerning
Augustinian influence upon Cyneuulf's thought.
55. cuomun. Gr. cuomon.
115
Cyninq. This is the first time in the poem that
this particular epithet is employed by Cynewulf, and it
is not accidental. At this point in the poem, Cynewulf
takes pains to stress the kingly and supreme power of
Christ, especially the kingly prerogative of judging his
subjects. The Mass and Office for the Feast and Octave
of the Ascension also stress the royal enthronement of
the ascended Christ at the right hand of the Father.
Ascension and royal enthronement are also linked in
early Church documents and credal formulas, e.g., the
Nicene Creed of the Roman liturgy: "ascendit in caelum,
sedet ad dexteram patris."
ure. Cosijn (p. 110) emends to ujd. Cosijn's
emendation is to be rejected, however, because it would
destroy a linkage of poet and audience which I feel is
not accidental. Cynewulf's vivid narrative of the
Ascension is told from the Apostles' point of view. To
give this picture interest and immediacy, Cyneuulf
employs the word ure to link himself and his audience,
through their common Christianity, to the Apostles as
witnesses and participators in Christ's triumph. Much
of the remainder of the poem will be devoted to specify
ing the mode of imitation of the Ascension for the
ordinary Christian. The Christ who ascended centuries
ago is thus explicitly linked to the Christians of
116
Cyneuulf's oun day. By acknouledging Christ as cyninq
ure, the Christian becomes, like the Apostles, a member
of Christ's comitatus, and thereby shares in the mission
and promises uhich Christ has just enunciated above.
56. burh baes temples hrof. Bright (MLN, XIII,
14) uas the first to point out that Cyneuulf is referring
to the round, open-roofed Church erected on the summit of
the Mount of Olives, the traditional site of the Ascen
sion .
Eusebius, in his Wit. Const.. Ill, 41 (PG., 20.
1102), states that Constantine erected a church on the
Mount of Olives to honor the site of the Ascension. In
III, 43 he tells us that Helena, Constantine's mother,
likeuise built a basilica at the summit of the Mount of
Olives. Eusebius gives no further description of the
Churches, uhich uere constructed ca. 326-335 A.D. St.
Silvia of Aquitania's Pereqrinatio ad Loca Sancta. LXX-
LXXI (PPTS, I, pp. 69-70) describes a structure at the
site of the Ascension called Imbomon, uhich uas the
scene of Christian liturgical observances. This account
is dated ca. 385. Mention of a church on the summit of
the Mount of Olives is likeuise made by Eucherius,
Epitome de Locis Aliquibus Sanctis. VIII (Tobler, p. 53),
ca. A.D. 440. Neither St. Silvia nor Eucherius describes
117
the structure in detail, and it is not clear whether
they are referring to the churches of Constantino or
Helena, or to any one of the 24 churches which Theo
dosius in _De Terra Sancta, XIII (Tobler, pp. 66-67)
describes on the site of the Ascension.
The first mention of a church fitting Cynewulf's
description is to be found in a work attributed to
Jerome concerning the names of places mentioned in the
Acts of the Apostles (PL., 23.1362). The text is as
follows:
"Mons Oliveti (Act. 1.12), ad orientem Hiero-
solymae, torrente Cedron interfluente, ubi ultima
vestigia Domini humo impresso hodieque monstrantur
(Act. l). Cumque terra eadem quotidie a credentibus
hauriatur, nihilominus tamen eadem sancta vestigia
pristinum statum continuo recipiunt. Denique cum
ecclesia; in cujus medio sunt rotundo schemate, et
pulcherrimo opere conderetur, summom tantum cacumen,
ut perhibent, propter Dominici corporis meatum nullo
modo contegi et concamerari potuit: sed transitus
ejus a terra ad coelum usque patet ape.rtum.’ 1
Such a roofless church would explain Cynewulf's
image of Christ ascending through the roof of a building
on the Mount of Olives. A much more detailed descrip
tion of a round, roofless church built upon the site of
118
the Ascension is incorporated into Adamnan's De Locis
Sanctis, Bk I, ch. 23. See Denis Meehan, ed., AdamnanT s
De Locis Sanctis (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced
Studies, 1958), pp. 64-69. Adamnan's uork is the record
of the pilgrimage of the French bishop Arculf to the holy
land (ca. A.D. 670), and also contains a drawing of the
church of the Ascension. According to Adamnan's account,
this church is both round and roofless:
"In toto monte Oliveti nullus locus altior esse
videtur illo, de quo Dominus ad caelos ascendisse tra-
ditur, ubi grandis stat ecclesia rotunda, ternas per
circuitum cameratas habens porticos desuper tectas.
Cuius videlicet rotundas ecclesiae interior domus sine
camera ad caelum sub aere nudo aperta patet; in cuius
orientali parte altare sub angusto protectum tecto
constructum exstat. Ideo itaque interior ilia domus
cameram super collocatam non habet ut de illo loco in
quo postremum divina institerant vestigia cum in caelum
Dominus in nube sublatus est, via semper aperta fit, et
ad ethera caelorum directa oculis in eodem loco
exorantium pateat." Concerning the origin of this
Church, Meehan writes (p. 24): "This ambitious octagonal
church was built before 378 by the generosity of a pious
matron called Poemenia or Pomnia on the very summit of
Mount Dlivet. The name Imbomon, Inbomon, is regularly
119
given to it by Silvia; but at a later stage the name vas
common. It appears to have escaped the fate of the city
sanctuaries in 614; and, if one is to judge from the
length of the description, its magnificence impressed
Arculf more than that of any other building.”
A similar description of this church is found in
a treatise of Bede, De_ Locis Sanctis, V/11 (cf. Tobler,
pp. 221-222). Bede's account is very similar in language
to that of Adamnan, and is most likely an abridgment of
it. This description is also repeated in Historia Ec-
clesiastica. V, xvii (cf. Plummer pp. 318-19 and note,
pp. 303-304). Bede's uork is dated to the early portion
of the eighth century. Another independent description
of the church of the Ascension comes from the
Hodoeporicon of St. Uillibald, XXI, dated ca. 723-726
(Tobler, pp. 265-66). Uillibald adds details not men
tioned by Adamnan or Bede: "Ilia ecclesia est desuper
patula et sine tecto, et ibi stant due columns intus in
ecclesia contra parietem aquilonis et contra patietem
meridialis plage. Ille sunt ibi in memoriam et in
signum duorum virorum, qui dixerunt: Uiri Galilei,
quid statis aspicientes in celum? Et ille homo, qui
ibi potest inter parietem et columnas repere, liber est
a peccatis suis." Finally, there is the description of
a pilgrim of Cynewulf's own time, the Itinerarium of the
120
French monk Bernard, XU (cf. Tobler, pp. 316-317).
Bernard's short description is dated ca. 870: "In
cacumine autem sepius dicti mantis, millario uno a
valle Iosaphat, est locus ascensionis Domini ad patrem,
habens ecclesiam rotundam sine tecto, in cuius medio,
hoc est in loco ascensionis Domini, habetur altare sub
divo patens, in quo celebrantur sollemnia missarum."
Ue cannot be sure uhich of these descriptions,
if any, Cynewulf had in mind in the composition of his
poem. He might have obtained this information from
another pilgrim firsthand, or even been a pilgrim him
self. On a literary plane, Cynewulf's inclusion of this
seemingly anachronistic detail is consistent with his
desire, mentioned above, to involve his audience person
ally in the scene of the Ascension. He sets the scene
of the Ascension in a church which would have been easily
recognizable to his contemporaries. Cf. The Old Enqlish
Martyroloqy (EETS, 116, pp. 74-76) and Blickling Homily
XI (EETS ad., pp. 114-131).
57. last weardedun. Th. weardedum, following the
FIS, but all editors emend to weardedun. Muinzer (note, p.
120): "The real credit for the emendation should at
least partly go to Louis Klipstein, Analecta Anqlo-
Saxonica. II, 121, who emended to weardedon.** Cynewulf's
121
phrase is glossed by Cook (Glossary, p. 289) and by flSPR
(note, p. 25l) as 'remain behind.' Thorpe, in his edi
tion of the Codex Exoniensis. translates the phrase quite
literally as "those who had yet the beloved's traces
watched." Gollancz, in his edition of Christ (p. 43)
and Gordon (Poetry, p. 142) both adopt a literal transla
tion, glossing last as "track." A more or less literal
translation uould be in order here, for it would keep
the passage close to the Scriptural account in Acts 1.
6-11. The Apostles are evidently still looking towards
the sky,straining for a last glimpse of the ascending
Christ, following his "track" of departure. The Apostles
are then startled from their gazing by the words of the
two angels, who ask them why they are still looking up
towards heaven: "Wiri Galilaei, quid admiramini
aspicientes in caelum?" (Acts 1.11, also used as the
Introit for the Mass of Ascension Day). Cynewulf's
phrase, however, may also have a second meaning, accord
ing to Cook (note, p. 124). He apparently sees in
Cynewulf's words, interpreted literally, the possibility
that last may also mean footprints.
The connotation of last as footprints raises the
possibility that Cynewulf still has in mind the descrip
tions of the church of the Ascension on Mount Olivet,
which he alluded to in the previous line. Most of the
writers who describe the round, roofless church on the
site of the Ascension also mention the phenomenon of the
preserved footprints of Christ within this church. This
tradition of the visible footprints of Christ preserved
on Mount Olivet dates from Patristic times and is men
tioned by several of the Latin Fathers: Paul of Nola,
Epistola XXXI (jPL, 61.328); Paul of Patricordia, De Vita
5. Martini, Liber U (PL_, 61.1051); Sulpicius Severus,
Historia Sacra. Liber II, XXXVIII (PL, 20.148); a work
attributed to Jerome, Nomina Locorum ex flctis (PL. 23.
1362);Augustine, Tractatus XLVII in Evano. Joh.. iv
(PL. 35-1735).
A fuller account of the footprints of Christ and
the miraculous events associated with them is to be
found in Adamnan's _De Locis Sanctis. I, xxiii (see
Meeham, Adamnan's De Locis Sanctis. pp. 64-69). After
describing the round, roofless church built over the site
of the Ascension, he adds: "Nam cum haec de qua nunc
pauca commemorantur basilica fabricaretur, ideo locus
vestigiorum Domini, ut alibi scriptum repertum est,
contenuari pavimento cum reliqua stratorum parte non
potuit, siquidem quaecumque adplicabantur insolens
humana suscipere terra respueret in ora adponentium
excussis marmoribus. Quin etiam calcati Deo pulveris
adeo perenne est documentum ut vestigia cernantur
123
inpressa, et cum cotidie confluentium fides a Domino
calcata diripiat, damnum tamen arena non sentit et
eandem adhuc sui speciem veluti inpraesis signata
vestigiis terra custodit . . . Igitur nostri Arculfi de
loco vestigiorum Domini narratio cum aliorum scriptis
recte concordat, quod nec culmine domus nee aliquo
speciali inferiore et viciniore tegmine ullo quoquo
modo protegi potuerit, ut semper manifesta ab universis
eius frequentatoribus conspiciatur et Dominicorum
vestigia pedum in eiusdem loci pulvere depicta clare
demonstrentur. Haec enim eadem Dominica vestigia
ingentis claritudine lampadis supre eandem rotam in
trocleis pendentis die et nocte flammatis in-
luminantur." Adamnan's account is paraphrased by Bede
in De Locis Sanctis.UII (Tobler, pp. 221-222) and in
the Historia Ecclesiastica, V, xvii (Plummer, pp. 318-
319). Adamnan's account is also the acknowledged basis
for the entry for Ascension Day in the Did English
Martyrology (EETS, 116, pp. 74-77). Finally, a detailed
description of the vestigia, probably also derived from
Adamnan or Bede, is incorporated into Blickling Homily
XI (EETS ed., pp. 125-127).
Returning to Cynewulf's text and the interpreta
tion of last weardian: Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz. p.
765-66) glosses the phrase as "jemandes spur innehalten,
124
und zuar a) ihm auf dem Fusse folgen . . . und b) hinter
ihm zurtickzubleiben., f The best translation of lines
57a-58a is that of Kennedy (EECP, p. 99): "the gazing
throng of His chosen thanes/remained on earth . .
Kennedy preserves the richness of Cyneuulf's expression
by translating last weardian as gazing . . . remained.
The Apostles may be gazing either at the ascending Christ
or at the vestigia left behind. Thus, Cyneuulf's phrase
may have several levels of associations. Such complexity
is not uncharacteristic of Cyneuulf in this poem, uith
its theme of the hidden meaning of events and secret
knowledge.
58. gecorene. An epithet with Scriptural over
tones: cf. John 15.16: "non vos me elegistis, sed ego
elegi vos . .
59a-60a. Cyneuulf's sentence turns upon the
contrast between hlaford and godbearn. Christ at the
Ascension is indeed lord of all creation, but this is
still the same human Christ who was born in humility at
Bethlehem. The human and divine natures of Christ are
carefully balanced in this sentence, as well as two
events, the Nativity and the Ascension. In his homily,
quoted above, Gregory carefully explains the contrast
between divinitas humiliata at the Nativity and humanitas
125
exaltata at the Ascension. Cynewulf's method, however, is
more subtle. He expresses this contrast through his
choice of imagery in the poem. Cook (note, p. 124) calls
attention to Scriptural sources for line 59 in Luke 24.51
and Acts 1.9. There is also a liturgical paraphrase of
on heahbu stigan in the Alleluia versicle for the Mass of
Ascension Day: "ascendens in altum. captivam ducit
captivitatem." (PS, 67.19). Note also the supporting
contrast between heahbu and qrundum.
60b-61a. Cf. Elene 627b-628a: him waes qeomor
sefa,/ hat aet heortan.
60b-63a. The poet develops a strong contrast be
tween the sadness of the Apostles and the tumultuous joy
and song of the angels accompanying the ascending Christ.
The Apostles are literally surrounded on all sides by
the joy of the scene, and Cynewulf carefully places men
tion of the joy and song of the angels both before (l.
52ff) and after(l.63) his description of the contrasting
sadness of the Apostles. This sadness of the Apostles
is not expressly mentioned in the account of the Ascension
in the Gospels or in Acts, and Cynewulf had added a
psychologically realistic and deeply human reaction.
63. Song. There is no mention of angelic song
126
in the Scriptural accounts of the Ascension. Cynewulf
may have borrowed this detail from the Scriptural account
of angelic song at Christ's Nativity (Luke 2.13-14).
heredun. MS, Th. heredum. Emended to heredun
by all editors without comment. In view of the many
verbal endings in -un throughout this passage, the
substitution of jjm for Lin may be explained as a simple
scribal error. Muinzer (note, p. 121) adds that Klip-
stein (Analecta, II, 121) emended to heredon.
65. liffruman. Again, Cynewulf employs an
epithet with rich connotations and appropriate to the
tone of this passage. The triumphant Christ is given
the universal title of "Lord of life." In this expres
sion, Christ is praised not only as the lord and
source of all earthly life, but, more importantly, he is
the source of spiritual life for all who believe in him.
65b-66. Cook (note, p. 124) sees in these lines
a possible reference to Christ's Harrowing of Hell
recorded in the Gospel of Nicodemus, which is also ex
tant in an OE version. I am inclined to think that
Cynewulf also had in mind the Gospel accounts of the
Transfiguration of Christ (cf. Matthew 17.1-9; Mark
9.2-13; Luke 9.28-36). Matthew's account specifically
mentions that Christ's face became bright as the sun:
127
"et transfiguratus est ante 00s, et resplendit facies
eius sicut sol, vestimenta autem eius facta sunt alba
sicut nix" (Matthew 17.2). Clemoes ("Image," p. 29)
believes that Cynewulf derived this detail of the light
around Christ's head from visual, iconographic sources,
and calls attention to the mosaic in the apse of the
Lateran Basilica in Rome which depicts a triumphant
Christ whose head is encircled by a large golden halo:
"These lines seem to me clearly to reproduce a visual
impression of a nimbed, haloed Christ. A luminous
aureole was traditionally the essential visual symbol of
a theophany." Clemoes also admits (note 2, p. 299) that
he knows no text which could have supplied this detail
to Cynewulf. There is no doubt that Cynewulf probably
saw iconographic representations of Christ and the
saints, but he may also have derived this detail from
the Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration. The Trans
figuration scene is quite similar to that of the Ascen
sion— Christ on a hilltop with his disciples— and the
association could easily have been made by a poet
familiar with the Scriptures.
66. heafelan. A small cross is written into
the MS in the left margin immediately preceding heafelan,
the first word on line 11 of folio 15a.
128
67. enqlas tueqen. The account in Acts does
not mention angels specifically, but simply "duo viri
in vestibus albis." Gregory and Cynewulf assume they
were angels, and this point has newer been questioned in
the tradition of the Church. In the Old Testament,
angels frequently assumed the male human form, and the
angel seen at the tomb of Christ after the Resurrection
is likewise described as a young man. Cf. Gen. 32.24ff.;
Luke 24.4ff.
69. of heahbu. Clemoes ("Image," pp. 301-302)
beliewes that Cynewulf may be thinking of liturgical
tropes in this passage. His observations are quite per
ceptive and merit inclusion here: "At one point, I be
lieve, Cynewulf has carried over into his poem a direct
impression of liturgical practice . . . The words of the
two men in white quoted in Acts 1.11, Viri Galilaei . . .
furnished the text for several of the sung parts of the
Mass and Office at Ascensiontide. Ue do not know how
these were sung in ninth-century England, but, as a
consequence of the assumption (as in Gregory's homily)
that the speakers were angels, they were sung from a
height, as ue know, at Essen somewhat later. The build
ings surviving at Brixworth in Northamptonshire and
Deerhurst in Gloucestershire and Eddius's description
of the church built by Uilfrid at Hexham, show that
churches in which internal space was used at more than one
level existed in seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-century
England. The substantial seventh-century remains at
Brixuorth today give an indelible impression of a spacious
interior designed for sophisticated liturgical use in
three dimensions. Ue can say that architecturally condi
tions existed in Cyneuulf's England for giving symbolic
height to the liturgical singers of the angel's words.
It is at least feasible that it was this practice that
prompted him to portray his speakers calling of. heahbu,
whereas in Acts (and hence Gregory's homily) and the
Uirksworth and Rothbury carvings they are on the ground,
and in the hymn atrributed to Bede they are unplaced.
This is a practice that would have prompted him to use
the adjective beorht of their voices; and the phrase
ofer wera menqu is certainly more applicable to liturgic
al listeners in a large church or cathedral than to the
assembled apostles of the narrative. Cynewulf's image
of the Ascension was, I believe, moulded by liturgical
worship as well as by the visual arts." Clemoes' account
is indeed persuasive, especially in view of the extant
Quern quaeritis trope, set at the tomb of Christ and
recording a Scriptural dialogue between angels and men.
It would appear logical that the passages of Scriptural
dialogue centering on the Nativity, Resurrection, and
Ascension uould provide ready material for the liturgical
embellishment of these feasts. Examination of Cyneuulf's
vocabulary reveals that the poet has consistently de
scribed the Apostles in comitatus imagery, and his
description of them in this line as uera menqu strikes
the reader as somewhat inappropriate and crude. The
expression becomes clear, however, if the poet has in
mind the assembled multitude of the faithful in a church
or cathedral. A consideration of the use of pointing in
this section of the MS may also shed light on the Clemoes
theory. There is no extended, regular use of pointing
in the Exeter Book apart from lines 42b-117a of
Cynewulf's poem, and it is this section which contains
the embellished account of the Ascension, including the
words of the angels. It is not certain whether the
Exeter scribe found this pointing in the manuscript he
was copying, added it himself, or whether it was added
by another hand. One possible explanation for the isola
tion of this passage through pointing might be that it
makes appropriate reading for a monastic refectory during
Ascensiontide. The passage may also have been marked
because it contains material suitable for liturgical
dramatization. The dialogue between Mary and Joseph in
Christ may also be a paraliturgical trope.
131
71b-87b. This speech of the angels is essen
tially an amplification of Acts 1.10-11.
72. £n hwearfte. Cosijn (p. 110) interprets
on hwearfte as equivalent to on_ breate. Grein-KBhler
(Sprachschatz, p. 368) glosses hwearft as "ambitus,
circuitus," and renders 11. 71b-72 as "quid circum-
stantes exspectatis?" The reference here is to the
Apostles standing in a group watching the ascending
Christ. Muinzer (note, p. 121) writes: "The jn appears
to be corrected from _n (facs.); as the word _on precedes,
this error probably arose from the repetition of n_ in
on."
73. Nu_. Small capital in MS.
74. faran. Muinzer and ASPR place a semicolon
after faran.
75. eard. Heaven.
qedryht. In the act of ascending, Christ leaves
behind his earthly comitatus, the Apostles, and a new
band of companions surrounds him, the angels. The con
cept of angels as the companions or comitatus of God is
not original with Cynewulf. The image of an angelic
court or retinue was derived from the Old Testament
portrayal of Yahweh as king and lord. See John L.
132
McKenzie, Dictionary of the Bible (Milwaukee: Bruce
Publishing Co., 1965), pp. 3D-32.
77, ebelstoll. The MS punctuation indicates the
termination of a sectional division. Gr. edelstol, but
doubling of a final consonant is not uncommon in OE
poetry, e.g., onsvnn. Guth. 718. There is a possible
echo here of Mark 16.19-20: "assumptus est in caelum et
sedet a dextris dei."
78. Lie. MS UE. After ebelstoll there occurs a
sectional division in the poem, indicated by punctuation
and double spacing. The first word of the neu section is
capitalized, with the large U extending through the
equivalent of four manuscript lines. This division is
puzzling because it falls in the middle of the angels'
speech to the Apostles. Thorpe, in his edition of Codex
Exoniensis, recognized this neu section as a continuation
of uhat has immediately preceded; but Gollancz writes in
a note (p. 162) to his edition of Christ: "I take these
lines to be the reply of Galileans; another interesting
instance of the dramatic bent of Cyneuulf's genius.
Grein takes 11.509-525 as one long speech. The MS is in
favor of my view of the passage, as a neu section begins
with 1.516." Cook (note, p. 125) rightly dismisses
Gollancz with the words: "The Galileans, then, if grammar
133
is to be heeded, must have been provided with wings!"
Cynewulf has previously described the heofonenola breat
surrounding the ascending Christ, and the two angels who
speak to the Apostles are evidently part of this throng,
for they are described as speaking of_ heahbu. Further
more, 11.78ff must be a continuation of the angels'
speech to the Apostles because the end of the speech
(11.84-87) reflects the concluding words of the angelic
speech to the Apostles in Acts 1.10-11. The entire
passage (ll.71-87b) begins and ends symmetrically with a
direct paraphrase of the Scriptural words of the angels
to the Apostles.
79. heofona qehlidu. Clemoes ("Image," p. 298,
note l) interprets Cynewulf's meaning here that Christ
did not merely ascend into the lower heavens (caelum
aereum) as did Elias in the Old Testament, but truly
ascended into and through the upper caelum aetherium and
into Heaven. This distinction is also made by Gregory
in his homily: "In Ueteri Testamento cognovimus quod
Elias sit raptus in coelum. Sed aliud est coelum aereum,
aliud aetherium. Caelum quippe aereum terrae est
proximum; unde et aves coeli dicimus, quia eas volitare
in aere videmus. In coelum itaque aereum Elias
sublevatus est, ut in secretam quamdam terrae rBgionem
repente duceretur, ubi in magna jam carnis et spiritus
134
quiete viveret, quousque ad finem mundi redeat, et mortis
debitum solvat. Ille etenim mortem distulit, non evasit.
Redemptor autem noster quia non distulit, superavit,
eamquB resurgendo consumpsit, et resurrectionis suae
gloriam ascendo declaravit" (.PL, 76.1216). Gregory makes
the important distinction between the fiery "ascension”
of Elias and the true Ascension of Christ. Elias was
taken up into the lower heavens, but not to Heaven itself.
Christ, on the other hand, ascended immediately into
Heaven itself. No man, therefore, except Christ, has
ascended beyond the caelum aereum, which Cynewulf aptly
describes as a lid or limit beyond which what is mortal
may not go. Christ, who is both God and man, transcends
such limitations, and it is in the person of Christ that
human nature enters heaven for the first time. Church
tradition of Cynewulf's time held that the souls of the
just who died between the time of Adam and that of Christ,
did not enter Heaven itself, which was closed because of
Adam's sin, but were assigned to await the redemption of
Christ in a place called Limbo. After his redemptive
death, Christ freed these waiting souls and led them to
Heaven, presumably at the time of the Ascension. The
opening of Heaven is an important theme in Cynewulf's
poem and will be treated in greater detail as the poem
progresses. Cynewulf's phrase heofona qehlidu, referring
135
to the caelum aereum, also occurs in Genesis 584 and
Christ III 904. Muinzer (note, p. 121): "ge/hlidu
uith jd almost certainly corrected from (facs. )" Grein-
Ktihler (Sprachschatz, p. 346) glosses qehlid as
"clausura, sepimentum, septum, parta."
80. byrq. Cony.byriq. Heaven is described
here, and in 11.137ff. in Germanic terms as a city uith
gates and ualls.
qedryht. Th., Go., GUA qedryt, follouing the MS
reading; C. Gedry(h)t; Gr., 'A5PR, M. qedryht. Cook (note,
p. 125) observes that "It is not perfectly clear whether
this band consists uholly of angels, or includes the Old
Testament saints delivered from hell; the latter is more
probable.I T
81ff. The grammar and sense of this passage
have long been a subject of debate among the editors.
Conybeare (p. 215) took ealra siqebearna (81a) to modify
qedryht (80b), and thus ended his sentence. He then
translated lines 81b-83 as "Him first and noblest and
his regal state/They see, and gaze uith rapture."
Conybeare thus assumes that baet is accusative singular
masculine, object of the verb onstariadt interpreted as
3rd. pi. pres. ind. Conybeare uas correct, however, in
perceiving that the phrase baet seleste ond aebeleste
refers to the person of Christ. Thorpe (Codex
Exoniensis, p. 33) begins a neu sentence uith 1. 81a,
taking baet seleste etc. as nominative, subject of the
verb uile, 1. 84. He also assumed that the relative
clause £e ^e_ her on stariad etc. (82b-83b) referred to
Christ. In his edition of the poem, Gollancz (p. 45)
folloued Thorpe's lead and translated the relative clause
in reference to Christ: '"He uhom ye gaze on here so rapt,
the best and noblest of the sons of victory . . . 1I T
Cook, however, rejects these interpretations, and pre
fers (note, p. 125) to take baet seleste etc. as ac
cusative, a parenthetical expression modifying hlaford:
"Grein considers seleste as acc.; in favor of this vieu
it is scarcely necessary to do more than adduce the
parallelism of fraetuum blican, 507, 522, as applied to
the angels, not to Christ." Accordingly, Cook places a
semicolon after blicant and begins a neu clause uith
uile etc. Cook's thought, houever, seems to contradict
itself. In the note quoted above, he seems to follou
Grein in taking baet seleste etc. as an accusative; in
his glossary (p. 256, entry for god) he glosses seleste
in this line as nominative singular neuter. If baet
seleste etc. is to refer to hlaford (cf. Grein-Kflhler,
Sprachschatz t p. 4), it should be an accusative form,
masculine gender. This analysis of the form seems to be
the best solution, but ue are still left uith the puzzle
137
□f a seemingly neuter form, baet seleste etc., modifying
hlaford, which is masculine.
Turning to the translators, Kennedy (EECP, p.
101) seems to follow the general lead of Thorpe-
Gollancz, especially in his interpretation of the
relative clause in 82b-83b:
Uith this great crowd,
This blithesome company, we will bring our Lord
To the bright City above the arching sky,
This Best and Strongest of the sons of Triumph
On whom you gaze, and see for your solace
Gleaming with glory.
Gordon, on the other hand, follows the Cook
interpretation of the sentence, and (Poetry, p. 142)
translates: "'Uith such a band we will bear the Lord,
the best and noblest of all the Sons of victory, over
the vaults of heaven to the shining city uith the glad
host which here you gaze upon and behold, glittering in
their adornments of joy.'"
Ply punctuation and interpretation of this
passage substantially agrees with that of Cook. The
flSPR and Muinzer texts also appear to follow Cook in the
punctuation and interpretation of the passage. Examina
tion of the structure of Cynewulf's sentence reveals
another instance of the delicate interweaving of syntac
tic elements. Cynewulf literally reproduces the scene
he is describing through the very form and appearance of
his sentence. The poetry is almost emlematic. The
138
phrase ealra siqebearna baet seleste ond aebaleste is
surrounded on both side^s by references to the angelic
comitatus: mid bas blidan qedryht (80b) and ££ £e_ her on
stariad etc. (82b-83).
Finally, if the relative clause £e ££ her on
stariad etc. is interpreted as descriptive of the angels,
ue have here another allusion to the uhite garments
(fraetuum blican) of the angels, the rhetorical starting
point for the thematic development of the poem as a
uhole.
There is, however, another option for the punctu
ation and interpretation of these lines, which follows
essentially the punctuation of the Thorpe edition. A
period is placed after qedryht, and a new sentence be
gins with ealra siqebearna etc. Thus, baet seleste ond
aebeleste becomes nominative, subject of the verb wile,
and the relative clause £e £e_ her on stariad is inter
preted as a reference to the ascending Christ. Such an
interpretation is not unreasonable, and the previous use
of fraetwum blican in reference to the angels does not
preclude its use here in reference to Christ. Previously,
Cynewulf has mentioned the light surrounding the head of
the glorified Christ, and fraetwum blican in 83b could
also refer to the glorified appearance of Christ in the
act of ascension. Furthermore, such punctuation and
139
interpretation makes this sentence much closer to the
structure of the Latin source, Acts 1.11. This paral
lelism of structure is as follows:
Acts Cynewulf
hie Jesus ealra sigebearna |3aet
seleste ond aebeleste
qui assumptus est a vobis b8 ge her on stariad
in caelum ond in frofre geseod
fraetwum blican
sic veniet uile eft sua (Deah etc.
81. seleste. MS seles^ The scribe evidently
ran out of space on the final line of folio 15a, and
crowded in the final syllable of seleste in this manner
rather than place it at the top of the next folio page.
82. J d£. Gr. baet. Con. flaeoe.
on stariad. Th., Go., Con. onstariad.
84-85. Conybeare (p. 215) mistranslates these
lines: "Instant now/ He bids each nation of the peopled
earth,/ A countless host, to judgement . . ."
84. swa beah. Thorpe, Gollancz, and Cook
print sua-beah as a compound with the meaning "however,
yet, nevertheless." This interpretation overlooks an
important detail in the Latin source (Acts l.ll). The
account in Acts depicts the angels telling the Apostles
that Christ, whom they have just seen ascending into the
heavens in glory, will return in the same way (i.e. from
140
the heavens in glory) as judge of mankind. This compar
ison is embodied in the phrase sic veniet. In Cynewulf’s
version of this passage, the 0E word sua should be taken
as a separate element, uith the meaning ’ ’thus, in this
way." The preciseness of Cyneuulf's paraphrase of the
passage in Acts is thus preserved; beah itself uould
translate in this context as "houever, nevertheless.”
This motif of Christ as future judge of mankind is present
throughout Cyneuulf's poem, especially in the rune
passage, and also forms the subject-matter of the Judge
ment Day poem (Christ III) uhich follows immediately in
the Exeter Book.
85. side herqe. Just as Christ ascended uith a
great throng of angels, he will likewise come as judge
surrounded by his angelic comitatus. Cf. Acts 1.11:
"his Jesus . . . sic veniet que madmodum vidistis eum
euntem in caelum." Cf. Matt. 24.30-31; II Thess. 1.7.
85. daeda qehuylcre. Cf. Elene 1283, daeda
qehuylcra.
87. fole under roderum. Cynewulf is again
employing his characteristic device of contrast. Christ
had previously commissioned his Apostles to preach to the
fole under roderum (1. 45b) and sou peace in their hearts.
This previous speech of Christ indicated a certain amount
141
of hope. Now the angels warn that Christ will return as
a stern judge for these same people.
88. 9a. Small capital in the MS.
uolcnum bifonqen. Cf. Acts 1.9: "et nubes
suscepit eum ab oculis eorum."
bifonqen. The MS reading is bifenqun. and so
Thorpe in his text, although he suggests (note, p. 33)
bifangen; Gr., GUA bifanqen; Go.'1 ' prints bifongen and
adds (note, p. 162) that the MS reading is "a scribal
error for bifanqen, due probably to the Northern bifen
9
of the archetype." Bo. has bifen. Conybeare follows
the MS reading, while Cook emends his text to read
biffrlnqCeln,
followed by ASPR bifongen. Muinzer prints
bifonqen and adds (note, p. 121): "But it is possible
that some scribe in the history of the poem believed
that the text required a pret. pi. instead of a past
part., and that this is thus an editorial, rather than
a true scribal error. Most probable of all is that some
weary scribe was day-dreaming, and wrote the preterite
form while his mind was wandering from his work."
ofer hrofas upp. A possible reference to
the church erected at the site of the Ascension, which
Cynewulf alluded to previously in 1.56. Cynewulf also
shifts his viewpoints here and in the following lines.
142
The beginning of the Ascension scene was described from
the point of view of the Apostles on the ground (e.g.,
burh baes temples hrof wolcnum bifonqen /88b7» and
ofer hrofas upp). At this point, the poet's vision liter
ally follows the ascending Christ and the triumphant en
try into heaven is described. Cynewulf will dramatically
alternate mood and point of view between earth and heaven
in the following lines. Clemoes ("Image," p. 300)
praises these lines as an example of Cynewulf's psycho
logical realism.
90b-91b. The joy in Heaven at Christ's arrival
is not mentioned in the Scriptural accounts of the Ascen
sion. There is, however, a similar passage in the Dream
of the Rood:
Hiht uaes geniwad
mid bledum ond mid blisse, bam I 36 baer byrne b°l°dan.
Se Sunu waes sigorfaest on bam sidfate,
mihtig ond spedig, ba he mid manigeo com,
gasta weorode on Godes rice,
Anwealda aelmihtig, englum to blisse
ond eallum dam halgum, bam be °n heofonum aer
wunedon on wuldre, ba heora Ualdend cwom,
aelmihtig God, baer his edel waes. (148-56)
91. buroum. i#e., in Heaven.
beornes. Cynewulf introduces a contrast between
this word and the regal epithets for Christ which run
throughout this passage. Christ departed from heaven as
beorn; he returns as cyninq.
143
92-93. Cf. Mark 16.19: "assumptus est in caelum
et sedet ad dextris Dei." Gregory, in his homily,
interprets this verse as a reference to Christ as judge
of mankind: "Sed scitis, fratres, quia sedere judicantis
est, stare vero pugnantis vel adjuvantis. Quia ergo
Redemptor noster assumptus est in caelum, et nunc omnia
judicat, et ad extremum judex omnium venit . . ."
Sitting at the right hand is also a Scriptural motif of
glorification and approval, as in Ps. 101.1, uhich Mark
is probably quoting in his verse (16.19) narrating the
Ascension; cf. also the parable of the sheep and goats
in Matthew 25.31ff. Cynewulf, unlike Gregory, does not
immediately explain this reference to judgment, but
chooses to interweave motifs of Christ as judge through
out the poem.
92. siqehremio. There is an apparent erasure
of a letter in the MS between the second _e and the
following rn. The scribe attempts to bridge the gap
created by the erasure by extending the final stroke
of the letter e^. The erasure is noted by ASPR (note,
p. 17) and by Muinzer (note, p. 121). Ker, in his
review of the facsimile edition of the Exeter Book also
calls attention to this erasure (Medium Aevum, II
/October, 19337, 226, note l).
144
93. faeder. Sievers ("Rhythmik," 483) sug
gested reading faedere for metrical reasons here and in
1. 26 and 334.
94ff. The account of the aftermath of the
Ascension in Acts 1.12ff. mentions the return of the
Apostles to Jerusalem, but makes no specific mention of
their mood. Cynewulf's addition of this natural and
human detail of sadness is but one of the many devices
he employs to give vividness and realism to his poem.
94. Geuitan. Apparently a small capital in
the MS.
95. haeled hyperofe. Cook (note, p. 126) lists
verbal parallels in Gen. 1550, 1709; Judith 303; An.
1506, and notes Conybeare's mistranslation "heals every
sorrow."
in. MS _I_n. Although listed as a true small
capital by ASPR (p. lxxvi) the enlargement of this letter
is probably due to the scribe's desire to make it easily
legible. See Muinzer (pp. cxliii-cxlvii) on the function
of small capitals in the manuscript.
burg. Heaven has previously been described as a
burg in line 91a. Here burg refers to the city of
Jerusalem, although Christian writers frequently refer
to Heaven as the New Jerusalem (see Hebrews 12.22 and
145
esp. Rev. 3.12 and 21.9-27). Cynewulf may have had in
mind a contrast between two Jerusalems: the saddened
Apostles return to the earthly Jerusalem, while Christ
enters the neu, heavenly Jerusalem, the kingdom of God.
96. bonan. Gr. (note, p. 163) "Attraction fUr
jbonan, |3aer."
nyhs.t. Cook (note, p. 21) attributes a reading
of neist to Sievers.
97. jjjo stioende. Cook and A5PR do noc take this
as a compound. Th., Gr., Go. up-stiqende; Cony., GUA,
M. upstiqende. Th. (note, p. 34) writes "more correctly
up-stigendne." Muinzer (note, p. 122) explains the MS
form as an uninflected acc. sing. masc.
98. wopes hrinq. The interpretation of this
phrase has been, and still remains, one of the classical
questions of Cynewulf scholarship. This phrase is
peculiarly Cynewulfian, and occurs twice in the signed
poems, and twice in poems of the so-called Cynewulfian
school. The other three instances of this phrase are
as fallows (ASPR texts):
146
El. 1131ff: £a uaas uopes hring,
hat heafoduylm ofer hleor goten,
(nalles for torne tearas feollon
ofer uira gespon), uuldres gefylled
cuene uilla.
An. 1278ff: cuom uopes hring
hurh haes baornes breost, blat ut faran,
ueoll uaduman straam
Gu. 1339ff: Him fjaes uopes hring
rorne gemonade. Teagor ydeum ueol,
hate hleordropan, ond on hrefare uaeg
micle modceare.
Grimm, Andreas und ElenB (Cassel, 1840), p. 130,
interprets uopes hring as "fletus intensissimus, quasi
circulatim erumpens," referring to the shedding of tears.
B-T follous the Grimm interpretation of the phrase as
indicating tears, not sound. Grein-Ktthler (Sprachschatz.
p. 360) glosses hring as sonus.
