Anglo-Saxon Literature Part 21

Us hath a-loosed the author of light, that we may here worthily merit, with good deeds obtain delights in the sky, where we may be able magnificent realms to seek, and to sit in heavenly seats, live in fruition of light and of peace, have habitations happy and glad, brook genial days:-- gentle and kind see Victory's Prince for ever and ever, and praise to him sing, perennial praise, happy angels among Alleluia!

Of the other allegorical pieces the Whale was derived from the book Physiologus, and probably the Panther also. The whale is used as a similitude of delusive security. The story reappears in the Arabian Nights, where it is the chief incident in the first voyage of Sindbad.

The monster lies on the sea like an island, and deludes the unsuspecting mariner.

Is aes hiw gelic hreofum stane, swylce worie bi waedes ofre sond beorgum ymbseald sae ryrica maest,[136]

swa aet wena waeg liende, aet hy on ealond sum eagum wliten; and onne gehyda heah stefn scipu to am unlonde oncyr rapum; setla sae mearas sundes aet ende.[137]

In look it is like to a stony land, with the eddying whirl of the waves on the bank, with sandheaps surrounded a mighty sea-reef; so they wearily ween who ride on the wave, that some island it is they see with their eyes; and so they do fasten the high figure-heads to a land that no land is with anchor belayed; sea-horses they settle no farther to sail.

When they have lighted their fires, and are getting comfortable, then all goes down. This is an apologue of misplaced confidence in things earthly.

But the great and absorbing subject of poetry in this age is Hagiography. We still see the old discredited apocryphal literature in occasional use, but it retires before the more approved medium of popular edification, the Lives and Miracles of the Saints. These offer material very apt for poetical treatment. Even the Homilies, when on the lives of Saints, are often clothed in the poetic garb.

In the Exeter book there are two of this cla.s.s of poems; St. Guthlac and St. Juliana. In St. Juliana, a characteristic pa.s.sage is that in which the tempter visits her in the guise of an angel of light, advising her to yield and to sacrifice to the G.o.ds. At her prayer, the fiend is reduced to his own shape, reminding us of a famous pa.s.sage in Milton.

St. Guthlac is distressed by fiends, and among the trials to which he is exposed, one is this, that he sees in vision the evil life of a disorderly monastery. When he has endured his trials, and he returns to his chosen retreat, the welcome of the birds is very charming.

But the greatest pieces of this sort are the two in the Vercelli book; the Andreas and the Elene.

In the Andreas we have an ancient legend which is now known only in Greek, but which no doubt lay before the Anglo-Saxon poet in a Latin version. In this story Matthew is imprisoned in Mirmedonia, and he is encouraged by the hope that Andrew shall come to his aid. Andrew is wonderfully conveyed to Mirmedonia, where he arrives at a time of famine, and he finds the people casting lots who shall be slain for the others' food. On the intervention of Andrew the devil comes on the scene and suggests that he is the cause of their troubles. Then follows a long series of tortures to which the saint is subjected. When his endurance has been put to extreme proof, the word of deliverance comes to him and he puts forth miraculous power. He calls for a flood, and it comes and sweeps the cruel persecutors away. But the whole ends in a general conversion, and the drowned are restored to life. He is escorted to his s.h.i.+p and has a happy voyage back to Achaia like the return of any hero crowned with success. Here we are reminded of the return of Beowulf; and widely different as the two poems are, they have not only points of similarity but also a certain likeness of type. There is, however, this great dissimilarity, that in the Andreas the poet stops to speak of himself and of his inadequate performance, but still he will give us a little more. The most novel and extraordinary part is the voyage of Andrew to Mirmedonia. The s.h.i.+p-master is a Divine person, and the instructive conversation which the saint addresses to him, is exceedingly well managed, for while it verges on the humorous, it is perfectly reverent; a strong contrast with the free use of such situations in the later mediaeval drama. Another feature which calls for notice is the sarcasm with which the drowning people are told there is plenty of drink for them now.

The "Elene" opens with the outbreak of barbarian war, and Constantine in camp on the Danube, frightened at the mult.i.tude of the Huns. In a dream of the night he sees an angel who shows him the Cross, and tells him that with this "beacon" he shall overcome the foe. II. Comforted by his dream, he had a cross made like that of the vision, and under this ensign he was victorious. Then he a.s.sembles his wise men to inquire of them who the G.o.d was that this sign belonged to? No one knew, until some christened folk, who (according to this poet) were then very few, gave the required information. Constantine is baptised by Silvester. III.

