^ ^_jon^Ajr-v.A_ £f University of Oregon Bulletin New Series Vol.1 No. 2 Issued Bi-monthly January, 1904 BEOWULF CYNEWULF AND HIS GREATEST POEM IRVING MACKAY GLEN PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND EARLY ENGLISH LITERATURE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY EUGENE, OREGON FEB U. nt i), INTRODUCTION Mr. Courthope, in his admirable "History of English Poet- ry," inclines to the opinion that English poetry, and the study of it, should date its beginning with the poetry of Chaucer*. But lest any might consider that he held the literature of Anglo-Saxon England in too low esteem, he makes later, in the same chapter of the same book the following generous and correct statementf:— "From Chaucer downwards we may distinctly observe in English poetry the confluence of three great streams of thought, which blend in a single channel without any of them ever quite losing its separate life and identity. Of these the first, and perhaps the most powerful, is the genius of Race, the stream of Anglo-Saxon language, character and custom t ..." Mr. Courthope is not alone in his small estimate of the im- portance of the literature of Anglo-Saxon England, but few of his opinion have furnished those who may hold in higher esteem this era of our literature such an excellent justification tor their study of it. Since literature is an outgrowth of life, where is there a better opportunity for becoming familiar with the genius, character, language and customs of the Anglo-Saxons than that afforded by the study of their literature. Where is revealed more clearly the personality of the race? The work of those formative years has also another value, the realization of which is forcing itself upon students of English literature. There is a decided literary value that characterizes the written product of the people in England before the Norman *Coiutliope, "History of English Poetry," Vol. 1, p. 4-. tlbid. Vol. 1, p. fi. tMr. Courthope makes certain modifications that are unnecessary to quote. These do not aftect materially the statement here (pioted. conquest; and though the awakening to this fact is but a compar- atively recent arrival annong our American colleges and universi- ties, it has, never-the-less, arrived, and its presence is each year more clearly manifest. The interest in this era of English litera- ture is, indeed, spreading rapidly considering the obstacles, real and serious difficulties, that it has to overcome. In the first place, the English of the period during which the earliest literature was produced is virtually a foreign language many of whose forms seem more nearly akin to German than to Modern English. Again, since the increased emphasis laid upon the literary value of this period is of recent date, many teachers of English literature, who may have lacked time, opportunity, or inclination during their season of preparation to become acquainted with these early literary efforts, are, on account of this lack of acquaintance, out of sympathy with them and inclined to mini- mize their importance. And then, too, when there are in the domain of Modern English literature such delightful prospects whence one may view the broad and fertile reaches of an enchanted kingdom whose riches are his to enjoy at will, it is easy to forget humble begin- nings. Comparatively ie^ voluntarily pause to look at the rock whence they were hewn or the hole of the pit whence they were digged. It is for the purpose of calling attention to the poetical efforts of a race in its infancy that these papers have been written. They do not pretend to be exhaustive treatises of the subjects under discussion. Such a course, followed, would result in defeating the very end desired — to increase popular interest. Before studies complete in treatment of minute details can be of interest there must be the pre-requisite of enthusiasm. It has been the intention to emphasize at least three aspects of the poems that we shall discuss: — the historical, the artistic, and in so far as it is possible, the personal aspect. More than this we do not attempt. If these, and prospective papers of the same general charac- ter, serve to increase, or perhaps kindle, in the minds of high school and college students, and others who may have no special knowledge of this field, an interest in Anglo-Saxon poetry, the mission of these studies will be considered successful. The lecture on " Beowulf" was originally prepared for use in college classes in the University of Oregon and later it was used in extension work. It appeared some time ago in the "Oregon Monthly" and in response to requests from teachers and others for copies, it was thought advisable to reprint the article at this time. The poems " Beowulf " and " Christ, " be- longing to two different eras of the same general period, form a sharp and interesting contrast. Both are Anglo-Saxon, yet they are unlike each other in tone, style and theme, the one standing for Anglo-Saxon heathenism, the other representing the fervor of Anglo-Saxon Christianity. BEOWULF The Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon poem, the oldest poem of consequence in our language, of over 3000 words in length, and written before 600 A. D. Old, is it not? And you are