The scholarly debate over this phrase is gener
ally centered upon the disputed interpretation of hring.
Cook (note, p. 127) interprets this pnrase in the light
of its occurrences in the other Cyneuulfian poems, and
his conclusions are as follous: "Uhat are the equiva
lents of uopes hring and of uhat verbs is it the direct
or indirect subject? It seems to be synonymous uith
stream (An.); uith hat heafoduylm and tearas (El.);
and uith teagor and hate hleordropan (£u.). It comes
through the breast as a uelling stream (An.): is shed
over the face, and falls as tears (El_); and gushes, as
tears and hot face-drops, in uaves (_Gu.). In so
147
rendering, use is of course made of synonymous kennings.
Thus the notion of sound or noise seems to be excluded,
or at all events is not prominent. If, then, uopes hring
signifies tears, represented as issuing from the
troubled bosom, and gushing from the eyes, uhy might not
the succession of drops be thought of as pearls upon a
string, or as beads in a necklace or rosary . . .
Perhaps the idea of uopes hring might be suggested to
the modern reader by 'circling fountain of tears.'
Klaeber, in his revieu of Cook's edition of Christ
(OEGP, IV, 109) disputes Cook's interpretation of uopes
hring: "Lie are not ready to endorse the comment on this
difficult expression. Cook understands hring -as 'circle'
and at the close of an elaborate discussion suggests the
modern translation 'circling fountain of tears.’ Yet
uop certainly signifies 'lamentation' (e.g., hlud uop,
Christ 998), and in none of the four places in uhich
uopes hring occurs is it necessarily synonymous uith
'tears'; . . . Most plausible ja priori and most satis
factory, so far as the meaning is concerned, is Grein-
Zupitza's rendering 'sonas' for hring; uopes hring =
'sound of lamentation,' i.e. 'loud lamentation.' It
is true, the noun hring = sonus does not seem to be
recorded in Old English, but the compound belhring
occurs in Ben.R. (ed. SchrHer) 67.20: sona sua baet
beacn baes belhrin(c)ges gehyred bid."
148
All subsequent scholars will interpret hring as
either "circle" in reference to the shape of tears, or
as "sound" in reference to the sounds of weeping. For
example, Krapp, in his edition of Andreas and Fates of
the Apostles (Boston: Ginn and Co., 1906) glosses
uopes hring (note, p. 143) as "a ringing cry." Holt-
hausen, in his edition of Elene (Heidelberg: Carl
Winter, 1905) defines hring (Glossary, p- 67) as "Getfln,
Schall, Laut." Trautmann, however, thinks that the
phrase refers to tears, and suggests the emendation of
the difficult hring to bring (BEV, 88-9) so that the
phrase uopes bring = the result of crying = tears. In a
later article (Anglia, XXIII, 28-82) Trautmann suggests
emendation of hring to brim, depicting an overflowing
stream of tears. Kock (JOB, p. 5) interprets uopes
hring as "the globe of wailing, the round clear pearl
from a man’s or woman1seye." ASPR seems to follou
Klaeber (Archiv, CXX, 155) in interpreting hring as
sound. Kenneth K. Brooks (English and Germanic Studies.
II, 68-74) adds a novel interpretation to uopes hring.
He sees in the phrase a comparison between the circular
eye-socket overflowing uith tears and a cauldron boil
ing over with liquid. In his later edition of Andreas
and Fates of the Apostles (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1961) he adds (note, p. 109) a concise summary of his
149
views: "in all these passages the referense is to the
shedding of tears. There is no evidence for a noun
hring 'sound (of a cry)’; hence the expression is prob
ably a true kenning, lit. 'circle of weeping,’ express
ing a comparison between tears flowing out of the eye
sockets (OE eaohrinqas) and boiling water overflowing
the circular rim of a cauldron . . . Expressions like
Gen. 1393 holmes hrincg may have aided in the generation
of the phrase; Shakespeare has a curiously similar
metaphor in Troilus and Cressida II, ii, 160: 'but
there was more temperate fire under the pot of her eyes
— did her eyes run o'er too?1 Finally, uopes hring
is translated by Gordon (Poetry, p. 142) as "the cry of
lamentation." Kennedy (EECP. p. 101) similarly trans
lates the phrase as "the sound of weeping."
Neither of these two possible interpretations of
wopes hring (tears/sound) is entirely satisfactory. The
arguments of Cook and Brooks, who take the phrase as a
true kenning, remain attractive. On the side of Klaeber
and others, the fact that there are no other clear extant
occurrences of hring in the sense of "sound" in OE poetry
does not mean absolutely that there never was or could be
such a noun. There is clear evidence for the OE verb
hrinqant with the connotation of sound, in Solomon and
Saturn 266 and Beowulf 327. There is nothing which would
150
absolutely rule out the coining of a neu noun or phrase
by the poet, based on the verb hrinqan.
98. uopes. Conybeare (p. 216) misprints the MS
reading as uofes. although he glosses the uord correctly
as ’ ’lamentationis. ”
99. treoulufu. Th., Go. treou lufu.
100. aet. Con. at.
hreder. MS, Cony, hreder. All editors emend to
hreder. The mistake is a simple scribal error in uhich
the cross-stroke of d^ uas forgotten, giving cL Muinzer
(note, p. 122) mistakenly attributes a reading of hreder
to Thorpe, but his edition (Codex Exoniensis, p. 34) has
the emeded form in the text and the MS form noted.
101. beorn. MS. b orn, uith an apparent erasure
betueen _b and _o. Gr. and Con. read beam, and Gr.
records in a note beorn as the MS reading, making no
mention of erasure and the raised e_. Th. also makes no
mention of the erasure, and simply prints the corrected
form beorn in his text. Go.1 (note, p. 162) indicates
e
a MS reading of born, uith no reference to the erasure
2
or spacing of the MS form; in Go. (p. 34) the correct
MS reading is noted as uell as the erasure. In both
instances, the Gollancz text reads beorn. GUA (note,
p. 19) proposes in beorn uohl von anderer hand
151
d arillbergeschreiben, nach _b 1st radiert." Cook (note, p.
21) merely records the MS erasure and indicates the posi
tion of the e^ flSPR (note, p. 18) makes the following
S / \
speculation: "b orn uith an erasure (of i?) between b.
and ci." Muinzer (note, p. 122-23) seems to follow the
GUA suggestion that the raised e_ is not from the hand of
the Exeter Book scribe. In reference to the A5PR query
about the identity of the erased letter, he says "Al
though I can not make out this or any other letter in
the erased area, the space is right for an _i, and, if
I were inclined to guess, I would probably guess that an
_i had been erased." Finally, Max Fttrster (Facsimile, p.
65) notes the hand of a later corrector in this line,
but his statement is vague, and it is not clear
whether he is actually referring to beorn or bidon in
this same line, or to both. The form here is the
preterite of the verb beornan (cf. Beowulf 1880). My
own examination of the MS facsimile edition leads to
agreement uith Muinzer that the e_ written above the space
of the erased letter is different in formation from the
£ regularly employed by the Exeter Book scribe. It is
therefore likely that it was added by another hand. My
examination likewise reveals that the space occupied by
the erased letter is quite small, and that it is a
reasonable guess to identify this erased letter as i^.
152
o
Bidon. MS bidan. Th., Gr., Cony, print bidon,
without indication of tha MS reading. Both Go. editions
note the MS reading, and print the corrected form bidon
in the text, as do Cook and flSPR. GUA (note, p. 19)
claims that the same hand is responsible for the emenda
tions in beorn and bidon in the MS, and that this hand
is not that of the Exeter Book scribe. Muinzer (note,
p. 123-24) makes a cautionary statement regarding this
particular MS correction: "I see nothing in the form
of the added letter to lead one to believe that the EB
scribe didn't make the addition . . . it is always
hazardous to assert that any single letter was written
by a new hand, but the student given to such assertions
is especially liable to fall into error in the case of
£, which yields up fewer distinctive features than most
of the Insular letter forms." No other editors comment
on the source of this MS correction. Although the mat
ter is obviously open to question, I an inclined to think
that both corrections in this MS line are from the same
source.
baer. Con. daere.
102. qehata. The reference here is to the com
ing of the Holy Spirit, which Christ promised to the
Apostles before the Ascension: "Et convescens praecepit
eis ab Hierosolymis ne discederent, sed exspectarent
153
promissionem Patris, quam audistis, inquit, per os meum;
quia Iohannes quidem baptizav/it aqua, vos autem bap-
tizabimini Spiritu sancto non post multos hos dies"
(Acts 1.4-5). The OE uord qehata is the equivalent of
the Latin promissum. Conybeare (p. 217) renders beodnes
qehata as "Domini electorum."
103. byriq. According to Cook (note, p. 128),
"Here, and in 569, Trautmann ("Kynewulf," p. 82) would
read byrq."
tyn niht ba gen. Conybeare (p. 217) misreads
the MS and prints Tyr riht daqen, which he then trans
lates "Dei justi ministri," apparently taking daqen as
a form of bsqnas. For the time scheme here, see Acts
1.3 and 2.1. Luke indirectly establishes this ten-
day time difference between the Ascension and the
descent of the Holy Spirit by reference to "dies
Pentecostes," a Jewish feast celebrated fifty days after
Passover. The account in Acts had previously mentioned
that Christ ascended forty days after the Resurrection.
Clemoes ("Image," p. 301) stresses that Cynewulf does
not view the Ascension in isolation, but rather sees it
as part of a larger sequence of connected salvific
events: Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost.
104. him sylf. Cony, himself.
154
bibead. The reference here is to Acts 1.4-5.
105. aerbon. Th., Gr., Go., GUA, M. aer bon.
Muinzer's text takes 105a as the beginning of a new
sentence, which continues to 107b. This is a mistake,
since Cynewulf is explaining that the wait of ten days
in Oerusalem is in accord with Christ’s instructions
before he ascended (Acts 1.4-5). The OE aerbon has the
sense of "before” and would not make sense if it was to
refer to the appearance of angels, 11.106b-107b.
up stiqe. Th., Go. up-stiqe; GUA, M. upstiqe.
106. qehyld. Thorpe (note, p. 34) qehlyd? and
so translates "in heaven's vault.* The exact meaning of
the MS qehyld has been the subject of some debate.
Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz, p. 380) distinguishes two
words with the same spelling, one of which is glossed as
"custodia, observantia . . . servatio, conservatio,"
and the other is defined as "recessus, res abditae,
arcanum?" The meaning assigned to qehyld in this line
is in the sense of recessus, etc., and Thorpe's transla
tion is quoted. B-T, in reference to this passage, sug
gests a meaning of "protection," and most translators
fallow suit. Both Gollancz texts gloss the expression
as "to heaven's keeping" and Gordon (Poetry, p. 142)
renders "into protection of heaven."
But there is one other possibility. If, following
155
the idea of Clemoss ("Image," p. 298, note l) regarding
the interpretation of ofer heofona qehlidu (l. 79a) as
a reference to the caelum aereum, the MS form qehyld is
read as a possible scribal mistake for qehlyd (a variant
form for qehlid), an almost exact verbal parallel is
created between 11.79a and 106a, the only difference
being the initial preposition. The MS form qehyld could
very well be a simple scribal error involving the re
versal of two letters. Thorpe's suggestion of possible
emendation to qehlyd as "in heaven's vault" may not be
as wrong as subsequent editors have been ready to believe.
Hwite. As a unifying device throughout this
section of the poem, Cynewulf keeps drawing the reader's
attention to the initial question about the significance
of the white garments of the angels. Suspense is
constantly renewed, for the question is never explicitly
answered. This repetition is pedagogical, for Cynewulf
is attempting to make the reader see for himself the
connection between the white garments and the theological
meaning of the Ascension.
108. Baet. Small capital in the MS.
qewritu . It has previously been pointed out
that there is no mention of a throng of angels in the
Scriptural accounts of the Ascension, and that Cynewulf
may be drawing upon Bede's hymn or other homiletic
156
sources. Clemoes ("Image,” p. 297, note 2) paints out
that Cyneuulf is careful to distinguish betueen the
Scriptures and other sources through his choice of
uords: "The qeuritu are not the bible for uhich Cynewulf's
word is regularly bee, as in line 453b." Gregory makes no
mention of large numbers of angels in his Ascension
homily.
109. aelbeorhte: MS ail beorhte. Go., ASPR.
and Muinzer adopt the albeorhte reading in their texts,
while Th., Gr., GUA, and Cook prefer aelbeorhte. The
inclusion of the corrected form is indeed attractive,
in vieu of the remarkable consistency of the MS correc
tions in the text of this poem. There is evidence of MS
correction in lines 101, 125, 215,234, 318, 338, 344,
391, and 396. All of the corrected forms are incorpo
rated into the text of this edition, and these correc
tions are generally accepted by the other editors. I
hesitate to accept the corrected MS form in this instance
because I can find no evidence for a form albeorht in
the dictionaries of Grein-KBhler or Bosworth-Toller.
The standard OE form of the adjective is aelbeorht. and
this form, uith no evidence of correction, is to be
found in line 67 of Cynewulf's poem, and in lines 880,
928, and 1276 of Christ III, uhich immediately follows
in the Exeter Book. Muinzer (note, p. 124-25) points
157
out that Schipper, Assman in GUA, and FBrster (Fac
simile, p. 65) claim that the correction is the work of
a later hand. Muinzer himself disagrees, finding no
compelling reason to assign the correction to anyone
but the Exeter Book scribe. All editors, except Gr. and
Th. take note of the MS form of the word, including the
correction.
110. cuoman. The form here is 3rd. pers. pi.
preterite, as in 11.106, 114. Grein-KBhler (Sprach-
schatz. p. 96) takes cuoman here as preterite plural
uith follouing infinitive expressing purpose.
111. siqan. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz, p. 609)
takes siqan here as an infinitive expressing purpose.
Cook, in his glossary, also glosses siqan as an in
finitive. I see no compelling reason for an infinitive
here, and prefer to take siqan as parallel to cuoman:
3rd per. pi. preterite. Muinzer (note, p. 125) also
interprets siqan as the preterite plural form of the verb.
on. Cook reads o ® in his text, and the emendation
is someuhat attractive, but the IFiS form also makes sense.
symbla maest. The heavenly festivities of the
angels on the occasion of the Ascension are not mentioned
by Gregory, but are described in Bede's Ascension hymn
and in Blickling Homily XI (EETS ed. , p. 121): H|aa hie
158
ba in fjone heafon locodan aefter him, & hie Drihten
gesauon upastigendna, ba stodan him tuegen ueras big on
huitum hraeglum. baet uaeron Drihtnes englas; ba
huitan hraegl bara engla getacniab b°ne gefean engla
& manna, be ba geuorden uaes; forbon baer bast aefre
uaere bast englas on heofenum maran gefean & maran
blisse haefdon b°nne hie ealne ueg aer haefdon, bonne
uaere baBt on bas halgan tid geuorden ba hie b°ne heora
Scyppend gesegon, & b°ne soban Cyning aelmihtigne God
ealra gesceafta mid baere menniscan gecynd to baem
faederlican setle ahafenne, b°non he naefre ne geuat
burh his ba ecean godcundnesse. & him ba uaes eac heora
hefea & heora blis geeced b& hie uiston baet heora ebel
baer on heofenum sceolde eft gebuen & geseted ueorban
mid halgum saulum, & ba halgan setl eft gefylde mid
baere menniscan gecynde, ba deofol aer for his
oforhygdum of auorpen uaes."
114. A purely Germanic line, describing Heaven
as an Anglo-Saxon burg and the angels as the comitatus of
Christ.
115. ulitescyne. Th. ulite scyne. Cf. 1.54a.
117b-119. These lines are extremely problem
atic, and have been the focus of continual scholarly
debate for the past 100 years. The problem is tuofold:
159
line 117b, fraetuum ealles ualdend. is irregular; and
there seems to be an abrupt change of thought and mode
of expression in 119a ff. The literature dealing uith
these lines touches both the integrity of the PIS text
itself as uell as the thematic development of Cyneuulf's
poem. In the following pages, I shall attempt to pre
sent, chronologically, though not exhaustively, the
major scholarly solutions to the problem of these lines.
Regarding the PIS text of 1.117b, fraetuum ealles
ualdend. in 1885 Sievers ("Rhythmik," p. 515) found a
metrical problem uith this half-line, and suggested that
ualdend uas an echo of ualdend. the final word of the
previous line. He then suggested that 117b be read
simply as fraetuan ealles, uith emendation of the MS
fraetuum to fraetuan. the accusative of a noun
"SchmUcker" in apposition to feorhgiefan. This emenda
tion by Sievers met the approval of Holthausen (flSPR.
note, p. 252) in flnqlia Beibl.IX, 355, although he
later suggested that freqan be substituted for fraetuum.
In 1907, Moritz Trautmann offered a more radical solution
to the problem of 117b. Trautmann claimed (BEV, 80-90)
that an entire MS folio uas missing between fraetuum,
the final word of MS folio 15b and ealles ualdend. the
first words of MS folio 16a. He further suggested the
addition of a word like blican to complete 1.117b:
16D
gesegon uil-cuman
on heah-setle heofones ualdend^
folca fsorh-giefan, fraetuum /plxcan/
................ (fehlt ein blatt in der hs.)
..................... ealles ualdend
middan-geardes ond maegen-|3rymmes.
Hafad nu se halga helle lireafod
ealles faaes gafoles usf.
Trautmann's position uas affirmed by Craigie in Speci
mens of Anglo-Saxon Poetry (Edinburgh: I. B. Hutchen,
1923-26), II, p. 9, and by an Italian editor of Christ
in the same year (see Pope, "Lacuna," p. 212, note 7).
ASPR (note, p. 251-52) mentions Trautmann's theory
uithout affirmation, and adds "But perhaps ualdend is
merely to be omitted, the half-line then being fraetuum
ealles, or fraetuum ualdend may be kept in 1.556b, ealles
being transferred to the beginning of 1.557a. See 1.
577b." Muinzer has this to say: "This half-line ap
pears to be corrupt, but I am uncertain hou to better
it. G.-K. lists fraetuum here as in instrumental, but
just hou are ue to translate the verse uithout strain
ing natural 0£ idiom? The reader uill note tuo sug
gestive facts about this half-line: first, that it
ends uith the same uord, Ualdend, that concludes the
line immediately above it, and that the problematical
fraetuum is the last uord on a folio of the MS. Pro
fessor 3. 3. Campbell of Princeton has offered me the
interesting suggestion that the scribe skipped a line of
his copy text uhen he turned the page, that ealles
161
Ualdend middanqeardes ond maeqenbrymmes (117-118) may not
be directly connected to fraetuum and the foregoing; as
a speculation, Professor Campbell suggests that ue
uould have expected 117b to read fraetuum qeuuldrad or
the like. This is a highly possible interpretation of
the evidence. One uonders also if Ualdend in our line
could be a scribal error— an addition due to the influ
ence of Ualdend in line 116. This is the approach of
Schaar, p. 76; Schaar uould remove Ualdend here as
indicated, and he may uell be right. Tr. BEV, pp. 89-
90, holds that a leaf is missing from the manuscript
after fraetuum, adding blican to complete the half-line.
The entire problem is uorthy of much further study."
Muinzer and Trautmann both suggest a possible lacuna in
the text, although Muinzer does not follou Trautmann in
holding that an entire folio page has been lost. The
most recent and most important treatment of 117b is that
of John C. Pope in his article "The Lacuna in the Text
of Cyneuulf's Ascension.” His vieus uill be discussed
in detail belou. All of the remaining textual editors
(Th., Gr., GUA, Go., Cook, ASJPR, Muinzer) print the MS
reading.
The second and more far-reaching problem Df
lines 117b-119 is concerned uith the relationship of line
119ff uith the rest of the poem. All of the editors have
noticed the rather abrupt change of thought in line
162
119ff, and their explanations have shown great diversity
and ingenuity.
Cook (note, p. 129) concisely summarizes the
views of the more important critics of the late nine
teenth-century: "Uanley, Thorpe, Dietrich, and Gollancz
recognize no break here. Dietrich even connects this
intimately uith the preceding: 'Darum mussten
ueissgekleidete Engel ihn abholen, da dass grdsste der
Feste gekommen uar, denn b s hStte der Heilige, der
Siegesfrohlockende, die HOlle alles Tributs beraubt.’
Grein (Dichtungen. p. 164, note) has: 'Hier redet uol
der Dichter im Geiste die bei der Himmelfahrt in Himmel
gebliebenen Engel an; denn uegen v. 574-481 kann man
es night fUglich als Anrede an die Leser anfassen.'
UUlker (Grundriss t p. 186) remarks: TSo enifach als
es nach Dietrich scheinen kflnnte ist das SachverhSltniss
nicht. XIII ist jedenfalls auch eine Rede (der Engel
vielleicht, oder der erltisten AltvSter und Ueissagen,
uelche mit Christus in den Himmel einziehen).'" Cook
also points out (note, p. 129) that Grein speculated
that the Exeter Book poem on the Harrowing of Hell might
be a displaced part of Christ; but Cook rejects that
speculation.
Uith the exception of Thorpe’s text, and the
Gollancz edition of the Exeter Book, all other editors
163
indicate at line 119 the beginning of a neu train of
thought by spacing or indentation, or both. Gr. and
GUA begin a neu section of the poem. The Gollancz
1 2
texts (Go. and Go. ) do not indicate a change of subject
in their CLE. texts, but the facing translations indicate
a change of thought. The use of quotation marks in
the facing translation in the Gollancz edition of Christ
II indicates the editor-translator's interpretation of
1.119ff as direct address. The texts of Cook and ASPR
begin a neu paragraph at 1.119, and both insert quota
tion marks. The Muinzer text does not begin a neu para
graph, but has only the quotation marks to indicate the
beginning of direct address in 1.119.
All the modern editors (Cook, ASPR, Muinzer)
take lines 119-146 as direct speech. The critical prob
lem concerns precisely uho is speaking to uhom. Cook
(note, pp. 129-30) quotes the opinions of Ebert and
Morley uho interpret this speech as belonging to angels
greeting/accompanying the ascending Christ. In the
same passage, Cook quotes the explanations of this
Speech by Brook, and I add an excerpt from Brook's
quoted remarks, since Brooks represents one of the tuo
basic interpretations of this passage in Cyneuulf's
poem: ” ... The episode is really a choric hymn
supposed to be sung by the host of angels uho come
164
forth from the gates of heaven on the day of the Resur
rection to meet and welcome the Old Testament saints
as, rising from Hades, they mount the sky uith Christ.
The scene is laid in mid-space. The angels from heaven
have met the ascending bands, and uhen Cyneuulf sees
this mighty meeting in his vision, the warrior wakens
in him, and the speech the angelic leader makes to his
followers is such as a heathen chief might have made
to his Lord returning from war uith the spoils of
victory."
Cook himself rejects this interpretation of the
speech, and prefers to see it as a continuation of the
previous speech made to the Apostles at the site of the
Ascension by the angels (11.71-87). Since Cook repre
sents the second basic interpretation of this passage,
I quote his remarks in some detail: "My own view of
the interpretation of 558-585 is about as follows.
This passage would seem to belong immediately after
526, and should be transferred to that place, were it
not that strict chronological order is hardly to be
expected in lyrico-dramatic writing; of this, Bede's
hymn is more than sufficient illustration. That the
two speeches are allied in substance, spirit, and
general form is evident on comparison. The two angels
deliver the earlier speech; and no one can be conceived
165
more proper than they to deliver this one. Both refer
to a hreat as present (517, 570), employ the uords £e_
qe her on stariad (521, 570), mention the throne to
uhich the journey tends (516, 572), and specifically
designate a present time (nil, 512; 558, 561, 571, 573,
575). The first part of the discourse (558-574) is
apparently addressed to the apostles on the Mount of
Olives, and does not form part of a choric hymn sung
in mid-space by a host of angels . . . this portion,
as addressed to the Apostles (cf. Bede's hymn, 63-5)
is full of meaning, since it informs them of facts
uhich they are not supposed to knou, and accounts for
the multitude of the redeemed uho are in the act of
ascending the skies. This part appropriately termin
ates uith 573b-574: 'l\lou ue have told you uho this
Lord is, uhat he has achieved, and uhy he is thus at
tended.1 The tuo angels, or their spokesman, then turn
to the attendant host, saying, 'Go joyfully to meet
those uho from henceforth are your friends' (cf. 581b-
585). Uith this they cry from afar to the gates of
heaven, 'Open, 0 ye gates, for the King of glory uill
come in (Ps. 24.7); the Lord mighty and victorious in
battle uith hellish foes' (576b-581a). This is in the
high est degree dramatic and impressive." Cook's ex
planation of this passage is careful and impressive,
166
and is to be reckoned uith. His vieus are affirmed by
A. M. Jenney ( MjLN, XXXI, 91-93); she sees (p. 92) a de
liberate artistic purpose in the content and positioning
of this speech: "But seemingly a discriminating artistic
purpose prompted this transposition. After the Ascen
sion scene had been pictured tuice, there still remained
one thing too important to be treated as a mere feature
of a general description; for the Ascension of those
rescued from hell uas prophetic of the final Ascension
at the Last Judgment of all uho believe in Christ . . .
As it stands here, however, set off from the others
by the story of the return to Jerusalem, uhile its
intent and relationship is clear enough, its transposi
tion brings in the element of surprise uhich enhances
the value of the neu point of vieu and makes this
speech of the angels a distinct addition to the picture
of the episode." Kennedy (The Earliest English Poetry,
p. 225) also accepts Cook’s interpretation.
Karl Jost seriously questioned Cook's explana
tion in 1946 (English Studies. XXVII, 175-179). Jost
points out that Cyneuulf is evidently drauing upon
Bede’s Ascension hymn for details and scenes not
found in the Scriptural accounts of the Ascension.
Jost urites (p. 178): "Let us suppose that after
settling his theological problem the poet returned
167
once more to the angel-messengers on the Mount of Olives.
Having delivered their message to the disciples, they
joined the throng of attendant angels and Old Testament
Saints on their upward flight and soon reached the gates
of heaven. There an angel exclaimed: 'Open the gates
that the King of Glory may enter.' Then a voice from
the heavenly city replied: 'Uho is this King of Glory
uho wishes to enter the gates of heaven? Ue always see
Christ in heaven and rejoice in His and His Father's
glory.' To this there came an answer from the heralo
angel outside: 'He is a Lord mighty and strong (and
now comes the point where 11.556ff set in) . . . ' , T Dost
bases his argument on the fact that Bede's hymn does not
mention the disciples at all, and seams to be set before
the gates of heaven. Furthermore, 3ost brings in
Trautmann's theory of a missing folio in the MS. The
material in the missing folio presumably contained the
information quoted above as well as the introduction to
the quotation, the beginning of which is lost, and which
is continued in 1.556ff. Gost's conclusion is as fol
lows (p. 179): "Crist 558-585 . . . is a fragment of a
dialogue between a herald-angel outside the gate of
heaven and a spokesman of the angels inside, of which
the first part, owing to a leaf missing from the manu
script, has unfortunately been lost."
168
Oost's theory, uith its resurrection of Traut-
mann's idea of the missing folio page, represented a
serious challenge to previous scholarship. Schaar (p.
76) labels Jost's theory unconvincing, and so the ques
tion stood until Muinzer suggested uith hesitation (p.
125) that the scribe may have lost his place as he
turned the folio page, thereby creating a lacuna of at
least one line in his text.
John C. Pope ("Lacuna") follous the general lines
of Jost's previous article, and affirms the Trautmann
hypothesis of a missing folio in the Exeter manuscript.
Pope bases his conclusions on a detailed study of the
gatherings of the Exeter Book made by Max FBrster
(Facsimile, pp. 56-60). FBrster's study of the gather
ings, folios, and missing leaves forms the heart of
Pope's argument; I have schematized FBrster's analysis
in the following table:
169
THE GATHERINGS OF THE EXETER BOOK
gathering text folios missing folio(s)
I 7 1
II 7 1
III 8 0
IV 8 0
V 7 1
VI 8 0
VII 8 0
VIII 8 0
IX 6 2
X 8 0
XI 8 0
XII 7 1
XIII 8 0
XIV 6 2
XV 7 1
XVI 7 0
XVII 5 0
170
FBrster's summary of the gatherings and folios is as fol
lows (p. 56): "The leaves of the manuscript are gener
ally assembled in quaterinos or gatherings of eight
leaves. There are, in the Exeter Book proper, 17 gather
ings in all, besides the two irregular gatherings of
the preliminary matter attached to the codex. Of these
Q. III-IV, VI-VII, X—XI, and XIII have still preserved
their eight leaves. Q. I, V. IX, XII, and XIV were
originally complete quaterinos too, but have now lost
one or two folios. Gatherings II, XV, and XVI, however,
had from the beginning only seven leaves, and the last
one, No. XVII, as it seems, only five." Later (p. 59)
FBrster concedes the possibility that Q. XV may have
had eight leaves, with one lost at the beginning.
The above chart reveals that Q. I-XV of the
Exeter Book originally consisted of eight leaves.
FBrster, however, believed that the second gathering
originally had only 7 leaves, since he did not see any
lacuna in the text of The Ascension which would indi
cate the possibility of a missing leaf. It is pre
cisely this point which Pope disputes in his article.
The chart of the gatherings (i-XV) reveals that folios
have been lost in Q. I, II, V, IX, XII, XIV, and
probably XV. Leaving aside the question of a missing
leaf in Q. II, all of the other gatherings uith less
171
than eight leaves contain texts in which there are ac
knowledged lacunae. Uhere there are less than eight
leaves in Q. I-XV there is a proven lacuna. Taking this
consistency, Pope argues that the metric irregularity of
line 117b of Cynewulf's poem, and the abrupt change of
thought and presence of direct address in 11. 119ff indi
cate the possibility of a lacuna in the text. Turning to
the evidence of the gatherings of the Exeter Book, Q.II
is seen to consist of only seven leaves. Since lacunae
have been proved in all of the other gatherings (I-XV)
which regularly consist of eight leaves, Pope asserts
that Q. II seems to break the pattern, and the presence
of a missing leaf is strongly to be inferred. I add
Pope's conclusions (p. 213-214): ” ... the question,
on which FBrster makes no comment, whether there is
anything missing between fols. 15 and 16, where there
is no fold, but very good reason to suspect a gap in
the text. That the gathering has lost a leaf at some
point is rendered probable by the mere fact that it has
only seven leaves. FBrster's analysis shows that, al
though leaves have been lost here and there, the original
volume had eight leaves in each of the other gatherings
from the first to the fifteenth, only the last three
gatherings, if we exclude the second, being irregular;
and eight is so frequent a number in other manuscripts
172
of the period that the seven leaves of the second gather
ing are all the more a cause for suspicion. One explana
tion, to be sure, might be that during the copying some
error or accident had led the scribe to cut out the third
leaf of the gathering as originally formed, leaving only
the fold; but this is not very probable in view of the
ease uith uhich scribal mistakes could be corrected uith-
out sacrifice of valuable parchment. A better explana
tion is suggested by the construction of the sixth
gathering, uhich, as FBrster shous, has the expected
eight leaves but is made up of three full sheets folded
in the middle and tuo half-sheets, each uith its half
inch fold. Moreover, in order to make the gathering as
so constituted as secure as possible, the half-sheets
are inserted asymmetrically, so that each is flanked by
full sheets: the third and seventh folios are the half
sheets. In the second gathering as nou constituted the
half sheet is the fifth folio, but it uill have been the
sixth if ue allou for a balancing half-sheet, nou lost,
in the first half of the gathering. The proper place
for that leaf, to keep the tuo half-sheets apart and
flanked by uhole sheets, is in the second position,
betueen fols. 15 and 16. If ue represent the missing
leaf by X, and its missing fold by F, ue shall have the
follouing pattern:
173
/ v
15 . X . ,
I L_i
16 . F . 17 18 . 19 . 20
. F . 21
Thus, from the point of vieu of paleography alone, there
is a good chance that the second gathering had origin
ally eight leaves and that the eighth, no longer present,
uas a half-sheet in the second position. If study of
the text indicates a gap at that spot, u/e can be virtu
ally certain of its reality and its extent, and ue can
also understand uhy there is nothing left to mark the
loss."
The irregularity in lines 117b-119 of Cyneuulf's
poem occurs precisely in the place indicated by Pope.
The MS has fraetuum as the final word on fol. 15b, and
the first uords of fol. 16a are the irregular conclu
sion to the half-line ealles ualdend.
bility of a missing leaf, Pope concludes that some 65
lines of verse are missing from Cyneuulf's poem. Using
Bede's Ascension hymn, uhich Cyneuulf seems to be using
as a secondary source, Pope speculates on the contents
of the missing folio (pp. 216-217): "If nou ue make
allouance for a missing leaf, uhich uould have contained
approximately 65 lines of verse, ue can suppose that,
after completing his description of the heavenly
Having paleographically established the proba-
174
celebration and thus bringing to a close his treatment of
the white robes of the angels, Cynewulf turned to a
broader aspect of the Ascension and to a previously
neglected portion of his narrative. It is natural that
he should have done so, for the theme is undeveloped in
his chief source, Gregory's homily, and the narrative is
not in the Bible. For this new section he had to turn
for guidance to Bede's Ascension hymn or its sources:
the apocryphal accounts of the harrowing of hell, the
corresponding inferences about the host of the redeemed
that Christ led to heaven at his ascension, and the
twenty-fourth psalm . . . Uhen the whole passage /I.e.,
11.117A-1467" is seen as what remains of a single co
herent speech by the herald angel in reply to the
watchers within the gates, all difficulties vanish.”
Pope's carefully-reasoned arguments shift the
balance of probabilities in favor of the missing folio
hypothesis, and I have indicated a lacuna in my text.
The lacuna might possibly be only a feu lines, as
Muinzer suggests, but Pape's thesis is very persuasive.
The reality of the matter seems to be that something is
indeed missing from our received text.
119. helle bireafod. Gr. bereafod. The harrow
ing of hell by the triumphant Christ has been a widely-
developed Christian tradition since Apostolic times.
175
The idea of Christ's visit to the underworld is derived
from tuo passages in the New Testament. In Ephesians
4.8-9, Paul urites "Propter quod dicit: Ascendens in
altum captivam duxit captivitatem, dedit dona hominibus.
Quod autem ascendit, quid est, nisi quia et descendit
primum in inferiores partes terrae?" The First Epistle
of Peter states that Christ entered the lower world to
preach to the souls imprisoned there: "In quo et his,
qui in careers erant, spiritibus veniens praedicavit
. . . Propter hoc enim et mortuis evangelizatum est, ut
iudicentur quidem secundum homines in carne, vivant
autem secundum Deum in Spiritu." (l Pater 3.19; 4.6)
Drawing upon these New Testament texts, both the Greek
and Latin Fathers developed an elaborate theology of
Christ's visit to the underworld. In these accounts of
the harrowing of hell, several different themes were
mixed: the battle with Satan, the liberation of the
souls of the Did Testament saints, and their ascension
to heaven with the triumphant Christ. The theme of the
harrowing of hell received its most elaborate and
imaginative treatment in the apocryphal Gospel of
Nicodemus, uhich dates from the fifth century A.D. or
earlier, and uhich is extant in an Old English version.
For a complete discussion of the harrowing of hell, its
parallels in earlier literatures, and its development in
176
Apostolic and Patristic writings, see 3. A. MacCulloch,
The Harrowing of Hell (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark,
1930). A concise historical and theological exposition
of this doctrine may be found in Dictionnaire De Theo-
loqie Catholique, 1903, IV, 565-619.
The harrowing of hell was a popular theme in
Mediaeval English literature. There is an Old English
poetic treatment in the Exeter Book, and allusions to
Christ’s visit to the underworld are to be found in
Genesis 1076, Elene 181, Rid. 56.6, and Dream of the
Rood. The harrowing of hell is described briefly in
Blickling Homily VI (EETS, ed., p. 67): "Mycelne bite
Drihten dyde on helle (Da he (Dyder astag, & helle
bereafode, & (do halgan sauwla (Donon alaedde, & hie
generede of deofles anwalde, (Da he to e dome (Dyder
on fruman middangeardes gesamnode waeron. He hie eft
alaedde of helle grunde on (Da hean (Drymmas heofona
rices." Blickling Homily VII, designated for Easter Day,
also contains an extended description of the harrowing
of hell (EETS ed., pp. 85-91). Cook (note, p. 131) also
- calls attention to Aelfric, Horn. 1.28, 216, 480; 2.6.
See also Karl Young's study "The Harrowing of Hell in
Liturgical Drama," Transactions of the Uisconsin Academy
of Sciences. Art. and Letters. XVI, pt. 2 (1910), 889-
947.
177
By the time of Cyneuulf, the descent into hell
had become a universally accepted point of Christian
dogma. MacCulloch (The Harrouinq of Hell, p. 71) writes:
"It is significant that an anathema of the Niceno-
Constantonopolitan Council, 381 A.D., condemned those
who denied that the Logos in His ’reasonable soul1 had
descended to Hades. The faith of the Catholic Church as
contained in the first canon of the fourth Council of
Toledo, 633 A.A., contains the uords: ’descendit ad
inferos, ut sanctos qui ibidem tenebantur erueret,
devictoque mortis imperio resurrexit.1 Before finally
becoming part of the universally accepted Apostles’
Creed in the eighth century, the Descent is mentioned
in local forms of that creed." In conclusion, tuo
additional studies deserve mention: Ulllker’s Das
Evanqelium Nicodemi in der AbendlMndischen Literatur
(Paderborn: F. Schtiningh, 1872) and Josef Kroll’s
Gott und HOlle: Der Mythos vom Descensuskampfe
(Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1932).
120. ]De Jri. (Germania, X, 420) emends to fre
heo, since Jni refers to helle. As Grein-KHhler
(Sprachschatzt p. 304) points out, the form hi_ is
nominative, singular, feminine. Cook (glossary, p. 258)
mistakenly glosses hi_ as accusative plural.
178
121. _in. MS _Ijl> listed by flSPR (p. lxxvi) as a
small capital. The scribe's intention here, however, was
probably to make the _i more easily legible rather than
to make it a true small capital. Cf. Muinzer, pp.
cxliii-cxlvi.
orleqe. Thorpe (Codex Exoniensis, p. 35) trans
lates "den of death." Go."*- renders "home of strife,"
and notes (p. 162) "orleqe, lit. 'war, strife, hostility,'
also 'a place where hostility is shown,' as in this
passage; cp. 'Cwaedon daet he on dam baorqe byrnan
sceolde . . . gif he monna dream of dam orleqe eft ne
wolde sylfa qesecan, Guth. 167; also Guth. 426; 'orleqe'
in both passages— the place which Guthlac had selected
for his duelling, wresting it from the evil spirits."