Zealous to recover the true Cross, he sends his mother, Elene, with a great equipment to Judea. IV. She proclaims an a.s.sembly, and 3,000 come together, and she requires of them to choose those who can answer whatever questions she may ask. V. They select 500 for that purpose.

When they are come to the queen, she addresses a chiding speech to them about their blindness in rejecting Him who came according to prophecy; but she does not reveal her aim. Afterwards, the Jews in consternation discuss among themselves what the imperial lady can mean. At length one Judas divines that she wants the Cross which is hidden, and which it is of the greatest consequence to keep from discovery; for his grandfather Zacheus, when a-dying, told his son, the speaker's father, that whenever that Cross was found the power of the Jews would end. VI. The speaker further said that his father told him the history of the Saviour's life, and how his son Stephen had believed in him and had been stoned. The speaker was a boy when his father told him this, and seems to have thus learnt about his brother Stephen for the first time.[138] VII. When they are summoned into the imperial presence they all profess to know nothing about the subject of her inquiry, they had never heard of such a thing before! She threatens. Then they select Judas as a wise man who knows more than the rest, and they leave him as a hostage. VIII. The queen will know where the Rood is. Judas pleads that it all happened so long ago that he knows nothing about it. She says it was not so long ago as the Trojan war, and yet people know about that. When he persists, she orders him to be imprisoned and kept without food. He endures for six days, but on the seventh he yields. IX. Released from prison he leads the way to Calvary. He utters a fervent supplication in Hebrew, in which he pleads that He who in the famous times of old revealed to Moses the bones of Joseph would make known by a sign the place of the Rood, vowing to believe in Christ if his prayer is granted. X. A steam rises from the ground. There they dig, and at a depth of twenty feet three crosses are found. Which is the holy Rood? A dead man is carried by; Judas brings the corpse in contact with the crosses one after another, and the touch of the third restores life. XI. Satan laments that he has suffered a new defeat, which is all the harder as the agent is "Judas," a name so friendly to him before! He threatens a persecuting king who shall make the newly-converted man renounce his faith. Judas returns a spirited answer, and Helena rejoices to hear the new convert rise superior to the Wicked one. XII. The report spreads, to the joy of Christians and the confusion of the Jews. The queen sends an emba.s.sy to the emperor at Rome with the happy tidings. The greatest curiosity was displayed in the cities on their road. Constantine, in his exaltation, sent them quickly back to Helena with instructions to build a church in their united names on the sacred spot of the discovery. The queen gathered from every side the most highly-skilled builders for the church; and she caused the holy Rood to be studded with gold and jewels, and then firmly secured in a chest of silver:--

Tha seo cwen bebead craeftum getyde sundor asecean tha selestan tha the wraetlicost wyrcan cuthon stan-gefogum on tham stede-w.a.n.ge girwan G.o.des tempel swa hire gasta weard reord of roderum .

Heo tha rode heht golde beweorcean and gimcynnum mid tham aethelestum eorcnanstanum besettan searocraeftum; and tha in seolfren faet loc.u.m belucan .

Thaer thaet lifes treo selest sigebeama siththan wunode aethelu anbroce .

Then the queen bade of craftsmen deft at large to seek the skilfullest, the most curious and cunning to work structures of stone;-- upon that chosen site G.o.d's temple to grace as the Guarder of souls gave her rede from on high.

She the Rood hight with gold to inlay and the glory of gems, with the most prized of precious stones to set with high art;-- and in a silver chest secure enlock:-- so there the Tree of life dearest of trophies thenceforward dwelt; fabric of honour.

XIII. Helena sends for Eusebius, "bishop of Rome," and he, at her bidding, makes Judas bishop in Jerusalem, and changes his name to Cyriacus. Then she inquires after the nails of the crucifixion, and, at the prayer of Cyriacus, their hiding-place is revealed. When the nails were brought to the queen she wept aloud, and the fountain of her tears flowed over her cheeks and down upon the jewels of her apparel. XIV. She seeks guidance by oracle as to the disposal of the nails. She is directed to make of them rings for the bridle of the chief of earthly kings. He who rides to war with such a bridle should be invincible; and a prophecy to that effect is quoted! Helena obeys, and sends the bridle over sea to Constantine,--"no contemptible gift!" Helena a.s.sembles the chief men of the Jews, bids them submit to Cyriacus, and keep up the anniversary of the Finding of the Cross. Finally, for those who keep the day is proclaimed a benediction so unmeasured and profuse as to leave behind it an air in which the solemn evaporates in the histrionic.