not interested in old things! Wait; let me set the stage. The coun- try was a sullen land of sodden skies, a land whose shores were swept by stormy seas, a land of grey— grey fogs and mists, grey cliffs, the ocean grey. Nowhere decided brightness, everywhere the soberness of the grey. The people were a folk that dwelt in homes, a folk as serious as the country. Their, pleasure was of the kind that hardy men could best enjoy, that we of today would consider to a great degree work. They had feasts, banquets and revels, but these were only occasional and to be accepted philo- sophically as opportunities for taking on a load of viands and accompanying beverages that staggered the reveller in more senses than one. From authentic accounts their capacity was one that would fill the bibulous man of today with awe and admir- ation. Their religion was fatalism. Their supreme deity was Wyrd (Wierd)fate. He was over all and ruled all. Again appears the grey — the threads of fatalism that ran throughout their lives. But the men nurtured in such a country, of such a clime and with such a creed were of no flimsy stuff. They were strong. They honored strength. To be strong was to be a warrior. To be a successful warrior was to be great. They feared neither nature, man nor divinity. The first storms that swept threaten- ingly against the uncertain footsteps of childhood fanned into a flame of rejoicing a nature that delighted in blasts, found a soul inherited from a race that gloried in fighting with tempests, that recked naught of the wild surges of wind that swept across the whale-road. In combat they knew no fear. Was not Wierd responsible for all that fell to the lot of man? Why fear man? All were in the hands of Wierd, and the warrior leading a beaten S University of Oregon ihilletin handful cries out defiantly: " The heart shall be harder, the courage keener, the mind braver as our strength decreases." They were in the keeping of Wierd. Their time was allotted to them. Man's efforts could not increase or lessen it. Such were our Teutonic forefathers — the Angles and the Saxons as they lived in the lowlands of northern Germany. Now we change the scene. In the early part of the fifth century the dwellers in the land of Britain found themselves in great trouble. For several hundred years they had been under the protection of Rome, who was powerful enough to defend her far away colony from marauding bands. But with the strain upon Roman power on the continent — the strain that ended in the crash of Roman supremacy — came the recall of the outlying legions, and before 450 A. D. the last Roman soldier left Britain and the people were told to look after themselves. This they were unable to do. They had forgotten how. Powerful bands of Picts and Scots crossed their borders and caused great distress. The Britains were po\werless to prevent these raids, and in des- pair they turned to "the fair-haired, stern-browed Saxon of the continent. Their petition was granted. The Angles and Saxons sent their fleets and put to flight the invaders. They did more. Finding the land fertile, the country pleasing and the people cow- ardly, they took up their abode there, ruled the people, and sent word back to their kinsmen to come over and possess the land. They came in hordes, in hosts, made settlements in Northumbria, in Kent, in Essex and Sussex and Wessex, and became the Anglo-Saxons of Great Britain. They brought with them their customs, manners, laws, and transplanted into a new soil their traditions, lays and sagas. Groups of lays were thus transplanted concerning a historic figure called Beowulf, a warrior of extraordinary strength and daring, of incredible endurance, and, withal, kind, mild-mannered and judicious, moved rather by reason than by impulse, a friend to helplessness, a foe to oppression. There was also a body of story and song concerning a semi-divine personage named Beowa, and it is probable that in the course of time these two became one in the Teutonic mind which united under the per- sonality named Beowulf the legends concerning the two. From University of Oregon Bulletin 9 evidence found in the poem itself we know how it came to be written. The scops, or minstrels, the forerunners of a literature, sang or chanted stories of the famous deeds of their hero at feasts, banquets, courts and humble homes, praising this feat or that, contributing a little more or less of extravagance as the occasion demanded, each scop adding here and there a little to themes that elicited greatest applause, until the material concern- ing Beowulf began to assume the proportions of an epic. Then /it is probable that different men attempted to shape different parts of the story into verse, until one, greater than the rest, seeing the wonderful opportunity and being able to improve it, unified the whole into the poem we know at the present day as "The Beowulf," keeping in mind an ethical purpose, and inter- polating here and there enough of the Christian element to give it a decided coloring in spite of the heathen sagas from which it came. This in few words tells how the Beowulf came to be The poem may be divided into three parts: Beowulf's fight with a monster named Grendel; his encounter with Grendel's mother, and