From the riddling song of a bawdy onion that moves between kitchen and bedroom to the thrilling account of Beowulf’s battle with a treasure-hoarding dragon, from the heart-rending lament of a lone castaway to the embodied speech of the cross upon which Christ was crucified, from the anxiety of Eve, who carries ‘a sumptuous secret in her hands / And a tempting truth hidden in her heart, ‘ to the trust of Noah who builds ‘a sea-floater, a wave-walking / Ocean-home with rooms for all creatures, ‘ the world of the Anglo-Saxon poets is a place of harshness, beauty, and wonder.
Now for the first time, the entire Old English poetic corpus—including poems and fragments discovered only within the past fifty years—is rendered into modern strong-stress, alliterative verse in a masterful translation by Craig Williamson.
Accompanied by an introduction by noted medievalist Tom Shippey on the literary scope and vision of these timeless poems and Williamson’s own introductions to the individual works and his essay on translating Old English poetry, the texts transport us back to the medieval scriptorium or ancient mead-hall, to share a herdsman’s recounting of the story of the world’s creation or a people’s sorrow at the death of a beloved king, to be present at the clash of battle or to puzzle over the sacred and profane answers to riddles posed over a thousand years ago. This is poetry as stunning in its vitality as it is true to its sources. Were Williamson’s idiom not so modern, we might think that the Anglo-Saxon poets had taken up the lyre again and begun to sing once more.
Table of Content
Introduction, by Tom Shippey
Note on the Texts, Titles, and Organization of the Poems
List of Abbreviations
On Translating Old English Poetry
The Junius Manuscript
—Introduction
—Genesis (A and B)
—Exodus
—Daniel
—Christ and Satan
The Vercelli Book
—Introduction
—Andreas: Andrew in the Country of the Cannibals
—The Fates of the Apostles
—Soul and Body I
—Homiletic Fragment I: On Human Deceit
—The Dream of the Rood
—Elene: Helena’s Discovery of the True Cross
The Exeter Book
—Introduction
—Christ I: Advent Lyrics
—Christ II: The Ascension
—Christ III: Judgment
—Guthlac A
—Guthlac B
—Azarias: The Suffering and Songs of the Three Youths
—The Phoenix
—Juliana
—The Wanderer
—The Gifts of Men
—Precepts: A Father’s Instruction
—The Seafarer
—Vainglory
—Widsith
—The Fortunes of Men
—Maxims I: Exeter Maxims (A, B, and C)
—The Order of the World
—The Rhyming Poem
—Physiologus I: The Panther
—Physiologus II: The Whale
—Physiologus III: Partridge or Phoenix
—Homiletic Fragment III: God’s Bright Welcome
—Soul and Body II
—Deor
—Wulf and Eadwacer
—Riddles 1-57
—The Wife’s Lament
—Judgment Day I
—Resignation A: The Penitent’s Prayer
—Resignation B: The Exile’s Lament
—The Descent into Hell
—Almsgiving
—Pharaoh
—The Lord’s Prayer I
—Homiletic Fragment II: Turn Toward the Light
—Riddles 28b and 58
—The Husband’s Message
—The Ruin
—Riddles 59-91
Beowulf and Judith
—Introduction
—Beowulf
—Judith
The Metrical Psalms of the Paris Psalter and the Meters of Boethius
—Introduction
—The Metrical Psalms of the Paris Psalter
—The Meters of Boethius
The Minor Poems
—Introduction
—The Fight at Finnsburg
—Waldere
—The Battle of Maldon
—The Poems of The Anglo-Saxon ChronicleThe Battle of Brunanburg (937)The Capture of the Five Boroughs (942)The Coronation of Edgar (973)The Death of Edgar (975)The Death of Alfred (1036)The Death of Edward (1065)
—Durham
—The Rune Poem
—Solomon and Saturn I
—Solomon and Saturn II
—The Menologium: A Calendar Poem
—Maxims II: Cotton Maxims
—A Proverb from Winfrid’s Time
—Judgment Day II
—The Rewards of Piety
—The Lord’s Prayer II
—The Gloria I
—The Lord’s Prayer III
—The Creed
—Fragments of Psalms
—The Kentish Hymn
—Psalm 50
—The Gloria II
—A Prayer
—Thureth
—The Book’s Prologue to Aldhelm’s De virginitate
—The Seasons for Fasting
—Cædmon’s Hymn
—Bede’s Death Song
—The Leiden Riddle
—Latin-English Proverbs
—The Metrical Preface to The Pastoral Care
—The Metrical Epilogue to The Pastoral Care
—The Metrical Preface to Gregory’s Dialogues
—Colophon to Bede’s Ecclesiastical History
—The Ruthwell Cross
—The Brussels Cross
—The Franks Casket
—The Metrical Charms Charm for Unfruitful Land Nine Herbs Charm Charm Against a Dwarf Charm for a Sudden Stitch Charm for Loss of Property or Cattle Charm for a Difficult or Delayed Birth Charm for the Water-Elf-Disease Charm for a Swarm of Bees Charm for a Theft of Cattle Charm for Loss of Property or Cattle Journey Charm Charm Against Wens (or Tumors)
Additional Poems
—Introduction
—Additional Poems of The Anglo-Saxon ChronicleThe Accession of Edgar (959)Prince Edward’s Return (1057)Malcolm and Margaret (1067)The Wedding Conspiracy Against King William (1075)The Rhyme of King William (1086)The Suffering Under King Henry (1104)
—Captions for Drawings
—Cnut’s Song
—Distich: Psalm 17:51
—Distich on Kenelm
—Distich on the Sons of Lothebrok—Five Memorial Stone Inscriptions Dewsbury Memorial (or Stone Cross)Falstone Hogback Memorial Great Urswick Memorial Overchurch Memorial Thornhill III Memorial
—Genealogical Verse
—Godric’s Hymns
—The Grave
—Honington Clip
—Instructions for Christians
—Lament for the English Church (From the Worcester Fragments)
—Lancashire Gold Ring
—Metrical Psalms 90:15-95:2
—The Soul’s Address to the Body (From the Worcester Fragments)
—Sutton Disc Brooch
—Two Marginalic Lines
—Verse in a Charter
—Verse in a Homily: The Judgment of the Damned
—Verse Paraphrase of Matthew 25:41
—Verse Proverb in a Junius Homily
—Verses in Vercelli Homily XXI
Appendix of Possible Riddle Solutions
Bibliography
Index of Poem Titles
Acknowledgments
About the author
Craig Williamson is Alfred H. and Peggi Bloom Professor of English Literature at Swarthmore College. He is author of A Feast of Creatures and Beowulf and Other Old English Poems, both available from the University of Pennsylvania Press. Tom Shippey is Professor Emeritus of English at Saint Louis University.
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