Cynewulf
Encyclopedia
Cynewulf is one of twelve Anglo-Saxon poets
known by name today, and one of four whose work survives today. He is famous for his religious compositions, and is regarded as one of the pre-eminent figures of Old English Christian poetry. Posterity knows of his name by means of runic signatures that are interwoven into the four poems which comprise his scholastically recognized corpus. These poems are: The Fates of the Apostles
, Juliana
, Elene
, and Christ II
(also referred to as The Ascension).
Unlike his putative literary predecessor, Caedmon, whose biography is solely derived from Bede's Ecclesiastical History
, Cynewulf's life is a veritable mystery to scholars. Furthermore, the “facts” that have been gleaned from the literature of Cynewulf “somewhat reverse” what we know of Caedmon's own writings. The four signed poems of Cynewulf are vast in that they collectively comprise several thousand lines of verse
. In comparison, the one work attributed to Caedmon, Caedmon's Hymn, is quite succinct at nine lines. Thus, while scholars have little insight into Cynewulf’s life, they can analyse the poet’s verse from various angles. Nevertheless, Cynewulf remains “the shadow of a name.”
and Exeter
manuscripts were primarily late West Saxon in their scribal translations, it is most probable that Cynewulf wrote in the Anglian dialect and it follows that he resided either in the province of Northumbria
or Mercia
.
This is shown through linguistic and metrical analysis of his poems, i.e. Elene, where in the poem’s epilogue (beginning l.1236) the “imperfect rhymes” become corrected when Anglian forms of the words are substituted for the West Saxon forms. For instance, the manuscript presents the miht:peaht false rhyme which can be corrected when the middle vowel sounds of both words are replaced with an æ sound. The new maeht:paeht rhyme shows a typical Anglian smoothing of the ea. Numerous other “Anglianisms” in Elene and Juliana have been taken to be indicative of an original Anglian dialect underlying the West Saxon translation of the texts. Any definite conclusion to Cynewulf being either Northumbrian or Mercian has been hard to come by, but linguistic evidence suggests that the medial e in the signed Cynewulf would have, during the broad window period of Cynewulf’s existence, been characteristic of a Mercian dialect.
The date of Cynewulf is an even more debatable subject for scholars. Any attempt to link the man with a documented historical figure has met failure or resulted in an improbable connection. What can be deduced is that Cynewulf’s date is no later than the dates of the Vercelli and Exeter manuscripts, which are approximately in the second half of the tenth century. However, the presence of early West Saxon forms in both manuscripts means that it is possible an Alfred
ian scribe initially translated Cynewulf’s verse, placing him no later than the turn of the tenth century.
Even more puzzling, the two textual variations of Cynewulf’s name, Cynewulf and Cynwulf, come after a time when the older spelling of the name was Cyniwulf. Dr. Sisam points out that the "i" tends to change to an "e" about the middle of the eighth century, and the general use of the "i" phases itself out by the end of the century, suggesting Cynewulf cannot be dated much before the year 800. Moreover, it has been argued that the “cult of the cross,” which can find ground in Cynewulf’s Elene, achieved its cultural apex in the eighth century. This last assumption has been discounted due to evidence that hints that the intense worship of the cross was much more prolonged. Also deserving consideration is the argument that the acrostic
was most fashionable in ninth century poetry and Cynewulf’s own acrostic signature would have followed the trend during this time. All the evidence considered, no exact deduction of Cynewulf’s date is accepted, but it is likely he flourished in the ninth century
.
(d. about 782), Cynwulf, a Dunwich
priest (fl.
803), and Cenwulf, Abbot of Peterborough
(d. 1006). The most plausible conjecture is that he was Cynewulf of Lindisfarne, the rationale for this argument being that Cynewulf’s elaborate religious pieces must lend themselves to “the scholarship and faith of the professional ecclesiastic speaking with authority. Yet at least a few contend that the environment of the time was not conducive to poetic invention. Excluding any arguments that try to arbitrarily project Cynewulf’s literary character on a real personage, we find no testimony that attests to his real identity.