finally his combat with a dragon guardian of a treasure cave, in which contest, though successful, he is mortally hurt. The introduction concerns the Danes, and tells us about Hrothgar, their king at the time of Beowulf's visit to them. Hrothgar was the descendent — -great grandson — of Scyld, son of Scef, which, being interpreted, is, "Shield, the son of Sheaf," and about this is a very pretty story. Scyld came to the Danes from no one knew whither — a child lying in a boat, moved and guided by unknown, invisible power, his head pillowed on a sheaf of grain and about him in profusion heaps of princely treasure. He grew, under the clouds, in honors throve until each one of those dwell- ing around the whale-road obeyed him and paid him tribute. That was a good king. When he died, we are told that they bore him to the ocean's wave, his trusty companions, just as he, beloved land-prince, had bidden while he, with words, ruled the Danes. There at the haven stood, icy-gleaming and outfooting, the ship with curved prow. The people laid their dear war-lord, the mighty, by the mast, filled the keel with treasure, ornaments. 10 University of Oregon Bulletin warlike weapons, bills, burnies and battle-weeds, lay upon his bosonn a heap of jewels which should go with him into the flood's keeping, then placing high over his head a golden standard, they let the waves bear their gift to the sea. "And," adds the poet, "men can not now say in sooth who took that heap." The great-grandson of Scyld was Hrothgar. To him now we pass. The kings between Scyld and Hrothgar had been just and wise, so the people of the Danes had increased in numbers and prosperity, till it came into the mind of Hrothgar that he would build a mead-hall — a great banquet hall — more beautiful and famous than all .the children of men ever had seen or heard of, and in time it stood as commanded, lofty and pinnacled, the great- est of halls. Heort he named it. Loud each day rang the harp, the song of joy in the hall. Bracelets Hrothgar dealt at ban- quets. He was a royal ring-giver. But it was not long before dire terror filled the hearts of the Danish revellers. Upon these warriors living in joys, a wrathful spirit, a mighty mark-stepper, Grendel by name, who held the moors, fen and fastness, began to work upon them great woes. After nightfall he went forth to seek out the high-built hall, and found therein a band of nobles asleep after feasting. Asleep they knew not sorrow, nor misfor- tunes of men, but the demon of death, grim and greedy, took thirty of the thanes, took them furiously, as they rested, depart- ing after his fill of slaughter, exulting in his booty, to seek out his dwelling. At dawn among the Danes was a great wailing upraised, a loud morning cry. The mighty Prince Hrothgar sat mourning, the strong man suffered, sorrow dwelt among the thanes. After a night, more deeds of murder were wrought. Again and again Grendel returned, till the surviving warriors fled and empty stood the noblest of halls. For twelve years had Grendel striven against Hrothgar and his men, till among many tribes were his deeds known, and sadly the scops in song chanted of Grendel's hateful war and his contests continual. Relief seemed impossi- ble. The mighty sat in the council, the wise pondered sorrow- fully, all in vain, till at last among the people of the Geats, the strongest man among mankind, strong with the strength of thirty warriors, noble and great — Beowulf they called him — bade to be University of Oreson Bulletin H prepared a ship for a journey over the swan-road to the land of Hrothgar. Fifteen warriors and a sea-crafty man as pilot went as connpanions. "The men shoved out. Men on a willing journey, the well-fitted wood Went then o'er the waves by the wind hastened, The foamy necked-float, to a fowl most like; Till at the same hour of the following day The curved prow had traversed the water So that the sailors then saw land. The sea-cliffs shine, the mountain steep, The broad sea-nesses. Then was the sea-goer At the end of his voyage, * * * * * * * Thankful that the sea-paths Easy were found." The coast guard challenges the band, and is so awed by Beowulfs commanding mein and warlike appearance that he conducts them in state to the road that leads to Hrothgar's palace. "The road was stone-laid. The war-burnie shone Hard and hand-forged— the bright ringed iron Sang in the armor— as they in their war-weeds Approached the hall. Their burnies rang, War armor of men; their long spears stood. Seamen's weapons, all together. Grey ash above the armored band With weapons adorned." Again a sentinel challenges them: "Whence do ye bear your gilded shields, Grey-colored sarks, and grim looking helmets, Heap of war shafts?" And again Beowulf, god-like in strength and beauty, his flowing hair crowned by a shining helmet, over the visor of which kept guard the boar's head, adorned with gold, shining bright and fire hardened, his beard sweeping a breast armored in battle-weeds of linked steel, which hung from shoulders that topped and squared the frame of a Titan, a frame stout enough to make good 12 University of Oregon Birlletin the boasts that fell from his lips — again Beowulf with his proud bearing and wise words wins the confidence of the sentinel, who leads hinn and his men to Hrothgar. He tells Hrothgar that he ( Beowulf) is the very man the nation has been looking for. Had he not battled victoriously with sea monsters, eotens and nickers.