A Literary History of the English People, from the Origins to the RenaissanceJusserand, J. J. (Jean Jules)
History
A Literary History of the English People, from the Origins to the Renaissance
Jusserand, J. J. (Jean Jules)
English literature -- History and criticism
Another biblical story was paraphrased in Anglo-Saxon verse, and was the
subject of the beautiful poem of "Judith," preserved in the same MS. as
"Beowulf." Grein's "Bibliothek," vol. i.
[89] "Metrical Paraphrase," pp. 29 ff.
[90] Four poems have come down to us signed by means of an acrostic on
the Runic letters of his name: "Elene" (on the finding of the cross),
"Fates of the Apostles" (both in "Codex Vercellensis"), "Juliana" and
"Christ" (in "Codex Exoniensis"); a separate edition of "Christ" has
been given by M. Gollancz, London, 1892, 8vo. Many other poems, and even
the whole of "Codex Vercellensis," have been attributed to him. The
eighty-nine riddles of "Codex Exoniensis," some of which continue to
puzzle the readers of our day, are also considered by some as his: one
of the riddles is said to contain a charade on his name, but there are
doubts; ample discussions have taken place, and authorities disagree:
"The eighty-sixth riddle, which concerns a wolf and a sheep, was
related," said Dietrich, "to Cynewulf;" but Professor Morley considers
that this same riddle "means the overcoming of the Devil by the hand of
God." Stopford Brooke, "Early English Literature," chap. xxii. Many of
those riddles were adapted from the Latin of Aldhelm and others. This
sort of poetry enjoyed great favour, as the Scandinavian "Corpus
Poeticum" also testifies. What is "Men's damager, words' hinderer, and
yet words' arouser?"--"Ale." "Corpus Poeticum," i. p. 87.
[91] "Elene," in "Codex Vercellensis," part ii. p. 73, and "Holy Rood"
(this last of doubtful authorship), _ibid._ pp. 84 ff. Lines resembling
some of the verses in "Holy Rood" have been found engraved in Runic
letters on the cross at Ruthwell, Scotland; the inscription and cross
are reproduced in "Vetusta Monumenta," vol. iv. p. 54; see also G.
Stephens, "The old Northern Runic monuments of Scandinavia and England,"
London, 1866-8, 2 vols. fol., vol. i. pp. 405 ff. Resemblances have also
been pointed out, showing the frequence of such poetical figures, with
the Anglo-Saxon inscription of a reliquary preserved at Brussels: "Rood
is my name, I once bore the rich king, I was wet with dripping blood."
The reliquary contains a piece of the true cross, which is supposed to
speak these words. The date is believed to be about 1100. H. Logeman,
"L'Inscription Anglo-Saxonne du reliquaire de la vraie croix au tresor
de l'eglise des SS. Michel et Gudule," Gand, Paris and London, 1891, 8vo
(with facsimile), pp. 7 and 11.
[92] "Codex Vercellensis," part i. pp. 29, 86 ff. "Andreas" is imitated
from a Greek story of St. Andrew, of which some Latin version was
probably known to the Anglo-Saxon poet. It was called "[Greek: Praxeis
Andreou kai Matthaiou];" a copy of it is preserved in the National
Library, Paris, Greek MS. 881, fol. 348.
[93] "Departed Soul's Address to the Body," "Codex Vercellensis," part
ii. p. 104.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account