Old English Poems Part 11

1. Hymn to Christ

. . . . . . . . . . . to the King.

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

2. Hymn to Jerusalem

50 O vision of happiness! holy Jerusalem!

Fairest of king's thrones! fortress of Christ!

The home-seat of angels, where the holy alone, The souls of the righteous, shall find rest unceasing, Exulting in triumph. No trace of sin 55 Shall be made manifest in that mansion of bliss, But all faults shall flee afar from thee, All crime and conflict; thou art covered with glory Of highest hope, as thy holy name showest.

Cast now thy gaze on the glorious creation, 60 How around thee the roomy roof of heaven Looks on all sides, how the Lord of Hosts Seeks thee in his course and comes himself, And adopts thee to dwell in, as in days agone In words of wisdom the wise men said, 65 Proclaimed Christ's birth as a comfort to thee, Thou choicest of cities! Now the child has come, Born to make worthless the work of the Hebrews.

He bringeth thee bliss; thy bonds he unlooseth; He striveth for the stricken; understandeth their needs,-- 70 How woeful men must wait upon mercy.

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

2. See Psalms 118:22.

3. Joseph and Mary

[_Mary_] "O my Joseph, O Jacob's son, 165 Kinsman of David, the king renowned, Dost thou plan to turn from thy plighted troth, And leave my love?"

[_Joseph_] "Alas, full soon I am oppressed with grief and deprived of honor.

I have borne for thee many bitter words, 170 Insulting slurs and sorrowful taunts, Scathing abuses, and they scorn me now In wrathful tones. My tears I shall pour In sadness of soul. My sorrowful heart, My grief full easily our G.o.d may heal, 175 And not leave me forlorn. Alas, young damsel, Mary maiden!"

[_Mary_] "Why bemoanest thou And bitterly weepest? No blame in thee, Nor any fault have I ever found For wicked works, and this word thou speakest 180 As if thou thyself with sinful deeds And faults wert filled."

[_Joseph_] "Far too much grief Thy conception has caused me to suffer in shame.

How can I bear their bitter taunts Or ever make answer to my angry foes 185 Who wish me woe? 'Tis widely known That I took from the glorious temple of G.o.d A beautiful virgin of virtue unblemished, The chastest of maidens, but a change has now come, Though I know not the cause. Nothing avails me-- 190 To speak or to be silent. If I say the truth, Then the daughter of David shall die for her crime, Struck down with stones; yet still it were harder To conceal the sin; forsworn forever I should live my life loathed by all people, 195 By men reviled." Then the maid revealed The work of wonder, and these words she spoke: "Truly I say, by the Son of the Creator The Savior of souls, the Son of G.o.d, I tell thee in truth that the time has not been 200 That the embrace of a mortal man I have known On all the earth; but early in life This grace was granted me, that Gabriel came, The high angel of heaven, and hailed me in greeting, In truthful speech: that the Spirit of heaven With his light should illumine me, that life's Glory by me 205 Should be borne, the bright Son, the blessed Child of G.o.d, Of the kingly Creator. I am become now his temple, Unspoiled and spotless; the Spirit of comfort Hath his dwelling in me. Endure now no longer Sorrow and sadness, and say eternal thanks 210 To the mighty Son of the Maker, that his mother I have become, Though a maid I remain, and in men's opinion Thou art famed as his father, if fulfillment should come Of the truth that the Prophets foretold of his coming."

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

4. Rune Pa.s.sage

Not ever on earth need any man 780 Have dread of the darts of the devil's race, Of the fighting of the fiends, whose defense is in G.o.d, The just Lord of Hosts. The judgment is nigh When each without fail shall find his reward, Of weal or of woe, for his work on the earth 785 During the time of his life. 'Tis told us in books, How from on high the humble one came, The Treasure-h.o.a.rd of honor, to the earth below In the Virgin's womb, the valiant Son of G.o.d, Holy from on high. I hope in truth 790 And also dread the doom far sterner, When Christ and his angels shall come again, Since I kept not closely the counsels my Savior Bade in his books. I shall bear therefore To see the work of sin (it shall certainly be) 795 When many shall be led to meet their doom, To receive justice in the sight of their Judge.

Then the _C_ourageous shall tremble, shall attend the King, The Righteous Ruler, when his wrath he speaks To the worldlings who weakly his warning have heeded 800 While their _Y_earning and _N_eed even yet could have easily Found a comfort. There, cowering in fear, Many wearily shall wait on the wide plain What doom shall be dealt them for the deeds of their life, Of angry penalties. Departed hath _W_insomeness, 805 The ornaments of earth. It _U_sed to be true That long our _L_ife-joys were locked in the sea-streams, Our _F_ortunes on earth; in the fire shall our treasure Burn in the blast; brightly shall mount, The red flame, raging and wrathfully striding 810 Over the wide world; wasted shall be the plains; The castles shall crumble; then shall climb the swift fire, The greediest of guests, grimly and ruthlessly Eat the ancient treasure that of old men possessed While still on the earth was their strength and their pride.