-' Why should he fear to fight against Grendel? He has heard that Grendel is weapon proof, that his toughened epidermis would only dull a good sword, and that a zealous blow might dent him, but not seriously enough to cause any considerable inconvenience to the monster; so he very modestly scorns, in his turn, to use weapons, but will rather employ his knowledge of the manly art of offense and meet Grendel with naught but his grip, with which he will grapple 'gainst his foe and pull out a victory if Weird so wills. Hrothgar relates in reply, the trouble Grendel has caused,, accepts Beowulf's offer to rid Heort of the terror of the monster, and spreads a mighty feast in the hall. And here Beowulf has an unpleasant experience. A warrior named Hunferth, a jealous Dane, envious of the honors showered upon Beowulf, begins to sneer at him and discredit the reports of one of the most famous deeds of Beowulf's youth, the swimming match with Breca. Beowulf replies that Hunferth has drunk too much beer and is not entirely responsible for his statements. Notwithstanding this, Beowulf proceeds, with an eloquence inspired by indignation and tinged here and there with bitterness, to boast as modestly as he may of the great struggle. For five days the contest lasted, and Beowulf won. Then, ironically, he continues: "1 have never heard told about thee any such contests. Neither you nor Breca ever did a deed as daring in battle- play, though you were the murderer of your own brothers. You evi- dently have not caused Grendel mjuch disturbance of mind. But 1 shall. 1 shall offer him battle, and when the morning light of the second day shines over the children of men, who will may come to the mead-hall proudly and with safety." Then the king rejoiced, the harps rang, the heroes laughed, and the queen, ris- ing, filled a cup with her own hands and gave it to Beowulf. All this causes Beowulf to break out afresh and again he boasts, then retires to rest himself for his struggle with Grendel. Uiii\cisicv nl Oregon Ihilktin ^^ ■But before he could stretch his limbs upon his bed he. all alone, with no one by to hear, boasts again for eleven lines and solilo- quizes over the possibilities of the coming campaign with GrendeL Finally, commending himself to God, he falls asleep-to be awakened by Grendel, Grendel reaching for him in the night, Grendel with thirst and appetite whetted by the blood and body of one warrior whom he had just slain; Grendel. who. after stalking over the misty slopes, stood before him with eyes burning with loathsome light like to flame, a monstrous shape, his face wrinkled into wild contortions of fiendish mirth, his voice bellow- ing in hellish laughter at the sight of so many who he thought would furnish him much food. But Beowulf, firm in mind and in grip, caught Grendel by the hand— never was there a greater hand grip. Grendel, frightened, sought to flee into the outer darkness; but he could not Beowulf held him. His fingers cracked, the hall groaned. The mead benches adorned with gold were torn from their places. The Danes howled in terror. The Geats drew their swords, and forgetful that never was the steel of sword keen enough to bite the flesh of Grendel, hacked and hewed at him furiously. Beo- wulf tightened his grasp, he braced, he pulled. A wound appeared on Grendel's shoulder, the sinews began to part. The bone-frame burst, and, sick of life, Grendel fled under the fen slopes seeking his joyless abode where he should die. What hosts had been unable to do with sword and spear. Beowulf had accomplished with a tremendous "pull." Then there was great rejoicing, and on the morrow Hrothgar ordered a feast and praised the strength of Beowulf, adopting him as his son and assuring him that no wish of his should go unsat- isfied if it were in Hrothgar's power to grant it. He gave Beo- wulf a golden standard, helmet and burnie. a great jeweled sword, war-horses with golden Tappings, and famous weapons. The queen eulogized him, and loaded him with gifts-the mead cup adorned with twisted gold, arm-ornaments, a burnie, rings, a iewel-adorned collar. Beowulf receives all with becoming mod- esty The warriors drink, the harpers play; the warriors drink, the scops sing; the warriors drink, fhey shout, they drink, they laugh The warriors drink. They were Hke Tam O'Shanter- 14 University oi Oregon Bulletin "glorious, o'er all the ills o' life victorious." Wierd they knew not, and they slept in the hall each where he was when last awake. And the scene concludes with "that was a good folk." They went to sleep, but one sorely paid for that night's rest. Grendel's nnother, a terrible woman, nourished her grief for the loss of her son, till she came forth, greedy and raging, from the fearful waters that she inhabited, to avenge his death. The ter- ror that she inspired was less than that inspired by Grendel only by so much as is a woman's strength less than a man's. The warriors were paralyzed with fear that increased as Grendel's mother, seeing the arm that Grendel left behind him, began to rave