Grein-KUhler (Sprachschatz, p. 537) glosses orleqe in
this passage as "tormentum, cruciatus, tribulatio."
Kennedy (EECP, p. 100) translates "seat of strife," while
Gordon (Poetry, p. 143) writes "place of strife."
swealq. The image of evil personified as a
raging, devouring beast stems from the Old Testament,
e.g., Psalm 22.13, 21. In Christian times, such imagery
was applied directly to Satan and his cohorts, e.g.,
1 Pet. 5.8-9: "Sobrii estote et vigilate, quia
adversarius vaster diabolus tamquam leo rugiens circuit
quaerens quern devoret." Cynewulf's image of hell is
179
strong and vivid, and the v.arb suelqan is used in a
similar sense in Christ III, 1593, 1603. Mediaeval drama
continued this personification of hell by depicting the
entrance to hell on stage as a huge mouth through uhich
villains were transported to their eternal deserts.
Cf. also Bede's Ascension hymn, 11.15, 28. Cyneuulf
may also have had in mind the passage from 1 Corinthians
15.54-56, uhere death is in turn sualloued up and de
feated by the victory of Christ: "Cum autem mortals
hoc induerit immortalitatem, tunc fiet sermo, qui
scriptus est: Absorbta est mors in victoria. Ubi est
mors victoria tua? ubi est mors stimulus tuus?"
122. Nu. Small capital in the MS.
cuicsusle. Literally, "living torment." The
torments of hell as fiery and eternal are described by
Christ in the parable of Lazarus and Dives, Luke 16.
19-31. The Neu Testament doctrine of Hell is a combina
tion of tuo Old Testament ideas. Sheol uas believed by
the Hebreus to be a place uhere the souls of the de
parted auaited final resurrection. In Sheol the lot of
the good and the uicked uere distinguished, and there
gradually developed the idea of the fiery punishment of
the uicked. This place of torment uas eventually named
Gehenna, the name given to a ravine south of Jerusalem
uhere human sacrifies uere once offered to Moloch. This
rav/ine later became the place for the burning of trash,
and its continually burning fires and pall of smoke came
to symbolize the torments auaiting the uicked after
death (cf. 2 Esdras 7.36; Enoch 27.2 and 90.20-26; esp.
Is. 66.24). This concept of Gehenna uas carried over
into the Neu Testament, and is mentioned seven times in
Matthau, three times in Hark, and once in the Gospels of
Luke and John. The fiery nature of the place of torment
is specifically mentioned in Mt. 5.22. 18.19, and in
John 3.6. That this fire is eternal and unquenchable is
affirmed in Mark 9,43, ff. Gehenna itself is described
as a pit into uhich the uicked uill be cast forever in
l*lt. 5.29ff, 18.19, and in Mk. 9.45ff. It is also to be
noticed that the Mediaeval uriters also included cold
among the torments of hell. This concept may have been
derived from Job 24.19, and also from the darkness
mentioned in the Neu Testament descriptions of the place
of torment, eg. Mt. 8.12, 22.13 and 25,30. In Old
English poetry, both fire and cold are mentioned as the
principal torments of hell in Christ III, 1545; Gen.,
43, 113 ff; Christ and Satan 132, 335, 637; Solomon and
Saturn 466-68. Cf. also Dante, Inferno. 3.86, and
Cook’s note (p. 218) for other examples in the 0E prose
uriters and homilists. For a complete theological ex
position of the doctrine of Hell, see The Neu Catholic
181
Encyclopedia .1967, VI, 1003-1007; McKenzie, Dictionary
of the Bible, pp. 299-300.
123. qehaefte. Here is a possible reference to
the chaining of Satan in hell for a thousand years. Cf.
Revelation 20.2: "Et apprehendit draconem, serpentem
antiquum, qui est diabolus et Satanas, et ligavit eum
per annas mille." According to this account, Satan uill
be released just before the final confrontation between
good and evil which uill immediately precede the last
Judgment (Revelation 20.1-15).
in. MS Iji, though probably not a true capital.
helleqrund. I take this as a true compound.
Grein-KHhler (Sprachschatz. p. 352) glosses this word
"inferni abyssus."
124. duqubom. For a similar use of this phrase,
see Christ III, 1408; Genesis 930; Christ and Satan 122.
me
125. Ne meahtan. MS neahtan. Assman (GUA, note,
p. 19), Cook (note, p. 22), FUrster ( Facsimile, p. 65),
Muinzer (note, p. 126), and Schipper (Muinzer's note, p.
126) hold that this correction in the MS does not come
from the hand of the Exeter Book scribe. Th. and Gr.
make no mention of the MS form, printing simply ne
meahtan in their texts. Both Gollancz editions take note
of the MS form, but do not speculate regarding its source.
flSPR notes the MS form without comment.
uifrsrbroqan. MS, but C. uibBrbr/eoc7an.
Cosijn (p. 110) amends the MS form to uibsrbreocan,
followed by Trautmann (BEV, p. 90). Cook (glossary,
p. 191) considers his emended form uibBrbr/eoc7an as the
nominative plural form of the noun wibsrbreoca, meaning
"adversary." Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz. p. 792) takes
the MS form as the nominative plural of the noun
widerbreca. and glosses the meaning here as "diaboli."
The B-T dictionary (p. 1250) lists an 0E noun wibsrbroca,
meaning "adversary," with the plural form wibsrbrocan
recorded in an 0E Psalter. On the same page, B-T lists
the MS form wiberbroqa, uith the hesitating definition
"Terror caused to an adversary(?)." This 0E word for
"adversary" has several spellings, as is evidenced from
the above examples. In view of this, I allow the MS form
to stand, even though it is a hapax leqomenon. If any
emendation is to be done, the best choice might be
wibsrbrocan, the plural of the noun wibBrbroca, recorded
by B-T on p. 1250.
125. wuldres cyninq. A homiletic exegesis of
this phrase occurs in Blickling Homily VI (EETS ed., p.
67): "On bysSL*m daege ure Drihten Haeland waes weorbod
& hered from Iudea folce; forbon be hie ongeaton baBt he
uaes Haelend Crist, burh bBBt wundor-geueorc be he
183
Lazarum auehte of deafDe (ay feor^an daege, (Daes (do he on
byrgenne uaes. Jfa baeron hie him togeanes blouende
palmtuigu; forfjon (db hit uaes Iudisc (Dsau, (Donne heora
ciningas haefdon sige geuorht on heora feondum, & hie
uaeron eft ham hueorfende, (Donne eodan hie him togeanes
mid blouendum palmtuigum, heora siges to uyorfjmyndum.
Uel ^aet gedafenode (Daet Drihten sua dyde on (Da
gelicnesse; for|Don he uaes uuldres cyning. Jjysne daeg
hie nemdon siges daeg; se nama tacnajD (Done sige ( ds
Drihten gesigefaested uifastod deofle, (Da he mid his
deafae ^one ecan dea(D ofersui(Dde, sua he sylf (Durh
(Done uitgan saegde; he cuaefD, 'Eala dea(D, ic beo (Din
deafD, & ic beo (Din bite on helle.1" Cook (note, p. 132)
first called attention to this passage in Blickling Hom
ily VI.
129-30. Cook (note, p. 132) indicates that
Dietrich compared these lines to Psalm 68.18 and
Ephesians 4.8. The passage from Psalm 68 is also used
in the Office and Hass for the feast of the Ascension:
"Dominus in Sina, in sancto, ascendens in altum,
captivam duxit captivitatem." The reference here is
to the souls Christ freed from Limbo and took uith him
to Heaven.
129. ahlod. MS ahlod. uith faint accent marks.
The form here is 3rd. sing, preterite of the verb
184
ahladan, uhich Cook (glossary, p. 228) glosses as "draw
forth, lead out, deliver." Grein-KUhler (Sprachschatz.
p. 341) similarly interprets ahladan as "exhaurire,
educere." Trautmann, however, has this to say (BEV,
p. 90): "HBchst auffallend, dieses ahlod. Steht es
nicht fUr abraeqd Oder abraed?" To support his sug
gestion, Trautmann calls attention to Gen. 2486 and
2914. No other editors have accepted his suggested
emendation. The MS form makes sense, especially since
one of the meanings of the base verb hladan is
"haurire," as Grein-Kfthler has shoun.
huba maeste. In Cyneuulf's Germanic imagination
this "greatest of spoils1 ' refers to the souls liberated
from the pouer of Satan.
130. feonda byriq. Since Cynewulf has previously
described Heaven as a walled Germanic city, he also
describes Hell in similar terms. It should be noted,
however, that the poet seems to confuse Hell with Limbo.
The souls of the just who died before the time of Christ
were not subjected to the torments of the damned in Hell
itself, but they were merely separated from God, confined
to a place of waiting, and hence, in the hands of the
enemy. The "Harrowing of Hell" refers to Christ's liber
ation of the souls of the bid testament figures in
Limbo, not to the souls of the damned in Hell itself,
185
for their punishment is final and eternal.
131. _ge_. The interpretation of jge. uill depend
on uhether this speech is being delivered to the
Apostles or to the angels in Heaven* Cf. discussion on
11.117-120, above.
on stariad. Th. onstariad; Go. on-stariad.
133. qaesta qiefstol. Thorpe (note, p. 501)
indicates his belief that qief stol means also a gift or
the giving of a gift. He writes (note, p. 510) that
"giefstol=mab|3um— See Beou. 334-336; stol in this
compound not signifying sedes, but is from stellan."
No other editor has accepted Thorpe's idea, and his
interpretation of the uord would not fit into the
context of this passage. Thorpe also contradicts his own
note by translating (p. 36) in his text qaesta qiefstol
as "the spirits' throne of grace."
135. huaet se hlaford is. If the source of this
entire speech is the dialogue in Psalm 24.7-10, then
these words are a very close echo of verse 8: "quis est
iste rex gloriae?" The entire speech in Cyneuulf's poem
is an answer to this question, which is never asked
directly, unless it was contained in the possibly lost
beginning of the speech. Furthermore, I do not think
that this speech could possibly be addressed to the
186
Apostles, since they certainly kneu uho Christ uas. Cf.
Luke 9.18-2Q and esp. John 20.24-29.
137. Geatu ontynad. The grammar of this half-
line has been open to question, leading scholars to
translate it as "open the gates" or "open, o gates."
The source is evidently Psalm 24.7 and 9. According to
the Hebreu and Vulgate texts, the gates are addressed
directly. The Vulgate text reads: "Attollite, portae,
capita vastra, et attollite vos, fores antiquae, ut
ingrediatur rex gloriae." This is the most commonly
accepted version. Bede, on the other hand, has another
version in his Ascension hymn: "'Portas,' ait, 'nunc
pandite.'" Bede's text seems to echo the Greek Septu-
agint translation of the Psalm, ApotTC. jr^r^S' at etpj^HVT^E.S
tiiyKoJv "lift up your gates, o princes." Thorpe
(p. 36) translates "your gates unclose." Both Gollancz
editions have "Open, 0 ye gates!" Cook (note, p. 131)
states his opinion that the gates are being addressed,
and translates the half-line as "Open, 0 ye gates."
Both Kennedy (EECP. p. 100) and Gordon (Poetry. p. 143)
ifollou the grammar of the Vulgate text. Muinzer, by
placing a comma after qlasdmode in his text, seems to
make ontynad parallel to qonqad, uith geatu as an
accusative, follouing Bede's hymn. This parallelism is
quite attractive, although it sacrifices the dramatic
187
vividness of the apostrophe to the gates themselves.
Finally, Pope ("Lacuna," p. 218) follows Dost in
translating "Open the gates," and explains in his note
(p. 218, note 18) that "... Jost prefers the transla
tion I have given, arguing (o£. cit., p. 179) that
ontynan is rarely transitive. The Latin psalm and the
hymn lend countenance to either interpretation . . . but
I think Jost's interpretation, besides conforming to the
normal use of the verb, makes the whole sequence in the
poem easier, since the following eow can refer to the
angels, as does the preceding Since this whole
speech is directed to the angels within the gates, I
follow Thorpe, Dost and Pope's interpretation of the
phrase as "Open the gates."
Theologically, the opening of the gates of Heaven
is significant in Cynewulf's poem. The traditional
interpretation of the sin of Adam and the subsequent ex
pulsion of mankind from the garden is that man is also
barred from Heaven until the time of the redemption by
Christ's death. At the Ascension, in Cyneuulf's vision,
the gates are finally opened, and salvation is offered
to all men through belief in Christ. In the person of
Christ, who is himself both divine and human, mankind
enters Heaven for the first time. The twelve gates of
Heaven, the Neu Jerusalem, also figure prominently in
Revelation 21.25: MEt portae eius non claudentur per diem
nox enim non erit illic." Finally, the promise of the
opening of the gates of Heaven is elaborated in Christ I,
11.249-255:
u (Disne middangeard milde geblissa
purh dinne hercyme, haelende Crist,
ond (Da gyldnan geatu, (3e in geardagum
ful longe aer bilocen stodan,
heofona Heahfrea, hat ontynan;
ond usic (Donne gesece, (Durh (Din sylfes gong
eadmod to eorjDan.
Neale and Littledale (Commentary on the Psalms, I, p.
332) point out that Psalm 24.7-10 was traditionally
interpreted in reference to both the Ascension and the
harrowing of hell. In reference to the harrowing of hell,
these verses would describe the arrival of the triumphant
Christ at the gates of the underworld, the breaking of
those gates, and the release of the souls of the just.
138. iji _to_ eow. I do not take into as the MS
reading here, as do Th., Go.s and Muinzer in their texts.
The context of the speech indicates that the speaker is
answering a challenge or question from the inhabitants
within the heavenly gates. The speaker answers that it
is Christ who is returning with a host of redeemed souls,
and then addresses the gates to open, quoting Ps. 24.
The speaker adds, speaking again to those within the
gates, that Christ wishes to lead the redeemed souls in
through the gates (in) to join those already in Heaven
189
(to sou). Conybeare reads Jii^ J^£, noted by Cook, p. 22.
139. cordre. Cook, p. 22, attributes a reading
of cordrene to Conybeare.
ceastre. Clemoes ("Image," p. 303) observes:
"In his portrayal of the heavenly city Cynewulf does not
go beyond that Bede's hymn contains: Bede's city has a
high throne, seats for the blessed, gates and walls."
141. dreama dream. Conybeare draema draem
(Cook, p. 22). This mode of expression is unusual in
Old English, and Cook (note, p. 133) quotes an entry in
Uiner-Thayer New Testament Grammar: "Of the well-known
Hebrew mode of expressing the superlative . . . (cf.
Deut. 10.12; Bosh. 22.22; Ps. 136.3; Dan. 2.47), only
the following examples occur in the Neu Testament:
Heb. 9.3 . . Rev. 19.16 . . ., 1 Tim. 6.15. But none
of these expressions is a pure Hebraism; in the Greek
poets also we find such a doubling of adjectives (used
substantively) . . ."
142. syqor. Gr. siqor, uith MS reading syqor
noted. All other editors print the MS reading, including
Cook, who remarks (note, p. 133) "perhaps ue should read
siqor, with Grein." Grein-Ktihler (Sprachschatz, p. 611)
lists syqor as a variant form of siqor. and quotes this
line of Cynewulf's poem. The Clark-Hall Dictionary (p.
190
334) has svoor=siqor.
Sib. The theme of reunification is once again
touched, interpreting the Ascension as the establishment
of peace between angels and men. Cynewulf's reference
here is to the sundering of unity between earth and
Heaven by Adam's sin, and its restoration through Christ.
Cynewulf's vocabulary here also has rich Germanic over
tones, for he will later describe this division between
heaven and men as faehbe maeste, 1.178. A Germanic feud
could be settled either by blood or by the payment of a
ransom-like wergild, and Cynewulf portrays Christ as the
ransomer of guilty mankind, restoring peace (sib)
through his own blood. St. Paul also employs the ransom
image in referring to Christ's death in Col. 1.20 and
Hewbrews 9. This idea of Christ as restorer of unity is
also expressed dramatically in Christ I. ll.llff, in
which Christ is invoked as cornerstone and unifier.
The sib in Cynewulf's poem is also reminiscent of the
promise of peace made to men by the angels announcing
the birth of Christ in Luke 2.14. Gregory the Great, in
his Moralia (PL, 76.458) has this to say about the need
for reconciliation between angels and men: "Eo quippe
nato clamaverunt angeli: In terra pax hominibus bonae
voluntatis (Luc. 1.14). In ortu enim Regis nuquaquam
pro magno offerrent hominibus pacis gaudia, si dis-
cordiam non haberent."
191
143. enqlum ond aeldum. Angels and men nou
combine to make one Christo-centric universe, one
qedryht, one dryhten.
145. qaesthaliq treou. This pledge betueen God
and man is the promise of redemption and eternal life
through belief in Christ. Cyneuulf’s image is reminiscent
of the pledge given by Yahueh to Noah after the flood,
symbolized by the rainbou (Genesis 9. 12-17). This
notion of covenant betueen God and man is a central theo
logical theme of the Old Testament, and Christ's death
represents the inauguration of a "neu covenant." The
faehba maeste is settled by a qaesthaliq treou.
145. lufu. Th (note, p. 36) lufe?
leohtes qefea. This image of "rejoicing in
light" is a Scriptural echo. The ascending Christ has
previously been described as radiating light, and the
angels rejoiced in this brilliance. This metaphor of
ualking or rejoicing in light is frequently employed by
Neu Testament uriters to describe the Christian life in
general (See esp. 1 John 1.5-7).
147. oehyrdan. Gr. qehyrdon.
haelubearn. At the climax of the triumphant
scene of the Ascension, Cyneuulf returns to the humble
birth of Christ as a child (divinitas humiliata).
192
Cyneuulf sees the Ascension event, and, more importantly,
its theological meaning, as part of the great cycle of
salvation history, spanning both Old and Neu Testaments.
Thus, references to the redemption of the Old Testament
saints from Limbo are mixed with mention of Adam's sin.
At this point, Cyneuulf links these themes to the Neu
Testament cycle of the Nativity, Passion-Resurrection,
and Ascension of Christ. References to the Last Judg
ment are also added, so that the horizon of Cyneuulf’s
poem stretches from Adam’s sin to the final judgment of
all mankind. Cyneuulf does not vieu persons or events
in isolation, and the second half of his poem uill
stress the fact that the individual Christian must him
self imitate the Ascension through faith and good uorks.
148. hals eft. Th (note, p. 37) heals-haeft?.
The meaning of hals here is "protection" or, more theo
logically, "salvation." Cosijn (p. Ill) suggests emenda
tion of hals to hair or halor, but Trautmann (BEV, 90)
rejects this for metrical reasons. ASPR (note, p. 252)
indicates that there is no compelling reason to emend,
since eft forqeaf means "restored."
151. uunad. MS uunat, and so in both Gollancz
editions. All other editors emend to uunad, noting the
MS reading. Muinzer prints uunab.
193
geceosan mot. Cyneuulf uarns that all men do not
merit salvation automatically, but must exercise free
uill in accepting or rejecting Christ.
152-56. This passage shous consistent use of
rhyme as uell as carefully balanced construction. Cook
(note, p. 134) indicates that some of the imperfect
rhymes become more harmonious if Anglian forms are sub
stituted, e.g., henpu-merbu; leht-naeht. This may be
some indication of the original dialect of the poem,
although such evidence is not absolute. Cyneuulf’s use
of rhyme serves to heighten the passage, and may also be
a mnemonic device for a catalogue of contrasts.
153. leofe. MS leohte, and so in all the edi
tions. Strunk (MLN, XUII, 186) first suggested emenda
tion of leohte to leofe. A5PR (note, p. 252) mentions
Strunk's emendation and terms it "a very plausible sug
gestion." My reasons for accepting this emendation are
centered on the carefully chosen vocabulary and balanced
phrases of lines 152-56:
sua helle hienbu sua heofones maerbu,
sua ba0t leohte leoht sua da laban niht,
sua brymmes braBce sua bystra uraece.
sua mid Dryhten dream sua mid deoflum hream.
sua uite mid urabum sua uuldor mid arum
The underlined uords and phrases are carefully balanced
and contrasted throughout the passage. The MS leohte
194
clearly seems to break the intricately balanced construc
tion of the passage, and does not balance uith laban in
a satisfactory uay. If leohte is emeded to leofe. the
contrast becomes clear. The words leof and lab are
contrasted in several other instances in OE poetry, e.g.,
Seafarer 112, Christ III 846, Beouulf 511, 1061, and
2910. This co-ordinate use of leof and lab seems to be
almost formulaic. In view of these parallels, ue might
surmise that the scribe's eye wandered a few centimeters
to the following word leoht, and thus he wrote leohte
instead of leofe. The similarity of the two words makes
a simple scribal error quite possible.
154. This line is difficult to interpret. The
contrast drawn by the poet is between braece and wraece.
Grein-KHhler (Sprachschatz. p. 721) glosses bracu as
"impetus, tumultus, pugna," which seems to be out of
place here. B-T glosses braece as "power." If wraece
is to be taken here in the sense of its usual meaning
"exile, exclusion," I would render the meaning of the
line as "the entrance into glory or exclusion in
darkness.” The contrast is between acceptance and joy
and rejection and misery. The theme of exclusion in
outer darkness may be an echo of the parable of the wise
and foolish virgins (Mt. 25.1-13 and also 22.13).
195
bystra. So MS, but Th., Go., and Gr. print
frrystrat and seem to assume that this is the MS reading.
That darkness came to be associated uith Hell and
separation from God is natural in view of Mt. 22.13 and
25.1-13. Cook (note, p. 134) writes: "The joy in light,
and dread of darkness are very noticeable in this poem,
and throughout the OE Christian poetry; in fact, the
sentiment is almost Zoroastrian in its character."
Cf. Grein-KHhler (Sprachschatz. p. 712) where freostru
is glossed as "obscuritas, tenebrae."
155. hream. Grein-KHhler (Sprachschatz. p.
356) glasses hream as "clamor, tumultus, ejulatio."
The contrast here is between chaos and harmony. Cf.
Mt. 22.13. Kennedy (EECP. p. 102) translates: "Rapture
with God or riot with fiends."
158b-159a. The theological point made here is
that the choice between good and evil continues through
out man's lifetime. At death the choice ceases, and the
soul remains fixed in that state in which it was at the
moment of death. Since there is no second chance after
the moment of death, Cynewulf stresses the importance of
the choices made during life. See The New Catholic
Encyclopedia. 1967, VIII, 27-40, for the Christian
theology of judgment and the moment of death.
196
160. ende. MS ende The punctuation in the MS
indicates the end of a sectional division within the
poem.
iSlff. This passage, with its gentle evocation
of nature and its sense of wonder and praise is remin
iscent of Cademon's Hymn. The structure of the passage
generally follows, and perhaps unconsciously echoes,
the Preface of the Mass. The formula for the Preface of
the Mass in all instances begins with the words: "Uere
dignum et justum est, aequutn et salutare, nos tibi
semper et ubique gratias agere: Domine, sancte Pater,
omnipotens aeterne Deus, per Christum Dominum nostrum."
At this point, the particular reasons for giving thanks
are mentioned, with reference to a particular feast or
season of the year. Likewise, Cynewulf introduces first
the general theme of giving thanks to God, and then
specifies a particular reason for thanksgiving: God's
provident care for mankind as exemplified in the
natural world.
161. Baet0 A new sectional division of the
poem begins here. The MS shows the usual spacing (l
blank line) between the conclusion of the previous sec
tion and the beginning of the neu material. The first
word of this new section is entirely in capitals, with
197
a larger initial capital _0 extending through three MS
lines.
frastte. Cony., Cony.'*' daet de.
162. secqen dryhtne. Cony. secqan drydne.
dryhtne hone. Cony.'*' drythne thone.
163. aer. Go.'*' aer, but there is no accent in
the MS.
geryno. Cook (glossary, p. 252) defines geryne
as "mystery; inner meaning, hidden purpose, secret
counsel." By careful choice of vocabulary, Cyneuulf not
only touches upon a theological point concerning God’s
providence as mysterious, but also preserves the atmos
phere of mystery in the poem. The idea of God's plan
as mysterious and beyond human comprehension is a fre
quent theme in the Scriptures, as in Ps. 91.5-6, and
esp. Ephesians 1.7-10. Paul explains God's "secret
plan" as the reunification of all things in Christ, a
theme which is also prominent in Cyneuulf's poem. In
the Gospels, stress is laid upon the failure of the
Apostles to understand the words and signs of Christ,
and Christ himself states that such understanding comes
only from God through the Holy Spirit (see John 16.13).
Cynewulf, from the opening line of the poem, has urged
the reader to seek through earnest meditation
198
(gaestqerynum, l.l) the power to understand and inter
pret the significance of words and events. The range
of "signs" to be interpreted in Cynewulf's poem is
quite wide, embracing not only the question of the
white garments of the angels, but also a perception of
God's power and mysterious plan behind the elemental
forces of nature. Cynewulf never fully explains the
qeryno of God's plan, but rather urges his audience to
discover it for themselves.
165ff. Cynewulf now begins to indicate a few
concrete instances of the mystery of God's presence in
the world and His provident care for the needs of man
kind. The images employed are simple and elemental,
and yet the theological point made is striking in its
simplicity. There is a Divine purpose behind the seasons
of the year and the crops growing in the fields. The
movement here is like Plato's ascent. The man seeking
wisdom must begin with the simplest facts of ordinary
life before he can move to the understanding of more
obscure things. In Cynewulf's theology, the man who
cannot praise and thank God for His perceived presence
in the smallest things of everyday life will never be
able to understand *the deeper mystery of his own re
demption as expressed in the Ascension of Christ. Praise
for God in nature is also a frequent theme in the Psalms
199
(thus Ps. 8, 65,104,147). Cook (note, p. 134) specu
lates that Ps. 65.9ff may be a partirular source for
these lines.
165. aet. PIS aet. Muinzer takes the MS mark
as the work of a later reader, and writes (note, p. 125):
"Kr. -D. and Th. before them record this mark as an
accent over aet, but the line is not made like a
regular MS accent, and I have not taken it as one.
However, in spite of shape and position, it is very
likely that we have here the work of a reader, who jot
ted down this hastily written accent to indicate to
future users of the codex that aet here has a long ae,
that it is not the preposition aet, but the noun."
This is only speculation, and the accent itself, which
is different from the other MS accents, may still be
the work of the Exeter Book scribe himself as well as
the mark of a later corrector or reader. Muinzer is
correct in stating the purpose of the accent mark, and
the rest of his explanation is at least plausible.
qiefed. Cony., Cony.'*' qiefed.
aehta sped. Cony., Cony?" aehta-sped, mistaken
as a compound.
166. widlond. MS wid lond, and so Th., Cony.,
Cony.1 Gr., Ettm., R; Go. wid-lond. and all other
200
editors uidlond.
167. hleo. Cyneuulf views the heav/ens as a roof
or protection. The cosmological picture here is similar
to the use of qehlidu in line 79. Hleo may also be
taken as a possible reference to the caelum aereum. Cf.
Ph. 374; Andreas 834; Elene 507.
168. eallum. Cynewulf's statement that the sun
and moon shine on all men may be an echo of Christ's
statement in Pit. 5.45: " . . . ut sitis filii patris
v/estri qui in caelis est, qui solem suum oriri facit
super bonos et malos, et pluit super iustos et iniustos."
This equality of God's care for all men, just and unjust,
is another example of the qeryno (1. 164) of God's plan.
169. heofoncondelle. Cony., Cony.'1 ' heofon
candelle.
170. dreosad. PIS dreosed, and so all editors,
except Pluinzer, who emends to the plural form dreosad.
Pluinzer makes a convincing argument for his emendation
(note, pp. 126-27) and shows that deau ond ren is also
the subject of two parallel verbs weccab (line 170) and
iecad (line 172). The change to the singular form
dreosed is quite surprising. In line 167, a similar
compound subject, sunne ond mona, took a plural verb.
Thus, the MS form dreosed seems out of place in the
201
pattern of the passage, and it may be assumed that the
form is a mistake. Whether the mistake originated uith
the Exeter Book scribe or uith some earlier version of
the poem cannot be ascertained. I believe that dreosed
is a scribal error and that Muinzer's emendation should
be accepted.
deau ond ren. Cf. Psalm 64.10-13.
171. A formulaic line, according to Diamond
("Diction,” p. 234, note 5). Also 1. 421.
174-87. These lines are based rather closely on
Gregory's homily: "Sed hoc nobis magnopere, fratres
charissimi, in hac solemnitate pensandum Bst, quia
deletum est hodierna die chirographum damnationis nostrae,
mutata est sententia corruptionis nostrae. Ilia enim
natura cui dictum est: Terra es, et in terram ibis
(Gense. Ill, 19), hodie in caelum ivit" (PL., 76.1218).
In explaining the initial question regarding the sig
nificance of the uhite garments of the angels at the
Ascension, Gregory indicates that the Ascension symbol
ized humanitas exaltata. This phrase means that Christ,
through his death, resurrection and Ascension, has can
celled the effects of Adam's sin, namely death and
separation from Heaven^ Hence, the sentence pronounced
on mankind after Adam's sin in the Book of Genesis is
202
lifted. The Ascension of Christ into Heaven also
constitutes a visible reassurance of man's immortality.
The Preface of the Requiem Mass expresses the same idea:
"In quo nobis spes beatae resurrectionis effulsit, ut
quos contristat certa moriendi conditio, eosdem
consoletur futurae immortalitatis promissio." See also
1 Cor. 15, esp. vv. 20-22, 55, and Blickling Homily XI
(EETS, ed., p. 123).
yrmpdu. Th., Go., GUA, and Cook normalize to
yrmdu; A5PR and Muinzer retain the MS form. ASPR (note,
p. 252) argues: "But yrmpdu should stand as an inter
esting phonetic variant uith an intrusive £ as in Mod.
Eng. warmth." Because this position seems well taken
I also retain the MS form. The MS reading is apparently
a hapax leqomenon, although there is a parallel form
nympbe on Riddle 65, line 5.
eft oncyrde. Th., Go. eft-oncyrde.
176. his. MS is_. The emendation has been
made routinely by all editors. Muinzer (note, p. 127)
seems to attribute a reading of _i£ to Thorpe. Examin
ation of Thorpe's text, however, reveals that he prints
the emended form his, and notes the MS reading.
178. faehba. The Germanic image of the blood-
fued is strikingly appropriate here, for the division
betueen God and man could only be healed by the blood of
203
Christ. The image may be draun from Col. 2.13-14: "Et
vos cum mortui essetis in delictis et praeputio carnis
vestrae, convivificavit cum illo donans vobis omnis
delicta, delens quod adversus nos erat chiroqraphum
decreti, quod erat contrarium nobis." Christ, in the
role of the neu Adam, cancels the sin of the first Adam.
Cf. also Eph. 1.7-10.
179. anboren. This is the exact O.E. equiv
alent of the Latin uniqenitus, which describes Christ
in the Nicene Creed. The doctrine of Christ as the
eternal, only-begotten Son of the Father uas reaffirmed
by the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325. See Denziger,
Enchiridion Symbolorum (32nd ed.), pp. 52-53, for the
text of the Conciliar decree.
eft onhuearf. Th., Go. eft-onhuearf.
sunoen uaes. MS, Cony., Cony."*" sunqen. Th. and
Go. both print the MS form in ther texts, but indicate
that uaes should probably be added. All other editors
print sunqen uaes in their texts, not the MS reading*
181. aeldum to sorqe. Balanced uith saulum to
sibbe, 1.180.
seldum. Ettm. ealdum.
182ff. Cyneuulf further develops the contrast
between death and corruption as the penalty for the sin
204
of Adam, and the immortality promised to all men through
the Ascension. In this extended paraphrase of Genesis,
Cyneuulf is following Gregory, uho states: "Illia enim
natura cui dictum est: Terra es et in terram ibis
(Genes. Ill, 19) hodie in caelum ivit." (£L, 76.1218).
Cyneuulf elaborates and dramatically visualizes the
bare quotation mentioned by Gregory. Cynewulf's themes
of suffering and misery may have been occasioned by the
preceding verses in Genesis 3.16-19. In this passage,
Cyneuulf makes effective use of an "envelope" pattern.
He begins uith the first part of Genesis 3.19, "Terra
es," and proceeds to elaborate systematically its
theme and imagery, before returning to the concluding
half of the Genesis verse, "et in terram ibis" and its
elaboration. See also Eph. 2.1-10.
182. J_c. So MS (small capital) opening the
Genesis quotation.
of. MS ofer. Roeger and Cook emend to of_ in
their texts, and the emendation is approved by Cosijn
(p. Ill) and Trautmann (BEV, p. 90). Muinzer (note, p.
127) also suggests that o£ better fits the context.
Cyneuulf, following Gregory, is quoting Genesis 3.19:
"Terra es et in terram ibis." There is only one meaning
for "terra es," for the verse is affirming that God
created Adam out of the dust of the earth, to which he
205
and all men will revert after death as a punsihment for
sin (Genesis 2.7). To accept the MS reading ofer uould
be to change the sense of the Scriptural source and
destroy the thrust of the entire passage. The evidence
of lines 185 and 187 shous that Cyneuulf clearly had in
mind the image of man's creation from dust and his
sentence to return t_o dust. The O.E. of er simply does
not have the connotation required here, i.e., from uhich,
out of uhich. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz, p. 516) ac
cepts the MS reading, and glosses the general sense of
ofer in this line as "das Ziel einer Beuegung bezeichnend."
183. The images in this line may be echoes of
Genesis 3.16-19. The qeuinne may be exemplified in the
slaying of Abel uhich follous immediately in Genesis.
The reference to uraece dreoqan may also point to the
sufferings and hardships predicted for Adam and Eve:
pain in childbirth and tilling of the earth.
184. I take this line as a unit, as do most
editors. Muinzer places a comma after hrobor. and omits
the comma at the end of 183b, thus taking 184a as part
of the preceding line.
fusleod qalan. Cony., Cony.1 fus leodoalan.
185. The conclusion of the quotation of Genesis
3.19 uhich began in 182a-
206
eft qeueorban. Th. eft-qeueorban.
1B6. uyrmum aueallen. This image is not in
Gregory's homily, but is rather a traditional expression
for the notion of death, sin, and corruption. The uorm
is the agent of the destruction of man's mortal body, as
exemplified in Job 7.5, 17.14, 21.26. Uorms are also
associated uith the punishment of sinful men, as in 2
Mac. 9.9 and Acts 12.23. Christ also speaks of "the worm
that does not die" as a metaphor for eternal death (cf.
Mk. 9.47, and also Ex. 16.20, Is. 66.24). Cosijn (p. Ill)
points out similar uses of ueollan in Aelfric's Homily I,
86, 472. Cf. also the Old English Martyroloqy (EETS, 116,
p. 134): "ac he aueol eal uyrmum ond earmlice suealt on
elfjeodigum muntum."
qesecan. MS qesecan. The punctuation may indi
cate the conclusion of the Scriptural quotation.
188ff. Cyneuulf nou returns to the theme of ran
som from the sentence of death through Christ's coming.
Clemaes ("Image," p. 295, note 4) succinctly describes
Cyneuulf's method of paraphrasing and expanding his
source material: "In the Ascension poem Cyneuulf
attaches his images to general, commonplace thought.
For instance, Gregory makes the specific, doctrinal
point that the sentence of damnation uhich God had
207
passed on humanity, Terra es et in terram ibis. uas an
nulled uhen human nature ascended to heaven in the
person of Christ. From this Cyneuulf takes the image of
the cancelled sentence of damnation and uses it as a
special illustration of the bounty of God uhich gives us
food, possessions, and the blessings of nature. By an
opposite process both the author of Blickling Homily XI
and Aelfric in his Ascension Day homily in the First
Series of Catholic Homilies take over Gregory's thought
entire and incorporate it, uithout any of Cyneuulf's
vivifying, actualizing treatment, in a commentary on
Acts 1.10."
188. Huaet. PIS (small capital).
se. Cony, and Cony.^ omit se.
189a-190a. These lines reflect the thought in
Heb. 2.14-18.
190. monnes maqutudre. Cook (note, p. 135) and
Kock (JJJ, p. 10) take maqutudre as dative, in apposi
tion uith leomum and lichoman. Their explanation is
correct. Gordon (Poetry, p. 144) accurately captures the
structure of the passage: "... He took on Himself
limbs and body and became the offspring of man."
meotodes. Gr., Ettm. meotudes.
208
191. U£ qestiqan. Th. up-qestiqan: Go., GUA,
upqestiqan.
192. wolde. Muinzer, in his text (p. 8) places
wolde at the end of the previous line. The alliteration
in line 192, however, would seem to demand its presence
here, and no other editor has seen any need for such an
adjustment. That Muinzer makes no mention of this adjust
ment in his notes is rather surprising. In light of this
lack of evidence, Muinzer's change is to be rejected.
jus. Go.^ and P'luinzer begin a neu sentence with
us.
uilla. Pluinzer, in his text, capitalizes this
word, seemingly making it a noun representing the Deity.
There is no explanation given in his notes for either
the capitalization or punctuation of this line. Uhat
Cynewulf is saying is that Christ, at the moment of glory
and triumph, was still thinking uith compassion about
mankind. The word uille is glossed by Grein-KBhler
(Sprachschatz, p. 797) as "voluntas, arbitrium,
consilium." Gordon (Poetry, p. 144) translates: "The
wish arose to help us in our wretchedness." Kennedy
(EEJCP, p. 103) similarly writes: "Uhen God's Son
ascended to the seat of angels/Came the will to help us
at that holy time."
209
194-219. Cynewulf here returns to take up the
thought of Gregory's Ascension homily where he left off
at line 1B7. The passage which will form the basis of
Cynewulf's next development is as follows: "Pro hac
ipsa namque carnis nostrae sublevatione per figuram
beatus Job Dominum avem vocat. Quia enim Ascensionis
ejus mysterium Judaeam non intelligere conspexit, de
infidelitate ejus sententiam protulit, dicens: Semitam
ignoravit avis (Job. XXVIII, 7). Avis enim recte
appellatus est Dominus, quia corpus carneum ad aethera
liberavit. Cujus avis semitam ignoravit quisquis eum
ad caelum ascendisse non credidit. De hoc solemnitate
per Psalmistam dicitur: Elevata est magnificentia tua
super coelos (Psal. VIII, 2). De hac rursus ait:
Ascendit Deus in jubilatione, et Dominus in voce tubae
(Psal. XLVI, 6). De hac iterum dicit: Ascendens in
altum captivam duxit captivitatem, dedit dona hominibus
(Psal. LXVII, 19). Ascendens quippe in altum captivam
duxit captivitatem, quia corruptionem nostram virtute
suae incorruptionis absorbuit."