Nevertheless, several things can be surmised by examining his works. Cynewulf was without question a literate and educated man, since there is no other way we can "account for the ripeness which he displays in his poetry." Given the subject matter of his poetry he was likely a "man in holy orders
," and the deep Christian
knowledge conveyed through his verse implies that he was well learned in ecclesiastical and hagiographical literature, as well as the dogma and doctrine of the Catholic Church
. His apparent reliance on Latin sources for inspiration also means he knew the Latin language, and this of course would correlate with him being a man of the Church.
All four of Cynewulf's poems contain passages where the letters of the poet’s name are woven into the text using runic symbols that also double as meaningful ideas pertinent to the text. In Juliana and Elene, the interwoven name is spelled in the more recognizable form as Cynewulf, while in Fates and Christ II it is observed without the medial e so the runic acrostic says Cynwulf. All four poems draw upon Latin sources such as homilies and hagiographies (the lives of saints) for their content, and this is to be particularly contrasted to other Old English poems, e.g. Genesis, Exodus, and Daniel, which are drawn directly from the Bible
as opposed to secondary accounts. The poems, like a substantial portion of Anglo-Saxon poetry, are sculpted in alliterative verse
.
In terms of length, Elene is by far the longest poem of Cynewulf’s corpus at 1,321 lines. It is followed by Juliana, at 731 lines, Christ II, at 427 lines, and The Fates of the Apostles, at a brisk 122 lines. Three of the poems are “martyrolical,” in that the central character(s) in each die/suffer for their religious values. In Elene, Saint Helena
endures her quest to find the Holy Cross
and spread Christianity; in Juliana, the title character dies after she refuses to marry a pagan man, thus retaining her Christian integrity; in Fates of the Apostles, the speaker creates a song that meditates on the deaths of the apostles which they “joyously faced.” Elene and Juliana fit in the category of poems that depict the lives of saints. These two poems along with Andreas and Guthlac (parts A and B) constitute the only versified saints’ legends in the Old English vernacular. The Ascension is outside the umbrella of the other three works, and is a vehement description of a “devotional subject.”
The exact chronology of the poems is not known. One argument asserts that Elene is likely the last of the poems because the “autobiographical” epilogue implies that Cynewulf is old at the time of composition, but this view has been doubted. Nevertheless, it seems that Christ II and Elene represent the cusp of Cynewulf’s career, while Juliana and Fates of the Apostles seem to be created by a less inspired, and perhaps less mature, poet.
On one hand, Cynewulf’s use of runic inscriptions is of astounding importance to students of the history of literature. The practice of claiming authorship over one’s poems was a break from the tradition of the anonymous poet, where no composition was viewed as being owned by its creator. It had been customary of classical poets to hand down their versified works with the expectation the work would be modified and changed so as to lose its original structure. Cynewulf devised a tradition where authorship would connote ownership of the piece and an originality that would be respected by future generations. Furthermore, by integrating his name, Cynewulf was attempting to retain the structure and form of his poetry that would “undergo mutations” otherwise.
From a different perspective, Cynewulf’s intent was not to claim authorship, but to "seek the prayers of others for the safety of his soul." It is contended that Cynewulf wished to be remembered in the prayers of his audience in return for the pleasure they would derive from his poems. In a sense his expectation of a spiritual reward can be contrasted with the material reward that other poets of his time would have expected for their craft.
By looking at Cynewulf’s autobiographical reflection in the epilogue of Elene, it is evident that he believes his own skill in poetry comes directly from God
, who "unlocked the art of poesy" within him.
, and also Elene, use the Old English word for the known world, middangeard (literally, "Middle-earth
") and was a source for J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium
, specifically the Eärendil
legend.
Cynewulf appears as a character in Nan Hawthorne's historical novel An Involuntary King.
Tolkien wrote "There was something very remote and strange and beautiful behind those words, if I could grasp it, far beyond ancient English."