afresh. Quickly she seizes a sleeping thane and hurries with him to her fastness in a dark land among cliffs of wolves and dangerous marshes, where flows a stream that pitches into a lake below, which has no bottom and which seethes with fire on its surface — an underground sea, above which are firmly rooted forests — a haunted place of boiling waters rising dark, a place of hateful storms, a place over which the heavens weep. At morning Beowulf was brought to the hall, where Hrothgar acquainted him with the tragedy of the preceding night, promis- ing much additional treasure if Beowulf will seek out this second destroyer and kill her. The hero welcomes the task, and accom- panied by the king himself and a band of warriors, he sets forth, following the foot-tracks of the evil-doer on forest paths, over murky moors, down steep, stony slopes and narrow ways, along straight single paths and unknown courses, past the headlands high and sheer, the abodes of nickers and eotons, until all at once he comes upon her joyless abode, the sea that stretches far and deep, gory and seething, under the ground. There lay the head of the murdered thane. The flood boiled with blood. The war- riors blew their war-horns, and dragons, serpents and huge worms turned, writhed and slid into the surging, hissing sea be- low. Of these Beowulf recked not. Girded with his noble armor, he set his helmet that no flaming war-sword could bite firmly on his head, and stood ready again to grip in battle. Out stepped Hunferth who had jeered him at the banquet and handed to the hero his own sword, Hrunting by name. Never had it failed in fight. Hunferth forgot the words that he spoke when University of Oregon Bulletin 1^ drunk with mead, and gave his arms to a warrior whom by this act he acknowledged to be his own superior. After a few boast- ful words-for Richard is always himself in this tale-Beowulf Dlunged in and the flood took him. The poem has before stated that this flood was bottomless but after sinking for a day. Beowulf touched bottom and found, prim and greedy, what he was looking for. They grappled. She wounded him. She gripped her fiendish fingers into his corsele and bore him to her darkest den where she was proof against man-made weapons. Here strange sea monsters attacked hmn They were beaten off. Then having drawn the good sword Hrunting. Beowulf struck at the fiend and on her head sounded the ringed blade in greedy war-song. But lo ! she was uninjured. Hrunting had failed. Enraged he cast from him the jeweled sword and sprang at her with nothing but his hands for weapons. He hurled her to the floor. Again she wounded him with her daws and, with her short sword, struck him an avenging blow, but the sword's edge turned upon Beowulf's burnie. Then having seen among a pile of swords an old weapon giant-forged Beowulf seized the chained hilt, brandished the ringed sword, and in despair struck. The edge bit on her neck. Her bone-rings broke The steel pierced through her fated body and she fell. The hero turned glad in triumph and saw the body of Grende his first foe. lying dead on the floor. In P-^^ h^^^"^°^f ?" Grenders head. Into the flood the blood welled forth, and the warriors on the shore above, when they saw the tide stained with red the waves stirring the clotted gore, mourned and forsook the place weening that Beowulf, their dear lord was no more. But he was safe and was soon swimming up through the water glad in n.ood, bearing the head of Grendel. The thanes looked back and sa^ him and turned to meet him with welcoming shouts. He brought not with him the sword of the giants, for the poison of the blood into which it had cut had melted it away to the hilt in Beowulf's hands before he left the pool. The hilt he gave to Hrothgar after relating his adventure at the bottom of the mere Then in spite of entreaty to remain he and his attendants turned the prow of their ship homeward, laden with gold and treasure. Upon Beowulf's arrival among his homefolk. the Geats. he 1(> University ul Oregon Utii/etui is welcomed with feasts and banquets and praised by iiis king for the bravery and valor displayed in his combats in the land of Hrothgar, the Dane, about all of which Beowulf has told the king. Upon the king's death, Beowulf wore the crown and wore it well for fifty winters. He was aged. He ruled well a happy peo- ple — happy, till a dragon, who on a high heath guarded a treasure cave in a steep, stony mountain, enraged, because of a theft committed by one of Beowulf's subjects, wrought great woe. With flame and fire provided the dragon went forth breathing destruction upon the bright dwellings of the Geats. There was naught living that the hateful "air-flyer" was willing to leave. The terror was quickly made known to Beowulf who, distressed, his breast swelled with gloomy thoughts, as was to him not usual, prepared for the contest with the fire-drake. He bade to be fashioned a wonderful war shield, all made of iron, knowing well that wood could not withstand the flames of the dragon's breath. He feared not the contest but his soul was sad. Wierd was very nigh. With a band of twelve he sought out the treasure cave and its dragon keeper. Beowulf spake with boastful words, spake for the last time. "I survived