194. awraec. Cf. Beowulf 1724, 2108.
196. sunu. Th. (note, p. 40) suna? but sunu
in text; Gr., Ettm. suna. For sunu as a Dative form
of the noun, see B-T and Grein-Kfihler (Sprachschatz,
210
p. 647), uhich list a similar form in Beouulf 344. There
is no real need to emend the MS form.
197. freonoman. Th. freo noman.
fuqel. As Cook (note, p. 136) points out, the
reference here is to Job 28.7 and not to the more famous
Phoenix image in Bob 29.18. In the Septuagint text of
Job 28.7 and in the literal translation of this verse in
the Vulgate, the author describes the search for uisdom:
"Semitam ignoravit avis. Nee induitus est earn oculus
vulturis." In this passage, avis is nominative case,
and is (in meaning) paralleled by vulturis. Gregory, hou-
ever, gives the verse a symbolic, figurative interpreta
tion, in uhich the avis becomes a metaphor for Christ,
and is construed as a genitive uith semitam: semitam
avis thus comes to mean "the track of the bird." Gregory,
in the Ascension homily explains: "Avis enim recte
app.ellatus est Dominus, quia corpus carneum ad aethera
libravit. Cujus avis semitam ignoravit quisquis eum ad
coelum ascendisse non credidit." Cyneuulf follous
Gregory’s figurative interpretation of this Scriptural
passage, and these lines become a concrete example of the
figurative interpretation of uords and events uhich is a
major theme of Cyneuulf’s poem.
199. Muinzer takes this line as the beginning of
211
a neu sentence, thus interpreting the enlarged _i of _in
as a true syntactic capital, and not as an enlargement
for the sake of clarity, as has occurred elsewhere in
the text. Both Gollancz editions also indicate the be
ginning of a neu sentence here. I think that the other
editors (Th., Gr., GUA, Cook, ASPR) are correct in taking
this line as the conclusion of the sentence beginning in
line 194. This sentence introduces the fuqel image
drawn from Job, and Cyneuulf takes pains to point out
that the Jews did not understand this ,fsign." The power
to understand words and signs is a gift of the Holy
Spirit, as Cyneuulf will later point out in the gifts of
men passage. Words, events, and signs must be interpreted
in daere qodcundan qaestes strenqdu, i.e. under the
guidance and power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Romans 15.
13, 19). The Jews refused to interpret Job' s words
correctly, and thus did not understand the hidden meaning
of the Scriptural passage as applied to the Ascension of
Christ. Cynewulf extends his image of hardened hearts and
darkened minds beyond the Jews to all who deny the power
and divinity of Christ.
201. deorc qewit. The reference here is not to
mere factual ignorance, but to spiritual ignorance, the
failure to respond to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.
The adjective deorc has the connotation of sin and evil,
212
recalling the similar use of niht in line 153. Cf. John
9.40-41; 12.37-40.
heortan staenne. A hard heart or a heart of
stone is frequently a metaphor in the Scriptures for
stubbornness and spiritual blindness. In the Old
Testament, uisdom and spiritual discernment are said to
be centered in the heart (Ex. 2S.3; Dt. 8.5; 1 Kings
3.12). Hardness of heart is especially condemned as
resistance to the will of God (Ex. 7.14, 8.11, 9.7;
Jer. 3.17, 7.24, 9.13, and Ps. 95.8). Hardness of heart
can be remedied by exchanging the heart of stone for a
heart of flesh (Ezek. 18.31, 36.26). Christ also speaks
harshly of the 3eus’ rejection of His teachings in terms
of hardness of heart (Mk. 3.5, 6.52, and 8.17). The O.E.
phrase thus expresses and condemns the spiritual ignor
ance of the Jews uhich prevented their acceptance of the
light of the Holy Spirit. The metaphor also has the
deeper connotation of the Old Lau of Sinai, uritten on
tablets of stone, and subsequently replaced by the Neu
Covenant of Christ.
staenne. Th. (note, p. 40) "contr. for
stasnene": Gr. (note, p. 165) "staenene?"
203. Noldan. Small capital in the MS.
tacen. Th. (note, p. 40) "r. tacnu or tacna.”
Ettm. tacnu. Cyneuulf has previously alluded to the
213
miracles, or "signs" performed by Jesus during his public
ministry; cf. tacna f ela, 1.23. The refusal of the Jews
to accept these signs of Christ's divinity is harshly
condemned in the Gospels: Lk. 11.29ff; Mt. 11.20-24,
12.38ff; and especially John 10.25-27, 38; John 20.30-31
on the purpose of the "signs" of Jesus.
✓
205. mislic. MS mislic; Cook and flSPR emend to
mislicu. Muinzer (note, p. 127-28) has a detailed evalu
ation of this MS form: "There is no reason for emending
this uord; the accent over the second i_ would be suffi
cient indication that the vowel is long and that the
form is a good one, even if we did not have G.-K. to
stand up for the long vowel here (mislic). While S.-B.
/Eduard Sievers, flltenolische Grammatik. rev. Brunner,
2nd ed., 1951p. 27 (para. 43, 1), reports the shorten
ing of the vowel in question in -lie compounds, S.-B.
notes, Anm. 1, that in the poetry the long i_ is retained
in the inflected forms, except in forms taking the jj
inflection. Now, according to this, mislic here should
mislicu, for it is acc.pl.n., and should have a short
i_. Some would follow S.-B. and emend at once; however,
we must remember that S.-B. is able to make generaliza
tions about the language only by. observing what exists;
mislic, with its MS accent over the syllable, an acc.pl.
n., exists, and if we emend away linguistic data our
214
grammar is undermined by our textual criticism. Ue should
attempt to explain the form, not destroy it. Actually,
it requires no great strain of intellect to explain
mislic here; if the statement of S.-B. is true, that the
poetry preserved the long _i in all but the ij inflected
forms, then this "poetic dialect" feature merely spread
by analogy to the form in our text . .
✓
206. faela. MS faela. Muinzer (note, p. 128-
29) observes that the accent mark here pierces the 1_ and
is most likely the uork of a later hand, perhaps the same
hand uhich added the accent above aet qiefed, line 165.
207. Cp. line 191.
20B. maran. Gr. (note, p. 165) suggests
emendation to maeran, and is folloued by Cook in his
text. All other editors print the MS reading maran.
210. qaestes. Since this uord is employed uith
the noun qiefe, implying "grace" or aid from another
source, I take qaestes here as a reference to the Holy
Spirit.
212-214. There is no exact source for these
lines, either in Scripture or in Gregory's homily. Cook
(note, p. 136) notes Dietrich's suggestion that these
lines echo Ps. B.l and 18.10. Cyneuulf merely attributes
215
these words to se yitpa. possibly a reference to the
Psalmist. The passage may also echo Ps. 47.
212. upp hafen. Th., Go. upp-hafen; GUA upphafen.
215. Ne_. Small capital in the MS.
flyht. MS flv*?t, uith _h squeezed in above and
between and _t. Muinzer (note, p. 129) indicates that
the Jn was written in by the Exeter Book scribe.
216. ondsaec. In these lines (216-219) Cynewulf
links the Ascension and the fuqel metaphor derived from
Sob through Gregory's homily. The Sews, like all who
reject Christ, are unable to understand the images and
prophecies of the Did Testament uhich are fulfilled in
Christ. Those who deny the Ascension (i.e., the divin
ity) of Christ are a, priori incapable of understanding
the evidence of the Scriptures, especially the prophets,
concerning the Messiah. This is but another instance of
Cynewulf's basic theme of understanding signs. Those
who do not respond to the grace of the Holy Spirit will
never be able to understand signs and mysteries. They
will not be spiritually enlightened; they will not be
saved. See Peter's speech to the Jews (Acts 2.14-39)
in uhich he explains the Old Testament "signs" uhich
pointed to Christ; and see especially Stephen's speech
before the Jewish court, uhich develops the same theme
216
and condemns hardness of heart (Acts 7.1-54, esp. uv.
51-54).
218. iri. MS _I_n. The capital in the MS does not
begin a neu sentence, since it falls uithin a clause. The
_i is enlarged to prevent confusion uith the n_ uhich fol-
lous.
hiu. Gr. (note, p. 166) hiue? Cook (note, p*
136) indicates that the MS form is a contraction of the
fuller form hiue. The form hiu also occurs in 1. 282.
220-251. These lines contain an elaboration of a
passage from Gregory's homily concerned uith the gifts
uhich God has given to mankind. It is important, first
of all, to see these lines in relation to the thematic
structure of the poem thus far. Cyneuulf has stressed
the theme of the interpretation of signs, uords, and
events from the opening line of the poem. To understand
the significance of the uhite garments of the angels, of
the uords of the Scriptures and particularly the prophets,
and finally of the Ascension itself, a special mode of
perception is required. This mode of perception is spir
itual, and comes from the acceptance of the graces and
inspirations of the Holy Spirit. Thus, 3ob's image of
the fuqel must be interpreted figuratively, under the
light of faith, in order to attain the spiritual truth
embedded uithin it. The Jeus, and all uho reject Christ,
217
are prevented, by this very lack of faith, from obtaining
spiritual wisdom (cf. Luke 10.21). Cynewulf's entire
treatment of the Ascension event is a demonstration of
this gift of spiritual perception. The poet departs from
the linear sequence of doctrinal statements in Gregory's
homily, and proceeds to meditate upon the Ascension from
a number of perspectives, returning to the Ascension
event as a touchstone for new meditations. Cynewulf has
previously mentioned the physical world of sun, moon, and
rain as a manifestation of God's bounty to man, implying
that the world must be viewed through the eyes of faith,
and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The physical
cycle of nature thus becomes a teacher of spiritual
truths. Now, in this passage, Cynewulf returns once
again to the everyday world and its activities, although
the focus here is upon man and the spiritual gifts be
stowed upon him by God. Following immediately upon the
reference to the hardened heart and darkened minds of the
unbelieving Sews, Cynewulf elaborates upon those gifts of
the mind which will enable a believer to understand the
meanings of signs and words.
The passage is derived from Gregory's homily;
the passage quoted here follows immediately the Latin
passage quoted in the note to 11.219ff. Gregory writes:
"Ascendens quippe in altum captivam duxit captivitatem,
quia corruptionem nostram virtute suae incorruptionis
218
absorbuit. Dedit vero dona hominibus, quia, misso
desuper Spiritu, alii sermonem sapientiae, alii sermonem
scientiae, alii gratiam virtutum, alii gratiam curationum,
alii genera linguarum, alii interpretationem tribuit
sermonum (I Cor. XII, 8). Dedit ergo dona hominibus."
Gregory is here quoting St. Paul's remarks in I Corinthi
ans. There is also another passage in St. Paul which is
concerned with the same theme, and may have been in the
poet’s mind also: "Uniquique autem nostrum data est
gratia secundum mensuram donationis Christi" (Eph. 4.7;
and see also 4.1l).
Both Gregory and St. Paul are talking about spir
itual gifts, i.e. those qualities and modes of perception
concerned with faith and the preaching of the Gospel.
According to Grosz ("Imitation," 404-4D6), the list of
gifts in Gregory, and also in Cynewulf's poem, is con
cerned primarily with words and their use, for "Words,
by their symbolic nature, enable man to transcend material
reality." This ability to interpret words is therefore
crucial to spiritual growth.
Although Cynewulf's remains fairly close to his
source homily for the structure and theme of this passage,
his catalogue of gifts is quite interesting. He moves
from purely verbal abilities to images drawn from every
day life in Anglo-Saxon England. The sequence of images
is as follows: eloquence in speech and song, harping,
219
theology or exegesis, knowledge of the stars, writing,
success in war, sailing, tree-climbing (or, as some
would have it, carpentry), weapon-making, and finally
knowledge of the worldls lands and peoples. This list is
very close to another poem in the Exeter Book, The Gifts
of Men. All of Cynewulf's images, except those of star-
knowledge and exploring, are also mentioned in this poem.
These parallel passages will be quoted in their appropri
ate places in the notes which follow. Mention should
also be made here of a third catalogue poem, also from
the Exeter Book, The Fates (or Fortunes) of Men. This
poem includes harping, the gift of poetry, and prowess in
battle among the good fortunes of men, as does Cynewulf's.
The similarity of these three catalogues is not surpris
ing if we remember that the catalogue is a fairly common
homiletic device. Furthermore, we may follow Greenfield
(History, Ch. 10) and place these poems within the larger
body of Old English literature devoted to wisdom and lore.
The compilations of proverbs and other observations about
the physical and moral universe in the Exeter and Cotton
Maxims show this kind of writing at its best. As a final
observation, we may connect Cynewulf's catalogue with a
theme which runs throughout the Maxims, especially Maxims
_I in the Exeter Book. These Maxims are concerned with
wisdom and with what distinguishes a wise man in the
220
world. The answer given is that the truly uise man is
able to discern the hand and uill of God in the events
of human life. Cynewulf, as has been pointed out, is
also concerned with true uisdom and the ability to
interpret signs, words, and events in order to obtain
spiritual knowledge. Cynewulf's entire poem, then, will
be more intelligible if it is viewed in the light of
this tradition of gnomic literature among the Anglo-
Saxons .
Grosz ("Imitation," p. 404) points out the artis
tic connection between the gifts passage and the pre
viously introduced image of the fuqel: "The connection
between the preceding section on Job's parable and the
"Gifts of Men" passage becomes more evident in this
light. Christ at his Ascension gave gifts which the
Jews did not possess— gifts enabling man to interpret
signs in their true sense and thereby to penetrate spir
itual mysteries." Finally, it should be pointed out that
Aelfric, in a sermon for Pentecost, has a catalogue of
gifts of the Spirit. Aelfric's catalogue is derived
from St. Paul's remarks in 1 Corinthians, and is similar
to Cynewulf's list of gifts. See The Homilies of the
Anolo-Saxon Church, ed. B. Thorpe, I, p. 322.
220. 9a. The small capital in the MS is appropri
ate, and indicates the beginning of a new train of thought.
221
221. Identical with line 421. Diamond ("Dic
tion," p. 234, note 5) takes these two lines (221 and
421) as examples of the many formulas in Cynewulf's
poetry which embrace an entire line.
sealde. Cony.^ sealede.
224. seow ond sette. A possible echo here of
the parable of the sower in Mt. 13.1-23; the image is
appropriate here, for the seed in the parable is the
word of God, i.e., faith, which may be accepted or re
jected. Those with hard hearts and dark minds will
choke and reject the seed, and thus receive no spiritual
gifts, for these gifts depend on faith.
225-229a. The first gift mentioned is, ac
cording to Grosz ("Imitation," p. 405), that of poetry:
"It is understandable that Cynewulf should be concerned
with this occupation and consequently devotes the most
time to an explanation of it. It is also quite clear
that he wishes to emphasize that poetry is a spiritual
ability, a 'snyttru craeft/bifolen on ferde.'" ASPR
(note, p. 252) translates this first gift as "speech,
eloquence" and calls attention to Andreas 635.
Parallel passages from Gifts of Men are as follows
(quotations are from the ASPR texts):
222
Sum bi(D wordbora,
giedda giffaest. (35b-36a)
Sum in maedle maeg modsnottera
folcraedenne ford gehycgan
{Daer witena bib uorn aetsomne. (41-43)
sum leoda gleaw, (52a)
225. Sumum. Small capital in the MS.
wordlabe. Ettm. wordlade; Th.(nota, p. 41)
word-lace?. This word is glossed by Grein-KBhler
(Sprachschatz. p. 819) as "sermocinatio, loquela." Th.
translates "eloquence," as does ASPR. It seems to me
that Cynewulf is discussing the ability to put words
together with force and eloquence, both in prose and in
verse: cf. sinqan ond secqan. 1. 228a. It is also clear
that the gift of poetic expression is prominent here, as
Grosz points out, but the text leaves room for other
activities no less important, e.g., preaching. I would
therefore translate wordlabe as "verbal eloquence."
226. mubes qaest. The interpretation of this
phrase is the subject of debate among editors. Thorpe
(note, p. 41) takes qaest as 'guest' and interprets the
phrase as a simple reference to the tongue. Grein,
Gollancz, and Cook take qaest as "spirit" and generally
translate the phrase as "through liis mouth's spirit."
Cook (note, p. 138) points out a similar phrase in Ps.
33.6: "V/erbo Domini caeli firmati sunt, et spiritu oris
223
e.lus omnis virtutis eoruiri. The image then would, presum
ably, be that of God creating or breathing eloquence into
a chosen man. The phrase mubes qaest would thus refer to
God's power, particularly the power of his word. On the
other hand, his mubes qaest may also be a circumlocution
for the Holy Spirit, and Cook points out that the verse
from Ps. 33 quoted above has traditionally been taken as
a rare Old Testament reference to the Trinity. It might
also be argued that the Scriptural overtones of this
phrase would not be lost to a poet as familiar with the
Scriptures as Cynewulf appears to be, and that the poet
has previously used the word qaest (L. 199) in reference
to the Holy Spirit. The issue is still unclear, although
I prefer not to follow Cook in taking this phrase as a
reference to the Holy Spirit. The phrase may be a ken
ning for tongue, and the balance in the sentence is be
tween eloquence with the tongue and noble understanding
in the mind. Gordon (Poetry, p. 145) translates: "To
one he sends eloquence into the thought of his mind by
the spirit of his mouth, noble understanding." Kennedy's
version is: "He sends to one/Uisdom of speech in word
and thought,/Excellent insight" (EECP. p. 104). Ken
nedy's version is preferable.
Eloquence is also mentioned by St. Paul as a spe
cial gift of God in 2 Thess, 2.8. God himself also
224
places his own words in the mouth of the prophet Jere
miah (Jar. 1.9-10). Finally, the special power of words
is described in the speech of the Apostles after the
descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2.1-13).
227. ealfela. This word is a compound according
to Grein-Kdhler (Sprachschatz. p. 146), and is glossed as
"permultum., T
228. sinqan ond secqan. A formula, according to
Cook (note, p. 138), calling attention to Uid. 54 and Met.
2.17.
bid. Ettm. byd, and so regularly, according to
Cook (note, p. 26).
1
snyttru craeft. Cony. , Cony. and GUA snyt-
trucraeft.
229. bifolen. Ettm. befohlen.
229b-231a. The second gift mentioned in Cynewulf’s
catalogue is the ability to play the harp, and, since the
harp has a connection with the oral recitation of poetry,
the expression may also be interpreted as a reference to
the poet’s craft in general; cf. Beowulf 1063-67. A
parallel occurs in Gifts of Men 49-50:
Sum mid hondum maeg hearpan gretan,
ah he gleobeames gearobrygda list.
225
And also Fates of Men 80-84:
Sum sceal mid hearpan aet his hlafordes
fotum sittan, feoh (Diegan,
ond a snellice snere uraestan
laetan scralletan sceacol^ se (De hleaped,
naegl neomegende; bi(D him neod micel.
229. Sum. Small capital in the MS.
230. stirqan. Cony, styrqan; Ettm. styr.jan,
acc. to Cook (note, p. 26).
231. qleobeam qretan. Cf. Beouulf 2263. Grein-
Kdhler (Sprachschatz, p. 267) glosses qleobeam as "lignum
musicum, harpa."
Sum. Small capital in the MS.
231b-232a. The third gift mentioned is the
ability to interpret the law of God. This gift is not
specifically mentioned in Gregory's homily, although it
is certainly an important aspect of the more general gift
of interpreting words, mentioned by Gregory as "interpre-
tationem . . . sermonum." The preaching and interpreta
tion of the lau and words of God is the particular realm
of the clergy, especially bishops. During the speech
before the Ascension (Mt. 28.18-20), Christ commissioned
the Apostles to preach to all men, teaching them to
understand and obey the Divine lau. In his letters,
St. Paul often stresses the important role of good
226
teachers, who will communicate true and sound doctrine to
the people (2 Cor. 11.1-15). A concern with correct
teaching and interpretation of doctrines may be seen in
the early Church Councils, e.g., Nicea, which were
called to combat false preachings. The art of the
preacher, as exemplified by Gregory's homily on the
Ascension, and by the homilies of Aelfric, consisted
mainly in explaining, verse by verse, the literal and
figurative meanings of the Gospel passage for a particu
lar feast. Cynewulf*s poem also shows great concern for
the correct interpretation of spiritual things.
The ability to interpret the meanings of Divine
law is a special gift mentioned by Gregory in his Com
mentary on Job (PL, 76.462). Gregory speaks of the many
gifts given to men, and warns that a man should not at
tempt to exceed his own talents, a warning which will be
repeated by Cynewulf at the end of the gifts of men
passage. Gregory's words are as follows: "Sed cum miro
consilio auctor ac dispositor noster huic ilia largitur
quae alii denegat, alii haec denegat quae isti largitur,
mensuras sibi positas egredi nititur quisquis posse plus
quam acceperit conatur, ut si fortasse is cui tantummodo
datum est praeceptorum occulta disserere tentet etiam
miraculis coruscare, aut is quern supernae virtutis
donum ad sola miracula roborat etiam divinae legis
pandere occulta contendat."
227
232a. ryhts. Ettm. rihte, and so regularly,
acc. to Cook (note, p. 26).
232b-233a. This gift has to do with interpreting
the phenomena of the physical world, especially the move
ments of the heavenly bodies. But the poet is speaking
here of something more than mere astronomy or even
astrology. Cynewulf has already pointed out that the
physical world of sun, moon, rain, etc., is a gift of
God, and that the wise man can see these phenomena as
symbols and expressions of God's daily presence in the
world. Thus, Divine lore is gleaned from the observation
of the physical world by those who can see and interpret
in baere qodcundan qaestes strenqdu (See Grosz, "Imita
tion," pp. 405-406).
232b. Sum. Small capital in the MS.
ryne tunqla. The same expression occurs in
Juliana 498 and Piet. 28.3. Cook (note, p. 138-39)
points out a passage from Cicero (Republic 6.17.17)
which sets forth the traditional theory of the composi
tion of the heavens, which was probably also current in
Cynewulf's day. I quote the passage as Cook gives it in
translation: "The Universe is composed of nine circles,
or rather spheres, one of which is the heavenly one, and
is exterior to the rest, which it embraces; being itself
228
the Supreme God, and bounding and containing the whole.
In it are fixed those stars which revolve with never
varying courses (stellarum cursus sempiterni)." If we
recall Gregory's distinction earlier in the Ascension
homily between the caelum aereum and the caelum aetherium
(cf. Clemoes, "Image," p. 298, note l), and Cynewulf's
use of the word oehlidu (cf. note to 1. 79a) in his para
phrase of Gregory, it would be reasonable to conclude
that Cynewulf is also following the same theory of the
structure of the heavens in this passage. Cf. also
Judges 5.20: "Stellae manentes in ordine et in cursu
suo."
233a. side qesceaft. Cook (note, p. 139)
points out that this phrase also occurs in Christ I, 1.
59, 239, 356; Christ III. 1. 1087.
233b-234a. The next gift is the talent for
literary composition. The work of the writer is also an
act of creation, putting words together to reveal or even
conceal lore and wisdom. There is also a parallel passage
in Gifts of .Men -95b-96a:
Sum bid listhendig
to awritanne wordgeryno.
233b. Sum. Small capital in the MS.
229
234a. uordcuide. Cony., Cony.'*' word cuide.
Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz. p. 818) interprets uordcuide
as "loquela, sermo, eloquium, dictum."
234b ff. There now begins a list of gifts which
are not literary or specifically spiritual, but deal with
the activities of everyday life. Grosz ("Imitation,"
406) argues that these images must also be given a figur
ative meaning in accordance uith the emphasis in the
poem, and in this passage thus far, given to the ability
to interpret words and events on a figurative level:
"The movement in the "Gifts of Men" passage, then, appears
to be from literal gifts of the spirit to figurative ones.
Cynewulf begins uith particular verbal powers enabling
a mental journey to the spiritual realm and then con
tinues with examples to exercise those powers. All of
the gifts permit one to imitate Christ by ascending from
the material world to the spiritual, both in this life
through meditation and in the next through virtuous prac
tice." Grosz very convincingly cites the figurative
interpretation given later in the poem to two of the
images in this passage: the warrior and the sailor.
Indeed, there certainly may be a level of symbolic mean
ing here, although these simple images may also be
teaching a simple truth— that even the ordinary things
men do well are a gift from God. The first of this series
230
of images is that of the successful warrior (234b-237a),
and has a parallel in Gifts of Men 39b-40:
Sum bid wiges heard,
beadocraeftic beorn, fraer bord stunad.
This warfare passage has Christian overtones which are
more fully explained by Cynewulf in 322ff. The image of
the archer as a symbol for evil may have been derived
from St. Paul's remarks in Ephesians 6.1-20. Here Paul
speaks of the warfare between the individual Christian
and the forces of evil. In verse 16, Paul specifically
compares the devil to an archer: "in omnibus sumentes
scutum fidei, in quo possitis omnis tela nequissimi
ignea extinguere." The shield image is also mentioned
by Cynewulf in 1. 236.
234b. Sumum. MS Sum1 1 . Muinzer (note, p. 129)
believes that the Exeter Book scribe made the emendation
himself and adds: "FBrster, EB facs., p. 65, significant
ly does not note this as the addition of the later correc
tor, and hence must agree with me on this point."
wiqes sped. Cook (note, p. 139): "Note the
peculiar genitive." But the genitive here is no more
peculiar than wuldres brym previously.
235. qiefed. Cony., Cony."*' qiefed.
oarqetrum. This word is an apparent hapax
leqomenon. and the subject of various interpretations.
231
Grein-Kflhler (Sprachschatz. p. 245) glosses qarqetrum as
"telorum impetus" and is followed in this interpretation
by Thorpe, both Gollancz editions, Cook, ASPR, and by the
Kennedy and Gordon translations. The difficulty arises
because B-T defines qarqetrum as "A troop armed uith
spears, javelins" and translates 11. 235b-237a as "the
spear-troops, the archers, send over the shields the
quivering arrows." The B-T interpretation is followed
by the Clark Hall-Merritt Dictionary, and thus qaroetrum
is parsed as nominative case, parallel with sceotend.
as subject of the verb sendad. Cook (note, p. 139)
paints out that K. KBrner (AnqelsSchsische Texte, 1880)
dissented from the Grein interpretation of qarqetrum,
and proposed the definition of the word as a band of
armed soldiers. Conybeare (Illustrations. p.222)
glossed Qarqetrum as "exercitus" as early as 1826. In
the more recent years, the ASPR text (note, p. 252)
takes qarqetrum as syntactically parallel to flanqe-
ueorc, following the Grein definition of the word.
Finally, Muinzer, in his text, indicates by punctuation
that qarqetrum is a nominative and parallel to sceotend.
as indicated by B-T. I do not see the logic of sceotend
being parallel and explanatory to qarqetrum. and so I
follow Grein-KHhler, Cook, and ASPR in taking qarqetrum
as parallel with flanqeweorc. Gordon (Poetry, p. 145)
232
correctly translates the passage: "To one is given
victory in battle, when the bowmen send a shower of darts
over the shield, flying arrows." Kennedy (EECP, p. 104)
has a similar interpretation: "To one He awards war-
might in battle/Uhen the archers send a shower of darts,/
A flickering arrow-flight o'er the shield's defense."
236. scildhreadan. Ettm. scildhreodan; Th.
(note, p. 42) writes: "r. hreodan, See Kemble's
Glossary to Beow., v. 1, p. 244." The word is glossed
by Grein-Ktihler (Sprachschatz. p. 582) as "clypeus" and
by Cook (glossary, p. 275) as "shield." The plural form
of the noun occurs in Exodus 113: scinon scildhreodan.
The exact meaning of the compound would be something
more than "shield," perhaps "shield-wall" or "shield-
defense." Kennedy (EECP, p. 104) translates "o'er the
shield's defence." Gordon (Poetry, p. 145) has "over
the shield."
sceotend. The form is nominative plural with the
verb sendad.
sendad. Cony., Cony.'*' sanded.
237a. flacor flengeweorc. Thorpe (p. 42)
translates this phrase as "flickering arrow-work" and
Cony, has "volucrem saggitae operam," while Go.'*' has
2
"the winged javelin" and Go. "swift-flying arrow-
work." Kennedy (EECP. p. 104) translates "A flickering
arrow flight," and Gordon (Poetry, p. 145) has simply
"flying arrows."
flacor. Thorpe (note, p. 42): "Perhaps akin to
O.I\l. flacka, pervagari, dispalari." Grein-^KOhler
(Sprachschatz. p. 199) glosses this adjective as
"volitans," and calls attention to the English verbs
flacker, flicker. The image may be dealing with the
visual aspects of a flight of arrows, glittering in the
sun, and wobbling in their flight. The 0.E.D. meaning
of the verbs flack and flacker is primarily "flap" or
"flutter." Cynewulf's image may also be comparing the
wabbly flight of arrows to the fluttering flight of
birds. There may also be an element of sound in the
image: the flight of the arrow valley compared to the
sound of the flutter of birds' wings.
flanqeweorc. Grein-Kflhler ( Sprachschatz, p. 199)
glasses this noun as "apparatus jaculatorius." The first
element of the compound is glossed as meaning "telum,
sagitta." Cook (glossary, p. 244) simply explains the
noun as "arrow."
237b-239a. The next gift to be discussed by
Cynewulf is the ability to be a good sailor. Gifts of
234
Sum on fealone uaeg
stefnan steored, streamrade con,
ueorudes uisa, ofer uidne holm,
fionne saerofe snelle maegne
arum bregdad ydborde neah.
Later in the poem, Cyneuulf uill introduce a metaphor
describing the Christian life as a sea-voyage (11. 411-
424). It is probable that Cyneuulf is anticipating the
later image here and had the Christian connotations of
the image in mind uhile composing this passage,
237b. Sum. Small capital in the MS.
238. sunduudu. Cony, sund uudu.
drifan. Ettm. brifan.
239a. hreran. Cf. Uanderer4 and Andreas 491.
holmbraece. Cf. _An. 467; El. 728; £h. 115.
239b-240a. The interpretation of these lines has
been the subject of much scholarly debate. Cook (note,
p. 137) takes these lines as a general reference to
athletics. Kennedy (The Poems of Cyneuulf. p. 173)
interpreted beam as cross, and translated: "And one
ascendeth up the steep high cross." Kennedy's transla
tion uas rejected by G.H. Gerould in the first serious
study of these lines (Mj_N, XXXI, 403-405). Gerould
suggested emendation of the verb qestiqan to qestiepan,
meaning "raise, erect." For Gerould, the passage refers
to carpentry, the ability to build a house, and his
235
thesis is supported by two references to building in
Gifts of Men 44-48 and 75-75. In a second article deal
ing uith the same lines Gerould retracted his suggested
emendation of the verb gestiqan« claiming that Gifts of
Men 20 supports an interpretation of "raise, elevate"
for the form gestiqed. Gerould's position on the sense
cf the lines remained unchanged (cf. 3EGP, XXVIII, 161-
165). Klaeber (flnqlia, LIII, 231-233) rejected Gerould's
position that the verb gestiqan may mean "raise" and
concluded as follows (pp. 232-33): "Without question,
qestipan could easily have been corrupted to gestiqan.
But is gestiqan really unthinkable? Could not, pos.sibly,
skill in gymnastic entertainment have been considered an
accomplishment no less worthy of mention . . . There are
two alternatives before us. Either we change gestiqan to
qestipan and rejcice in a resulting highly appropriate
sense of the passage. Or we show faith in the superior
wisdom of the scribe who strangely penned gestiqan and
venture to derive a certain satisfaction from finding an
unexpected allusion to Anglo-Saxon frivolities."
E. 3. Howard in 1931 rejected both Gerould's
emendation of the verb and resulting interpretation of
the lines as a reference to carpentry, and attempted to
come to grips with the text as it stands in the manu
script (3EGJP, XXX, 152-154). He writes (p. 152): "It
236
uould seem, then, logical to interpret Christ 678-79 as
meaning that some men uere endoued uith sufficient agil
ity to climb high trees, and not that they could erect
high building timbers. Houard bases his thesis on Fates
of Men 21-26, uhere a man is described as falling to his
death from a tree. Houard further speculates that
Cyneuulf's mention of tree-climbing might refer either
to lookouts uho uere ordinarily stationed in trees, or to
the practice of climbing trees to capture eyasses for
falconry. In 1932, B. 3. Whiting, (3EGP, XXXI, 256-57)
added further evidence for the Anglo-Saxon practice of
tree-climbing by citing a description of a suineherd uho
fell to his death in an attempt to obtain food for his
herd: see Aelfric's Homilies, ed. B. Thorpe (Aelfric
Society, London, 1846), II, pp. 150-151. The original
story to uhich Aelfric refers is recorded by Bede in
the Vita Cuthberti, xxxiv. Cyneuulf's reference, then,
might refer to the practice of climbing trees in order
to obtain food for suine or cattle. Finally, in 1945,
Herbert Meritt added a detailed study of the common
practice of climbing trees in order to beat doun acorns
to feed suine (A3P, LXVI, 1-12). He concludes: "The
main problem in the interpretation of the passage in
Christ has been the determination of a specific and
uidely recognized accomplishment to uhich the reference
237
to tree climbing could fittingly apply and uhich certain
men uere recognizedly able to utilize. Such an accomplish
ment uas the climbing of high oaks in order to beat doun
acorns for suine, a matter calling for no mean ability
and performed as a more difficult part of a uell-knoun
task by certain swineherds in faithful fulfillment of
their duty."
Cyneuulf’s reference to tree climbing is neverthe
less unusual, although he includes both spiritual and prac
tical gifts in his catalogue. Cyneuulf has previously
stressed that the everyday world is a gift of God, and
his idea here is similar to Haymo's observation, in his
ninth-century exegesis of Paul's catalogue of Divine
gifts in I Corinthians, that even the most mundane
activities of man are a Divine gift. He urites ( PL,
117.577): "Etenim fundos sive agros excolere, domum
prudenter aedificare, familiam competenter ordinare,
ad scientiam videtur pertinere."
One final question remains to be asked: is there
a figurative level of meaning in Cyneuulf’s image of
tree climbing? Grosz ("Imitation," 406) believes that a
figurative interpretation must be given to such images
as navigation, weapon-making, etc. in line uith Cyneuulf's
emphasis throughout the poem on spiritual gifts.
Cyneuulf's use of beam here may be a veiled reference
238
to the tree of the cross, and beam is used in this manner
in Dream of the Rood. Thus, the greatest example of
tree climbing uould represent a most special gift of
God to mankind: the salvific death of Christ on the
cross. Such an interpretation uould not be overly far
fetched, for Cyneuulf uill later refer Christ's ascent
to the cross in the "leaps" passage.
239b. Sum. Small capital in the MS.
heanne. Alternate form for heahne. It appears
also in Christ III, 1446, Ph..112, Pul. 228.
240a. staelqne. The expected form uould be
staeqlne or staeqelne. Grein-KOhler (Sprachschatz, p.
630) lists the adjective as "staeqel (ahd. steigal) adj.
steil, praeceps, arduus." Cook (p. 140, note) and ASPR
(note, p. 253) suggest metathesis here. Cosijn (p. Ill)
thinks that the proper form should be staeqlne, and
explains the MS form as metathesis. He adds that
steapne might be more appropriate in this context.
240b-241a. Weapon-making is the next talent dis
cussed in Cyneuulf's catalogue of gifts. The poet men
tions suord-making, and the suord is also present in
Ephesians 6.17, uhich may have provided the underlying
theme for the passage in Cyneuulf's poem: "Et galiam
salutis adsumite, et gladium spiritus, quod est verbum
Dei." Concerning this particular skill in Cyneuulf's
catalogue, Grosz ("Imitation," 406) remarks: "Conse
quently, the man uho "maeg styled sueord/uaepon geuyrcean
belongs to the uarfnre cluster and can be interpreted as
anyone uho furnishes men uith spiritual defenses
against the devil." There is also a similar passage in
Gifts of Men 61-66:
Sum maeg uaepen{araece, uige to nytte,
moderaeftig s.mid monige gefremman,
faonne he geuyrced to uera hilde
helm o|3jDe hupseax odde heafcjubyrnan,
scirne mece odde scyldes rond,
faeste gefeged uid flyge gares.
240b. Sum. Small capital in the MS.
styled. Cook (note, p. 140): "The bronze age
uas evidently past." Cf. also Beouulf 985, 1553.
241b-242a. The final item in the catalogue of
gifts may be interpreted as knouledge of geography or of
the lands of the earth through travel or exploration.
Conybeare (p. 223) uas puzzled by the meaning of this
phrase and translates: "flliqui possunt ora exercere . .
elata voce." He adds: "I do not clearly perceive its
construction, unless uonga uegas are to be taken together
as 'the uay or passage of the mouth.'" Thorpe correctly
interprets the passage (p. 42) as "One knaueth the
course of the fields, the spacious uays." Both Gollancz
editions translate "One knaueth the plains' direction,
the uide ways." Similarly, Kennedy (EECP, p. 104) has
’ ’One knous the plains, and earth's far paths." Gordon
(Poetry, p. 145) translates "One knous the sueep of th
plains, the far-reaching paths." There is no parallel
passage for this idea in either Gifts of Men or Fates
of Men. There uas, houever, some interest among the
Anglo-Saxons in exploration. Alfred's version of
Orosius contains an account of the famous exploratory
voyages of Ohthere and Uulfstan. On a spiritual and
figurative level, this concluding image may point to
those uho have knouledge of spiritual geography: the
spiritual paths uhich uill lead men to their heavenly
homeland.
241b. Sum. Small capital in the MS.
uonga. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz, p. 759)
glosses this uord as "campus." Cook (note, p. 141)
adds that the plural form of this noun may be taken
as a poetic expression for the earth, citing Mat.
20.77, Rid. 13.2 and 67.5. The singular form uanq
occurs also in Beouulf 92, and is synonymous uith
eordan.
biqonq. Cony., Cony.'*' beqonq.
242a. uidqielle. Cony., Cony."*" uid qielle;
Ettm. uidqielle.
241
242b—246: Cyneuulf concludes the catalogue of
the gifts given to men by stating once again that all
gifts come from God. The poet also includes the observa
tion that all gifts are not given to any one man, lest
he become proud. This warning about pride is not in
Gregory's homily on the Ascension. Tuo sources for the
passage, houever, have been found in other writings of
Gregory. The closest verbal parallel to Cynewulf's text
is found in Gregory' s Homiliarum in Ezechielem Lib. I_. ,
Homilia X, (£L^ 76.899): "Non enim uni dantur omnia, ne
in superbiam elatus cadat, sed huic datur quod tibi non
datur, et tibi datur quod illi denegatur, ut dum iste
considerat bonum quod habes et ipse non habet, te sibi
in cogitatione praeferat; et rursum dum tu habere ilium
conspicis quod ipse non habes, te illi in tua cogita
tione postponas, et fiat quod scriptum est: Super-
iores sibi invicem arbitrantes (Philip. 11,3)."