Here more than in any other piece of Anglo-Saxon poetry we feel near the mediaeval drama. Almost every canto is like a scene; and little adaptation would be required to put it upon the stage. The narrative at the beginning is like a prologue, and then after the close of the piece we have an epilogue, in which the author speaks about himself, and weaves his name with Runes into the verses in the manner already described.

The briefest fragment in the Vercelli book is about False Friends.h.i.+p; and it contains a long-drawn simile in which the bee is rather hardly treated.

Anlice beo swa a beon bera buton aetsomne; arlicne anleofan and aetterne taegel habba on hindan; hunig on mue wynsume wist: hwilum wundia sare mid swice onne se sael cyme.

Swa beo gelice a leasan men, a e mid tungan treowa gehata faegerum wordum, facenlice enca; onne hie aet nehstan nearwe beswica: habba on gehatum hunig smaeccas, smene sib cwide; and in siofan innan urh deofles craeft dyrne wunde.

Likened they are to the bees who bear both at one time, food for a king's table, and venomous tail have in reserve; honey in mouth, delectable food: in due time they wound sorely and slyly when the season is come.

Such are they like, the leasing men, those who with tongue give a.s.surance of troth with fair-spoken words, false in their thought; then do they at length shrewdly betray: in profession they have the perfume of honey, smooth gossip so sweet; and in their souls purpose, with devilish craft, a stab in the dark.

The "Runic Poem"[139] is a string of epigrams on the characters of the Runic alphabet, beginning with F, U, , O, R, C, according to that primitive order, whence that alphabet was called the "Futhorc." Each of these characters has a name with a meaning, mostly of some well-known familiar thing, apt subject for epigram.

When learned men began to look at the Runes with an eye of erudite curiosity, they often ranged them in the A, B, C order of the Roman alphabet; hence it gives the Rune poem some air of antiquity that it runs in the old Futhorc order. And, indeed, some of the versicles may perhaps be ancient; that is, they may possibly date from a time when Runes were still in practical use. But certainly much of this chaplet of versicles must be regarded as late and dilettante work. The Rune names are not all clearly authentic; for example, "Eoh" is rather dubious; but the poet treats the name as meaning Yew, and gives us an interesting little epigram on the Yew-tree:--

EOH bith utan unsmethe treow heard hrusan faest hyrde fyres wyrtrumum underwrethed wynan on aethle.

YEW is outwardly unpolished tree; hard and ground-fast, guardian of fire; with roots underwattled the home of the Want.[140]

The Riddles are mostly after Simphosius and Aldhelm;[141] but some are aboriginal. The form is mostly that of the epigram, only instead of having the name of the subject at the head of the piece as with epigrams, these little poems end with a question what the subject is.

These Riddles are found in the Exeter book in three batches; Grein has drawn them all together, and made eighty-nine of them. That on the Book-Moth, of which the Latin has been given above, p. 88, is unriddled by the translator:--

Moe word fiaet; me aet uhte wraetlicu wyrd a ic aet wundor gefraegn; aet se wyrm forswealg wera gied sumes eof in ystro rymfaestne cwide and aes strangan staol.

Staelgiest ne waes wihte y gleawra e he am wordum swealg.

Moth words devoured; to me it seemed a weird event when I the wonder learnt; that the worm swallowed sentence of man (thief in the dark) doc.u.ment sure, binding and all.

The burglar was never a whit the more wise for the words he had gulped.

Toward the end of the period, the poetic form becomes much diluted. The poetic diction wanes, so does the figured style and the parallel structure; and what remains is an alliterative rhythmical prose, which, from the nature of the subjects treated, appears to have been very taking for the ear of the people. Of this sort is the Lay of King Abgar, which Professor Stephens a.s.signs to the reign of c.n.u.t. The Abgar legend is in Eusebius (died 340) "History," i. 13. Abgar, king of Edessa, being sick, wrote a letter to the Saviour (it being the time of His earthly ministry) praying him to come and heal him, and adding, that if, as he hears, the Jews seek to persecute Him, his city of Edessa, though a little one, is stately, and sufficient for both.