many wars in my youth, and now 1 will — the guardian of the old — the contest seek, with honor work, if me the fell foe from his earth-hall dare seek out." "This is no coward's work," he continues, and advancing alone against the demon smites him a fearful blow with tiis mighty sword "so that the edge softened." The dragon fierce belched forth the death-fire. Far and wide spread the flame of battle. Beowulf's sword failed as it should not, but Wierd would not per- mit him to triumph in battle. Again the fierce ones met in strife. Beowulf, surrounded by fire, was in sore distress. His retainers stood fearing — till one braver than the rest, rushed through the flame to the help of his lord — after a long harangue of thirty lines to his followers — and announced to Beowulf his intention — in about fifty words — of assisting Beowulf. Upon them both the angry worm came, the terrible demon "again seeking with fire-waves to consume his foes." The flame billows burned the shield to the rim. Beowulf's sword broke in two from his powerful blows. Then mindful of his former strength, he rushed upon the monster and grasped him about his sharp University of Orei^oii Bulletin 17 and bony neck. With hand burning and life blood pouring he reached for his war-knife and cut the serpent in two. But this was Beowulf's last triumph. The wound that the fire-drake had before inflicted began to burn and to swell so that he soon perceived that in his breast deadly welled the poison. He seated himself on a stone, bloody, wearied with battle and deathly pale. He knew that he had spent his allotted time of joy on earth. He asked his retainers to bring before him the dragon's treasure. Upon returning from the cave, his warriors found their lord faint and bleeding. They revived him with dashes of cold water till he could speak to them again. He gave the treasure to his people and requested that they make a mound, bright after the funeral pile, at the sea's point which should be called Beowulf's mound. Then from his breast went his soul to seek the judgment of the saints. Again they sought to revive him, but in vain. Such is the story of Beowulf. The poem is a strange ming- ling of heathen saga and Christian sentiment, superstitious fear and undaunted courage. In spite of its numerous passages of Christian coloring, it is distinctly heathen. Among the facts that may be gleaned from it — facts that if we had no other evidence we would know — are that the Anglo-Saxons as early as the sixth century had courts and court observances, that they met for great feasting occasions in meed or beer halls. Their very word for banquet is " gebeorscipe," which being interpreted is "beer ship." We learn that they had servants regularly appointed to perform specific duties, that they were a musical people and that no feast was complete without song, nor no king complete with- out his scop or minstrel. We learn that they possessed ideas concerning the final disposition of their semi-divinities similar to those held by the Hebrews regarding the supernatural disappearances of some of their prophets. We learn that they maintained the cus-^ torn of payment for offenses by certain fees or fines, and that even a human life had its specific valuation. We know that they possessed a philosophy that numbers millions of adherents even in this day and generation. And finally we learn that the English language possesses a great poem older than any of its 18 University ui Oregon Bulletin .Teutonic sisters, richer in its beauty, more rugged in its grandeur, more simple and direct in its telling, with passages as lofty as those of Homer, scenes as dramatic as those of Virgil and descriptions as vivid as those of Dante. In all its variety it is uniformly masculine. Woman appears in its lines, but nowhere prominent enough to take the mind away from the pervading spirit of the masculine. Nowhere does she appear as an instrument of the deities to interfere with the or- dained lives of the men of the Beowulf. Woman is given her place — an honorable place — whenever she is mentioned, but the men are not distracted from their pursuits or drawn into strife on her account as in the Iliad of Homer where Helen of Troy cre- ates domestic troubles of unprecedented proportions, brings woe to warriors and death to many heroes. Beowulf does not delight in the caresses that Virgil in his Aeneid dispenses to Aeneas from the arms of Queen Dido. Nor do we find accounts of pun- ishment for sinful amours that Dante's poem records. There is not one stroke of the brush to cloud the holiness of motherhood — not one line that makes of naught the obligations of wifehood — not one insinuating word against the innocent purity of maiden- hood — not one breath that would dim the radiant lustre that shines from and crowns the nobility of womanhood. The poem is not softened by any touches of child life. In the Iliad, as the warrior goes to battle, he kisses his wife farewell and bends lower to kiss the child that nestles in the mother's arms. But the child is frightened at the war-like appearance of the father, especially at the helmet crowned with a great gray plume that nods and bends so terrifyingty and threateningly that the child draws back in fear. The father understands and