Gollancz notes this passage in his edition of Cyneuulf's
Christ (note, p. 163), as does Cook also (note, p. 141).
The second passage from Gregory is from the
Commentary on Job (PL, 76, 46D-462). In commenting on
ZJob 38.4-5, Gregory refers to the passage in 1 Corin
thians 12.8ff which deals uith the various gifts of the
spirit. The relevant passages from Gregory's remarks
follow: "Quam sapienter Dees dona sua, non omnia
242
omnibus, sed singula singulis distribuat . . . Sic
itaque creator noster atque dispositor cuncta moderatur,
ut qui extolli poterat ex dono quod habet bumilietur
ex virtute quam non habet." Gollancz, in his edition
of the Christ (note, p. 163), calls attention to this
section of Gregory's Commentary on Job as the source
for the Q.E. Gifts of Men, which, he believes, Cynewulf
not only had in mind, but also probably wrote himself.
Cook (note, p. 141) also cites this selection from
Gregory for its closeness to Cynewulf’s ideas in these
lines. See also Ephesians 2.8.
There is no exact Scriptural source for Cynewulf's
words here, but the New Testament frequently singles out
pride as one of the most serious and destructive of
evils. The proud man thinks his talents and successes
come from himself, not from God (Gal. 6.3). The proud man
boasts foolishly that he is self-sufficient (l Cor. 4.7
and 8.2). Pride is a vice which profanes a man (Mk.
7.22) and comes from the world (1 Dohn 2.16). If a man
must boast, he must boast about what God has done for
him, and not about himself (2 Cor. 10.17-18). Christ
also strongly condemned the spiritual and intellectual
pride of the Pharisees, and urged humility: Lk. 14.7-
11, 18.9-16, 20.47; Mt. 6.5, 23.5-11; Dohn'7.49, 13.2-
18. The Epistles of Dames and Peter also deal with
243
pride and humility: e.g., James 4.6, 1 Peter 5.5.
There are also close parallels to this passage and its
uarning against pride in Gifts of Men. The poem opens
and closes uith the observation that no man is given
every gift and every success in the uorld, lest he
become proud. Between these warnings, which act as a
structural envelope, comes the catalogue of talents and
gifts.
The poem opens with a rather humorous statement
that there is no man so dull as to receive no talents at
all. The poet then takes the opposite position, stating
that no man is given excessive success and talent, for
this leads to pride:
Naenig eft faaes swifae faurh snyttrucraeft
in faeode {Drym pisses lifes
ford gestiged, |aaet him folca weard
faurh his halige giefe hider onsende
wise gefaohtas ond woruldcraef tas ,
under anes meaht ealle forlaete,
fay laes he for ulence wuldorgeofona ful,
mon mode swid of gemete hweorfe
ond faonne forhycge heanspedigran;
ac he gedaeled, se fae ah domes geweald,
missenlice geond jaisne middangeard
leoda leofaocraeftas londbuendum. (11.18-29)
At the conclusion of the poem, the poet issues a second
warning concerning pride and boasting. This warning is
quite close in language to Cynewulf's observations in
11. 244-46:
244
Mis nu ofer eorban aenig monna
mode (Daes craeftig, ne faaes maegeneacen,
faaet hi aefre anum ealle ueorfaen
gegearuade, fay laes him gilp scedde,
o(a fae fore faaere maerfae mod astige,
gif he hafafa ana ofer ealle men
ulite ond wisdom ond weorca blaed; (11.97-103)
The poem closes with the reiteration of the theme that
God gives various gifts to various men according to His
plan.
243. bryttad. This d_ is apparently altered
from t_, as A5PR (note, p. 22) and Muinzer (note, p. 129)
point out. Cony, and Cony.**- print bryttad.
244. Nyle. Small capital in the MS.
qesyllan. Cony., Cony.**" gefyllan.
245. qaestes snyttru. I.e., intellectual or
spiritual gifts.
laes him qielp scebbe. Cp. Gifts of Hen 100:
laes him gilp scedde.
him: MS hi; Th. , Gr., Ettm note "PIS. hi."
scebbe. Cony., Cony.'*' scede.
246. Cp. Gifts of Men 101-102, cited above.
ford. MS ford *-y The punctuation indicates the
end of a sectional division within the poem; ford is
the only word on the final line of folio 17b, the rest of
that line being blank. Cony., Cony.'*' ford.
245
247. Bus. MS BUS, with a larger initial capital
extending through the space of three MS lines. The pre
ceding punctuation and the capitalization of the entire
word BUS indicates the opening of a new structural
division in the MS.
geofum unhneawum. Cf. Uidsith 139: qeofum
unhneawne.
249. tuddor. Glossed by Grein-KHhler (Sprach-
schatz, p. 689) as "propago, proles, soboles, progenies.1 '
250. raereb. The peace on earth corresponds to
the glory awaiting the faithful soul in heaven. Cynewulf
stresses the constant nature of the Divine gifts both
during earthly life and afterwards.
250b-251. Cf. similar thought in 11. 142b-143.
252b-272. Cynewulf returns to Gregory's Ascension
homily and begins to develop a new train of thought. The
passage quoted here follows immediately upon Gregory's
mention of the gifts given to men (see note to 11. 221ff.
above): "De hac Ascensionis ejus gloria etiam Habacuc
ait: Elevatus est sol, et luna stetit in ordine suo
(Habac. Ill, 11, sec. LXXX). Quis enim solis nomine
nisi Dominus, et quae luriae nomine nisi Ecclesia
designatur? Quousque enim Dominus ascendit ad coelos,
246
sancta ejus Ecclesia adversa mundi omnimodo formidavit;
at postquam ejus Ascensions roborata est, aparte
praedicavit quod occulte credidit. Elevatus est ergo
sol, et luna stetit in ordine suo, quia cum Dominus
coelum petiit, sancta ejus Ecclesia in auctoritate
praedicationis excrevit." It must be noted here that
Gregory's quotation from Habacuc is not entirely cor
rect. The Vulgate reads: "Sol et luna steterunt in
habitaculo suo."
252b. se uitqa. I.e., Habacuc.
253. ahaefen. Ettm, ahafen.
qimmas. The comparison of the sun (and moon
and stars) with gems is frequent in O.E. poetry. Cf.
heofones (sweqles) qim in £h. 108, 183; Beowulf 2072;
Guthlac 1185.
255. sunne ond mona. Cynewulf has previously
spoken of the sun and moon as illustrations of God's
provident care for man on earth. These natural phenomena
therefore become symbols of God's plan concretely at work
in the world to those who have the faith and insight to
interpret them correctly. Cynewulf also follows Gregory
in assigning a figurative meaning to these heavenly
bodies. In the previous passage concerning sun and
moon (cf. 11. 168-70 and note) Cynewulf is, in a way,
247
challenging the individual to look at nature with the
eyes of the spirit. Here, he is giving a concrete
example of how these same phenomena may be interpreted
in a spiritual sense.
256. Cyneuulf seems to be identifying the
qimmas (the sun and the moon) uith God. Gregory
identifies only the sun uith Christ. The moon is for
Gregory the symbol of the Church. In the follouing
lines, however, Cyneuulf seems to return to Gregory's
distinction.
257. Cf. Christ I, line 106: ond sodfaesta
sunnan leoma. There may also be an echo here of Mai.
4.2. In Christ I, 11. 104ff., Christ is invoked as
Earendel, interpreted as "rising sun" or "daystar."
Identification of Christ uith images of light is a
favorite theme of the Gospel and Epistles of John:
see John 1.5-9; 1 John 1.5-10. Christ is spoken of as
the sun in Eph. 5.14 and also Isaiah 9.2 and 60.1-3.
Christ also described himself as the light of the
world: John 3.17-21, 8.12, 9.5, 12.55, 46. Finally,
the Lamb of God is described as the light of the New
Jerusalem in Rev. 21.23.
258. Cynewulf has previously described the
angels who rejoice in the light which shone about the
248
head of the ascending Christ (cf. 1.66). The sun has also
been described as shining on men on earth (cf. 11. 167-69).
259. lixed. MS lixed. The Exeter Book scribe
(or perhaps some previous scribe) has omitted the cross
stroke which would have distinguished _d from d. All
editors make the emendation without comment.
260. qaestlic. The word is glossed by Cook
(glossary, p. 248) as "spiritual." The adjective antici
pates the figurative interpretation to be given to this
tunqol in the following lines.
Swa seo Godes circe. Here Cynewulf appears to
adopt Gregory's distinction between Christ as the sun,
and the moon as the symbol of the Church. The classical
Biblical text for this figurative interpretation of the
sun and moon images is Cant. 6.9: "Quae est ista quae
progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra ut luna,
electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata?"
This text, however, is more commonly applied to the
Virgin Mary, although the image of the bride, which runs
thematically throughout Canticles, is also associated
with the Church. Hence, Gregory applies the moon image
to the Church, since this image is used to describe the
appearance of the bride in the Canticles passage. Cook
(note, p. 142) points out that Augustine applied this
same Scriptural v/erse to Mary in Ej3. 55.10.
seo. Gr. se.
circa. Ettm. cyrce. Ettm. rearranges the line:
sua seo qodes circe, oaestlic tunqol.
261. qesomninga. Thorpe (p. 44) translates as
"congregations." A better interpretation would simply
be "union."
sodes ond ryh tes. The Latin adjectives (justus-
verus) are found together in Rev. 15.3, 16.7, and 19.2,
where the expression is applied to the ways and judg
ments of God. Cook (note, p. 142) points out the O.E.
instances of the joining of these two words: Sat. 207;
Beowulf 1700; .El. 390, 622; Guthlac 782; Ps. 95.13,
111.6.
262b-266. The punctuation and interpretation
of this passage is the subject of some disagreement
among the editors. Cook takes 262b-264a as the conclu
sion of the sentence which began uith 259a. Gr. and GUA
also punctuate their texts in this manner. Thorpe (cf.
his translation, p. 44), both Gollancz texts (cf. the
facing translations), ASPR, and Muinzer all begin a new
sentence with Sua in 262b. This new sentence extends
to 1. 266b, and the sense is that, after the Ascension,
as the Scriptures - tell, the Church endured persecution.
250
The Gordon and Kennedy translations both follow the
Grein-Cook interpretation of the passage.
The main elements of the Grein-Cook interpreta
tion of this passage are summarized by Cook (note, p.
143): "Against this view /the punctuation of Thorpe and
GollanczT' is to be adduced: (l) it contradicts the
Latin, which Dietrich and Gollancz themselves cite; (2)
sibban an d £a are not usually correlative; (3) it
destroys the parallelism of astaq, 263, and upstiqe,
272." Against Cook, it can be argued that Cynewulf
is not slavishly translating Gregory's text word for
word, but rather uses his source material as a departure
point for original elaborations and meditations. There
fore I prefer to follow the punctuation and interpreta
tion of A5PR and Muinzer. The Cook position, however,
is still to be reckoned with.
262. bocum. Cynewulf's regular word for the
Bible. See 11. 14, 347, 354, and also the note to 1.
108. It is likely that Cyneuulf has in mind the Acts
of ^he Apostles, which record the early rejection and
persecution of the followers of Christ. St. Paul
himself was a vigorous persecutor of Christians before
his dramatic conversion (Acts 9.1-19). The hostility
of the Jews is evident in the stoning of Stephen (Acts
7.1-60). Herod also persecuted the early Christians
251
and imprisoned Peter (Acts 12.1-5); Paul and Silas were
scourged at Philippi (Acts 16.16-40).
cuib. Sievers suggested cuided. according to
Cook (note, p. 27).
265. aefyllendra. Grein-Ktihler (Sprachschatz.
p. 8) glasses this word as "legem exsequens," and ex
plains seo circe aefyllendra as "ecclesia Christiana."
Cosijn (p. Ill) prefers to take aefyllendra as a
compound uith a form of the verb "fyllan-fBilan."
and thus the word uould mean "of those destroying the
lau." The verb fyllan in the sense of "destroy"
does occur on 1. 709, but I prefer to follou the defini
tion of Grein-Ktthler.
eahtnysse. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz. p. 141)
defines the noun eaht-nis. as "persecutio," and takes
the form here as accusative singular, a construction
parallel to Jne eahtnisse ahof in Juliana 4. Cook
(glossary, p. 240) defines the noun eahtnes as "perse
cution,^ but identifies the form in this line as
genitive singular, after the verb bad, uhich ordinarily
takes the genitive case. The form here is probably a
genitive. Ettmliller (p. 225) suggests a reading of
ehtnysse here, and is folloued by Trautmann (BEV, p.
91) and also by Holthausen (Literaturblatt. XXI, 372).
In vieu of the presence of tuo forms uith initial ea
252
(here and Oul. 4) there seems to be no reason to reject
this variant spelling. All editors accept the MS read
ing eahtnysse.i except EttmtSller, who prints eahtnisse,
uith the suggestion of ehtnisse? in the notes.
266. The reference here to pagan rulers suggests
that they uere responsible for the persecution of the
early Christians. Although the Jews are singled out as
the main persecutors of the early Christians in the
Acts of the Apostles, Herod also imprisoned Peter to
please the Jews, thus giving official sanction of sorts
to the persecution (Acts 12.1-5). T!_e major persecution
of the Christians, however, came at the hands of the
Romans. In A.D. 49 or 50, the Emperor Claudius expelled
the Christians from Rome (Acts 18.2). In A.D. 64 the
great fire at Rome was used by Nero as a pretext for a
fierce persecution of Christians, during which Peter and
assumedly Paul uere executed at Rome. Other periods of
persecution followed more or less continuously under the
reigns of the Emperors Domitian (A.D. 81-96), Trajan
(A.D. 98-117), and their successors, reaching a climax
in the reign of Decius (A.D. 249-251) and Diocletian
(A.D. 284-305).
267. sobes ne qiemdon. Cf. Andreas 139:
rihtes ne oiemdon.
253
268. tempel. A possible reference here to the
destruction of Jerusalem and the razing of the Temple of
Herod by the Roman expedition under Titus in A.D. 70.
Cyneuulf may also be using this uord to designate
Christian churches, since his main concern in the passage
is uith the pagan persecution of Christians.
269. braecan ond baerndon. Christian meeting-
places uere systematically destroyed during the persecu
tions. For example, in A.D. 303, Diocletian issued a
decree ordering the destruction of churches and the
burning of sacred books: cf. Eusebius, Hist. Eccl.
8.2.4. and also Lactantius, D£. mort. persecut. 13
(PL, 7.214-216). Cyneuulf may also have had in mind
the contemporary "persecution" of Christians in England
brought about by the raids of the pagan Vikings.
270. feodan ond fyldon. There is a verbal
echo here of fyllad ond feoqad (l. 47a) and also an
ironic contrast. Previously, the Apostles uere
instructed to break and destroy the shrines (herqas)
of the pagans; here, it is the pagans uho destroy the
Christian places of uorship.
feodan. MS feo dan, uith a letter erased.
Muinzer (note, p. 130) suggests that the erased letter
uas _d. All editors, except Gr., note the MS erasure.
254
271. blaed. MS blaed, amended to blaed by all
editors, except Fluinzer. Cyneuulf stresses the ironic
contrast between blodqyte (269b) and blaed. Persecution
produces the opposite result: the glory of martyrs and
the growth of the Church. Tertullian (flpoloq. 50.13)
sums up the thought expressed by Cyneuulf: "semen est
sanguis Christianorum."
273-305. Cynewulf returns to Gregory's Ascension
homily and introduces a new train of thought. Immediately
after the passage quoted in the note to 11. 252ff. above,
Gregory continues: "Hinc ejusdem Ecclesiae voce per
Salomonem dicitur: Ecce iste venit saliens in montibus,
et transiliens colles (Cant. II, 8). Consideravit
namque tantorum operum colmina, et ait: Ecce iste venit
saliens in montibus. Veniendo quippe ad redepmtionem
nostram, ut ita dixerim, saltus dedit. Uultis,fratres
charissimi, ipsos ejus saltus agnoscere? De coelo venit
in uterum, de utero venit in praesepe, de praesepe venit
in crucem, de cruce venit in sepulchrum, de sepulchro
rediit in coelum."
273. Dauibes. Gr., GUA Dauides; Ettm. Davides.
An alternate form is dauides,'which occurs in Christ I
96, 165, 191. Cook (note, p. 143) remarks: "Such
wavering between the original c[ of foreign proper names
and O.E. d is frequent, e.g. in Anglian . . . ."
255
Holthausen (Literaturblatt. XXI, 372) calls attention to
an article on the subject by Kluge (Zeitschrift fOr
romanische Philoloqie. XX, 322ff.).
274. oiedda oearosnottor. Cp. Elene 418, qidda
qearosnotor, and 586, qiddum qearusnottorne.
qearosnotter. Th., Ettm. qsaro snottor.
oaestqerynum. Cf. line 1.
276-280. This quotation is attributed to Solomon
(Cant. 2.8). The Vulgate text is as follous: "Vox
dilecti mei: ecce iste venit, saliens in montibus,
transiliens colles." Cyneuulf elaborates and expands
this passage, uhile Gregory's treatment shous little
tendency to elaborate.
277. meotud meahtum suid. Cook (note, p. 143)
calls attention to parallels in _An. 1209; Sat. 262;
Gifts of Men 4; _Az. 5; Dan. 284.
278. hea dune. Th., Go. hea-dune; Cook headune.
Grein-KOhler (Sprachschatz. p. 310) takes the uord as a
compound and lists other compounds in hea(h)-.
279. I take hyllas ond cnollas as the objects of
beurid. Kock (JJJ, p. 10) evidently takes beurid =
beurihd, meaning "covers," and translates this passage as
"hills and knolls he covers uith his glory." ASPR
(note, p. 253) calls attention to Kock's position, but
prefers to take hyllas ond cnollas in apposition uith
hea dune: the verb beurid is taken to mean "encompass-
ses" uith ealle eordbuend as its direct object. ASPR
seems to punctuate the text, houever, in a manner uhich
takes hyllas ond cnollas beurid mid his uuldre as a
single synctactical unit, as do all other editors.
Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz. p. 828) glosses the verb
beuridan as "redimire, ligare." For the image of God's
glory surrounding the mountains, see Exodus 19.16-18.
280. ealle eordbuend. Cyneuulf stresses the
universality of God's plan of salvation.
ealle. Th.-. eall.
281-305. The basic source for this "leaps"
passage is to be found in the figurative interpretations
of Cant. 2.8, the Vulgate version of uhich has been
quoted above. Cook first called attention to the source
for the exegesis of this passage in the uritings of
Ambrose (c. 340-397; Bishop of Milan, 374-397). Ambrose,
houever, uas not the first to offer such a figurative
interpretation of Cant. 2.8. Hippolytus of Rome (d. 235)
uriting over a century before, first applied the passage
in Canticles to the events of the life of Christ. His
257
Commentary on the Canticle exists only in a fragmentary
Georgian text, and I quote the remarks of Hippolytus as
translated by P. Smulders, The Fathers on Christoloqy,
(De Pere, Wisconsin: St. Norbert Abbey Press, 1968),
p. 20: "The Word leaped down from heaven into the uomb
of the Virgin, he leaped from his mother's uomb onto the
uood, he leaped from the uood into the netherworld, he
leaped upwards again to the earth . . . and leaped again
from earth to heaven. Thus he goes to sit in power at
the right hand of the Father." Later scholars evidently
followed the lead of Hippolytus and Ambrose in the figur
ative exegesis of this Scriptural passage, and by
Cynewulf's time there were several derivative commentar
ies on Cant. 2.8. In chronological order, the interpre
tations of Cant. 2.8. are as follows.
Ambrose deals with the exegesis of Cant. 2.8. in
two of his works. The first treatment occurs in the De
Isaac et Anima 4.31 (P.L, 14.539). The text is as fol
lows: "Hanc itaque charitatem suscitat, et resuscitat
donee vocem ejus accipiat, et praesentiam ejus arcessat;
quia quaesitus non solum venit, sed etiam saliens venit:
Saliens super montes, et transiliens super colles (Cant.
II, 8). Super majoris gratiae animas salit, inferioris
transilit. l/el sic: saliens quomodo venit? Saltu
quodam venit in hunc mundum. Apud Patrem erat, in
Virginem venit, et ex Virgine in praesepe transilivit.
258
In praesepi erat, at fulgebat in coelo, descendit in
Jordanem, ascendit in crucem, descendit in tumulum,
surrexit a tumulo, et sedit ad Patris dexteram."
The second discussion of Cant. 2.8 in the works
of Ambrose occurs in the Expositio in Psalmum CXVII,
Sermo 6.6 (j^L, 15, 1337). The text follows: "Salit
super excelsa, ut ascendat ad Sponsam, Sponsae enim
thalamus tribunal est Christi. Salit super Adam,
transilit super Synagogam. Salit super gentes,
transilit super Oudaeos. Videamus salientem. Salit
de coelo in Uirginem, de utero in praesepe, de praesepio
in Oordanem, de Oordane in crucem, de cruce in tumulum,
in coelum de sepulcro."
After Ambrose, there is the commentary of
(Pseudo) Cassiodorus on the Canticle (£J-, 70.1064):
"Ecce iste venit saliens in montibus, transiliens
colles . . . Potest etiam hoc ad incarnatianem Christi
referri, qui veniens quosdam saltus dedit: quia de
coelo venit in uterum Uirginis, de utero Uirginis in
praesepe, de praesepi in baptismum, de baptismo in
crucem, de cruce ad sepulcrum, de sepulcro ad coelum."
The same theme is developed in the writings of
the Pseudo-Jerome (jPL, 30.379): "Christus baptizatur
a servo, et a Deo Filius appellatur: inter publicanos,
meretrices et peccatores ad lavacrum venit, et sanctior
259
est baptists suo: qui de coelo venit in uterum: de
utero in praesepe: de praesepe in crucem: de cruce
in selulcro ad inferos: de inferis victor remeavit
ad coelos. Imitemur ergo Salvatorem nostrum . . .1 1
Gregory the Great and his homily on the Ascen
sion come next in chronological order. There follous
Alcuin, uho also compiled a commentary of the Canticle
of Solomon. The relevant passage (£L, 100.616-617)
is as follous: "Ecce iste venit saliens in montibus,
transiliens colles. Tales enim saltus fecit dilectus
meus; de coelo venit in uterum, de utero in praesepe,
de praesepi in crucem, de cruce in sepulcrum, de
sepulcro rediit in coelum. Ipse est qui elevatus est
super omnes montes et colles, id est, sanctorum
altitudines."
And then follous Cyneuulf's poem. It should
be noticed that Gregory, Alcuin, and Cyneuulf omit the
leap into the Jordan, i.e., the baptism of Jesus.
Cyneuulf, houever, like the Pseudo-Jerome, mentions
the descent into the underuorld, uhich is not mentioned
in Gregory’s text. Conybeare (Illustrations. note, p.
202) and Cook (p. 144) point out the similarity betueen
Cyneuulf's list of "leaps" and the list contained in a
Middle English homiiy on the Ascension in Trinity
College Library, Cambridge. I quote the M.E. text
260
as given by Cook: "ecce venit saliens in montibus et
transiliens colles. Here he cumed stridende fro dune to
dune, and ouer strit fae cnolles. Septem igitur ut
ita dicam saltus dedit: e celo in uirginis uterum;
inde in presepium; inde in crucem; inde in sepulcrum;
inde in infernum; inde in mundum; et hinc in celum.
Seuen strides he makede: on of heuene into fie maidens
innede; oder fienne in to (ae stalle; dridde in to |ae
holi rode; feorde faanne in to fae sepulcre; fifte into
helle; sixte into fais middenerd; fae seuede eft into
heuene." The phrase "ut ita dicam" is quite close to
Gregory's "ut ita dixerim," and Cook does not hesitate
to declare Gregory's homily to be the source of the
passage. It must also be pointed out that the M.E.
homily follous the Pseudo-Jerome and Cyneuulf passages
in adding the descent into the underuorld to the list
of leaps. Bede also has a commentary on the Canticle of
Solomon, but does not mention the leaps in reference to
the exegesis of Cant. 2.8.
The passage in Canticles is not the only Q.T.
passage to mention leaping and to be interpreted in
reference to Christ's incarnation. Ambrose and the
other uriters may have had in mind a similar theme from
Uisdom 18.14-15. The Vulgate text is as follous: "Cum
enim quietum silentium contineret omnia, et nox in suo
261
cursu medium iter haberet, omnipotens sermo tuus de
caelo a regalibus sedibus, durus debellator in mediam
exterminii terram prosilivit.1 1 These verses form the
substance of the Introit for the Mass of the Sunday
within the octave of Christmas: "Dum medium silentium
tenerent omnis, et nox in suo cursu medium iter
haberet, omnipotens sermo tuus, Domine, de caelis a
regalibus sedibus venit."
To sum up: Cynewulf adds a detail in the leaps
passage uhich is not in Gregory's homily. Cyneuulf may
have added this detail from other sources. He dwells
on the harrowing of hell and the binding of Satan in
two passages in the poem. This addition of the binding
(and implied eventual relase) of Satan artistically
introduces a theme uhich will be elaborated in the rune
passage at the conclusion of the poem. Grosz ("Imita
tion," 400) correctly discerns Cynewulf's artistic
purpose in the leaps passage: "The whole idea of the
leap, then, becomes metaphorical for the sudden change
from one level of existence (or thought) to another
without rational explanations, but rather in mystery.
Thus, after line 844 /T. 305^, Cyneuulf follows Gregory's
homily very closely to compare the leaps of the mind
into the spiritual world with the leaps of Christ."
262
282. maeqed unmaele. Cyneuulf also opens his
poem uith a reference to the v/irginity of Mary: accened
ueard burh clasnne had, 1. 4.
283. onfeng butan firenum. The uord firenum
may be interpreted here as "defilement" and uould refer
to the conception and birth of Christ uithout harm to
Mary’s virginity. The O.E. uord can also mean "sin" and
the reference here, as uell as unmaele in the preceding
line, may be pointing obliquely to the traditional be
lief that Mary uas exempted from being born uith the
stain of Original Sin.
284. stiell. Cook (note, p. 145) uas the first
to point out the carefully developed pattern of repetition
betueen tuo synonyms, stiell and hlyp, including verbal
compounds uith these nouns as roots. The series begins
uith qestyllan. 1. 277, and continues as follous:
gehleaoan. 1. 278; styll, 1. 280; hlyp, 1. 281; stiell,
1. 284; hlyp, 1. 287; stiell, 1. 289; hlyp, 1. 291;
hlyp, 1. 297; hlypum stylde, 1. 306; and finally hlypurn
styllan, 1. 308. Cook summarizes the evidence uith the
uords: "... the poet employs the tuo stems, in verb
and noun, in almost absolute alternation, and ends uith
tuo phrases in uhich both stems occur . . . This is
hardly to be ascribed to chance." Cook also points out
a similar pattern in Elene uith the uords rod, beam, and
263
treou.
285. qebyrda. So MS, but GR. qebyrd, Gr.^
qebyrdu, Ettm. gebyrdo t Muinzer qebyrdu.
in. MS uith i^ enlarged for legibility.
binne. Luke 2.7 is the source of this and the
following line: "Et peperit filium suum primogenitum
et pannis eum involvit et reclinavit eum in praesepio,
quia non erat eis locus in diyersorio." Cook (note,
p. 145) points out that bin, binn is the regular uord
for the Latin praesepe.
286. clabum beuunden. Cf. Christ III, 1423:
biuundenne mid uonnum clabum. In this passage of
Christ III, Christ stresses the humiliation and poverty
of his birth and adds: hwaet, i£ baet for uorulde
qebolade. In the Ascension homily Gregory explains why
the angels uere not clothed in uhite garments at the
nativity of Christ: "Quia nascente Domino videbatur
divinitas humiliata" (£L.» 76.1218). Cyneuulf takes over
the garment image from Gregory as the rhetorical start
ing point of his poem. Cyneuulf never explicitly answers
his initial question about uhite garments, but his treat
ment of the Ascension event itself provides an indirect
answer. And in this passage, he imagistically presents
Gregory's idea of divinitas humiliata by verbally
264
contrasting JLn binne . . . clabum beuunden with ealra
brymma brym. The contrast is made even stronger by the
delay of brym until the very end of the sentence.
beuunden. Th. , Gr., Ettm. biuunden.
288. raes. Grein-Kflhler (Sprachschatz, p. 544)
glosses raes as "cursus, saltus." Gollancz, in both his
texts, thinks of raes as "career."
289. faeder frofre qaest. Cookj ASPR (by
punctuation), and the translations of Kennedy and Gordon
see here an explicit reference to the Trinity. Kennedy
(EECP, p. 105) translates: "Uhen the Lord of Heaven/
The Father, the Comforter, mounted the Cross."
This phrase seems to be peculiarly Cyneuulfian,
and there are tuo other examples of this phrase uhich
must be examined if ue are to understand uhat Cyneuulf
means here. At the conclusion of the rune passage of
Juliana, Cyneuulf explicitly asks the reader/listener
to remember his name and pray for him to the three
members of the Trinity:
Bidde ic monna gehuone
gumena cynnes, be bis gied uraece,
baet he mec neodful bi noman minum
gemyne modig, ond meotud bidde
baet me hepfona helm helpe gefremme,
meahta ualdend, on bam miclan daege,
faeder. frofre qaest. in ba frecne tid,
daeda demend, ond s_e deora sunu . . .
("718b-725b, ASPR text)
265
I think that there is no doubt here about the reference
to each of the three persons of the Trinity. It should
be noted, however, that Cyneuulf refers first to prayer
to God in general, and then he enumerates the names of
the three persons of the Trinity.
The second example of this phrase in Cynewulf's
signed poems occurs in Elene. 1104-1108. The reference
here does not seem to be as explicit and clear as it was
in Juliana. I quote from the P.O.E. Gradon edition of
Elene:
Leort da tacen ford haer hie to saegon
f aeder, frof re qaest. durh fyres bleo
up edigean haBr aedelestan
haeleda geraedum hydde waeron
faurh nearusearwe, naeglas on eordan.
In this passage, Cyneuulf is describing the sign which
led to the discovery of the nails used to crucify Christ.
Gordon (Poetry. p. 23l) translates: "Then the Father,
the Comforter, caused a sign to mount up . . ." In a
previous miracle in Elene, which led to the discovery of
the three crosses, the sign is attributed to Christ
alone. Here, the Father and the Spirit are said to give
the sign, if Gordon's interpretation is followed. The
omission of the Son here is puzzling. I believe, however,
that the phrase faeder frofre Qaest might also be inter
preted simply as a reference to the Holy Spirit, and
would translate: "the beloved Spirit of the Father."
Thus, the reference to the three persons of the Trinity
266
uould be preserved in the passage, and the sign uould be
seen as the work of the Holy Spirit, uho is normally
associated uith uisdom and revelations. Turning nou to
the third instance of this phrase in 1. 289 of our poem,
I think it rather unusual that Cyneuulf uould explicitly
say that Christ, the Father, the Comforter ascended the
cross. It is one thing to pray to the Trinity, as in
the passages' from Juliana and ElenB; but to make the
assertion that the Trinity ascended the cross is indeed
confusing. There is, of course, no doubt about the tradi
tional theological doctrine that the three persons of
the Trinity are one God; but Scripture seems to dis
tinguish the three persons in their activities.
I do not deny that Cyneuulf is making a refer
ence to the Trinity in 1. 289. Fly point has to do uith
the grammar and method of reference. The reference seems
to be more submerged and subtle than some editors and
translators (e.g. Kennedy) have assumed. I therefore
prefer to translate faeder frofre qaest as "the beloved
son, comforter of the Father." Perhaps "messenger" uould
be a better translation for qaest, interpreting the uord
in the sense of anqelus. as in Dan. 526. In this inter
pretation, faeder uould be a genitive. Thus, the uhole
phrase faeder frofre qaest becomes a synonym for Christ,
and is in grammatical apposition uith jTe_. The reference
to the Trinity nou becomes a connotation of Cynewulf's
267
phrase, and is more subtle, more in line uith the kind of
multi-level imagery which Cyneuulf has employed through
out the poem. Such an interpretation also makes better
sense in terms of the traditional theology of the cruci
fixion. Finally, the O.E. phrase faeder frofre qaest
may be taken as a paraphrase of the Father’s words at
the baptism of Jesus (Luke 3.22): MTu es filius meus
dilectus" (frofre qaest = filius dilectus).
Thorpe and Grein (Cook, note, p. 145) also take
faeder as a genitive. Pluinzer’s text (Faeder Fro-
freqaest) may also be taken as supporting my interpreta
tion of the phrase, since there is no comma in the text
between the two words. Both Gollancz texts, in the
facing translations, explain faeder frofre qaest as
"the Father’s Solace."
291b-297a. Cf. 11. 119ff. and notes on the
Harrowing of Hell.
292. hellwarena. MS hell werena; Th. hell-
werena. All other eds. emend to -warena. Cf.
hellwarena cyninq. Juliana 322 and 437; in both
instances, the HS reads -werene. uith a added above
a
the e_, producing -werene. Nuinzer (note, p. 146, 148)
believes that both of these corrections were made by
the Exeter Book scribe, but adds that "Schipper and GLIA
I
I
268
believe the ja was written by another hand." It is by
analogy uith these other two corrections in the same MS
that the same emendation is made here. It is strange
that the corrector did not catch this error as he did
the other tuo."
293. iji. MS _In, for the sake of legibility.
cuicsusle. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz, p. 101)
glosses cuicsusl as "tormentum sempervivum." Thorpe
translates cuicsusle here as "quick sulphur." He also
translated the same word as "sulphur" uhen it appeared
previously (l. 122).
cyninq inne qebond. Cf. note to 1. 123 regarding
the possible source for this idea in Rev. 20.2.
294. feonda foresprecan. Grein-Kiihler
(Sprachschatz. p. 214) glosses forsspreca as "pro
locutor." The reference is probably to Satan, as in
Rev. 20.2.
295. baer he gen liqed. For the duration of
the chaining of Satan, see Rev. 20.1-15, esp. v. 7. The
popular belief, based on this Scriptural verse, was that
the end of the world would come in the year 1000 A.D. In
the tenth century, references to the approaching end of
the world are frequent, esp. in the homilists (see the
information listed in Aelfric's Catholic Homilies, ed.
269
B. Thorpe, I. 621). The end of the world and the un
leashing of Satan is also a major theme of Uulfstan's
Sermo Lupi ad Anglos, and is mentioned several times in
Aelfric's works (Catholic Homilies, ed. Thorpe, 1.2,
298, 476, 608-618). Cynewulf's brief reference to the
end of the world anticipates material to be developed
later in the poem.
296. _in. MS Jji for legibility, not a true
capital.
297. Cynewulf returns again to the moment of the
Ascension and brings in all of the themes he has pre
viously developed, especially the joy of the angels.
Cynewulf summarizes what has gone before in order to
begin movement into the final major theme of the poem—
the coming of Christ as judge.
298. haliqes. Cook Halqes.
hyhtpleqa. Glossed by Grein-KtJhler (Sprachschatz,
p. 379) as "ludus jucundus." Cynewulf introduces words
expressing ieaping, motion, and joyful frolic to describe
the Ascension, e.g. pleqa in 1. 304.
299. ealdcydde. Th. eald cydde.
301. gesauan. Th., Gr., Ettm. qesauon.
270
303. beorhtra. The form here is not the compar
ative of the adjective, but the genitive plural, modifying
bolda. Thorpe (p. 46) mistakenly translates as "brighter
duellings."
burquarum. The formation of the initial _b of this
uord in the MS is someuhat unusual, and Muinzer (note, p.
131) is probably right in supposing that the scribe mis
takenly began to urite u^ and corrected himself.
304. eadqum. Th. eadqu. Go.1 (note, p. 164):
"Th., Gr. 'MS. eadgu.'" but the Grein Bibliothek edition
prints eadqum.
pleqa. I.e., the Ascension.
305-339. These lines are based upon the follow
ing lines in Gregory's Ascension homily (.PL, 76.1219):
"Unde, fratres charissimi, opportet ut illuc sequamur
corde, ubi eum corpore ascendisse credimus. Desideria
terrene fugiamus, nihil nos jam delectet in infimis,
qui patrem habemus in coelis."
Cynewulf follows these lines very closely in 11.
312b-32Da. The rest of the passage contains an elabora
tion of an idea hintedat in Gregory's text— the
dangers a Christian must flee. Here Cynewulf vividly
describes the warfare between the devil and the indi
vidual Christian. Cynewulf's images visualize the
271
stealth and deadliness of the devil's attack, and present
a clear warning to each Christian.
A passage at the conclusion of Bede's Homily on
the Ascension (PL., 94.181) is quite close to Gregory's
ideas: "Hanc ergo Dominicae ascensionis gloriam,
fratres charissimi, quae prius prophetarum et dictis
signabatur et gestis, et post in ipso Mediators nostro
completa est, tota dev/otione veneremus, et ipsi quoque
ut ejus vestigia sequi, atque ad coelos mereamur
ascenders, interim salubriter humiliemur in terram
memores semper quia, sicut Salomon ait: Superbum
sequitur ignominia, et humilem spiritu sequitur
gloria (Prov. XXIX). Ecce in ascensione Redemptoris
nostri, quo nostra sit omnis intentio dirigenda
didicimis; ecce, ascendente ad coelos Mediators Dei
et hominum, patefactam hominibus coelestis patriae
januam cognovimus. Ad hujus ergo patriae perpetuam
felicitatem omni studio festinemus. In hac quia
necdum corpore possumus, desiderio semper et mente
versemus. Juxta vocem egregii praedicatoris, quae
sursum sunt quaeramus, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei
sedens, quae sursum sunt sapiamus, non quae super
terram. Quaeramus ilium et confirmemur spe inven-
tionis ..."
272
307. Sua, etc. Here Cyneuulf explicitly indi
cates the manner of man's imitation of the Ascension.
Each man imitates Christ by raising his heart and mind
to spiritual things. Cyneuulf is also auare of the
concrete realities of human life, houeuer, and adds that
good uorks are also an important means to sanctification.
309. ojf maeqne in maeqen. Cf. Ps. 84.7: "Ibunt
de virtute in v/irtutem." Cook (Biblical Quotations, p.
71) points out that Bede, in the Ecclesiastical History,
renders Ps. 84.7 as "Halige gongad of maegene in maegen."
in. MS _Ln for legibility, not a true capital.