... and ic wolde the biddan thaet thu gemedemige the sylfne thaet thu siige to me and mine untrumnysse gehaele for than the ic eom yfele gahaefd.

Me is eac gesaed thaet tha Judeiscan syrwiath and runiath him betwynan hu hi the beraedan magon, and ic haebbe ane burh, the unc bam genihtsumath.

... and I would thee pray, that thou condescend to come unto me, and my infirmity cure, for I am in evil case.

To me is eke said that the Jews are plotting and rowning together how they may destroy thee; and I have a burgh large enough for us both.[142]

The impression which this secondary poetry leaves is, that the old ancestral form could no longer furnish an adequate poetry for the growing mind of the nation. In contrast with the expanding prose, it seems to shrink and fade before our eyes. Its only means of enlargement seems to be in forgetting its own traditions and a.s.similating itself to the prose. Moreover, we have traces of various tentative sallies; one poet trying rhymes,[143] another trying hexameters,[144] which reminds us of the efforts and essays of the unsatisfied poetic genius in the middle of the sixteenth century. The Benedictine revival had drawn off the interest from the old native themes of song to subjects less fitted for poetry, or with which the poetry of the time was not yet skilled to deal. The old poetry fitted the old heroic themes with which it had grown up; and now it throve better on apocryphal and legendary fables than on the verities of the faith which were rather beyond its strength.

In the new zeal the old vein of poetry was lost or neglected, and its place was not yet appropriately filled.

For this want a provision was already making in the south. A fresh spirit of poetry had risen in the region where Roman and Arabic fancy met, and, after kindling France, was coming to England on the wings of the French language. With the new romances came new models of poetic form. A long struggle ensued between the native garb of English poetry and that of the French. Both lived together until the fourteenth century, when the victory of the French form was finally determined in Chaucer; and France set the fas.h.i.+on in poetry to England, as it did generally to modern Europe.

FOOTNOTES:

[131] In Wright's "Biographia Literaria," Anglo-Saxon Period, p. 502, _seq._, these three Runic pa.s.sages are collected and translated. In Bosworth's "Anglo-Saxon Dictionary," ed. Toller, v. Cynewulf; the Runic pa.s.sage is quoted from the Elene, and translated. This poet's Runic device affects us somewhat as when, at the end of a volume of Coleridge's poems, we come upon his epitaph, written by himself:--

"Stop, Christian pa.s.ser-by!--Stop, child of G.o.d!

And read with gentle breast. Beneath this sod A poet lies, or that which once seem'd he-- Oh, lift one thought in prayer for S.T.C.!"

[132] In Haupt's "Zeitschrift," ix.

[133] We have already seen in the chapter on the West Saxon laws, that a bookmaker of the Saxon period appended the laws of Ine to the laws of Alfred, as if he found it natural to treat the old material as an appendix to the new.--But there is also something on the other side. In the after part of the Exeter book there are three batches of riddles, and the first riddle of the first series (Thorpe, p. 380), is a charade upon the name of Cynewulf, as was shown by Heinrich Leo. This has naturally led to the surmise that Cynewulf has had more to do with the riddles than simply to preface them in his own honour.

[134] Thus:--"ofer ealne yrmenne grund." Juliana _init._; and in the same poem we find "bealdor" used of a woman!

[135] All this is marred by William of Malmesbury, who represents him as having trafficked for this promotion, and as having been cut off before he had long enjoyed it. And yet the two pictures are not incompatible.

The poetry sets before us a poet of the most splendid gifts, but I know nothing that indicates a superiority of character. Indeed, the comparison with Solomon suggests a moral type to which the known and supposed writings of Cynewulf aptly correspond.

[136] "Dorsum immane mari summo." aeneid i.

[137] Milton has set this to his own deep music:--

"Him haply slumb'ring on the Norway foam, The pilot of some small night-founder'd skiff Deeming some island, oft, as seaman tell, With fixed anchor...."

[138] The reader will not stumble at a few historical inaccuracies in a narrative where a speaker in Helena's time is a brother of the protomartyr.

[139] Kemble, "Runes of the Anglo-Saxons," pp. 13-19. Grein, vol. ii., p. 351; and literary notice at p. 413.