smiles as he removes his helmet and again stoops to kiss the babe that this time does not shrink, but reaches up his dimpled arms to assist in the ceremony. The Aeneid also pictures here and there the solicitude of the elders for the little Julius. But the Beowulf is a poem of manhood. Though epic in quality it is an anthem of forest, crag, cliff, sea, fen and shore. Not the whirring, fluttering murmur that faintly stirs the air and floats off lightly through the firs, uncer- tain tremulous, high in the trees, a soft, shy rustling quivering on Unhcisity ol Orej^oii Ihillctin 19 the breeze, a song that flings its mounting measure from branch to branch or passes from twig to needle-tip in murmurings som- nolent and soothing; droning slumbrous, dreamy, drowsy, low- sung things; not that. It is another surging song that springs With sudden swirls, then swells and sweeps the strings Of a hundred hidden harps — that wildly wings. That shrieks and swoops, soars, whirls and swings The forest through in frenzied riotings. The song in which the pine defies the sea, A challenge — Strip me of branches. Give me spars And rope-bound, sail-wrapped, winter stars Flashing their lances through the frozen air Shall see me borne by swiftly scudding keel Before the furious blast, standing all staunch In spite of strain and tug and desperate plunge True to my ship, its captain and its crew. Vnivcisity o/ Oregon fhilletiii 21 CYNEWULF AND HIS GREATEST POEM Each of us has his own peculiar misfortune. With one it is excess of riches. With another, it is poverty. One has too many friends, while another may suffer because he has none. Dr. Johnson might have considered the attention of Boswell as a misfortune; but with Cynewulf it was the lack of a Boswell that we must consider his great misfortune, for beyond a few facts gleaned from a few poems that he signed in runic characters*, nothing is definitely known concerning the life of the greatest Christian poet of the Anglo-Saxons. Many articles have been wriitent, the greater number by German critics, which are full of speculation and conjecture. Attempts have been made to identify him with historical characters of the same name, but these have not been successful, nor have those other efforts that pretend to give an account of his life from his infancy to his death been considered more than ingenious inventions. If we accept the theory that Cynewulf was born fifteen or twenty years before the death of Bede, which is given as occur- ring in 735, the poet must have been born, at some time between 715 and 720 A. D. Exactly when, no one yet knows The conditions in England during the years prior to his birth and also during his life were characterized by constant change. This was particularly true of the political conditions. $ In the south, Ceolred's§ war against Wessex had followed Aethelred's peaceful reign of thirty years and the abdication ot Ine, king of *Since this curious signature might be of interest, I give it here as it ap- pears translated from the poem , with the words supposed to be represented by each letter:— K, Cene; Y, Yfel; N, Nyd; W. Wyn: XJ, Ur; L, Lagu; F, Feoh. These mtan respectively:— keen, evil, need, joy, us, fortune. f A small bibliography is given by B. Ten Brink in his "English Litera- ture," Vol. 1, Appendix B. A very lull treatment of the theories concerning "Cynewulf" may be found in the "The Christ of Cynewulf" [Cook] pub- lished by Ginn & Co., Boston. tA more detailed account ot the political historj- of these years may be found in Green's "Short History of the English people. SCeolred Wfis kin:^ of Mercia. 22 I'mvcrsity ul Oregon llulletln Wessex (726), out of sheer disgust at the vacillating tendency of his subjects' loyalty, left Wessex at the mercy of Ceolred's successor, Ethelbald. The king came to the throne in 716, after Ceolred's tragic death at his own board. During the years between 716 and 726, Ethelbald refrained from war. but when Ine removed from the scene, the prejudice that Ethelbald had against war also disappeared and war began — to last for over twenty years in a desultory way. In 754, however, his troubled and troublesome reign began its conclusion. Ethelbald's entire force was arrayed against Wessex. The battle was raging. The issue was doubtful. Victory might perch upon either banner; but suddenly, in the midst of brilliant and valorous action, Ethel- bald turned and foremost fled. Three years later, a company of his own ealdormen slew him. In the North, however, in Cynewulf's country, the situation was different. Ecgfrith, son of Oswin did not care for war. There was to be a season of comparative peace in which North- umbria should stride to the throne of intellectual supremacy in England. There were, to be sure, a few minor struggles with the Picts and Scots just over the Northern border; and once Wulfhere attacked Ecgfrith from the South, but these engage- ments only resulted in additional territory for Northumbria. But after some years, there came a greater rising of these Picts and Scots, in 685, and " in a few days more a solitary fugitive escaped from the slaughter told * * * that Ecgfrith and the flower of his nobles, lay a ghastly ring of corpses on the far-off Moorland of Nectausmere."