310. hrofe. Grein-KHhler (Sprachschatz, p. 361)
glosses thB secondary meaning of hrof as "summum, summitas,
cacumen." This seems to be the connotation of the uord
here.
311. hyht ond blis. Cf. 1. 90b-91a.
312. mid heortan. Possible echo of Luke 12.34:
"Ubi enim thesaurus vester est, ibi et cor vestrum erit."
Cyneuulf's general admonition "to seek the things that
are aboue" is rooted in the exhortation of Paul in Col.
3.1-2: "igitur, si consurrexistis cum Christo, quae
sursum sunt quaerite, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei
sedens; quae sursum sunt sapite, non quae super terram."
2.73
317a-320a. These lines paraphrase Gregory's
homily (PL., 76.1219). The passage follows immediately
after the lines quoted in the note to 11. 305ff.:
"Desideria terrena fugiamus, nihil nos delectet in
infimis, qui Patrem habemus in caelis." Cynewulf's
thought in this passage is also reflected in the collect
for the Mass of Ascension Day in the Roman liturgy:
"Concede, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus, ut, qui hodierna
die Unigenitum tuum Redemptorem nostrum ad caelos
ascendisse credimus, ipsi quoque mente in caelestibus
habitemus." Neale and Littledale (Commentary on the
Psalms. I, p. 337) quote a collect from the Mozarabic
liturgy which sums up the entire movement of Cynewulf's
treatment of the Ascension: "0 Lord, the King of Glory,
Uho, by the completion and opening of the prophetic
oracles, didst, as it were, lift up the eternal gates,
and didst return to Thy Father's seat,— because, while
Thy Godhead, which had never departed thence, is again
there, access is open to the human race,— grant that
thither our desires may arise, where our Redeemer has
already preceded, and that we may never be detained
by the captivity of our lusts on earth, when the Head
of our body is already rejoicing with Thee in heaven."
The structure of Cynewulf's poem, then, follows tradi
tional liturgical associations.
274
318. synuunde. Cf. 11. 324, 331, and also 11.
236-237 for a possible anticipation of this train of
thought.
forseon. Note rhyme uith qefeon.
p
sellran. MS sellan. Schipper, GUA, FBrster,
and Muinzer believe that the uas added by a hand
other than that of the Exeter Book scribe (cf. Muinzer,
note, p. 132). Cook (note, p. 146) has this to say:
"This looks like 'contamination* of sellan and selran."
Ettm. selran.
319. ue. Thorpe (note, p. 47): "ue seems
redundant."
321. halio. The form here is nominative,
singular, masculine, modifying he_ in the previous line.
of heahbu hider. Cyneuulf's choice of imagery
and vocabulary constantly reminds the audience of the
movement from earth to heaven and vice-versa. The
rhythm of this movement completes a circular pattern
in the poem— Christ’s Ascension is completed and
complemented by the aid and grace uhich he sends in
return to men on earth.
heahbu. Th. heahbu, but notes the MS reading
heahbu; Ettm. heahdum .
275
322-337. This passage, uith its images of martial
warfare between the individual Christian and the forces of
evil, may be based ultimately on Ephesians 6.10-17:
"De cetero, fratres, confortamini in Domino et in
potentia virtutis eius. Induite vos armaturam Dei, ut
possitis stare adversus insidias diaboli. Quoniam non
est nobis colluctatio adversus carnem et sanguinem, sed
adversus principes et potestates, adversus mundi rectores
tenebrarum harum, contra spiritalia nequitiae in
caelestibus. Propterea accipite armaturam Dei ut
possitis resistere in die malo et in omnibus perfecti
stare. State ergo succincti lumbros vestros in veritate,
et induti loricam iustitiae, et calceati pedes in
praeparatione evangelii pacis; in omnibus sumentes
scutum fidei, in quo possitis omnia tela nequissimi
ignea extinguere. Et Galeam salutis adsumite, et
gladium spiritus, quod est verbum Dei."
Martial imagery has traditionally been applied
to Satan and his forces by both the Latin Christian
writers and by the Anglo-Saxon poets. In Guthlac, the
conflict between the saint and the deviis over the site
of a dwelling is recounted in military imagery. Helena's
struggles with the Sews, and Juliana's battle uith the
devil also take on the overtones of a military battle.
For the treatment of the devil in O.E. literature, see
276
Evelyn Lohr, "Patristic Demonology in Old English Liter
ature" (N.Y.U. Dissertation Abstract, 1949) and Rosemary
Uoolf, "The Devil in Did English Poetry," RES t IV (January,
1953)., 1-11 .
322. qescildab. Angels are described as "pro
tectors" in Ps. 34.7; 91.10-11; Luke 4.1D-11. It is
also of interest that angels are spoken of in martial
terms in Ps, 34.7.
323. eqlum. MS, Th. enqlum. Th. (note, p. 47)
eqlum?. Thorpe's suggested emendation has been accepted
by all subsequent editors. Muinzer (note, p. 132) very
plausibly suggests that the scribe was apparently read
ing the text as he copied, and, since the passage has
been dealing uith angels, miscopied a MS uord (which
Thorpe and the other editors suppose to have been eqlum)
as enqlum. There is, however, no way of discovering
whether this error is due to the Exeter Book scribe
himself or to some previous copyist. Muinzer also sug
gests the possibility of emending the MS reading to
enqum, which Grein—KBhler (Sprachschatz. p. 162) glosses
as "angustus, anxius." I do not think that Muinzer's
alternative reading enqum fits as well into the context
as the traditional emendation eqlum. The passage seems
to stress the deadliness of the devil's arrows (cf.
eqlum. The adjective enqum would certainly describe
the shape of arrows, but would be a rather colorless
emendation in this context.
bi laes. Cook bi-laes; Ettm. Jby..
324. wrohtbora. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz
p. 829) glosses this word as "scelerum auctor."
Urohtbora is the equivalent of the Latin diabolus.
In the N.T ., the Greek words satanast satan. and
diabolos are used interchangeably to describe the
devil. The Hebrew word satan literally refers to an
accuser in a court ' law. Most instances of this word
in the Old Testament, however, attach a wider, and
often metaphorical meaning to the word, and it comes
to mean "adversary" in general. The word then becomes
a proper name, used to identify the principal "adversary
of God and man, the devil.
325. fole qodes. A traditional Scriptural
expression. In the O.T. the Hebrews were Yahweh's
specially chosen people. For the N.T. use of this
expression, see Luke 1.68, 7.16; Heb. 4.9, 11.25; 1
Peter 2.10.
326. In the Old Testament the arrow is used as
a general symbol for the attacks of enemies, the enemy
278
being pictured most often as a bowman. In the Psalms,
this image becomes applied to evil in general, and
especially spiritual evil; see Ps. 7.13, 11.2, 58.7,
64.3, and 91.5. The arrows of the enemy are also associ
ated with darkness and concealment, as in Ps. 91.5:
"A saggita volante in die, a negotio perambulante in
tenebris." Strife, misfortune, and sickness are also
described in the Q.T. as arrows, as in Ez. 5.10, Is.
5.28, 37.33, Oer. 9.8. Thus, in the O.T., the arrow
becomes a generalized symbol for the hostility of an
enemy or adversary. And since the chief adversary of
mankind is Satan, he is appropriately described as an
archer. The image is powerful: the ordinary archer-
soldier may be able to kill the body, but the arrows of
Satan can kill the soul. Cynewulf is vividly aware of
the power of Satan’s weapons, for he describes them as
bitter and deadly poisonous synwunde (l. 318), as well
as biterne strael (l. 326), faerscyte (l. 327), attres ord
(l. 329), frecne wund. blatast benna (l. 331b-332a).
This correlation between archer/arrow and phys
ical misfortune and moral evil also occurs elsewhere in
O.E. poetry. In Hrothgar's seemingly "Christian” sermon
to Beowulf on the dangers of pride, the aged king makes
the following remarks:
279
Uunad he on uiste; no hine uiht dueled
adl ne yldo, ne him inuitsorh
on sefan sueorced, ne gesacu ohuaer
ecghete eoued, ac him eal uorold
uended on uillan (he £aet uyrse ne con),
odfiaet him on innan oferhygda dael
ueaxed ond uridad. 9onne se ueard suefed,
sauele hyrde; bid se slaep to faest,
bisgum gebunden, bona suide neah,
se ( d0 of flanbogan fyrenum sceoted.
Bonne bid on hre^ra under helm drepen
biteran straele (him bebeorgan ne con),
uom uundorbebodum uergan castes;
(111 1735-47, flSPR text)
Note the similarity in language and thought betueen
Hrothgar’s admonition concerning the sin of pride and
the soul-slayer and Cynewulf’s words in 11. 324b-326 and
329-332a.
Cynewulf develops this same general theme in
Juliana, where a captive demon explains to the saint the
"military" strategy employed in destroying a human soul.
The metaphor of bow and arrow is also prominent:
jTeah he godes huaet
onginne gaestlice, ic beo gearo sona,
fjaet ic ingehygd eal geondwlite,
hu gefaestnad sy ferd innanweard,
uidsteall geworht. Ic |aaes wealles geat
ontyne fcmrh teonan; bid se torr hyr0l»
ingang geopenad, (aonne ic aerest him
(Durh eargfare in onsende
in breostsefan bitre gefioncas
faurh mislice modes uillan,
haet him sylfum selle |oynce-d
leahtras to fremman ofer lof godes,
lices lustas.
(11. 397-409, flSPR text)
280
The O.E. charm "For a sudden stitch” (ASPR. VI,
pp. 122-3) also likens the spirits which cause pain to
attackers shooting uith arrows, or little spears.
braeodbooan. Grein-Kohler (Sprachschatz. p.. 66)
defines braeodboqa as "arcus fraudulentus." Thorpe and
both Gollancz editions translate the word as "drawn
bow. "
biterne. Sievers ("Rhythmik," 496) believes that
the meter requires a long first syllable, and prefers to
read bitterns. Holthausen (Anglia Beibl., X, 355) agrees
uith the Sievers position. As Cook suggests (note, p.
148) biterne may be in ablaut relation uith bitan, and
so there would be no need to change the MS spelling.
p
327. faerscyte. MS fae,scyte, with the _r ap
parently crowded in, and a mark below the r_. The
Gollancz editions, ASPR, and Muinzer record the exact MS
appearance of the word, while ASPR and Muinzer further
indicate that the _r has been apparently crowded in.
Grein=KHhler (Sprachschatz. p. 175) glosses this word
as "jactus improvisus vel fatalis."
328. symle. Ettm. simle.
uaerlice uearde healdan. Cf. 1 Peter 5.8:
"Sobrii estote et vigilate."
281
329. j^y_ laes. Cook bv-laes.
attrss ord. Hart (MLN, XVII, 463) suggests
emending the text to attres orod. meaning "poisonous
breath," here and in Juliana 471 and Riddle 60.13.
This emendation seems out of place in the context of
Cynewulf’s passage, and the MS reading should be allowed
to stand. Cook (note, p. 149) points out a passage from
the Life of Saint Guthlac (ed. Goodwin,pp. 26, 28) which
offers a parallel to Cynewulf’s thought here: "(3a gelamp
hit sume daege mid /jp y h e / (san gewunelican (Deawe his
sealm sang, and his gebedum befeal, (3a se ealda feond
mancynnes (efne swa grymetigende lea, (aaet he his
costunga attor wide todaeled), mid (3y he (3a his
yfelnysse maegen and grymnysse attor ^/todaelde/, |baet he
mid (3an (3a menniscan heortan wundode, |3a semninga swa
he of gebendum bogan his costunge streale on (3am mode
gefaestnode (3aes Cristes cempan. Ba he [3a, se eadiga
wer, mid (3aere geaettreden straele, gewundod waes (3aes
awerigedan gastes, da waes his mod, (3aes eadigan weres,
swide gedrefed on him . . . Ba haefde hine seo
deofolice strael mid ormodnysse gewundodne; waes se
eadgia wer, Gudlac, mid (3aere ormodnysse (3ri dagas
gewundod."
2
in qebuqe. Th., Go. in-oebuoe; Ettm.
inoebuoe.
282
330. bordqelac. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz.
p. 64) glosses this word questioningly as "clypeorum
impugnatio." Cosijn (p. Ill) rejects the Grein defini
tion, and claims that the word means simply "strife."
The Cosijn suggestion is an improvement on the Grein
definition, but does not fit the context, since
bordqelac is syntactically parallel to ord in the
previous line. Cook, in his glossary, takes bordqelac
as "dart," and is followed by both Gordon and Kennedy in
their translations. B-T (p. 116) defines bordqelac as
"what flies against a shield, hence, a missile, dart."
The noun would be derived from the verb lacan, "to play,
sport, fly."
331. bid. Ettm. byd.
333. weardiqen. MS weardiqen; ASPR. Muinzer,
weardien. Muinzer (note, p. 132) claims that the point
below the £ in the MS indicates that the letter was
cancelled by the scribe. The point, however, may have
been added by a later reader, and thus we cannot be
absolutely certain that the Exeter Book scribe intended
to cancel the £. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz. pp. 765-
66) lists several instances of weardiqen in D.E. poetry:
sceal se lichoma least weardigan eft on eordan (Met.
2D.241)' and baer sylfaetan eard weardiqad. edel healdad
283,
(An. 176). A similar form also occurs in Husband * s
Message 18: sard weardiqen, an lond buqen. In view of
this evidence, I believe that the MS form should be
allowed to stand.
334. Cf. Beouulf 188, ond to Faeder faebmum
freodo uilnian. and also Daniel 222, ne hie to facne
freodo uilnedan.
faeder . Sievers ("Rhy thmik , " 483) prefers to
read faedere here for metrical reasons, and also in
lines 26 and 93.
335. A clear reference to the Trinity is
completed here.
336. sceaban uaepnum. Kock (Anglia, XLIU,
100) takes sceaban as a genitive plural: the weapons
of enemies. Cook (note, p. 150) points out a parallel
thought in the Latin Advent hymn Conditor alme siderum:
"Conserve nos in tempore/Hostis a telis perfidi."
338. leomu lie ond qaest. Cook (note, p. 150)
points out parallels in £h. 513, and Guthlac 810, 1149.
leomu lie. Cony.'*' leomulic.
Si. MS _sj[, uith i_ added above the e^. Schipper,
GUA, Cook and FtSrster (Facsimile, p. 65) believe that
the _i was added by another hand. Muinzer (note, p.
132-33) correctly points out that the origin of this
2.84
single-stroke letter is almost impossible to determine
for certain. Both Gollancz editions, as well as ASPR,
make no speculation regarding the origin of the MS cor
rection. Go."*" mistakenly records the MS reading as s1
2 B
and Go. notes the MS reading as s . All editors adopt
the correction indicated in the MS, and print si.
Si him. Cony'*' sel him.
339. uorulda. Muinzer (note, p. 133) remarks:
"uith £ corrected from jj or _a, the latter possibility
being unlikely." My oun examination of the MS facsimile
supports Muinzer— the corrected letter appears to have
been lj. No other editors call attention to this correc
tion in the MS.
heofnum. MS heof nU^i Cook reads heof/- o/num. The
MS punctuation indicates the conclusion of a sectional
division uithin the poem. Cf. also the parallel doxology
in Ph. 661b-662.
340ff. The source for the following lines,
including the rune passage, is found at the conclusion of
Gregory's homily. Cyneuulf systematically expands and
embellishes Gregory's terse remarks concerning the Last
Judgment. Cynewulf's treatment also embodies the contrasts
and tensions which have been present throughout the poem—
the fears and visions of judgment are balanced with a
285
simple trust in the mercy of God. Gregory’s remarks
(which follow immediately upon the passage quoted in the
note to 11. 317a-*320a) are as follows: "Et hoc nobis
est magnopere perpendendum, quia is qui placidus
ascendit, terribilis redibit; et quidquid nobis cum
mansuetudine praecepit, hac a nobis cum districtione
exiget. Nemo ergo indulta poenitentiae tempora
parvipendat, nemo curam sui, dum valet, agere negligat,
quia Redepmtor noster tanto tunc in judicium dis-
trictior veniet, quanto nobis ante judicium magnam
patientiam praerogavit. Haec itaque vobiscum, fratres,
agite, haec in mente sedula cogitatione versate."
The same thought occurs also at the end of Bede’s
homily on the Ascension (£L» 94.181): "Quaeramus faciem
ejus semper, ut cum ipse qui placidus ascendit terribilis
redierit, nos paratos inveniat."
340. N_e. MS _NE, with larger capital N_ extending
through more than the space of two folio lines. The
previous section of the poem concludes near the middle
of line 17 of folio 19a. The remainder of folio line 17
is blank, and the next section begins on the next folio
line. There is no complete folio line left blank between
sections, as was done at the other sectional divisions
within the poem. The scribe evidently felt that the blank
remainder of folio line 17 was sufficient indication,
286
along uith punctuation and capitalization, to indicate a
neu sectional division uithin the poem.
It should be pointed out that GUA indicates that
Christ III begins here, and the Following title is in
serted: ”3. Teil: Christi Uiederkunft zutn jUngsten
Gericht." The GUA edition is clearly wrong here. It is
true that there is a similarity of subject matter between
the conclusion of Cynewulf's poem and the poem following
immediately in the MS, Christ III. The MS, however,
clearly indicates that lines 340ff. (779ff. in the
facsimile edition) are only a new sectional division
within Cynewulf's poem. The real beginning of Christ III
occurs on folio 20b uith the punctuation, spacing, and
extensive capitalization which ordinarily indicate the
beginning of a new poem in the Exeter Book. Furthermore,
the GUA division would put Cynewulf's rune-signature
at the beginning of a poem, rather than at the end, as
in Elene, Juliana. and The Fates of the Apostles.
341. aelda. Ettm. alda.
342. qarfare. Syntactically parallel uith
straelas, 1. 340. Grein-KOhler (Sprachschatz, p. 245)
glosses it "volatus telorum." The only additional ex
ample of this noun is Exodus 343, glossed by Grein-
KOhler as "turma hastifera."
287
343. baet. Cook (note, p. 151): ’ ’Perhaps we
should read fraer.1 1 Trautmann (BEU, 91) also prefers to
read baer.
leanum hleotan. MS leanu,hlaotan. with a smaller
h_ squeezed in between _u and 1_. Schipper, Go.\ GUA, and
FOrster believe that the Jn was added by another hand.
2
Go. says that the ji was "evidently added later." ASPR
merely notes the Jn as crowded in, with no speculation
concerning its origin. Muinzer (note, p. 133) believes
that the i h was added by the Exeter Book scribe, since
the letter does not differ radically from the other
occurrences of this letter in the MS. In Juliana 622,
as Cook notes (p. 151), Cynewulf writes leana hleotan.
345. w£. Cosijn (p. Ill) would add us_ after
we in order to provide an object for the verb hlodun.
ASPR (note, p. 254) correctly dismisses this suggestion
as unnecessary.
hlodun. Trautmann (BEV, 91) is unhappy with the
MS reading and would emend to daedun or dedun as a
Northumbrian preterite of don. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz,
p. 341) glosses the verb hladan as "congerere, cumulare,
struere." Cook (glossary, p. 260) also interprets the
verb here as meaning "amass, lay up." The retention of
the MS form makes perfect sense, and would bring the
line close to the language of Luke 12.33, where Christ
288
speaks of "storing up" or "amassing" spiritual treasure
in heaven by good deeds on earth. For a man's deeds as
a basis for judgment after death, see Mt. 16.27, Rom.
2.6, 2 Cor. 5.10, Rev. 20.12, 22.12. Cynewulf's vision
of judgment should also be compared uith the account in
Mt. 25.31-46, esp. v. 45.
346-7. Throughout the poem, Cyneuulf has con
trasted the humble birth of Chris and his glorious
return as lord and judge of mankind. The contrast here
recalls Gregory's contrast in the Ascension homily
between "divinitas humiliata" at the Nativity and
"humanitas exaltata" at the Ascension.
348. jiri. MS _I_n, for legibility, not a true
capital.
goldhord. Cook (note, p. 151) points out two
verbal parallels from the Blicklinq Homilies; "ba
uaes gesended baet Goldhord bass maegenbrymmes on b°ne
bend baas claenan innodes" (3.28); and "On bissum daege
astag baet heofonlice Goldhord on blsne ymbhuyrft fram
baem heahsetle ure(s) Gescyppendes, baet waes Christ,
baes lifgendes Godes Sunu" (11.29).
349. in. MS I_n, for legibility, not a true
capital.
289
freobearn. Th., Go. freo beam.
350. heahbu . MS heahbu. Th. heahpu, and notes
the MS reading. R. heahbum: Ettm. heahdum.
ic uene me. Cook (noLe, p. 151) points out that
Frucht, for metrical reasons, would either cancel me_
here, place it before uene, or move it to the beginning
of the next line.
351. dy rebran. MS dyrebran. All editors emend
dy to dy, following the lead of Thorpe. Grein has bv
rebran, and mistakenly notes that Thorpe's text reads
dy redran. It actually reads dy rebran.
352. MS ^)onn, small capital uith unusual ab
breviation.
353. Joe. In the sense of "because."
354. I_c. MS I_c, possibly a true small capital,
since there is no m or n following the i_.
355. synwraece. Syntactically parallel with
broqan. Thorpe (note, p. 5G) "Perhaps sin-wraece,
eternal vengeance.1 ' Thorpe^s suggestion is rejected by
Grein in his Bibliothek (note. p. 169).
356. moniq. Cook moniq/- 3/. claiming that the
29D
emendation is required by the verb, and adducing a
parallel in Ph_. 491: mongo beod. But the singular form
also can take a plural verb as in JL1. 231: baer wlanc
maniq on staede stodon. flSPR (note,' p. 254) indicates
that Sedgefield also prefers monioe.
laeded. MS laedad. The scribal error is a
simple one, and all editors routinely emend to laeded*
357ff. The rune signature. In these lines,
and in his three other signed poems, Cyneuulf has inter
woven his name in runic letters. The riddle of the
runic signatures uas solved almost simultaneously in 1840
by Kemble and Oacob Grimm, uho uere the first to reveal
that the runic symbols formed the name of the poet. The
history of scholarship on the runes of the Cyneuulfian
poems is treated at length in the Introduction, and
warrants no detailed repetition here.
Before discussing the major problems of interpre
tation of the runes in The Ascension, I add the runic
signatures of all four Cyneuulfian poems for comparison.
The texts are from ASPR. In each text, the English
capital has been substituted for the runic symbol.
291
Christ (358-368)
Jonne.C.cuacad, gehyred cyning maedlan,
rodera rhytend, sprecan re|ae uord
t»am |ae him aer in uorulde uace hyrdon,
|aendan. Y. ond. N. yfrast meahtan
frofrB findan. Jaer sceal forht mGnig
on faam uongstede uerig bidan
huaet him aefter daedum deman uille
urafara uita. Bifa se.U.scaecen
eor(aan fraetua. .U.uaes longe
.L.flodum bilocen, lifuynna dael,
• F.on foldan.
Juliana (703-709)
Geomor hueorfed
. C. Y. ond. I \ ! . Cyning bi|a relae,
sigora syllend, jaonne synnum fah
.E.U.ond.U. acle bidad
huaet him aefter daedum deman uille
lifes to laene, .L.F. beofad,
seomad sorgcearig.
Elene (1256-1270)
A uaes secg od daet
cnyssed caeruelmum, C drusende,
(aeah he in medohealle madmas (aege,
aeplede gold. Y gnornode
l \ l gefera, nearusorge dreah,
enge rune, (aaer him E fore
milpadas maet, modig (araegde
uirum geulenced. U is gesuidrad,
gomen aefter gearum, geogod is geeyrred,
aid onmedla. U uaes geara
geogodhades glaem. I \ l u synt geardagas
aefter fyrstmearce ford geuitene,
lifuynne geliden, sua L toglided,
flodas gefysde. F aeghuam bid
laene under lyfte;
Z92
Fates of the Apostles (98-105)
F (aaer on ende stands^,
eorlas Jaaes on eordan bruca(D. Ne moton hie aua aetsomne,
uorulduunigende; U sceal gedreosan,
U on edle, aefter tohreosan
laene lices fraetua, efne sua L toglided.
Jonne C ond Y craeftes neosad
nihtes nearowa, on him N liged,
cyninges faeodom.
In Juliana and Elene. the name of the poet is
Cyneuulf; in The Ascension, it is Cynuulf, and this is
also the form in the damaged passage in Fates of the
Apostles. The tuo forms of the name are judged to be
ordinary v/ariations; see Sievers, Anglia, XIII, 10-11.
Concerning the interpretation of the runic
symbols in Cyneuulf's poems there is much scholarly
debate. The basic document for the explanation of the
runic alphabet in Anglo-Saxon England is the Runic Poem
in MS. Cott. Otho B.X, uhich uas destroyed in the
disastrous fire of 1731. The text of this poem uas
first published by Hickes in his Thesaurus, and there
have been numerous editions since then. The Old English
runic alphabet is also preserved on the so-called Thames
Knife, and in three manuscripts dating from the ninth
to the eleventh centuries: MS. Domitian A IX, MS. Galba
A II and MS. 17, St. John's College, Oxford. The dating
of the Runic Poem is disputed, although Sisam and others
(acc. to Elliott, EjS, XXXIV, 50) date it in the ninth
293
centgry, a time almost identical with Cynewulf's lifespan,
according to Sisam (Studies, p. 27). Others have assumed
that the Run-ic- Poem is later, and of possible Scandinavian
origins (Cook, note, p. 155) and is thus not an absolute
indicator of the meanings the runes may have had in
Cynewulf's day. There is, however, agreement between
the three D.E. runic manuscripts mentioned above, and the
Runic Poem concerning the names commonly given to the
runic symbols, especially those symbols which form the
name of Cynewulf. This evidence would point to the fact
that the names of the runic letters were well estab
lished in England as early as the ninth century (if
this dating for the Runic Poem is accepted) and that
these names certainly had an earlier tradition. Sisam
(Studies, p. 20) adds additional information of great
importance: "The agreement of three early-twelfth-
century lists, all probably from Kent, may seem to be
insufficient witness for Cynewulf's usage. Still,
their testimony is stronger than it looks: the absence
of earlier lists of names for the ordinary runes (for
instance, in the tenth-century script'of Domitian A IX
and in the lost manuscript of the Runic Poem) is only
part of the evidence that up to the time of the Conquest
these names were familiar and certain in England. And
fortunately there is a witness on the Continent just
when we need it. Alcuin's closest friend was Arno,
294
archbishop of Salzburg, to uhose care is due the preserva
tion of so many of Alcuin's letters. In the year 798,
and perhaps under Arno's personal direction, uas compiled
the manuscript formerly called Salzburg 140 /now Uienna
Hofbibliothek PIS. 795/. It contains, in association uith
letters from Alcuin, an English runic alphabet and the
English rune-names. On the letters of Cyneuulf's name
it agrees exactly uith the three tuelfth-century English
documents: the runes C,Y,N,E,U,U,L,F uere called cen,
yr, ned, eoh, uyn, ur, lagu. feoh. There is no evidence
(unless it be in Cyneuulf's signatures) that any other
names for these runes uere used in Old English."
The Old English runic symbols uhich appear in the
conclusion of The Ascension are as fcilous, along uith
their traditional equivalent names, derived from the
Runic Poem, and modern English translations.
A cen torch
A
yr bou
+
ned need
uyn hope, joy
rr
ur aurochs, bull
r
lagu uater, sea, lake
r f eoh money, fortune, property
The specific problem uhich arises uith
runic symbols is that three of them (cen, ^r, ur_) are
'295
found only as rune-names, and for their explanation ue
must rely on the information given in such documents as
the Runic Poem. The remaining runic letters had names
uhich uere common nouns in Did English (ned, uyn, laqu,
feoh). The crux of the problem for the interpreter of
Cyneuulf's rune signature in The Ascension, and in the
other poems, lies in the interpretation to be given to
the runes cen, yr, and ltt. Most scholars have felt
that the traditional meanings of these runes (torch,
bou, bull) make no sense in the context of the runic
passages, and consequently have proposed alternative
meanings.
In his edition of The Christ (note, pp. 173-74),
Gollancz remarks that the runic letters might not only
stand for the traditional uord associated uith the
letter (as in the Runic Poem). but also might stand for
homonyms or other uords beginning uith the same letter.
Conybeare (p. 119) had already discovered that "several
runic characters are introduced, obviously as monogrammatic
cyphers, each denoting an entire uord, either the same
uord uith that uhich gave its name to the respective let
ters of the runic alphabet, or of some similar sound."
Cook's long and valuable summary of runic scholarship in
his edition (notes, pp. 151-165) illustrates the many
proposed substitutions and explanations of the runic
296
symbols in Cyneuulf's poem. Follouing the Cook edition,
the most important studies of the runes in The Ascension
are those of Tupper, Sisam, and Eliott.
Frederick Tupper (MLN, XXVII, 131-137) in 1912
affirmed the generally accepted belief that each rune is
a substitute for one definite uord, a name assigned to
it by long tradition. Tupper rejects the belief of
Trautmann and others that the runic symbol might merely
stand for the first letter of some missing uord, and
insists that each runic symbol is a substitute for only
one fixed and definite uord. He adds (p. 133) that "in
typical runic acrostics the rune uas so obviously
associated uith a definite naming uord that, at the sight
of its name or the synonym of this, the reader immediately
supplied the symbol." Although the naming uord of each
runic symbol uas fixed by long tradition (cen. yr, etc.),
Tupper adds an important caution concerning the interpre
tation of the name (p. 133): "Having marked that the
name of each runic letter is definitely fixed, let us
note that the meaning of this name frequently varies."
Tupper's point is that Cyneuulf employes three runes
(C, U, and Y) in a sense other than the traditional
definitions of the Runic Poem. Thus, Cyneuulf used the
traditional name of these runic symbols in a kind of
uord-play to suggest the name of a similarly-sounding
uord. Accordingly, his use of the rune cen is simply
297
to allude to an almost identical uord, cene, meaning
"bold." Tupper believ/es that Cyneuulf’s audience uould
have immediately understood the kind of uord-association
being employed by the poet. Similarly, the runic symbol
yr really stands for yr(re), meaning ’ ’anger” or "urath-
ful, confused” and the symbol ur stands for ur(e),
meaning simply "our.” For the remaining runic symbols,
the traditional names and definitions are valid. The
point is that Cyneuulf could not fit the traditional
explanations of the C, Y, and U runes in his poem's
context, and thus resorted to uord-play by uhich the
runic symbol uould stand for a uord uhich sounded very
much like it.
Kenneth Sisam (Studies, pp. 18-27) also finds
difficulty uith the interpretation of the C, Y, and U
runes. Sisam believes (p. 26) that Cyneuulf employed
cen and ^r as "simple letter-names that uould serve as
uarnings of less-obvious letter-names to follou . . .
Df course he had to give these lett ei^-names some function
in the sentence: uhen cen and _^r stand alone, or form
part of a group of runes, the single letter or group
stands for the uhole name 'Cyneuulf', as in the Juliana
signature. Uj?, houever, is exceptional because to a
i
listener it is identical uith the pronoun meaning ’our’,
and perhaps Cyneuulf intended it to bear that meaning in
298
The Fates, The Ascension, and Elene."
Ralph Li. V. Eliott has recently argued (ES,
XXXIV, 49-57) for a return to the traditional interpreta
tion of the runes in The Ascension based on the explana
tions given in the Runic Poem. Concerning the problematic
C, Y, and U runes, Elliott observes (p. 50) that "C, Y,
U possess names uhich do not in Old English function as
common nouns, and in consequence commentators appear to
have felt at liberty to interpret them contextually as
they pleased." In particular, he rejects Sisam's explana
tion of the function of the C, Y, and U runes. Conse
quently, for Elliott, cen is to be interpreted in its
traditional meaning "torch" and ^_r is to be taken as
"bou." The rune jjr_ is to be interpreted as "manly
strength" uhich Elliott believes is the source of the
traditional meaning "aurochs, bison, bull." Elliott
concludes (p. 56): "Our interpretation has endeavoured
to shou hou successfully Cyneuulf achieved in these tuo
poems his double purpose: to present a coherent picture
of the day of judgment uith its inherent contrast betueen
man’s earlier state and the elemental upheaval of dooms
day itself, uhile at the same time ueaving into the
narrative the runes that spell his name, so that prayers
might be offered for his salvation. He could assume
that his ninth-century audience uas familiar uith the
299
rune-names, and he used them quite simply in their ac
cepted traditional meanings. To have substituted any
other words, homonymous or not, uould have defeated his
purpose.M
Thus, the interpretation of the runes cen. yr, and
ur remains far from settled. Concerning the literary
structure of the rune passage, Cook (note, p. 163) cor
rectly observes that "According to the most natural
rendering, Cyneuulf's references to himself uould end
uith 796, and the rune passage uould refer to people in
general." Cook's vieu is seconded by Carleton Broun in
an important study of the "autobiographical" elements
in Cyneuulf's rune passages (EST, XXXVIII, 196-233).
Broun shous that the rune passages are not "autobio
graphical" and are almost formulaic in their general
ized tone and subject matter.
A sample of the various translations of the rune
passage in The Ascension is added belou:
Gordon (Poetry. p. 147):
Then the Bold (C) shall tremble, he shall hear
the King speak, the Sovereign of the skies utter
stern uords to those who before hearkened heed
lessly to Him in the uorld, uhile Misery (Y) and
Distress ( l \l ) could most easily find solace. There
many a one accursed shall auait in fear in that
place what dread torments He uill doom him accord
ing to his deeds. Gone is the Gladness (U) of
earth's gauds. For long our Possession (U), our
portion of life's pleasures, our Fortune (F) on
earth, uas overflowed by Uaterfloods (L).
300
Kennedy (EECP, p. 107):
C Then even the bold shall tremble in terror
Hearing the King, the Ruler of Heaven,
Speak wrathful words to those in the world
YN Uho obeyed Him feebly when affliction and need
Host easily may find comfort. There many a one
In that place shell wearily await with fear
Uhat dreadful punishment God shall ordain
U According to man's works. Uinsomeness of earth's
treasures
U Shall be departed. Our portion of life's joy
LF Uas long washed with floods, all wealth on earth.
Elliott (EjS, XXXIV, 56):
There many a man shall be led into the great assembly
before the presence of the eternal Judge; when the
flame trembles he shall hear the King speak, the Ruler
of the skies utter stern words to those who formerly in
the world were remiss in their obedience to Him, at a
time when their bow and the necessity of the moment
most easily availed to find help for them. There
shall many a man in that place await, fearful and weary,
what severe punishments He will decree according to
his deeds. 3oy inearth's treasures is fled. Manly
strength, his portion of earth's delights, wealth on
earth, had long been entombed by the waterfloods.
The rune passage, with its vivid presentation of
the terrors of Judgment Day, is intimately and climactic-
ally linked to uhat has gone before. Cynewulf has
stressed previously that man has freedom in choosing
either spiritual life or death (11. 150-159). Here,
the vivid description of the return of Christ as judge
and of the fires of Hell underscores the necessity of
making a right choice. A second major concern of
Cynewulf throughout the poem has been the correct
interpretation of words, signs, and events. The
interpretation of the runic passage itself becomes a
301
concrete exercise of this "spiritual" ability to seek out
truth beneath appearances. Grosz ("Imitation," 407)
writes: "In another light, the way in uhich the runes
function suggests an important difference between Christ
II and Gregory's homily. The runes are not to be under
stood simply in the order in uhich they appear as constitu
ents of sentences. They also have increased significance
on a level transcending the linear sequence of words.
They must be extracted from their contexts and recombined
on another level to spell the name "Cynewulf." Sim
ilarly, the structure of the whole poem consists not only
of a linear sequence of meditations, but also of numerous
connections conveying meaning beyond any individual
passage."
357. Identical with 1. 397 and Elene 745.
358. The C-rune (hj) is explained in the Runic
Poem as follows:
Cen by( d cwicera gehwam cu|e on fyre,
blac and beorhtlic, byrne^i oftust
daer hi aef^elingas inne restafr.
The usual meaning given to cen in the context of the
Runic Poem is "torch." Many scholars, however, have
felt that the traditional meaning of cen is inappropri
ate here, and have proposed various substitutes. A5PR
(note, p. 254) records the various proposed solutions:
302
"cenje, ’the bold one,’ cempa, 'uarrior,' ceorl, ’man,'
cynn, 'race, people.’” The consensus seems to favor
cene. "the bold." Tupper (MLN, XXVII, 133) remarks:
"Either because the C-rune or Cen, as it is called in
every alphabet, uas not associated uith the idea of
’torch' in the minds of Cyneuulf and his public (such
a connotation is confined to the Runic Poem), or because
such a meaning, even though knoun to him, uas quite un
suited to his purpose, Cyneuulf used the symbol to
represent that form and signification of its uord-name
uhich uould occur to every reader, Cene. 'bold.' This
sense of the uord is so thoroughly in accord uith the
context in the Christ, Elene. and Fates passages, that
it has found uide acceptance." Sisam (Studies, p. 26)
also rejects the interpretation of cen here as "torch,"
and seems to indicate that this rune is intended to
stand for the name of the poet himself: "... uhen cen
and ^r_ stand alone, or form part of a group of runes, the
single letter or group stands for the uhole name
'Cyneuulf', as in the Juliana signature." Elliott (ES.
XXXIV, 55) makes a strong argument for the older interpre
tation of cen as "torch," based on the explanation of
the rune in the Runic Poem. He urites: "There remains
the C in Christ II. Again ue suggest that the accepted
meaning 'torch' can be retained, as it should be, if the
torch is here regarded as the symbol of fire, uhich
latter is the inevitable background to any Anglo-Saxon
description of doomsday. In Elene the runic passage is
followed almost at once by the reference to the all-
consuming dire flame, the tionleq of line 1279; in
Christ II the picture of fiery destruction comes even
sooner, following immediately upon the fF on foldan1 of
line 807a. The thought of fire was thus clearly promin
ent in the poet's mind, and it need not seem in any way
strange that he should picture 'many a man led into the
great assembly before the presence of the eternal Judge
and, while the flame was trembling, hearing the words of
God’, the flame here being represented by the torch
trembling or flickering in the background as a symbol of
the great fire about to descend upon the earth and its
treasures. The choice of cen rather than some other
synonym was of course forced upon the poet by the require
ments of his acrostic, but its meaning in the context
would hardly puzzle a contemporary audience, while at
the same time his choice of the rune-name uould indicate
its additional significance." An additional possibility
for the interpretation of the C-rune here is mentioned
by P.O.E. Gradon in her edition of Elene (p. 72): " . .
it is more probable that in Crist the first three runes
together spell cyn 'mankind1." Although the interpre
tation of this rune, and of the Y and U runes, remains
a matter far from absolutely resolved, the preponderance
304
of scholarly opinion seems to favor the explanation of
the rune as cene. "bold." This is the interpretation of
the Gallancz editions, and of the Gordon and Kennedy
translations.