Anglo-Saxon literature
Old English literature encompasses literature written in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England, in the period from the 7th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others...
known by name today, and one of four whose work survives today. He is famous for his religious compositions, and is regarded as one of the pre-eminent figures of Old English Christian poetry. Posterity knows of his name by means of runic signatures that are interwoven into the four poems which comprise his scholastically recognized corpus. These poems are: The Fates of the Apostles
The Fates of the Apostles
The Fates of the Apostles is the shortest of Cynewulf’s known canon at 122 lines long. It is a brief martyrology of the Twelve Apostles written in the standard alliterative verse. The Fates recites the key events that subsequently befell each apostle after the Ascension...
, Juliana
Juliana (poem)
Juliana [Exeter Book, fol.65b-76a], is one of the four signed poems ascribed to the mysterious poet, Cynewulf, and is an account of the martyring of St. Juliana of Nicomedia. The one surviving manuscript, dated between 970 and 990, is preserved in the Exeter Book between the poems The Phoenix and...
, Elene
Elene (poem)
Elene is an Old English poem, sometimes known as "Saint Helena Finds the True Cross." It is translated into Old English from a Latin text and is the longest of Cynewulf's four signed poems...
, and Christ II
Christ II (poem)
Christ II, also called The Ascension, is one of Cynewulf’s four signed poems that exist in the Old English vernacular. It is a five-section piece that spans lines 440-886 of the Christ triad in the Exeter Book , and is homiletic in its subject matter in contrast to the martyrological nature of...
(also referred to as The Ascension).
Unlike his putative literary predecessor, Caedmon, whose biography is solely derived from Bede's Ecclesiastical History
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
, Cynewulf's life is a veritable mystery to scholars. Furthermore, the “facts” that have been gleaned from the literature of Cynewulf “somewhat reverse” what we know of Caedmon's own writings. The four signed poems of Cynewulf are vast in that they collectively comprise several thousand lines of verse
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. In comparison, the one work attributed to Caedmon, Caedmon's Hymn, is quite succinct at nine lines. Thus, while scholars have little insight into Cynewulf’s life, they can analyse the poet’s verse from various angles. Nevertheless, Cynewulf remains “the shadow of a name.”
Origin and Date
The origin and date of Cynewulf are topics of debate for contemporary historians; but some basic statements can be made by examining such aspects as the spellings of his name and his verse. Although the VercelliVercelli Book
The Vercelli Book is one of the oldest of the four Old English Poetic Codices. It is an anthology of Old English prose and verse that dates back to the late 10th century...
and Exeter
Exeter Book
The Exeter Book, Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, also known as the Codex Exoniensis, is a tenth-century book or codex which is an anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry. It is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices. The book was donated to the library of Exeter Cathedral by Leofric, the...
manuscripts were primarily late West Saxon in their scribal translations, it is most probable that Cynewulf wrote in the Anglian dialect and it follows that he resided either in the province of Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
or Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
.
This is shown through linguistic and metrical analysis of his poems, i.e. Elene, where in the poem’s epilogue (beginning l.1236) the “imperfect rhymes” become corrected when Anglian forms of the words are substituted for the West Saxon forms. For instance, the manuscript presents the miht:peaht false rhyme which can be corrected when the middle vowel sounds of both words are replaced with an æ sound. The new maeht:paeht rhyme shows a typical Anglian smoothing of the ea. Numerous other “Anglianisms” in Elene and Juliana have been taken to be indicative of an original Anglian dialect underlying the West Saxon translation of the texts. Any definite conclusion to Cynewulf being either Northumbrian or Mercian has been hard to come by, but linguistic evidence suggests that the medial e in the signed Cynewulf would have, during the broad window period of Cynewulf’s existence, been characteristic of a Mercian dialect.
The date of Cynewulf is an even more debatable subject for scholars. Any attempt to link the man with a documented historical figure has met failure or resulted in an improbable connection. What can be deduced is that Cynewulf’s date is no later than the dates of the Vercelli and Exeter manuscripts, which are approximately in the second half of the tenth century. However, the presence of early West Saxon forms in both manuscripts means that it is possible an Alfred
Alfred
Alfred may refer to:*Alfred *Alfred *Alfred the Great , king of Wessex*Alfred Aetheling , son of King Ethelred II of EnglandIn geography:*Lake Alfred, Florida*Alfred, Maine*Alfred , New York...
ian scribe initially translated Cynewulf’s verse, placing him no later than the turn of the tenth century.
Even more puzzling, the two textual variations of Cynewulf’s name, Cynewulf and Cynwulf, come after a time when the older spelling of the name was Cyniwulf. Dr. Sisam points out that the "i" tends to change to an "e" about the middle of the eighth century, and the general use of the "i" phases itself out by the end of the century, suggesting Cynewulf cannot be dated much before the year 800. Moreover, it has been argued that the “cult of the cross,” which can find ground in Cynewulf’s Elene, achieved its cultural apex in the eighth century. This last assumption has been discounted due to evidence that hints that the intense worship of the cross was much more prolonged. Also deserving consideration is the argument that the acrostic
Acrostic
An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous...
was most fashionable in ninth century poetry and Cynewulf’s own acrostic signature would have followed the trend during this time. All the evidence considered, no exact deduction of Cynewulf’s date is accepted, but it is likely he flourished in the ninth century
9th century in poetry
Years link to corresponding "[year] in poetry" articles.-Births of Arabic world poets:* 742 – Ibrahim Al-Mausili * 805 – Abu Tammam * 820 – al-Buhturi * 861 – Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz...
.
Identity
It was at one time believed that Cynewulf could be one of three documented figures: Cynewulf, Bishop of LindisfarneLindisfarne
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
(d. about 782), Cynwulf, a Dunwich
Dunwich
Dunwich is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.Dunwich was the capital of East Anglia 1500 years ago but the harbour and most of the town have since disappeared due to coastal erosion. Its decline began in 1286 when a sea surge hit the East Anglian coast, and...
priest (fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
803), and Cenwulf, Abbot of Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
(d. 1006). The most plausible conjecture is that he was Cynewulf of Lindisfarne, the rationale for this argument being that Cynewulf’s elaborate religious pieces must lend themselves to “the scholarship and faith of the professional ecclesiastic speaking with authority. Yet at least a few contend that the environment of the time was not conducive to poetic invention. Excluding any arguments that try to arbitrarily project Cynewulf’s literary character on a real personage, we find no testimony that attests to his real identity.
Nevertheless, several things can be surmised by examining his works. Cynewulf was without question a literate and educated man, since there is no other way we can "account for the ripeness which he displays in his poetry." Given the subject matter of his poetry he was likely a "man in holy orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
," and the deep Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
knowledge conveyed through his verse implies that he was well learned in ecclesiastical and hagiographical literature, as well as the dogma and doctrine of the Catholic Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
. His apparent reliance on Latin sources for inspiration also means he knew the Latin language, and this of course would correlate with him being a man of the Church.
Outline of Works
Early scholars for a long while assigned a plethora of Old English pieces to Cynewulf on the basis that these pieces somewhat resembled the style of his signed poems. It was at one time plausible to believe that Cynewulf was author of the Riddles of the Exeter Book, the Phoenix, the Andreas, and the Guthlac; even famous unassigned poems such as the Dream of the Rood, the Harrowing of Hell, and the Physiologus have at one time been ascribed to him. However, the studies of S.K. Das and Claes Schaar prompted academia to limit Cynewulf’s canon to the four poems which bear his acrostic mark. The Exeter Book, which is extraordinary in its scope of subject matter, holds Cynewulf’s Juliana and Christ II (The Ascension). In the Vercelli Book, on the other hand, his Elene and Fates of the Apostles are found.All four of Cynewulf's poems contain passages where the letters of the poet’s name are woven into the text using runic symbols that also double as meaningful ideas pertinent to the text. In Juliana and Elene, the interwoven name is spelled in the more recognizable form as Cynewulf, while in Fates and Christ II it is observed without the medial e so the runic acrostic says Cynwulf. All four poems draw upon Latin sources such as homilies and hagiographies (the lives of saints) for their content, and this is to be particularly contrasted to other Old English poems, e.g. Genesis, Exodus, and Daniel, which are drawn directly from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
as opposed to secondary accounts. The poems, like a substantial portion of Anglo-Saxon poetry, are sculpted in alliterative verse
Alliterative verse
In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic...
.
In terms of length, Elene is by far the longest poem of Cynewulf’s corpus at 1,321 lines. It is followed by Juliana, at 731 lines, Christ II, at 427 lines, and The Fates of the Apostles, at a brisk 122 lines. Three of the poems are “martyrolical,” in that the central character(s) in each die/suffer for their religious values. In Elene, Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
endures her quest to find the Holy Cross
True Cross
The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christian tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.According to post-Nicene historians, Socrates Scholasticus and others, the Empress Helena The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a...
and spread Christianity; in Juliana, the title character dies after she refuses to marry a pagan man, thus retaining her Christian integrity; in Fates of the Apostles, the speaker creates a song that meditates on the deaths of the apostles which they “joyously faced.” Elene and Juliana fit in the category of poems that depict the lives of saints. These two poems along with Andreas and Guthlac (parts A and B) constitute the only versified saints’ legends in the Old English vernacular. The Ascension is outside the umbrella of the other three works, and is a vehement description of a “devotional subject.”
The exact chronology of the poems is not known. One argument asserts that Elene is likely the last of the poems because the “autobiographical” epilogue implies that Cynewulf is old at the time of composition, but this view has been doubted. Nevertheless, it seems that Christ II and Elene represent the cusp of Cynewulf’s career, while Juliana and Fates of the Apostles seem to be created by a less inspired, and perhaps less mature, poet.
Significance of Runic Inscriptions
The importance of Cynewulf’s signatures can be seen in two lights.On one hand, Cynewulf’s use of runic inscriptions is of astounding importance to students of the history of literature. The practice of claiming authorship over one’s poems was a break from the tradition of the anonymous poet, where no composition was viewed as being owned by its creator. It had been customary of classical poets to hand down their versified works with the expectation the work would be modified and changed so as to lose its original structure. Cynewulf devised a tradition where authorship would connote ownership of the piece and an originality that would be respected by future generations. Furthermore, by integrating his name, Cynewulf was attempting to retain the structure and form of his poetry that would “undergo mutations” otherwise.
From a different perspective, Cynewulf’s intent was not to claim authorship, but to "seek the prayers of others for the safety of his soul." It is contended that Cynewulf wished to be remembered in the prayers of his audience in return for the pleasure they would derive from his poems. In a sense his expectation of a spiritual reward can be contrasted with the material reward that other poets of his time would have expected for their craft.
Justification as a Poet
Cynewulf’s justification as a poet stems from the idea that "poetry" was "associated with wisdom." In his Christ II, Cynewulf writes the following:By looking at Cynewulf’s autobiographical reflection in the epilogue of Elene, it is evident that he believes his own skill in poetry comes directly from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, who "unlocked the art of poesy" within him.
In popular culture
Cynewulf's poem Christ IIChrist II (poem)
Christ II, also called The Ascension, is one of Cynewulf’s four signed poems that exist in the Old English vernacular. It is a five-section piece that spans lines 440-886 of the Christ triad in the Exeter Book , and is homiletic in its subject matter in contrast to the martyrological nature of...
, and also Elene, use the Old English word for the known world, middangeard (literally, "Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
") and was a source for J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium
Legendarium
Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...
, specifically the Eärendil
Eärendil
Eärendil the Mariner is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.-Etymology:...
legend.
Cynewulf appears as a character in Nan Hawthorne's historical novel An Involuntary King.
Tolkien wrote "There was something very remote and strange and beautiful behind those words, if I could grasp it, far beyond ancient English."