* During the reign of Aldfrith, the Learned, and his four suc- cessors, Northumbria really laid aside the sword for the pen and became the center of intellectual activity in western Europe. But after Bede's death, the storm of human folly and passion again burst forth and Northumbria exchanged her greatness for fifty years of revolt, treason and anarchy. And now that we have turned for a moment to look into the unsettled politics of Cynewulf's England and have located the poet's advent into these troubled conditions as exactly as possible, we will pause only for a glance at the religious conditions of the * (ireen's "Short History of HnKlisli Peoiilc." University ol OrcL^ou Ilullctin 23 country before proceeding with our discussion of Cynewulf. Christianity was making headway against all opposition, but the fierceness of opposition had made Anglo-Saxon martyrs. The new religion was comparatively well established before Cynewulf's time, but the memory of its struggles against the old for suprem- acy was yet fresh enough in the minds of English Christians to act as an inspiration to great zeal. The convert wanted to cele- brate his conversion by doing something. If he vwere a king, he sought the conversion of his people, or donated the site for a monastery or cathedral. Some would copy manuscripts, others would make missionary pilgrimages. The daughter of a king would become a nun and realized her greatest ambition when she reached the high place of abbess. If the convert vvere of hum- bler station and without remarkable gifts, he would if possible connect himself with an abbey or monastery and perform menial tasks for those above him as we are told Caedmon did before he received the gift of song. But if the new believer already pos- sessed poetic ability, he would, after his conversion confine his efforts to religious themes. And now we come to Cynewulf. It is perfectly safe to say that this Northumbrian poet, in common with many English poets of later years, had two periods of literary activity— one of youth, the other of maturity. There is a sweet-voiced band of singers known as the seven- teenth century lyrists. These poets wrote in most instances two kinds of verse— secular and sacred. Their secular verse is not supposed to be the result of or conducive to any great amount of spirituality. It was the song of their full-blooded, strongly puls- ing youth in days when differences in personal tastes and opinions were adjusted by the sword. Their sacred verse, however, was the result of a clear vision of the vanity of worldly folly and was redolent with, or at least intimated the advisability of piety. And why should not years bring wisdom and experience a riper judg- ment.'' Now in the same manner did the poetry of the youthful Cynewulf differ from that >vritten by Cynewulf the maturer man. In his youth he was probably a wandering minstrel* or glee-man. ■-■'rcn Brink ,-ind Brooke incline to this opinion. 24 i'mversity ui Oregon I In lie t hi easy, careless, "wicked," he later describes himself, who saw the varying aspects of the life about him, who was of that life, and who wrote of the things he saw as he saw them. The liter- ary work of these early years is represented by the "Riddles," eighty-nine in all, whose popularity was made possible by the wondering attitude of a race that naturally viewed nature as an enemy, that but lately had forsaken its philosophy of fatalism and now was evolving slowly, carefully, thoughtfully, and with ques- tionings into a people striving toward a unity of new purpose, begotten by the comparatively new influence that eventually changed the entire philosophy of the Anglo-Saxon race. The broad field of subjects covered by these Riddles and his apparent familiarity with each subject indicates that the career of their propounder must, indeed, have been varied. It would hardly have been possible for one who had not had opportunities for close observation and experience to have treated subjects of war, of agriculture, birds, beasts, musical instruments and tem- pests with the skill and sympathy that Cynewulf displayed in his riddles on the sword, the shield, the coat of mail, the battering- ram; the helmet; the plow, the rake the loon; the nightingale, the falcon, the swan; the ox, the badger, the bull, and the stag; the horn; the reed flute; the storm on land, the storm on sea. and the hurricanes. But a change came upon this life of happy wander- ing. Its attractive glitter vanished. Travel held no longer the charm of vanity. Princely patronage paled into insignificance before the desire of divine approval. The agency that brought about this change was a vision — a vision of the Rood. Stricken with remorse over wasted years, inspired by the completeness of a pardon that could cover all transgression, desiring to atone, in some degree, for youthful wickedness, Cynewulf turned the course of his song into more serious channels, and applied himself to scriptural themes and ecclesiastical traditions which he brought forth adorned in verse "with much sweetness and inspiration." His greatest poem is "Christ." The introduction to the poem "Christ" has been lost, but the first word "Kyninge" [to the King] is as eloquent an introduc- tion as the poem needs. ( nivcrsity at urci: