Old English Literature History : ( 4 ) Classical and Latin poetry : Several Old English poems are adaptations of late classical philosophical texts. The longest is a 10th-century translation of Boethius Consolation of Philosophy contained in the Cotton manuscript Otho A.vi. Another is The Phoenix in the Exeter Book, an allegorisation of the De ave phoenice by Lactantius. Other short poems derive from the Latin bestiary tradition. Some examples include The Panther, The Whale and The Partridge. Riddles : Anglo-Saxon riddles are part of Anglo-Saxon literature. The most famous Anglo-Saxon riddles are found in the Exeter Book. This book contains secular and religious poems and other writings, along with a collection of 94 riddles, although there is speculation that there may have been closer to 100 riddles in the book. The riddles are written in a similar manner, but it is unlikely that the whole collection was written by one person. It is more likely that many scribes worked on this collection of riddles. Although the Exeter Book has a unique and extensive collection of Anglo-Saxon riddles, riddles were not uncommon during this era. Riddles were both comical and obscene. Christian poetry : Saints lives : The Vercelli Book and Exeter Book contain four long narrative poems of saints lives, or hagiography. In Vercelli are Andreas and Elene and in Exeter are Guthlac and Juliana. Andreas is 1,722 lines long and is the closest of the surviving Old English poems to Beowulf in style and tone. It is the story of Saint Andrew and his journey to rescue Saint Matthew from the Mermedonians. Elene is the story of Saint Helena (mother of Constantine) and her discovery of the True Cross. The cult of the True Cross was popular in Anglo-Saxon England and this poem was instrumental. Guthlac is actually two poems about English Saint Guthlac (7th century). Biblical paraphrases : There are a number of partial Old English Bible translations and paraphrases surviving. The Junius manuscript contains three paraphrases of Old Testament texts. These were re-wordings of Biblical passages in Old English, not exact translations, but paraphrasing, sometimes into beautiful poetry in its own right. The first and longest is of Genesis, the second is of Exodus and the third is Daniel. The fourth and last poem, Christ and Satan, which is contained in the second part of the Junius manuscript, does not paraphrase any particular biblical book, but retells a number of episodes from both the Old and New Testament. The Nowell Codex contains a Biblical poetic paraphrase, which appears right after Beowulf, called Judith, a retelling of the story of Judith. This is not to be confused with Ælfrics homily Judith, which retells the same Biblical story in alliterative prose. Old English translations of Psalms 51-150 have been preserved, following a prose version of the first 50 Psalms. There are a number of verse translations of the Gloria in Excelsis, the Lords Prayer, and the Apostles Creed, as well as a number of hymns and proverbs. Christian poems : In addition to Biblical paraphrases are a number of original religious poems, mostly lyrical (non-narrative). The Exeter Book contains a series of poems entitled Christ, sectioned into Christ I, Christ II and Christ III. Considered one of the most beautiful of all Old English poems is Dream of the Rood, contained in the Vercelli Book. It is a dream vision of Christ on the cross, with the cross personified, speaking thus : I endured much hardship up on that hill. I saw the God of hosts stretched out cruelly. Darkness had covered with clouds the body of the Lord, the bright radiance. A shadow went forth, dark under the heavens. All creation wept, mourned the death of the king. Christ was on the cross. —Dream of the Rood The dreamer resolves to trust in the cross, and the dream ends with a vision of heaven. There are a number of religious debate poems. The longest is Christ and Satan in the Junius manuscript, it deals with the conflict between Christ and Satan during the forty days in the desert. Another debate poem is Solomon and Saturn, surviving in a number of textual fragments, Saturn is portrayed as a magician debating with the wise king Solomon. Other poems : Other poetic forms exist in Old English including riddles, short verses, gnomes, and mnemonic poems for remembering long lists of names. The Exeter Book has a collection of ninety-five riddles. Some of them play on obscene interpretations of the object described. The answers are not supplied; a number of them to this day remain a puzzle. There are short verses found in the margins of manuscripts which offer practical advice. There are remedies against the loss of cattle, how to deal with a delayed birth, swarms of bees, etc. The longest is called Nine Herbs Charm and is probably of pagan origin. Other similar short verses, or charms, include For a Swarm of Bees, Against a Dwarf, Wið færstice, and Against a Wen. There are a group of mnemonic poems designed to help memorise lists and sequences of names and to keep objects in order. These poems are named Menologium, The Fates of the Apostles, The Rune Poem, The Seasons for Fasting, and the Instructions for Christians.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 12:29:43 +0000
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