359. rodera ryhtend. Ettm. rodora rihtend.
361. The Y-rune (A) and the N-rune ( ) are
explained in the following stanzas of the Runic Poem:
Yr byh aefjelinga and eorla gehwaes
uyn and uyrhmynd, by(D on uicge faeger,
faestlic on faerelde fyrdgeateua sum.
Nyd by| d nearu on breostan, ueorfaeh hio deah
oft ni^a bearnum
to helps and to haele gehuaehre, gif hi hire
hlystah aeror.
There has been little scholarly objection to the usual
interpretation of the N-rune as nyd. "need." The Y-rune
presents a far more difficult case. Cook (notes, pp.
157-160) presents a detailed summary of contemporary
arguments concerning the unreliability of the Runic Poem
as an absolute norm for the interpretations of the runes
in Cyneuulf’s poem. Cook concludes (p. 160) that "...
ue hav/e no right to press upon the Cyneuulfian runic
sign an interpretation of _y_r derived from the Runic Poem;
and it is also clear that the original O.E. rune for ^
may have had quite a different meaning." Go.'*' takes
2
these tuo runes as standing for yfel and nyd; but Go.
offers the following translation of the runes;
30 S
” ... while Yearning and Need might most easily find
solace," Trautmann (BEV, 138) also interprets the Y-rune
as yfel, in the sense of "bflse lust, sUnde." He
translates the line as "so lange btise lust und begierde
auf leichteste ueise befriedigung finden konnten.”
Tupper (flLN, XXVII, 134) follows Gollancz and others in
rejecting the meaning ^r = "bow" as in the Runic Poem.
He prefers to interpret the rune as yr(re) in the sense
of "anger, wrathful, confused,” and observes (p. 135):
"As the ordinary meaning of the established rune-name
of the desired letter Y— Yr, "bow"— uould not serve, the
poet uas driven to seek some word sufficiently similar
in sound to lie within the reach of readers trained in
word-play." Sisam (Studies, p. 26) would prefer to
interpret the Y-rune, either alone or together uith
the C-rune, as standing for the name of the poet.
Elliott (EJ3, XXXIV, 54) again argues for a return to a
literal interpretation of the rune, based on the defini
tion given in the Runic Poem. Concerning lines 360a-
362a, he writes: "Again the passage contrasts an earlier
state uith the grim reality of impending judgment, when
former things (’uynn . . . eor(Dan fraetwa’, 'lifwynna
dael', ' f eoh on foldan’) have passed away; but unlike
the picture of the ’disused bow1 of Elene, the poet
here glances back to the time when the weapon was still
306-
very much in use: there uas not enough dependence on
God; men uere remiss in their obedience to Him, and
instead relied overmuch on the strength of their oun
arms, and on ned. the need of the moment. Their reaction
to a given situation uas not to turn to God for help,
but to take uhat seemed the easier road to success,
namely to find succour in human strength, in their
ueapons, and in the stern necessity, the duty, of having
to act. Such conduct is here condemned, for men are ex
pected to turn first to God, not to act independently of
Him. The interpretation here suggested has the ad
vantage of being literal and of fitting uell into the
context, uithout in any uay straining the sense of the
passage." Consequently, he translates the passage (p.
56) as " . . . at a time uhen their bou and the necessity
of the moment most easily availed to find help for then."
Elliott's position is attractive, but the matter is still
open to question. Kennedy and Gordon, in their transla
tions, follou the position of Gollancz and others, and
interpret the rune as yfel, "affliction, misery." Cook
(note, p. 160) lists other proposed substitutions:
"yrmdu; yrming; yr»ear; yr, 'money'; aedil (for uaedl,
or adl); yfel; yst."
meahtan. Ettm. meahton.
364. Identical uith Juliana 707. Cyneuulf's
307
thought here, and throughout the rune passage, is very
close to the idea of personal judgment expressed in 2
Corinthians 5.10: "Omnes enim nos manifestari oportet
ante tribunal Christi, ut referat unusquisque propria
corporis, prout gessit siue bonum siue malum."
365. The absence of the E-rune (uhich appears in
Juliana and Elene) caused Thorpe (Codex Exoniensis) to
assume a gap in the manuscript. Thorpe's lead is
followed by Grein in his Bibliothek, where he also pro
poses a reconstruction of the missing line: on bam E.
fullan daeqe enqla dryhten. Grein (p. 169) explains
E.full as "eh-ful, egefull, terribilis." GUA also
indicates a one-line gap in the text after 1. 803b.
Consequently, the line numberings in the Grein and GUA
editions are one higher for the remainder of the poem.
A5PR (note, p. 254) also notes a suggested reconstruc
tion of the missing line by Rieger. All of the other
editors print the text continuously, as it appears in
the manuscript, thus rejecting the missing-line theories.
Sievers (Anglia, XIII, 10-11) discusses the two forms
of the poet's name, Cyn'wulf-Cynewulf, and concludes
that the forms without the e_ are perfectly legitimate:
"Auf alle FSlle ist die Namensform Cynwulf als gut Ags.
fUr das 8. Jahrhundert bezeugt, und man braucht also
auch yon dieser Seite her an dem Schwanken Cynewulfs
in der Uiedergabe seines Namens keinen Anstoss zu nehmen.
Cf. also Cook's summary of the scholarly discussion of
this point (note, pp. 163-164). The passage as it ap
pears in the manuscript is not lacking in sense and con
nection, and ASPR (note, p. 254) correctly explains the
grammar: "The genitive wrabra wita can be construed
with huaet, 1. 803, uith the subject of deman uille
continued from or supplied from cyninq, 1. 797."
365b. _s£. The masculine article here is ex
plained by Sieveis (Anglia, XIII, 5, note): "Das hand-
schriftliche masc. ^e ist ganz richtig auf U. als
Buchstabennamen bezogen, denn diese Namen sind in Ags.—
nach staef— mSnnlich . . . Dasselbe gilt schon von den
Runennamen; vgl. namentlich RSts. 43.8ff." Cook (note
p. 164) points out that Cosijn also offered the same
explanation.
The U-Rune ( f>) has tr aditionally been interprets
as uen or uynn. The Runic Poem offers the following ex
planation :
Uynne brucefj de can ueana lyt,
sares and sorge, and him sylfa haeffj,
blaed and blysse and eac byrga heniht.
Thorpe (Codex Exoniensis, note, p. 502) proposes the
following explanation of the rune: "I unhesitatingly
take the rune ► (wen) in this place, to represent waen,
a, wain or carriage. both on account of the masc.
309
article se, and of the sense, uhich is at least as good
as that affords ' by supposing it, uith Kemble, to stand
for the fern, uen, hope.1 1 The translation of the rune
uhich Thorpe rejects ("hope, joy”) is precisely the
translation accepted by all other editors. Sieuers
(flnqlia, XIII, 5) interprets uynn . . . eordan fraetua
as "die freude an irdischen glitern" or better "die
uonniglichen erdengllter." flSPR (note, p. 154) indicates
that the rune stands for uen or uynn in the sense indi
cated by Sieuers. Sisam (Studies, p. 20) explains the
rune as uyn, meaning "joy," as does Elliott (ES,
XXXIV, 50). Tupper (MLIM. XXVII, 135) likeuise explains
the rune as standing for the noun uynn. meaning "joy,
uinsomeness." Thus, the traditional explanation of
this rune serves uell in this context.
scaecen. Gr. sceacen, but notes MS reading; GUA
scaecen. restoring the correct reading. Ettm. scacen.
366. eorban fraetua. Cf. Genesis 2.1: "igitur
perfecti sunt caeli et terra et omnis ornatus eorum."
366b-368a. Concerning the thought of these
lines, Thorpe (Codex Exoniensis, p. 502) urites: "Kemble
(Archaeol. Vol.‘XXVIII, p. 362. note) considers that an
allusion to the tuo (or four) seas, uithin uhich the
northern nations supposed the uorld to be enclosed. I
310
rather think it is an allusion to the deluge." Cyneuulf
may also have had in mind the traditional Old Testament
belief that the waters of the firmament enclosed the
earth both above and belou. Cf. Genesis 1.7: "et fecit
Die us firmamentum divisitque aquas quae erant sub
firmamento ab his quae erant super firmamentum." Cook
(note, p. 165) calls attention to a similar strain of
thought in 2 Peter 3.5-7: "... Caeli erant prius et
terra de aqua et per aquam consistens Dei verba, per
quae ille tunc mundus aqua innundatus periit; caeli
autem qui nunc sunt, et terra, eodem verbo repositi sunt
igni reservati in diem judicii et perditionis impiorum
hominum." Cook also points out the follouing passage
from Gregory's Horn, in Czech. 1.9 (,PL, 76.867):
"Unde est in arcu eodem color aquae et ignis simul
ostenditur, quia et ex parte est caeruleus, et ex parte
ribicund.us, ut utriusque judicii testis sit, unus
videlicet faciendi, et alterius facti, sed quia mundus
quidem judicii igne cremabitur, sed jam non ulterius
faciendi, aqua jam diluvii non deletur."
366b. The U-Rune Cf")) is explained as follous in
the Runic Poem:
Ur by|o anmod and oferhyrned,
felafrecne dear; feohtefa mid hornum
maere morstapa; |aaet is modig uuht.
Thus, the traditional uord value of the U-Rune is ur,
■311
meaning "Aurochs, bison." Cook (note, p. 160) lists the
following proposed substitutions for the runic symbol:
"U; _ur, 'of old'; unne; or (ora); uf an; uppe; ur, ure,
'our'; tjr, 'dampness'; u£, 'possession.'" The majority
of scholars interpret the runic symbol as the possessive
pronoun/adjective "our." Go.'*' translates the symbol as
"unknown," but Go. returns to the more common transla
tion "our/us." Gordon (Poetry, p. 147) translates jjt
as "possession." ASPR (note, p. 254), Sisam (Studies,
p. 26), and Tupper (NLN, XXVII, 135) all explain ur (e)
as the possessive. Tupper remarks: "The common connota
tion of Ur(e) suggested by the context, "our," "ours" is
confirmed, as Gollancz long since pointed out /Cynewulf's
Christ, pp. 181-1827, by the axphabet in MS. Domitian
A . . . where U£ is interpreted 'noster.'" Thorpe
(Codex Exoniensis, p. 50) translates u_r as "of old" and
Gr. and GUA both adopt a similar gloss of the rune
symbol. The only serious attempt to defend an interpre
tation of the runic symbol as it is explained in the
Runic Poem is that of Elliott (ES_, XXXIV, 52), who
believes that u_r, "bison" also preserved an older
connotation of "manly strength."
367. The L-Rune (f ) is explained in the Runic
Poem:
I
312
Lagu by|D leodum langsum gefjuht,
gif hi sculun ne|Dan on nacan tealtum,
and hi saeyfaa swy£e brega|D,
and sa brimhengest bridles ne gymed.
The interpretation of this runic symbol as lagu
"water, lake" is generally accepted by most scholars and
editors. In this passage, the runic symbol forms the
first part of the compound laguflodum. The runic symbol
is explained as lagu by Gollancz, Grein, GUA, A5PR,
Cook, Sisam, Tupper, and Elliott. Trautmann, however,
added a dissenting note, preferring to interpret the
symbol as lond "land" ("Kynewulf," 59ff,). He sees in
these lines an autobiographical reference on the part of
the poet to the Northumbrian coast, and he translates:
"mein Besitz war (vergBnnt war mir) lange ein
flutumschlossnes Land, ein Teil der Uonnen des Lebens
und Reichtum auf der Erde." In the same passage,
Trautmann takes the previously discussed U-rune as
standing for unne, "possession, estate." Elliott
(E5, XXXIV, 56) has this to say about laguflodum:
"Laguflodum bilocen is here regarded as a poetic metaphor
for the passing and the destructive influence of time,
again no doubt demanded by the need to insert the L-rune,
but at the same time linked to the picture of the dooms
day floods (cf. The Judgment Day I, 1-3, 38-9, etc.),
just as cen alludes to the doomsday fire, including of
course the fires of hell."
3.13
368. The final symbol in the runic signature is
the F-rune (Pi explained as follows in the Runic Poem:
Feoh by(D frofur fira gehwylcum;
sceal deah manna gehwylc miclun hyt daelan,
gif he wile for Drihtne domes hleotan.
The traditional interpretation of this runic symbol is
feoh. meaning variously "money, wealth, fortune, cattle."
This meaning is accepted by all of the editors, and
there has been little additional discussion.
bonne. Cook and flSPR begin a new sentence here.
fraetwe. Ettm. fraetwa.
369. blac rasetted. Th. blacra setted, and
translates (p. 51) "dusk shall crackle," and notes (p.
502) Kemble's suggested reading blaec raescetted. Gr.,
GUA, Go.^ and Cook all note that the MS reading is
blacra setted, but the MS actually reads blac rasetted.
Ettm. prints blac raesceted. Concerning the interpreta
tion of this half-line, A5PR (note, p. 255) explains that
blac, recen, and reada are adjectives modifying leg,
line 370. Grein-Kflhler (Sprachschatz. p. 545) defines
rasettan as "grassari cum impetu." Gordon (Poetry, p.
147) translates 369b-37Da as "the swift red flame shall
rage brightly ..." Kennedy (EECP, P. 107) similarly
translates: "Fiercely shall /ravage the swift, red
flame."
314
370. recen reada leo. Th. recen-rsada liq;
Ettm. recsnreada liq; R. recene reada liq; Gr. recen
reada liq. Grein-KHhler (Sprachschatz, p. 548) glosses
recen as "fumosus." There is, however, as Cook (note,
p. 165) points out, no other use of recen with this
meaning in the poetry. It seems better to take the
adjective recen in its more accepted meaning "quick,
swift."
372. burqstede berstad. Cf. Ruin 2:
burosteda burston. cf. Rev. 16.19:
"Et facta est civitas magna in tres partes, et civitates
gentium oeciderunt ..."
bid. Ettm.
on tyhte. Th. ontyhte (=kindled).
374. qaesta. Ettm. qasta. Thorpe (p. 51)
translates "the greediest of guests."
geo quman. R. qeoquman.
heoldan. Ettm. heoldon.
375. onmedla. Ettm. unmedla.
376. Cp. Elene 522: Forbon ic be laere burh
leodorune.
377. These lines constitute a warning. Atten
tion to the state of one's soul is a necessity, not a
31F-
luxury: gaestes bearfe.
378. qylp. Ettm. qilp. Cf. Precepts 41:
qeotende qielp.
qeote. Cook (note, p. 166) indicates his belief
that the verb is intransitive, and means "dissolve."
The verb here, however, may also be transitive (uith
the meaning of "pour out, shed, dissolve") uith gaestes
bearfe as its understood object.
380. Cf. 11. 158b-159a.
sauel. Ettm. saul.
381. qaesthofe . Th. qast-hofe; Gr., R. qasthofe.
The reference here may be to Paul's remarks about the
body as the "temple" or duelling of the Holy Spirit
(1 Cor. 3.16-17).
382. oru Gr. _in, but MS on.
qeorne bibencan. Echoes the poet's call to
earnest meditation in the opening lines of the poem.
383-386a. The contrast between the Nativity and
the Final Judgment is found in Gregory's Ascension homily,
and also in Bede, and has been previously mentioned by
Cyneuulf in 11. 346b-350a. The poet has sustained this
comparison betueen the infant Christ and the triumphant
Christ through the regular employment of images and
316
epithets derived from beam: Christ as human child
balances Christ as king and judge. The poet shuttles
back and forth between the Nativity and the Ascension-
□udgment, uniting these events as facets of one Divine
plan.
384. baes enqles uord. Cyneuulf is referring
to the speech of angels to the shepherds, describing
the circumstances of the birth of Christ (Luke 2.8-14).
385-390a. The punctuation of these lines
differs among the various editors. I add here the texts
of Cook, ASPR, and Muinzer.
Cook: bid nu eorneste b°nne eft cymed,
rede ond ryhtuis. Rodor bid onhrered,
ond bas miclan gemetu middangeardes
beofiad b°nne; beorht Cyning leanad
baes be hy on eorban eargum daedum
lifdon leahtrum fa.
ASPR: Bid nu eorneste bonne eft cymed,
rede ond ryhtuis. Rodor bid onhrered,
ond bas miclan gemetu middangeardes
beofiad b°nne. Beorht cyning leanad
baes be hy on eorban eargum daedum
lifdon leahtrum fa.
Muinzer: Bid nu eorneste; b°nne eft cymed
rede ond ryhtuis; rodor bid onhrered,
ond bas miclan gemetu middangeardes
beofiad b°nne. Beorht Cyning leanad
baes be hy on eorban eargum daedum
lifdon leahtrum fa.
31?
Muinzer takes lines 385-388a as a rhetorical unit, uith
the two bonne acting as an envelope. I do not follow
Muinzer's punctuation of line 385, and prefer to follow
Cook and flSPR in taking 385-386a as a single unit,
placing a comma after cymed and a period after ryhtwis.
The major difference in punctuation and interpretation
comes in line 388. The editors quoted above each take
bonne with beofiad and place a period or semicolon at
the end of 388a. There is, however, a metrical point
after beofiad in the MS, possibly indicating that the
scribe or some reader took bonne with what follows.
Thorpe's text places bonne with 388b, but all other
editors take it with 388a, and this does seem to fit
the meter better. I therefore place bonne with 388a,
but take it syntactically uith what follows, placing
a comma after beofiad. I interpret the bonne clause as
a simple temporal clause, explaining when (and
ultimately why) the people will wail. ASPR (note, p.
255) agrees with the possibility of such a reading of
the structure of line 388: "Syntactically it is
possible to place a comma after beofiad and construe
bonne directly uith what follows."
385. eorneste. Contrasted uith milde. 1. 383.
386. ryhtwis. Ettm. rihtwis.
Rodor bid onhrered. See Matthew 24.29.
318
387. qemetu. Ettm. qemetu, (acc. to Cook, note,
p. 32).
388. beofiad. MS _be_ hsofiad. Th., Go., GUA
beheofiad; Gr., R., Cook, ASPR. Muinzer beofiad. Ettm.
beheofiad (acc. to Grein). Rieger (acc. to ASPR, note,
p. 255) indicates a gap after this word. Holthausen
(Anglia Beibl, IX, 355) accepts a reading beofiad, but,
following Rieger’s assumption of a gap, would add on
bearhtme after it (as in Christ III, 1144). Furthermore,
leanad would be the first word of a new verse, of which
the remainder has been lost. Mon der Uarth (p. 52) also
accepts the reading beofiad, but would add after it on
bearhtme ond se braeda sae. For the following line, he
would read bonne beorht cyninq (beornum) leanad. Such
extensive emendations are unnecessary, for the words of
Cynewulf make perfect sense as they are written in the
MS.
389. h^. Ettm. hi.
389b-390a. Cf. Soul of Man 75-76: earqum
daedum leofad in leahtrum.
391. ijn. MS _In, for legibility, not a true
capital.
I
I
319
fyrba^e. The MS shows the corrected from _i.
The correction is noted by GUA, Cook, ASPR, and Muinzer.
Th., Gr., Go., Ettm. all mistakenly note the MS reading
as fyr bade.
392. uaelmum. Ettm. uelmum.
biurecene. Th. (note, p. 52) biuriqene or
biurogene?.
urablic. Muinzer (note, p. 134) "uith £
corrected from 1_. "
393. The Gollancz editions translate this line
Mi
as if it uere a continuation of the preceding sentence-
Since there is a MS point after ondlean, I think it
best to begin a new sentence here; this punctuation
seems to fit the sense of the passage better than that
of Gollancz. ASPR also continues the previous sentence.
on gemot. Grein-l ’ ihler (Sprachschatz. p. 481)
glosses gemot as "concilium, conventus, congregatio."
The uord seems to have a legal overtone, and would be
quite appropriate in this context. The reference here
is to the gathering together of all mankind for the final
judgment. Cf. Matthew 24.31.
394. maeste. This is the MS reading. Go.'*'
prints maeste in the text, but notes (p. 165): "maesta,
2
so MS." Go. prints maesta in the text. Cook also seems
320
to believe that the MS reading is maesta. and prints in
his text maest/g/. The MS reading maeste is perfectly
clear, and there is no need for any alteration.
395. heofonwoma. Cook (glossary, p. 259)
queries whether the reference here might be to thunder.
I believe that the reference is rather to the general
uph eaval in the heavens at the time of the final judgment,
or the blowing of the great trumpet in the heavens to
commence the judgment of mankind (cf. Rev. 8.6ff.).
Matthew 24.30 indicates that the appearance of the sign
of the son of man (i.e. the cross) in the heavens will
cause the tribes of the earth to weep. Cynewulf passes
over a detailed description of these external signs of
the end of the world, merely hinting at them through
the use of the general expression heofonuoma. Grein-
Ktihler (Sprachschatz. p. 330) explains heofonuoma as
"Fragor coelestis." See also Rev. 5.12-14 for a
similar description of the upheaval preceding the Last
Judgment.
396. cwaniendra cirm. I take this as parallel
to beodeqsa.
i
cwaniendra. MS cwanendra . The corrected form
cwaniendra is printed in tile texts of Gr,, GUA, Go.,
ASPR, and Muinzer, with notation of the MS correction.
321
Th. and Cook print cuanendra in their texts, but note the
exact MS reading. Cook (note, p. 32) attributes a reading
of cuanendra also to EttmtSller and Frucht. Cosijn (p.
112) notes that ueak verbs of the second and third
classes regularly form their present participles uithout
i., and accepts Frucht's reading cuanendra. The Sievers-
Cook Grammar (pp. 325-331) houever points out that
participial forms in -iende are also to be found.
Sievers does, houever, justify the regularization of
iende to ende for metrical reasons in many instances in
O.E. poetry (cf. treatment p. 331). Since excessive
emendation and regularization of MS data uorks to
destroy the very evidence upon uhich grammars are built,
I prefer to retain the MS form cuaniendra. This reading
is supported by Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz. p. 98) and
by the texts of ASPR and Muinzer.
Concerning the source of the MS correction,
little can be discerned. None of the editors uho notes
the MS correction makes a clear statement concerning the
source of the correction. Muinzer (note, p. 135) be
lieves that it is impossible to determine the source of
the correction. My oun examination of the MS facsimile
lends approval to Muinzer’s caution, for the letter is
small, and consists of only a single stroke. It should
also be noted that Fttrster (Facsimile, p. 65) does not
322
include this correction among those he would assign to a
later hand. Such a non-inclusion may be interpreted as
assigning the correction indirectly to the Exeter Book
scribe. But since the MS evidence is so slim, further
comment on the correction remains guessuork.
cirm. Muinzer (note, p. 135) believes that the
scribe first wrote cr, forgetting to insert the £. The
error was resolved by erasing the bottom of the descender
of the £, and then imposing the descender of the present
£ on the curved stroke of the first r. The unerased
portion of the descender of the first £ then became the
present _i. The MS shows irregularity in the formation of
the letters in question, and Muinzer's explanation is in
deed plausible. Another possible explanation is that
the scribe first wrote £i, forgot the £, and began to
write the m, completing the first two strokes before
catching the error. He then converted the unfinished m
into r_ by extending the first descender of the m and
went on.
cerqe. Gr., Ettm. cearqe; Cook ce/a7r/i_7qe.
Cook (note, p. 167) rejects the interpretation of this
word as the adverb, meaning "sadly." This is the inter
pretation of Th., Go., GUA, ASPR. and Muinzer. Cook's
emendation makes the form into cearige, an adjective-
substantive, subject of the verb reotad. The MS form
323
makes sense, houever, and should be retained. The sentence
uould then translate: "Those uho . . . will sadly
lament ..."
397. Cf. 1. 357, and El. 745.
398. hyra. Ettm. hira.
truuiad. Sievers ("Rhythmik," 486) suggests
emendation to treouad for metrical reasons. Holthausen
(Anglia Beibl. , IX, 355) accepts the suggestion of
Sievers. ASPR (note, p. 255) adds: "Von der Uarth, p.
43, characterizes truuiad as impassible, but apparently
uould be satisfied uith truuiad, citing Trautmann,
Kyneuulf, p. 76."
399-401a. This thought is found in Joel 2.2,
and especially in Mattheu 24.21, and Hark 13.19. flattheu
says: "Erit enim tunc tribulatio magna, qualia non fuit
ab initio mundi usque modo neque fiet."
399. 9aer. aer, small capital.
400. oefrasqan. Ettm. gefreqen.
402. snudan. Cyneuulf here uses a uord uith
tuo connotations. According to Cook (glossary, p. 278)
snudan here may mean "soon to come" and refer to the
i
324
popular belief that 'he Second Coming of Christ uould
occur around the year fl.D. 1000. The uord may also mean
"sudden" and thus may refer to Christ's warning that his
coming as judge will be sudden, at a time uhen men least
expect it (See Mark 13.32-37).
403. leofra. Ettm., Gr., R. leofre. Cosijn
(p. 112) points out several instances of as a
recorded ending, e.g., Guthlac 1320, and Christ III,
1489, 1490, 1652. Thus there is no pressing need to
emend the text.
eall. Gr., Ettm. eal.
beos laene qesceaft. Cf. Beouulf 1622: oflet
lifdaqas ond bas laenan qesceaft. Cynewulf's
allusion here is almost certainly to Christ's warning
in Mark 8.36: "quid enim proderit homini, si lucretur
mundum totum et detrimentum animae suae faciat?"
Cynewulf changes the context of the quotation. The
sinners, who have traded their souls for worldly pos
sessions, are most eager to trade everything for only a
place to hide from the wrath of God. The word qesceaft
vividly points to Christ's words of warning (totum
mundum).
404. baer. MS baerJ Ettm. baet; Cook bae/t/. I
interpret baer as an ellipsis for the fuller expression
325
"a place uhere." Go.'*' (note, p. 165) remarks that "paer"
= "sum stede huaer." Muinzer (note, p. 135) points out
the ellipsis here, and calls attention to the strong
contrast developed in these lines: a place to hide from
the urath of God uould be more valuable to the desperate
sinners than all uorldly possessions. ASPR (note, p. 255)
seems to equate baer uith ail. taking the clause as a
result clause. This uould seem to destroy the contrast
uhich Cyneuulf is making in these lines.
405. behydan. The terror and desire to be hidden
from the urath of God may be an echo of Rev. 6.16: "et
dicunt montibus et petris: cadite super nos et
abscondite nos a facie sedentis super thronum . . ."
Cf. also Luke 23.30.
407. All mankind, both good and bad, uill be
present at the Last Judgment to receive public notice of
salvation or damnation (see Mattheu 25.31-33).
409. ulite. Grein-KBhler (Sprachschatz, p. 814)
glosses ulite as "Gestalt, Anblick, Aussehen, schHne
Gestalt, SchtJnheit, Zierde, Glanz."
411-427. The source for these concluding lines
is to be found in the closing remarks in Gregory’s
homily (£L., 76.1219): "Quamvis adhuc rerum perturbation-
326
ibus animus fluctuet, jam tamen spei vestrae anchoram in
aeternam patriam figite, intentionem mentis in vera luce
solidate. Ecce ad coelum ascendisse Dominum audivimus.
Hoc ergo servemus in meditatione quod credimus. Et si
adhuc hie tenemur infirmitate corporis, sequamur tamen
eum passibus amoris. Non autem deserit desiderium
nostrum ipse qui dedit, Jesus Christus Dominus noster,
qui vivit et regnat cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus
Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen," This
passage concludes Gregory’s homily, and immediately
follows the passage quoted in the note to 11. 340ff.
411. Nju. Small capital in the MS indicating a
change in thought.
413. sundhenoestum. Cynewulf incorporates care
ful parallelism in lines 412 and 413. The prepositional
phrases are neatly balanced, ceolum parallels sundhenoestum,
and all that is missing is the repetition of the verb
lidan.
414. floduudu. Ettm. floduudum; Cook flod-
uudu/fa7» Cook follous the lead of EttmUller here, and
takes this emended form as parallel and in apposition
uith sundhenoestum in the previous line. Cosijn (p. 112)
points out that the verb ferqen is transitive, and that
327
floduudu is its direct object. Von der Uarth (p. 53)
agrees uith Cosijn, and adds that if any emendation is to
be made at all, sundhenoestum should be changed to the
accusative form sundhen-ostas.
I believe that there is no absolute need to accept
the emendations proposed by Ettmliller, Cook, and Von der
Uarth. Line 413 is parallel to line 412, and the verb
lidan is to be understood. The uords floduudu ferqen
uould complete the sentence uith a neu repetition of the
same idea. The Kennedy and Gordon translations follou
EttmUller and Cook in the interpretation of floduudu as
dative plural, parallel uith ceolum and sundhenoestum.
Uith Ettmliller-Cook it is attractive to speculate that
a scribe may have omitted the abbreviation marker over
the j j in floduudu, and urote the uord as it nou stands,
instead of the abbreviated dative floduudu'.
415. ofermaeta. R. ofermaetu.
on lacad. Th. onlacad, and translates "are
tossed." Simply "toss" uould be better.
416. bas uacan uoruld. Cp. 1. 403: beos laene
qesceaft. The mutability of the uorld and the transitori
ness of man and his uorks also forms the theme of The
Uanderert uhose concluding lines vividly portray
Cyneuulf’s image of bas uacan uoruld:
328
Eall is earfodlic eorban rice,
onuended uyrda gesceaft ueoruld under heofonum.
Her bid feoh laene, her bid freond laene,
her bid mon laene, her bid maeg laene,
eal £is eorban gesteal idel ueorfaed.
(11. 106-110, ASPR text)
uindqe holmas. Uith Cook (note, p. 168), I take
frecne stream (1. 414), yda ofermaeta (l. 415), and
uindqe holmas as parallels. Gordon (Poetry, p. 148)
translates: "That flood is perilous, the uaues exceed
ing great, the bilious uindy oyer the deep road on uhich
ue are tossed through this changeful uorld." Gr. and
GUA place a semicolon after uindqe holmas.
417b. Cf. An. 313b.
418. aerbon. Th., Go., Gr., GUA aer bon. Cf.
Jul. 677, El. 249.
420. baet. A conjunction, best translated
"uhen." Gordon (Poetry, p. 148) translates baet as
uho, introducing a relative clause explaining qaestsunu.
421. The line is identical uith 1. 221.
qaestsunu. ASPR (note, p. 27) and Muinzer (note,
p. 136) point out that the t_ is crouded in the MS.
qjefe. It is evident that Cyneuulf intends a
reference to the previous Gifts of Men passage. Note hou
he repeats in its entirety the line (l. 221 = 1. 421)
329
uhich previously introduced the catalogue of God's gifts
to mankind. Here, Cyneuulf is talking about the "aids"
uhich God gives to men in order to enable them to reach
the spiritual harbor of Heaven. The point made in the
previous Gifts passage, and throughout the poem, is that
men must use these gifts correctly in order to perceive
spiritual truths uhich lead to salvation. It is indica
tive of Cyneuulf's carefully planned poem that he calls
attention again to a key idea. The uord qiefe may also
be interpreted in the light of the traditional Christian
doctrine of "grace," and thus stressing the spiritual
aspect of God's gifts to men.
423. huaer. Ettm. huar.
424. Cf. Elene 252: aid yelhof u oncrum f aeste.
427. halqe. Apparently modifies da, in
reference to hyde. Cook (note, p. 169) speculates that
the form might be emended to haliq, and cites the phrase
haliq of heahdu in lines 321 and 350. None of the
editors, including Cook, prints anything but the MS
reading halqe in his text. The use qf the preposition
on in this phrase suggests that the poet is referring
to hyde here, and not to ualdend. Gordon (Poetry. p. 148)
translates: "Let us fix our hope in that haven uhich
the sovereign of the skies prepared for us, in its
330
holiness on high, when he rose to heaven." Kennedy (EECP,
p. 109) has the following version: "Let us fix our hope/
Upon that haven uhich the Lord of Heaven/In holiness on
high, has opened by His Ascension."
heahfcu: Th. heahbu and Ettm., Gr., R. heahdum.
heofonum: Cook /to7 heofonum, Ettm. note to
heofonum? In vieu of the nearly identical phrase £a he.
to heofonum astaq in line 298, the addition of the
preposition .to. is attractive. Cosijn (p. 112) also
inserts to.. Grein (Sprachschatz, pp. 637-638) also
queries whether the preposition should be added: ba he
(to?) heofonum astao. The verb here normally takes a
prepositional phrase, but the form here, without the
preposition, is understandable.
astaq: MS a s t a q After astaq and its
punctuation, there is a blank space of two folio lines,
and then a new poem begins with the capitalization of
nearly the entire first folio line of the text. The new
poem is generally referred to as Christ III.
V. SOURCES
(l) Gregory the Great, Homiliarum in Euanqelia,
Lib. II, Homil. XXIX (Migne, PL, 76. 1218-1219):
9. Hoc autem nobis primum quaerendum est, quid-
nam sit quod nato Domino apparuerunt angeli, et tamen non
leguntur in albis uestibus apparuisse, ascendente autem
Domino, missi angeli in albis leguntur uestibus ap
paruisse. Sic etenim scriptum est: Uidentibus illis
eleuatus est, et nubes suscepit eum ab oculis eorum.
Cumque intuerentur in coelum euntem ilium, ecce duo v/iri
steterunt juxta illos in uestibus albis (Act 1,9). In
albis autem uestibus gaudium et solemnitas mentis
ostenditur. Quid est ergo quod nato Domino, non in
albis uestibus, ascendente autem Domino, in albis
uestibus angeli apparent, nisi quod tunc magna
solemnitas angelis facta est, cum coelum Deus homo
penetrauit? Quia nascente Domino uidebatur diuinitas
humiliata; ascendente uero Domino, est humanitas
exaltata. Albae etenim uestes exaltationi magis
congruunt quam humiliationi. In assumptions ergo
ejus angeli in albis uestibus uideri debuerunt, quia
qui in natiuitate sua apparuit Deus humilis, in
Ascensione sua ostensus est homo sublimis.
331
332
10. Sed hoc nobis magnopere, fratres charissimi,
in hac solemnitate pensandum est, quia delatum est
hodierna die chirographum damnationis nostrae, mutata
est sententia corruptianis nostrae. Ilia enim natura
cui dictum est: Terra es, et in terram ibis (Genes.
iii,19), hodie in coelum ivit. Pro hac ipsa namque
carnis nostrae sublevatione per figuram beatus Job
Dominum avem vocat. Quia enim Ascensionis ejus
mysterium Judaeam non intelligere conspexit, de
infidelitate ejus sententiam protulit, dicens:
Semitam ignoravit avis (Job. xxviii,7). Avis enim
recte appellatus est Dominus, quia corpus carneum ad
aethera libravit. Cujus avis semitam ignoravit quisquis
eum ad coelum ascendisse non credidit. De hac
solemnitate per Psalmistam dicitur: Elevata est
magnificentia tua super coelos (Psal. viii,2). De hac
rursus ait: Ascendit Deus in jubilatione, et Dominus
in voce tubae (Psal. xlvi,6). De hac iterum dicit:
Ascendens in altum captivam duxit captivitatem, dedit
dona hominibus (Psal.xlvii,19). Ascendens quippe in
altum captivan duxit captivitationem, quia corruptionem
nostram virtute suae incorruptionis absorbuit. Dedit
vero dona hominibus, quia, misso desuper Spiritu, alii
sermonem sapientiae, alii sermonem scientiae, alii
gratiam virtutum, alii gratiam curationum, alii genera
333
linguarum, alii interpretationem tribuit sermonum (I Cor.
xii,8). Dedit ergo dona hominibus. De hac Ascensionis
ejus gloria etiam Habacuc ait: Elevatus est sol, et
luna stetit in ordine suo (Habac. iii, 11, sec. LXX).
Quis enim solis nomine nisi Dominus, et quae lunae
nomine nisi Ecclesia designatur? Quousque enim
Dominus ascendit ad coelos, sancta ejus Ecclesia
adversa mundi omnimodo formidavit; at postquam ejus
Ascensione roborata est, aperte praedicavit quod occulte
credidit. Elevatus est ergo sol, et luna stetit in
ordine suo, quia cum Dominus coelum petiit, sancta ejus
Ecclesia in auctoritate praedicationis excrevit. Hinc
ejusdem Ecclesiae v/oce per Salomonem dicitur: Ecce
iste venit saliens in montibus, et transiliens colies
(Cant, ii,8). Consideravit namque tantorum operum
culmina, et ait: Ecce iste venit saliens in montibus.
Ueniendo quippe ad redemptionem nostram, quosdam, ut
ita dixerim, saltus dedit. l/ultis, fratres charissimi
ipsos ejus saltus agnoscere? De coelo venit in uterum,
de utero venit in praesepe, de praesepe venit in crucem,
de cruce venit in sepulcrum, de sepulcro rediit in
coelum. Ecce, ut nos post se currere faceret, quosdam
pro nobis saltus manifestata per carmen veritas dedit,
quia exsultavit ut gigas ad currendum viam suam (Psal.
xviii,6), ut nos ei diceremus ex corde: Trahe nos post
te, curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum (Cant. i,3).
334
11. Unde, fratres charissimi, oportet ut illuc
sequamur corde, ubi eum corpore ascendisse credimus.
Desideria terrena fugiamus, nihil nos jam delectet in
infimis, quia patrem habemus in coelis. Et hoc nobis
est magnopere perpendendum, quia is qui placidus
ascendit terribilis redibit; et quidquid nobis cum
mansuetudine praecepit, hoc a nobis cum districtione
exiget. Nemo ergo indulta poenitentiae tempora
parvipendat, nemo curam sui, dum valet, agere negiigat,
quia Redemptor noster tanto tunc in judicium districtior
veniet, quanto nobis ante judicium magnam patientiam
praerogavit. Haec itaque vobiscum, fratres, agite,
haec in mente sedula cogitations versate. Quamvis
adhuc rerum perturbationibus animus fluctuet, jam
tamen spei vestrae anchoram in aeternam patriam figite,
intentionem mentis in vera luce solidate. Ecce ad coelum
ascendisse Dominim audivimus. Hoc ergo servemus in
meditations quod credimus. Et si adhuc hie tenemur
infirmitate corporis, sequamur tamen eum passibus
amoris. Non autem deserit desiderium nostrum ipse qui
dedit, Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et
regnat cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus,
per omnia saecula aseculorum. Amen.
335
(2) Bede, De Ascensions Domini (Migne, JPL, 94.
624-626):
Hymnum canamus glorias,
Hymni novi nunc personent,
Christus novo cum tramite
Ad Patris ascendit thronum.
Transit triumpho glorias
Poli patenter culmina,
Qui morte mortem assumpserat,
Derisus a mortalibus,
Nam diri lethi limina,
Caecas et umbras inferi
Lustrans sua potentia
Lethi ligarat principem,
Et quos suos in actibus
Fideque lectos noverat,
Omnes Averni faucibus
Salvavit a ferocibus.
Laetamque vitae januam
Pandit Redemptor omnibus,
Quos lex amara corporis
Vita pios privaverat.
□ mira rerum claritas!
Miranda Salvatoris est
Virtus gemella gratia,
Quae regna lethi destruit
Nam plurimos ab inferi
Portis reduxit spiritu,
Multos et ipso corpore
De fauce mortis eruit.
Surgentis ut de mortuis
Christi sonarent gaudia,
Binos choros paschalia
Uita nova laetantium.
Binae cohortes aethera
Christum secutae ascenderent,
Sedesque coelo perpetes
Inter tenerent angelos.
Hunc ergo cuncti consonis
Diem feramus laudibus,
Victor petit quo fulgidi
Desus Olympi januas,
Quo nobis ipse apud Patrem,
Toros beatus praevius,
Ac mansiones plurimas
Paravit auctor aetheris.
Quo tota praecedentium
A saeculo fidelium
Caterva coelx regiam
Pandente Christo subiit.
Erant in admirabili
Regis truimpho altithroni
Coetus simul coelestium,
Polum petentes agminum.
Apostoli turn mystico
In monte stantes chrismatis
Cum matre claram virgine
Jesu videbant gloriam.
Ac prosecuti lumine
Laeto, petentem sidera
Laetis per auras cordibus,
Duxere regem saeculi.
Quos alloquentes angeli
Quid astra stantes cernitis?
Salvator hie est, inquiunt,
Jesus triumpho nobilis.
A vobis ad coelestia
Qui regna nunc assumptus est
Uenturus inde saeculi
In fine judex omnium.
Haec dixerant, et non mora
Juncti choris felicibus,
Cum rege regum lucidi
Portis Olympi approximant.
Emissa tunc vox angeli:
Portas, ait, nunc pandite,
Et introibit perpetis
Dux pacis et Rex gloriae.
Respondit haec ab intimis
Uox urbis almae moenibus:
Quis iste rex est gloriae,
Intret poli qui januas?
Nos semper in coelestibus
Christum solemus cernere,
Et ejus una cum Patre
Pari beamur gloria.
At praeco magni judicis:
Dominus potens et fortis est
Qui stravit atrum in praelio
Mundi triumphans principem.
Quapropter elevamini,
Portae perennes aetheris,
Introeat Rex gloriae
Uirtutis atque gratiae.
Plirata adhuc coelestium
Requirit aula civium:
Quis, inquit, est Rex gloriae,
Rex iste tarn laudabilis?
Herilis at mox buccina
Respondit: Auctor omnium
Altissimus v/irtutum, et is
Rex ipse fulget gloriae
Cum glorioso milite,
Ingressus est in aethers
Sublime regnum gloriae.
Qui mansiones singulis,
Quos de profundis inferi
Abduxerat, pro congruis
Donavit almus actibus.
Ac ipse cuncta transiens
Coeli micantis culmina,
Ad dexteram sedit Patris
Consempiternus Filius.
Uenturus inde in gloria,
Uiuos simul cum mortuis
Dijudicare pro actibus,
Juste potens examine.
Quo nos precamur tempore,
Jesu Redemptor unice,
Inter tuos in aethere
Servos benignos aggrega.
Da nobis illuc sedula
Devotione tendere,
Qua te sedere cum Patre
In arce regni credimus.
Nostris ibi cum cordibus,
Tuo repleti Spiritu,
Ostende Patrem, et sufficit
Haec nobis una visio.
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Bosuorth, Joseph. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Rev. and
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Cook, Albert S. Biblical Quotations in Old English Prose
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VII. GLOSSARY
a,, adv., for ever, ever, aluays.
acennan, u.v., to bring forth, produce, beget, bear.
ac_, conj., but, moreover, nevertheless.
acuedan, v. (5), to say, declare, utter.
a^aelan, u.v., to neglect, hinder, hold back.
a£an, u.v., to have, possess.
aqend. m., lord, master.
aqen, adj., own.
aj^ebban, v. (6), to lift up, raise, exalt.
ahladan, v. (6), to drau out, lead out.
aluiht, n. pi., all creatures, all things.
alysan. u.v*, to deliver, redeem.
a_n b o r e n. p. part., only—begotten *
ancenned. p. part., only—begotten.
ancor, m., anchor.
an,, adj., one, only, alone.
ar_, m., angel, messenger.
astiqan, v. (l), to ascend, mount, rise.
attor, ator, n., poison, venom.
aueallan, v. (7), to uell up, break forth, suarm, be full
Or «
auo, adv., forever.
aurecan, v. (5), to utter, sing, relate, compose.
350
351
ae, f., lau, custom, religion.
aefter, prep. u. dat., after, according to, in conse
quence of.
aefre. adv., aluays, ever.
aefyllende. adj., pious, fulfilling the lau.
aeqhuylc. adj., each, every one.
aeht. f., uealth, possessions.
aelbecrht. adj., bright, shining, radiant.
aeld. m. pi., men.
aelan, u.v., to burn, consume.
aelmihtio. adj., almighty.
aenio. adj. and pron., any.
aer, adv., before, previously; superl. aerestan, first,
before all, above all*
aerbon. conj., before.
aet, prep. u. dat., at, in.
aet, m., food.
aetsomne. adv., together.
aedele. adj., noble, excellent, famous.
aedelino. m., man of royal blood, chief, prince, hero.
banloca, m., joint, limb, body.
bael. n., fire, flame.
baernan. u.v., to burn.
beam, m., tree, cross.
352
beam. beorn, n., child, son.
beforan. prep. w. dat., before, in front of, in the
presence of.
behydan, w.v., to hide, conceal, take shelter.
berm, f., wound.
beofian. w.v., to tremble, shake.
beorqan. v. (3), to guard, beware of.
beorjrt, adj., bright, radiant, glorious, clear.
fceornan. v. (3), to burn.
burstan. v. (3), to burst apart, break in pieces.
Bethania, prop, n., Bethany.
Betlem. prop, n., Bethlehem.
bewridan. u. (l), to surround, wind about.
bewindan. v. (3), to wrap, swaddle.
bi, prep. w. dat., by, according to.
bibeodan, bebeodan, v. (2), to instruct, command.
bicuman. y. (4), to come, happen, arise.
bidan, y. (l), to expect, await, remain, endure.
biddan. y. (5), to ask, pray, bessech, entreat.
bidaelan, bedaelan. y. (l), to deprive, strip.
bifon. befon, y. (7), to surround, envelop.
bifeolan. befeolan, y. (3), to entrust to, consign.
biforan. beforan. adv., before, in former times.
biqong. beqonq, beqanq, m., way, course, extent.
bilucan, belucan, v. (2), to lock, enclose, surround.
binn, f., crib, manger.
bireafian, bereafian, u.v/., to despoil, rob.
biter. adj., painful, bitter, sharp.
beon, see uesan.
biteldan, beteldan, v. (3), to overuhelm, cover.
bidencan, bedencan. u.v., to meditate upon, ponder,
consider.
biurecen, p. part., surrounded.
blac, adj., bright, glittering, pale.
blat. adj., pale, uan, livid, ghastly.
blaed, m., glory, dignity, success.
blican, v. (l), to glitter, shine, dazzle.
bliss. blis, f., happiness, merriment.
blide. adj., joyful, happy.
blodqyte„ m., bloodshed.
boc, f., book, Scriptures.
boda. m., apostle, herald, messenger.
bodian, u.v., to tell, proclaim, preach.
bold, n., duelling place, house, hall.
bord, n., plank, side (of a ship).
bordqelac, n., ueapon, dart.
braeqdboqa, m., deceitful bou.
brecan, v. (4), to shatter, tear apart, destroy.
breqo, m., ruler, lord, prince, chief.
breman, u.v., to honor, praise.
breostsef a. m., mind, heart.
breotan, v. (2), to cut down, break in pieces.
broQa, m., terror, dread.
broad. m., fire, flame.
brytta, m., giver, dispenser.
bryttian, u.v., to dispense, distribute.
burg, f., fortress, ualled toun.
burqstede. m., city, castle.
burguare, m. pi., citizens.
bjjtan, prep. u. dat., without.
butan, buton, conj., unless, but.
byrgen. f., burying place, graue.
byrnan, v. (3), to consume uith fire, burn up.
cald. adj., cold.
carcera. n., prison, jail.
c6aster, f«, castle, fort, toun.
cempa. m., uarrior.
cennan, u.v., to create, assign, attribute, give.
ceol. m., ship.
cearjq, adj., sad, sorrowful.
cild. n., child.
circe, f., church, religious community.
cirm. m., shout, cry, uproar.
c1ad, m., cloth, covering, clothes.
355
claene. adj., pure, chaste, clean.
cleopian. u.v., to exclaim, cry aloud.
clomm. clamm. m., chain, bond, fetter.
cnoll. m., knoll, small hill.
cordor. n., multitude, host.
craeft. m., physical strength, skill, talent, excellence,
cuman, v. (4), to come.
cunnan. u.v,, to knou, be acquainted uith, knou hou to.
cud, adj., knoun, plain, manifest.
cuacian. u.v., to tremble, quake.
cuanian. u.v., to mourn, lament.
cuedan, v. (5), to say, speak.
cuic. adj., alive.
cuicsusl. n., hell-torment, torture.
cuide. m., decree, sentence.
cyme, m., coming.
oyning. m., king.
cynn. n., race, kind.
cyda.i. u.v., to announce, proclaim.
Dauid, prop, n., David.
daeo. m., day.
daed, f., act, deed.
dael. m., share, part.
dead, m., death.
deau, m., dew.
deqol, adj., dark, hidden, mysterious.
dema, rn., judge.
deman, w.v., to judge, decide.
deofol, m., dev/il, demon, Satan.
deop. adj., deep, immense.
deorc, adj., dark, ignorant.
dom, m., judgment, sentence.
don, anu., do, perform.
dream, m., joy, happiness.
dreoqan. v. (3), to endure, suffer, experience.
drepsan. v. (2), to fall.
drifan. v. (l), to drive forward, impel.
drohtad. m., experience.
dryhten, m., lord.
duQud. f., body of retainers, multitude.
dun, f., hill.
duaescan, u.v., to extinguish, destroy.
dyrne, adj., concealed, incomprehensible.
eac, adv., also, too, likewise, moreover.
eadfruma. m., giver of happiness.
eadqifan, m., giver of prosperity.
eadiq, adj., happy, blessed.
eadmod. eadmod, adj., humble, gentle.
eaqe, n., eye.
eahtnes. f., persecution.
eald, adj., ancient, old.
ealdcyddu, f., former duelling place.
ealdfeond, m., ancient enemy.
ealdqestreion, n., ancient treasure.
ealdor, n. , eternity.
eall, adj. , all.
eard, m • $ abode, duelling place.
sarq, adj., uicked, sinful.
earhfaru, f., flight or shooting of arrows.
eade, adj. , easy; comp, ydre; sup. ydast.
eade, adv., easily.
ece, adj. , eternal.
ef enece, adj., co-eternal.
eft, adv. , again, afteruards.
eqle, adj. , deadly, grievous, sharp.
eqsa, m. , terror, dismay.
ende, m • i end.
enqel
9 ro • 9
angel.
eorl, m • f hero, lord.
eorneste, adj., severe, stern.
eorde, f., earth, uorld.
eordbuendt m., earth-dueller, inhabitant
358
eorduare, m. pi., earth-duellers.
eorduela, m. , uorldly goods, riches, fertility,
edsl, m., homeland, native land.
edelstol. m., royal city, hereditary seat.
fah, adj., guilty.
farant v. (6), to go, depart.
faeder. m., father
faeqre, adv., nobly, graciously.
faehdu. f., feud, enmity.
f aele, adj., dear, beloved.
faemne. f., maiden, virgin.
faersearo. n., sudeen artifice.
faerscyte. m., sudden shot.
faest, adj., firm, fixed.
faeste. adv., firmly, fixedly.
faedm. m., embrace, uomb.
fela, adj., many.
feoqan. u.v., to hate, persecute.
feond. m., adversary, enemy, fiend.
feondscype. feondscipe. m., enmity, hatred.
feorhqiefa. m., giver of life.
feorhneru. f., sustenance.
feorda. num., fourth.
feouertiq. num., forty.
359
fBrQan, w.v., to sail, drive, bring.
f erd, mn., mind, soul.
ferdwerig. adj., soul-weary.
fifta, num., fifth.
findan, v. (3), to find.
finaer. m., finger.
fjLras, m. pi., men, human beings.
firen. f., sin.
flacor. adj., flying (of arrows).
flanoeweorc, n., arrows, shooting gear.
flaesc. n., body, flesh.
flod. m., wave, water.
flodwudu, m., ship, vessel.
f1voe. m., flight.
flyht. m., flight.
fole. n#, people, folk, multitude.
folde. f., earth, world.
foldaern. n., grave, tomb.
forbyoan. w.v., to humiliate, bring low.
forcuman. v. (4), to harass, wear out, conquer, destroy.
fore. prep. w. dat., before, in the presence of.
forespreca, m., spokesman, leader.
foroiefan. v. (5), to give, grant.
forht, adj., fearful, afraid
forma, adj., first.
forsBon. v. (2), to despise, scorn, reject.
ford, adv., henceforth, still.
fordojn, conj., therefore, for, wherefore.
fraetwa. fraetue , f. pi., treasures.
frea, m., ruler, king, master, lord.
free. adj., dangerous.
fremman, l j . v / . , do, make.
freobearn. n., child of noble birth.
freond, m., friend.
freonoma. m., surname, special name.
frid, n., peace, friendship.
frofor, f., consolation, help.
from, prep. w. dat., from.
fromlice. adv., confidently.
fruma, m., ruler, creator.
frumbearn. n., first-born child.
frumqesceap. n., creation of the world.
frumoesceaft, f., creature.
fuqel, m., bird.
fulwian. w.v., to baptize.
fusleod. n., death-song, dirge.
fyllan. w.v., to overthrow, destroy, cast down.
fyr, n., fire.
fyrbaed, n., fire-bath, hell-fire.
fyren, adj., burning, fiery.
fyrnueorc, n., creation, created things.
qafol. n., tribute.
galan. y. (6), to sing, cry, chant.
Galilesc. adj., Galilean.
gan. anu., go, walk.
garfaru. f., warfare, spear-fight.
qarqetrum, n., storm of spaars, armed company.
qaesne. adj., barren, frightful.
qaest. m., spirit, soul.
qaestqeryne. n., spiritual meditation, reflection.
gaesthalio. adj., holy, holy in spirit.
gaesthof. n., duelling, lodging place.
qaestlic. adj., spiritual, holy.
qaestsunu. m., spiritual son.
qe. pron. 2 pers. pi., you.
geardaoas. m. pi., days of old.
qeare. ady., certainly, well.
qearosnottor. adj., very skillful, proficient.
qearo. adj., prepared, ready.
qeat. n., gate, door, opening.
qebindan. y. (3), to gind, fasten, overcome.
qebuoan. y. (3), to penetrate.
qebyrd. f., birth, descent.
qeceosan. u. (2), to choose.
gecnauan. u. (7), to knou.
gecorene. p. part., chosen.
gedafenian. u.v/., to be fitting, proper.
gedeman. u.v/., to judge.
qedryht. f., multitude, body of retainers, throng
qeeode. see qan.
qefaestnian. u.u., to fasten, make fast.
gefea. m., joy, happiness.
qef eon. v/. (5), to rejoice, be glad.
qefrionan. u. (3), to ask, find out, hear, learn
inquiry.
qefremman. u.u., to do.
qefreon. u.u., to liberate, set free.
qefreodian. u.u., to protect, guard.
qefyllan. u.u., to fill, fulfill.
qefysed. p. part., ready to set out.
qehata. n., promise, command.
gehaeftan, u.u., to confine, imprison.
pehleaoan. u. (7), to leap, spring.
qehlidu. n. pi., couering, arch, uault, roof.
qehua, pron. and adj., each, euery.
qehuylc. pron. and adj., each, euery.
qehvod. f., thought, reflection.
qehyld. f., protection, secret place.
qehynan. u.u., to humble, lay lou, crush.
gshyran. u.u., to hear, pay heed to.
qehyruan. u.u., to disregard, ignore.
qelad, n., road, path.
qeladian. u.u., to call, summon, inuite.
qelaedan. u.u., to lead, conduct.
qeleafa. m., faith.
qelic, adj., like, similar.
qelice. adu., in like manner.
qelidan. u. (l), to sail.
qelyfan. u.u., to belieue.
qemaene. adj., common, shared.
qemet, n., end.
gemot, n., assembly, council.
qemynd. f., mind, thought.
gen, adu., still, yet.
qeniuian. u.u., to reneu, restore.
geneman, u. (4), to take.
geo, adu., of old, formerly.
qeomor, adj., troubled, sad.
qeomormod. adj., sorrouful.
qeond, prep. u. acc., throughout, through.
qeorne. adu., eagerly, completely.
qeornlice. adu., zealously, carefully.
qeotan. u. (2), to pour, pour forth.
qeryman. u.u., to open, prepare.
qeryne, n., mystery, secret.
qesaelan, u.v., to bind.
qesceaft, f., creation.
qescildan. u.v., to shield, protect.
qescyppan. v. (6), to make, create.
qesecan. u.v., to seek, visit.
qeseon, v. (5), to see, behold, perceive.
qesittan. v. (5), to sit.
gesid, m., companion.
qesomning. f., mixture, union.
qestiqan. v. (l), to ascend, climb, mount.
qestyllan, u.v., to ascend, mount.
qesyllan. u.v., to give.
qedinqian. u.v., to settle, intercede.
gedungen, p. part., excellent.
qeueald, n., pouer.
qeueordan. v. (3), to happen.
qeuerian. u.v., to clothe.
qeuin. n., conflict, strife.
geuit, n., mind, understanding.
qeuitan. v. (l), to go, depart.
qeurit, n., Scripture.
qeuyrcan, u.v., to create, make, do.
qiedd. n., song, poem, account.
qiefu. f., gift.
qief an. v. (5), to give.
qiefstol. m., gift-throne.
qielp. qyip. mn., boasting, pride, arrogance
qieman. u.v/., to care for, take heed to.
ail* c o n j., if.
gifre. adj., greedy, destructive.
£imm, m., jsuel, gem.
qlaedmod. adj., joyful, happy.
qleobeam. m., harp.
God, m., Gad.
god, adj., good; comp, selra; suprl. seleste
godbearn. n., divine child, son of God
qodcund. adj., divine, spiritual.
qoldhord. n., treasure, treasury.
qonqan. v. (7), to go.
qretan. u.v., to touch, play.
grom. adj., hostile, fierce; (as sub.) enemy
qromhvdiq. adj., hostile.
grund. m., earth, uorld; abyss, pit.
qrundsceat. m., region of earth, earth.
qryrebrooa. m., terror, horror.
m • y msn *
qud. f., battle.
qudpleoa. m., battle-play, fight.
hafaban, u.u., to haue, possess.
had, m. , race, sex, person, condition, nature.
haliq, adj., holy.
hals, f., saluation.
ham. m., home, duelling, region.
hand, hond, f., hand.
hat, adj., hot, fiery, eager.
haedor, adj., bright, clear, fresh.
haeft. m., captiuity, bondage, captiue, slaue.
haelend, m., saviour.
haeled, m., man, uarrior, hero.
haelo, f., salvation, health.
haelubearn, n., saviour, Christ, saving child.
haeden, adj., pagan, heathen.
he (m), heo (f), hit (n), 3rd. pers. pron., he, she,
pi. jri, Jt^, hie, they.
heafelav m., head.
heah, hea. adj., high, exalted.
heahenqel, m., archangel.
heahsetl. n., exalted seat, throne, judgment seat.
heahdu, f., summit, highest point, heavens.
healdan. v. (7), to hold, possess, rule.
healice, adv., highly, aloft, on high.
hean, adj., louly, despised, abject.
heap, m., company, multitude, throng.
hearpe, f., harp.
hebban, v. (6), to lift, raise, bear aloft, exalt.
hell, f., hell.
helluaran. m. pi., duellers in hell.
helm, m., protector, lord.
help, f., assistance, consolation.
heofoncondel. f., sun, moon, stars.
heofon, m. , heaven, sky.
heof onenqel. m., angel of heaven.
heofonrice. n., kingdom of heaven.
heofontungol. n., heavenly luminary, star.
heofonuoma, m., terrible noise from heaven, thunder.
heonan. adv., from henceforth, henceforuard.
heorte, f., heart, soul.
her. adv., here.
here, m., throng, company, host.
herqan, u.v,.. to praise.
herq. m., idol.
hider, adv., hither.
hiendu. f., humiliation, affliction.
Hierusalem, prop, n., Jerusalem.
hild, f., battle, combat.
hiu, n., appearance, form.
hladan. v. (6), to heap up.
hlaford, m., lord, master, ruler.
hleahtor. m., laughter, jubilation.
368
hleo. m., covering, protection, refuge.
hleotan. v. (l), to obtain, get.
hleodorcuide, m., speech, discourse, song, prophecy.
hlid. m., hill, slope.
hlud. adj., loud.
hlyp. m., leap.
holm. m., sea, wave.
holmdracu. f., restless sea, raging sea.
hraeql. n., garment, clothing.
hream. m., noise, lamentation, uproar.
hreo. adj., rough, wild, stormy.
hreosan. v. (2), to fall.
hreran. u.v., to move, agitate, stir.
hreder. m., breast, heart, thought.
hring. m., sound? ring?
hrof. m., roof, top, summit, sky.
hrodor. m., joy, pleasure, solace.
hruse. m., earth, ground, soil.
hyrcq, m., back, elevated surface (of the ocean).
hu. adv., hou.
huru, adv., indeed.
hud, f., plunder, booty, prey.
huaer. adv., where.
huaet, interrog,, uhat.
huaedre. conj., however, yet.
369
huearft. m., circle, circuit.
hueorfan, v. (3), to turn, go.
huilum, adv., sometimes, nou.
huit. adj., uhite.
hydercyme, hidercyme. m., coming, arrival.
hyqe, m., thought, mind.
hygerof. adj., brave, stout-hearted.
hyht, m., joy, hope, desire.
hyhtpleqa, m., joyous frolic, play, sport.
hyll. f., hill.
hyrde, m., shepherd.
hyran. u.v., to hear, obey.
hyd, f., harbor, port, landing place.
ic, 1st. pers. pro., Ij acc. me.
idel, adj., empty, vain, uorthless.
iecan, u.v., to increase, enlarge.
ilea. adj., same.
in, prep. u. dat., in, on, at.
innan, adv., uithin.
\
inne. adv., uithin.
lob, prop. n., Dob.
is, see uesan.
Iudeas. prop, n., Deus.
370
lacan, v. (7), to move up and doun, suing, toss.
laquflod, m., uave, stream, sea, ocean.
lareou. m., teacher, master.
last, m., track, trace, footprint.
1ad, adj., hateful, hostile, loathsome.
laedan, u.v., to lead, guide, bring.
laene, adj., temporary, frail, transitory.
laeran. u.v., to instruct, teach.
laes, adv., lest; by-laes. conj., lest.
laestan. u.v., to do, fulfill, continue, help.
leahtor. m., sin, uickedness, crime, vice.
lean, n., reuard, retribution.
leanian, u.v., to reuard, requite, repay.
leo, m., flame, fire.
leof. adj., dear, beloved.
leno. see long.
leofuendum. adv., ardently.
leoht, n., light, brightness.
leoma. m., light, splendor.
lie. n., body.
licqan, v. (5), to be, be situated, remain.
lichoma. m., body, flesh.
lif. n., life, existence.
lifgan. u.v., to live, exist.
liffruma. m., source of life, God.
lifuynn, f., enjoyment of life.
lim, n., limb, body.
lidan. v. (l), to sail, travel.
lide, adj., gentle, calm, serene, pleasant.
lixan, u.v., to shine, flash, glitter, gleam.
lof« n., praise, glory.
lond. n., land, region.
lonqe, lenq, adv., for a long time.
lufian. u.v., to love, cherish.
luf u. f., love.
lust, m., desire, appetite.
lyft, f., air, sky.
ly-qesearo. n., trick, deceit.
lytel. adj., small, little.
maqutudor. n., descent, offspring.
mara, see micel.
Parian. prop, n., Mary.
maoan. ppv., be able, can.
maeqen, n., pouer, strength.
maeqendrymm, m., glory, majesty, heavenly host.
maeqd. f., maiden, virgin.
maeqd. f., family, people, race, tribe,
maere, adj., famous, glorious, great.
372
tnaerdu, f., glory, glorious deed.
maedlian. w.v., to speak,
meajht, miht, f., power, authority.
meahtiq, mihtiq, adj., mighty, pouerful.
menqu, menigu, f., throng, company.
mennisc. adj., human.
meotod. meojtud, m., lord, creator, God.
meowle. f., maiden, virgin, woman.
micel, adj., great, much; comp, mara; suprl. maest.
mid, prep. w. dat., with.
middanqeard. m., world, earth.
milde. adj., gracious, merciful.
min, adj., my.
mislic, adj., various, manifold, diverse.
modcraeft. m., intelligence.
mod. n., heart, mind, temper.
modiq, adj., spirited, brave, proud.
rnon ^ m • ^ msn •
monat ro.t moon.
monig, adj., many.
moniqfeald. adj., various, manifold,
motan, ppv., be able to., be compelled to.
mundheals. f., protection.
munt, m., mountain, hill.
murnian. v. (3), to be anxious, fearful, moan, bewail.
373
mud, m., mouth.
naefre, ad\/., never.
ne. adv., not; conj., nor.
neah, adj., near, at hand.
neah. adv., near close; superl. nyhst, most near, last.
nemnan. u.v., to name, call.
neosan, u.v., to visit, drau near to.
nerqend, m., saviour, preserver.
niht. f., night, darkness.
noldan. see uillan (ne+uillan).
nu, adv., nou, then.
nyle, see uillan (ne+uillan).
of. prep. u. dat., from, out of, by.
ofer, prep. u. dat. and acc., over, beyond, throughout.
ofermaete. adj., excessive, limitless.
ofqiefan. v. (5), to leave, descend from.
on, prep. u. dat., in, on, at, to, among.
oncnauan. v. (5), to understand, knou, perceive, recognize.
oncyrran. u.v., to turn, alter, change, avert.
ond, conj., and, but.
ondgiet, n., understanding, intelligence, intellect.
ondlean. n., retribution, retaliation.
ondraedan. v.(7), to dread, fear.
374
□ndsaec, m., denial, contradiction.
onfon. v. (7), to take, assume, seize.
onqietan, v. (5), to perceive, understand, recognize.
onhreran, u.v., to shake, disturb, arouse, excite, move.
onhueorfan, v. (3), to reverse, cancel, change.
onmedla, m., glory, pride, arrogance.
onsendan, u.v., to send.
onsyn, f., face, appearance, presence.
ontynan, u.v., to open.
onureon. v. (l), to reveal, make knoun, uncover.
ord, m., point; chief, prince.
orleoe, n., strife, uar.
odeouan, u.v., to appear.
oder, pron., other, another, second.
odyuan, u.v., to appear, be seen.
pleqa, m., movement, exercise, play, sport.
rasettan. u.v., to rage.
raeran, u.v., to create, promote, establish,
raes, m., rush, leap, jump.
read, adj., red.
reccan, u.v., to instruct, explain, interpret.
recen. adj., quick, violent.
ren. m., rain.
raord. f., voice, speech.
reotan, v. (2), to weep, mourn, uail.
rede, adj., hard, severe; comp, redran.
rice, n., kingdom, domain.
rim. n., number, reckoning.
rod. F., cross, rood.
rodor. m., sky, heavens, firmament.
rodorcyninq, m., heavenly king.
ryht, n., justice, righteousness.
ryht, adj., just, righteous.
ryhtend. m., ruler, lord.
ryhtuis. adj., just.
ryne, m., course, flou, running.
Salomon. prop. n., Solomon.
sauan, v. (7), to sou, streu, implant.
sauel. f., soul.
sae, m., sea, ocean.
saelan. u.v., to tie, fasten.
sceacan. v. (6), to hasten, flee, depart.
sceada. m., antagonist, fiend, devil.
sceotend. m., archer, bowman.
sceddao. v. (6), to injure, do harm.
sceddend. m., adversary.
scildan. scieldan, u.v., to protect, guard.
scildhreada, scildhreada. m., shield.
scima, m. , ray, brightness, light.
scinan, v. (l), to shine, be resplendent.
scridan, v. (l), to moue, glide, go.
sculan, ppv/., to be obliged, must, ought.
scyne, adj., bright, shining.
s b, seo, baet, adj., pron., the, he, uho, etc.
sealt. adj., salty, briny.
searloice, adv., skillfully, artistically.
sscan t u.v/., to seek, inquire.
secqan, u.v., to speak, tell, declare.
sefa, m., mind, spirit, understanding, heart.
seleste, see god.
sellan. u.v., to give, furnish, lend.
sellran, see god.
semninqa, adv., suddenly, immediately.
sendan, u.v., to send, hurl.
seon, v. (5), to see, behold, perceive.
settan. u.v., to place, fix, appoint.
si, see uesan.
sib. f., peace, love, friendship.
siblufu, f., love, friendship.
sid. adj., uide, broad.
siexta. num.,. sixth.
sigan, v. (l), to descend, sink.
siqebearn, n., son of victory.
siqehretniq, adj., victorious, triumphant.
siqadreat, m., victorious troop.
siqor, syqor. m., victory, triumph.
simle, symle, adv., always, continually.
sincqiefa.m.. givsr of treasure, lord, king.
sind. sindan. see uesan.
sinqan. v. (3), to sing.
sid. adv., after; sid ond aer=before and after, at all
times.
sidian, u.v., to go, depart, travel.
siddan, adv., since, afterward; conj., when, since.
snud, adj., sudden.
snyttru. f., wisdom, intelligence, prudence.
somed. somod, adv., together.
sona, advimmediately.
song, m., song.
sorq, f., care, trouble, sorrow.
sod. n., truth, justice.
sod, adj., true, real, genuine.
sodfaest. adj., trustworthy, honest, just, steadfast.
sped, f., success, prosperity.
spowan. v. (7), to succeed, thrive.
sprecan. v. (l), to speak.
starian, u.v., to stare, gaze.
stadol, m., seat, estate.
stadelian. u.v/., to settle, found, establish.
stadolfaest. adj., fixed, firm.
staelq. staeqel. adj., steep.
staenen. adj., stony.
stjell, styll, m., leap, spring.
stiqan, v. (l), to moue, go up, ascent, mount.
stirgan, u.v., to play, touch.
stou. f., place, spot.
strong. strang, adj., strong, powerful.
strael, m., arrow, dart, missile.
stream, m., flod, current.
strenqdu. f., strength, power, force, vigor.
styllan, u.v., to leap, spring.
stylan. u.v., to harden, temper.
sum, pro., some, the, a certain one, etc.
sundhenqest, m., sea-steed, ship, vessel.
sundwudu, m., sea-wood, ship.
sunne. f., sun.
sunu. m., son.
swa, conj., thus, since.
suaes, adj., dear, own, beloved.
sewq, m., sound, melody.
sweql. n., heaven, sky.
swelqan, v. (3), to swallow, devour.
sweord. n., sword.
sueotule f adv., clearly.
suid, adj., strong, mighty, right-hand.
suylce, adv., also, too.
sylf, pro., self, one's oun.
syllan, w. v . . give, grant.
symbel, n., feast, festivity.
syn, f., sin, crime, guilt.
synsceada. m., evildoer, sin-stained wretch.
synuracu, f., punishment for sin.
synuund, f,, world of sin.
synuyrcend, m., sinner, evildoer.
tacen, n., sign, symbol.
talgan, u.v., to think, believe.
teaq, f., cord, band, fetter.
teala, adv., well.
tempel, n., temple.
tid, f., time, period, season.
tilqan, u.v., to aim at, strive after, endeavor.
tir, m., fame, glory, honor.
to, prep. u. acc., to,towards, in, on, etc.
toqeanes, prep. u. dat. and acc., towards, against.
torht, adj., bright, radiant, beautiful.
torn, m., anger, grief, suffering.
treowt f., faith, belief.
380
treoulufu, f., true love.
truuian, u.v., to trust, persuade, have confidence.
tuddor, n., offspring, descendent.
tungol, n., star, planet, constellation.
tuegen, num., tuo.
tyht, m., course, motion.
tyn, num., ten.
da. adv., then; conj., when.
daer, adv., there; conj., uhere, if.
daes, conj., therefore, after.
daet, conj., that, so that, in order that, etc.
daette, conj., that.
de, pro., uho, which, what.
de, conj., that, since, or.
deah. conj., nevertheless, yet, although.
dearf, f., need, necessity.
deqn, m., retainer, follouer.
deqnueorud. n., company of retainers, followers.
dendan. dejnden, conj., as long as, while,
deod, f., people, mankind.
deodbuende. m. pi., earth-duellers, mortals, people.
deodeqsa. m., general terror.
deoden. m., lord, prince, ruler; God, Christ.
des, deos. dis, dem. pro., this.
3B1
di laes, ±L laes. conj., lest.
dinqstede, m., place of assembly,
dorian, adv., thence.
donan, con.i. . whence, from which,
done,m., thanks, gratitude.
donrie, adv., then, at that time; conj., when, than.
dracu. f., fury, violence.
dreat. m., croud, throng, host0
dridda, num., third.
drouinq, f., suffering, passion.
drj^m, m., glory, power; company, host.
drymfaest. adj., glorious, mighty.
drymful, adj., glorious, majestic.
drynes. f., Trinity.
du, 2nd. pers. pro., you.
durh, prep. u. acc., through, by.
dus, adv., thus, so, in this manner.
dyslic. adj., such as.
dystro, f., darkness, gloom.
ufancund. adj., from above, supreme, divine.
under, prep. w. dat. and acc., under, among, beneath.
unhneaw. adj., generous, liberal, abundant.
unholda. m., monster, devil.
unmaele. adj., pure, spotless, immaculate.
unmurnlice. adv., mercilessly.
382
unryht, n., sin, transgression, wickedness.
unrim, n., countless number, large host.
up, adv., up, above, an high.
uppe. adv., above, on high.
upstlqe. m., ascension.
user. poss. pron., our.
utan. interj., let us.
uac, adj., ueak, frail, ephemeral.
uace, adv., ueakly, slowly, negligently.
ualdend. m., ruler, lord.
uaelm. m., whirlpool, eddy.
waepen. n., weapon, sword.
waer. f., faith, pledge, treaty.
waerlice. adv., faithfully, cautiously.
waes, waeron. see uesan.
waeter, n., water.
we. see ic.
ueallan, v. (7), to be agitated, toss, seethe, foam.
weard, f., guard, watch.
weard. m., watchman, guardian, protector.
ueardian, u.v., to guard, defend.
ueccan. w.v., to awaken, arouse; produce, bring forth,
weder. n., weather, air, sky.
ueg, m., path, road, direction.
uela, m., prosperity, riches, happiness.
uel, adv., uell, indeed, rightly,
uenan, u.v., to expect, hope, think.
uendan. u.v., to come, go.
ueolme, f., choice, pick of one's fellou creatures.
ueorc, n., uork, labor, deed.
ueordan. v. (3), to become, happen.
ueordian. u.v., to honor, exalt, adorn.
ueorud, ueorod, n., company, band, host.
ugr9 m., man.
ueriq, adj., ueary, sad.
uerdeod. f., folk, people, nation.
uesan, any., to be, happen, exist.
uide, adv., uidely, extensively.
uideferh. uidefeorh. adv., aluays.
uidqiel, adj., broad, extensive, uidespread.
uidlond, n., extensive country.
uidueqas. m. pi., distant regions.
uiq, n., strife, uar, battle.
uildaeq, m., day of joy.
uilcuma. m., uelcome guest.
uilqiefa. m., gracious giver, lord, king.
uilla. m., mind, purpose, desire.
uillan. anv., to uish, be uilling.
uilnian, u.v., to uish, long for, desire; beseech,
uindiq, adj., uindy.
uis, adj., prudent, uise.
uitan, ppv*» to perceive, understand, be conscious of.
uite, n., torment, punishment.
uitqa, m., prophet, uise man.
uid. prep. u. dat. and acc., against, from, touards.
uiderbroca, uiderbroqa, m., adversary, devil.
ulite. m., brightness, appearance, form, countenance.
ulitescyne, adj., lovely, beautiful, glorious.
uolcen, n., cloud.
uono. m., plain, field.
uonqstede, m., place.
uop. m., cry, ueeping, lamentation.
uord, n., uord, speech, statement, command.
uordcuide, m., words, speech, language.
uordqeryne, n., dark saying, riddle.
uordladu. f., conversation, eloquence.
uoruld. f., uorld, age, cycle.
urad, adj., angry, hostile, terrible; as sub. foe, enemy.
uradlic. adj., terrible, fierce.
uracu. f., punishment, misery.
uraetlic. adj., wondrous, rare.
uritan. v. (l), to urite, draw.
urohtbora, m., accuser, devil.
uuldor, n., glory, splendor; praise, thanks.
wund, f., wound.
wunian, w.v., to dwell, inherit; remain, continue.
uurde. see weordan.
uynn, f., joy, gladness.
wyrcan. v. (l), to make, create, do.
wyrm. m., reptile, serpent, worm.
wyrp. m., a throw, cast.
wyrde, adj., worthy, fitting.
ymb, prep. w. dat. and acc., around, near.
yrmen, adj., wide.
yrmdu. yrmpdu, f., suffering, misery.
yrre, adj., angry, fierce.
f., wave, billow, flood.
ydast, see eade.
ydre, see eade.
ydmearh. m., sea-steed, ship.

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Creator Williams, Michael Anthony (author)

Core Title Cynewulf: The Ascension Of Christ

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program English

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Literature, General,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Brown, William H., Jr. (committee chair), [Grosey], Olive J.A. (committee member), Berkey, Max Leslie (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-727011

Unique identifier UC11356052

Identifier 7426057.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-727011 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 7426057.pdf

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Document Type Dissertation

Rights Williams, Michael Anthony

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Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

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