815 Hence I strive to instruct each steadfast man That he be cautious in the care of his soul, And not pour it forth in pride in that portion of days That the Lord allows him to live in the world, While the soul abideth safe in the body, 820 In that friendly home. It behooveth each man To bethink him deeply in the days of his life How meekly and mildly the mighty Lord Came of old to us by an angel's word; Yet grim shall he be when again he cometh, 825 Harsh and righteous. Then the heavens shall rock, And the measureless ends of the mighty earth Shall tremble in terror. The triumphant King Shall avenge their vain and vicious lives, Their loathsome wickedness. Long shall they wallow 830 With heavy hearts in the heat of the fire bath, Suffer for their sins in its surging flame.

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

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

SELECTIONS FROM THE ELENE

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

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

Source: _Acta Sanctorum_ for May 4.

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

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

1. The Vision of the Cross

. . . . . . . . Heart-care oppressed The Roman ruler; of his realm he despaired; He was lacking in fighters; too few were his warriors, His close comrades to conquer in battle 65 Their eager enemy. The army encamped, Earls about their aetheling, at the edge of the stream, Where they spread their tents for the s.p.a.ce of the night, After first they had found their foes approach.

To Caesar himself in his sleep there came 70 A dream as he lay with his doughty men, To the valiant king a vision appeared: It seemed that he saw a soldier bright, Glorious and gleaming in the guise of a man More fair of form than before or after 75 He had seen under the skies. From his sleep he awoke, Hastily donned his helmet. The herald straightway, The resplendent messenger spoke unto him, Named him by name --the night vanished away: "O Constantine, the King of angels bids-- 80 The Master Almighty, to make thee a compact, The Lord of the faithful. No fear shouldst thou have, Though foreign foes bring frightful war, And horrors unheard of! To heaven now look, To the Guardian of glory: Thou shalt gain there support, 85 The sign of victory!"

Soon was he ready To obey the holy bidding, and unbound his heart, And gazed on high, as the herald had bade him, The princely Peace-weaver. With precious jewels adorned, He saw the radiant rood over the roof of clouds, 90 Gorgeous with gold and gleaming gems.

The brilliant beam bore these letters s.h.i.+ning with light: "Thou shalt with this sign Overcome and conquer in thy crying need The fearsome foe." Then faded the light, 95 And joining the herald, journeyed on high Unto the clean-hearted company. The king was the blither, And suffered in his soul less sorrow and anguish, The valiant victor, through the vision fair.

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

2. The Discovery of the Cross

Striving in strength and with steadfast heart, 830 He began to delve for the glorious tree Under its covering of turf, till at twenty feet Below the surface concealed he found Shut out from sight, under the shelving cliff, In the chasm of darkness --three crosses he found, In their gloomy grave together he found them,-- 835 Grimy all over, as in ancient days The unrighteous race had wrapped them in earth, The sinful Jews. Against the Son of G.o.d They showed their hate as they should not have done Had they not harkened to the behests of the devil.

840 Then blithe was his heart and blissful within him.

His soul was inspired by the sacred tree.

His heart was emboldened when he beheld that beacon Holy and deep hidden. With his hands he seized The radiant cross of heaven, and with his host he raised it 845 From its grave in the earth. The guests from afar And princes and aethelings went all to the town.

In her sight they set the three sacred trees, The proud valiant men, plain to be seen Before Elene's knee. And now was joy 850 In the heart of the Queen; she inquired of the men On which of the crosses the crucified Lord, The heavenly Hope-giver, hung in pain: "Lo! we have heard from the holy books It told for a truth that two of them 855 Suffered with him and himself was the third On the hallowed tree. The heavens were darkened In that terrible time. Tell, if you can, On which of these roods the Ruler of angels, The Savior of men suffered his death.

860 In no wise could Judas --for he knew not at all-- Clearly reveal that victory tree On which the Lord was lifted high, The son of G.o.d, but they set, by his order, In the very middle of the mighty city 865 The towering trees to tarry there, Till the Almighty King should manifest clearly Before the mult.i.tude the might of that marvelous rood.

The a.s.sembly sat, their song uplifted; They mused in their minds on the mystery trees 870 Until the ninth hour when new delight grew Through a marvelous deed. --There a mult.i.tude came, Of folk not a little, and, lifted among them, There was borne on a bier by brave-hearted men Nigh to the spot --it was the ninth hour-- 875 A lifeless youth. Then was lifted the heart Of Judas in great rejoicing and gladness.

He commanded them to set the soulless man, With life cut off, the corpse on the earth, Bereft of life, and there was raised aloft 880 By the proclaimer of justice, the crafty of heart, The trusty in counsel, two of the crosses Over that house of death. It was dead as before The body fast to the bier: about the chill limbs Was grievous doom. Then began the third cross 885 To be lifted aloft. There lay the body, Until above him was reared the rood of the Lord, The holy cross of heaven's King, The sign of salvation. He soon arose With spirit regained, and again were joined 890 Body and soul. Unbounded was the praise And fair of the folk. The Father they thanked And the true and sacred Son of the Almighty With gracious words. --Glory and praise be his Always without end from every creature.

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

_b_. ANONYMOUS POEMS OF THE CYNEWULFIAN SCHOOL

THE DREAM OF THE ROOD