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Cynewulf (/ˈkɪniwʊlf/, Old English: [ˈkynewuɫf]; also spelled Cynwulf or Kynewulf)[1][2] is one of twelve Old English poets known by name, and one of four whose work is known to survive today.[3] He presumably flourished in the 9th century, with possible dates extending into the late 8th and early 10th centuries.

Cynewulf is a well-attested Anglo-Saxon given name derived from cyne "royal, of a king" and wulf "wolf".[citation needed]

Known for his religious compositions, Cynewulf is regarded as one of the pre-eminent figures of Anglo-Saxon 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).

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 Cædmon, Cædmon's Hymn, is quite succinct at nine lines.

Life

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Dialect

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Some basic statements can be made by examining such aspects as the spellings of his name and his verse.[4] Although the Vercelli 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 (e.g., 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

Date

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All the evidence considered, no exact deduction of Cynewulf's date is accepted, but it is likely he flourished in the ninth century.

A firm terminus ante quem that can be put on the date of Cynewulf are the dates of the Vercelli and Exeter manuscripts, which are approximately in the second half of the tenth century. Other than that, no certain date can be put on the author, leaving open the full range of Old English literature between the 7th and the early 10th centuries. Any attempt to link the man with a documented historical figure has met failure or resulted in an improbable connection.[clarification needed] However, the presence of early West Saxon forms in both manuscripts means that it is possible an Alfredian scribe initially translated Cynewulf's verse, placing him no later than the turn of the tenth century.[4]

A tentative terminus post quem is based on the two textual variations of Cynewulf's name, Cynewulf and Cynwulf. The older spelling of the name was Cyniwulf, and 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[9]

Identity

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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".[10] 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.[11] His apparent reliance on Latin sources for inspiration means he knew the Latin language, and this of course would correlate with him being a man of the Church.

Cynewulf of Lindisfarne (d. c. 780) is a plausible candidate for Cynewulf the poet, based on the argument that the poet's elaborate religious pieces must lend themselves to "the scholarship and faith of the professional ecclesiastic speaking with authority",[12] but this conclusion is not universally accepted.[13] Alternative suggestions for the poet's identity include Cynwulf, a Dunwich priest (fl. 803), and Cenwulf, Abbot of Peterborough (d. 1006).[14]

Views on poetry

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In his Christ II, Cynewulf wrote:

Then he who created this world ... honoured us and gave us gifts ... and also sowed and set in the mind of men many kinds of wisdom of heart. One he allows to remember wise poems, sends him a noble understanding, through the spirit of his mouth. The man whose mind has been given the art of wisdom can say and sing all kinds of things.

Likewise, Cynewulf's autobiographical reflection in the epilogue of Elene claims that his own skill in poetry comes directly from God, who "unlocked the art of poesy" within him.[15] Cynewulf seems to have justified his poetic endeavours through a philosophy in which poetry was "associated with wisdom".[16]

Works

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Following the studies of S. K. Das (1942) and Claes Schaar (1949),[17] mainstream scholarship tends to limit Cynewulf's canon to the four poems which bear his acrostic mark:[18] the Exeter Book holds Cynewulf's Juliana and Christ II (The Ascension) and the Vercelli Book his Elene and Fates of the Apostles.

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.[19] 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.

The four poems, like a substantial portion of Anglo-Saxon poetry, are sculpted in alliterative verse. 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.

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 martyrological, in that the central character in each suffer or die 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".[20]

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 (Christ II) 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,[21] 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.[22]

Runic signature

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The end of The Fates of the Apostles in the Vercelli Book, with the spreaded runes spelling Cynewulf's name (f. 54r)

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.

Cynewulf anticipates cryptography, using the letters of his own name to make a poem about the Final Judgment. He says, "C and Y kneel in prayer; N sends up its supplications; E trusts in God; W and U know they will go to Heaven; L and F tremble." And this is written in Runic letters.

— Jorge Luis Borges[23]

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. 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.[24] From a different perspective, Cynewulf's intent may not have been to claim authorship, but to "seek the prayers of others for the safety of his soul".[25] 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.[26]

Citations

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  1. ^ Herbert Thurston (1908). "Cynewulf". In Catholic Encyclopedia. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ^ Bradley, Henry (1911). "Cynewulf (poet)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). pp. 690–691.
  3. ^ The twelve named Anglo-Saxon poets are Æduwen, Aldhelm, Alfred the Great, Anlaf, Baldulf, Bede, Cædmon, Cnut, Cynewulf, Dunstan, Hereward and Wulfstan.
  4. ^ a b Stokes 2006
  5. ^ Gradon 1958, pp. 13–14
  6. ^ Gradon 1958, pp. 9–14 and Woolf 1955, pp. 2–4
  7. ^ Woolf 1955, p. 6
  8. ^ Gradon 1958, p. 14
  9. ^ a b Gradon 1958, p. 23
  10. ^ Cook 1900, lxxxii
  11. ^ Bradley 1982, p. 217
  12. ^ Kennedy, p. 20
  13. ^ Gradon 1958
  14. ^ Anderson, George K. (2015) [1949]. The Literature of the Anglo-Saxons. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 125. ISBN 9781400879618. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  15. ^ See Bradley 1982, p. 195, ll.1248–1249.
  16. ^ See Raw 1978, pp. 24–25.
  17. ^ A New Critical History of Old English Literature, pp. 164, 180
  18. ^ Greenfield 1965, p. 108
  19. ^ Cook 1900
  20. ^ Greenfield 1965, p. 154
  21. ^ Kennedy 1963, p. 20
  22. ^ Woolf 1955, p. 7
  23. ^ Professor Borges: A Course on English Literature. New Directions Publishing, 2013. ISBN 9780811218757. p. 43.
  24. ^ Wolf 1955, p. 8; Bradley 1982, p. 218
  25. ^ Raw 1978, p. 6
  26. ^ Raw 1978, p. 7

General references

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Cynewulf

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Cynewulf was an Anglo-Saxon poet active during the Old English period, likely in the ninth century, renowned as one of only two named composers of religious verse alongside Cædmon, and the only poet to embed his name in runic signatures within four surviving poems: Elene, Juliana, Christ II (also known as The Ascension), and The Fates of the Apostles. These works, totaling approximately 2,600 lines of alliterative verse, are preserved in two key manuscripts: Elene and The Fates of the Apostles in the Vercelli Book, and Juliana and Christ II in the Exeter Book. Drawing from Latin hagiographical sources—such as the Vita S. Cyriaci for Elene and Gregory the Great's Homily XXIX for Christ II—Cynewulf expanded these texts with theological depth, vivid imagery, and cultural adaptations suited to an Anglo-Saxon Christian audience, often emphasizing themes of conversion, martyrdom, and divine grace. His linguistic features suggest a connection to the English Midlands, though no definitive biographical details survive, leading scholars to speculate on possible identities such as Cenwulf, Abbot of Peterborough, based on contemporary records. Cynewulf's significance lies in his role as a bridge between oral poetic traditions and literate composition, incorporating formulaic elements like echo-words and rhymes alongside Latin-derived rhetoric, which distinguishes him as a pivotal figure in the study of authorship amid the largely anonymous corpus of Old English literature. Scholarly debates persist regarding his exact dating (ranging from the late eighth to tenth century), potential attributions of additional poems like Guthlac B, and the interplay of orality and literacy in his craft, with some viewing his runic signatures as markers of written authorship and others as performative cues.

Biography

Identity

Cynewulf, one of the few named poets of the period, is known solely through the runic signatures that spell out variations of his name—such as CYN(E)WULF—embedded at the conclusion of four religious poems: The Fates of the Apostles, Elene, Juliana, and Christ II. These signatures serve as the primary evidence for his identity, offering no further biographical details and emphasizing the typical of Anglo-Saxon . No contemporary historical records or external references mention the poet, leaving his personal life shrouded in uncertainty and reliant on indirect inferences from his work. Scholars have proposed speculative identifications by associating the name Cynewulf with historical figures bearing the same or similar names documented in Anglo-Saxon records, including Cynewulf, Bishop of Lindisfarne (d. 782), Cenwulf, Abbot of Peterborough and Bishop of Worcester (d. 1006), and Cynewulf of Dunwich (fl. 803). These theories draw on the commonality of the name in ecclesiastical contexts but face challenges due to chronological mismatches between the proposed figures and the estimated period of the poems' composition. For instance, the bishop of Lindisfarne's tenure aligns more closely with an earlier timeframe, while later candidates like the abbot of Peterborough postdate the linguistic profile of the poetry. Despite such links, no conclusive evidence supports equating the poet with any specific individual, and modern scholarship views these as tentative at best. The poems' content provides stronger clues to Cynewulf's background, portraying a figure familiar with Christian , Latin patristic texts, and liturgical practices, which points to a clerical . References to personal experiences of status, , and possible hardship—such as or decline in fortune—suggest he may have been an Anglo-Saxon cleric or living in a monastic , where in both vernacular and Latin traditions was common. Linguistic features, including Anglian dialect forms, further indicate a regional origin in eastern or central , potentially Mercian, aligning with theories of him as a Mercian immersed in a vibrant . Overall, Cynewulf likely belonged to the literate elite of 8th- or 9th-century Anglo-Saxon , where religious served devotional and pedagogical purposes within monastic or clerical settings.

Dating

Scholars date Cynewulf's signed poems to the late 8th to early , a period spanning approximately 750–850 CE, based on metrical, linguistic, and contextual evidence that aligns his work with the cultural and scholarly environment of Anglo-Saxon England during this time. This timeframe positions Cynewulf after the foundational religious poetry of in the , whose simpler style contrasts with Cynewulf's more mature and innovative techniques, and reflects influences from the , particularly through figures like of (c. 735–804), whose Latin verse shares thematic and structural parallels with Cynewulf's compositions. Key evidence for this dating includes metrical innovations analyzed by R.D. Fulk, who classifies Cynewulf's poems in his "Group 2" of verse, characterized by features such as conditioned resolution and contractions after the loss of h, which indicate composition after early works like (likely 8th century) but before later 10th-century poems like Judith. Linguistic markers, including dialectal forms such as the -e ending in runic signatures, further support a midland English origin and a post-750 CE context, consistent with the hegemony under kings like Offa (757–796) and Coenwulf (796–821), during which learning and manuscript production flourished in regions like and , situating Cynewulf within the Northumbrian revival of learning that followed earlier synods like (664) and echoed missionary efforts associated with Boniface (c. 675–754). Regarding relative chronology among the signed poems—Christ II, Juliana, Elene, and Fates of the Apostles—scholars propose a developmental sequence based on increasing rhetorical complexity and thematic depth, with Christ II likely the earliest due to its relatively basic schemata like anaphora and zeugma, followed by Juliana with more refined chiasmus and parison, and Elene as the most sophisticated, featuring intricate synchysis and deliberate structural planning that suggest later composition. Claes Schaar argues that Fates of the Apostles may represent the final work, marked by stylistic decline indicative of the poet's advanced age, including less vigorous interweaving of rhetorical figures compared to the others. These attributions align with identity theories positing Cynewulf as a cleric or bishop in a Mercian or Northumbrian setting, where such progressive thematic exploration—from ascension motifs to hagiographic narratives—mirrors evolving religious discourse in the period.

Linguistic Profile

Cynewulf's poetry exhibits distinct Anglian dialectal characteristics, primarily aligning with Mercian influences rather than Northumbrian, as evidenced by specific spellings and rhymes such as cwio in Christ II (lines 453b, 701b) and nemne in Juliana (line 109b), alongside pairings like riht : geþeaht in Elene (lines 1236-51). These features indicate composition in the English Midlands, distinguishing the works from the West Saxon standard that predominated in later Old English literature. Phonological markers include the breaking of /e/ to /eo/ in forms like seolf from self, appearing repeatedly in Elene, and the use of masculine sæ in contexts such as Elene 728a, Christ II 677a, and 852a, which reflect Anglian innovations absent in West Saxon equivalents. Morphologically, Cynewulf's shows Anglian traits like the forms hafo/hafu in Elene 807a, segon/gesegen across all signed poems except The Fates of the Apostles, and the dropping of -i- in present participles such as drusende in Elene 1257b. blends native Germanic terms with Christian Latin loanwords, incorporating distinctive Anglian words like oferhygd in 424a, the preposition in across all signed works, and gen(a) appearing 20 times in the corpus. Syntactically, the poetry adheres to patterns, with constructions such as mid governing the accusative in 10 of 62 instances and unstressed fore in all signed poems, while avoiding Southern syncope (e.g., drincst rather than West Saxon drincest) and favoring butan over nymþe. These consistent linguistic markers—nonparasiting and noncontraction rarity, uniform dialectal forms—across the signed poems (The Fates of the Apostles, Christ II, Juliana, and Elene) provide strong evidence for a single poet, as the homogeneity in phonological, morphological, and syntactic features exceeds what might be expected from independent compositions. Linguistic evolution in these traits further supports a ninth-century dating, aligning with regional monastic centers in the Midlands or Northeast England.

Works

Signed Poems

Cynewulf's four signed poems, preserved in the and Books, represent his most securely attributed works, each concluding with a runic signature embedding his name. These compositions, composed in verse, draw on Christian hagiographical and exegetical traditions to explore themes of faith, martyrdom, and divine . The Fates of the Apostles, a compact poem of 122 lines found in the , provides a terse summary of the missionary journeys, martyrdoms, and burial sites of the twelve apostles. It recounts their heroic deeds and fates, such as Peter and Paul's executions in under , Andrew's in Achaia, and John's exile on , emphasizing their global evangelistic efforts and the locations of their relics as sites of . No single Latin source has been definitively identified, though influences from Irish apocryphal texts are suggested. The poem's structure highlights the apostles' collective triumph over death through their witness to Christ. Juliana, comprising 731 lines in the , narrates the hagiographical legend of the virgin martyr , who faces trial and execution around 303 CE during the under Emperor Maximian. Betrothed against her will to the pagan Eleusius, Juliana rejects and marriage, enduring tortures including whipping, boiling lead, and imprisonment; a demonic tempter appears in allegorical form, compelled by her faith to confess its deceptions. She is ultimately beheaded at the city's edge, her relics inspiring conversions among witnesses, underscoring themes of unyielding faith amid and the devil's defeat. The poem adapts a Latin passio from the . Christ II (The Ascension), an exegetical work of 443 lines also in the , meditates on the theological significance of Christ's Ascension at , portraying Him as a triumphant king entering heaven with adoring angels and redeemed souls from hell's harrowing. It incorporates the "Leaps of Christ" motif—symbolizing His descents and ascents through , , and —and extols divine gifts like wisdom and judgment, urging readers toward . The poem employs vivid imagery, such as a sea-voyage simile for spiritual peril, and draws primarily from Pope Gregory the Great's Ascension , alongside biblical passages like Acts 1:9-11. The longest of the signed poems, Elene spans 1,321 lines in the Vercelli Book and recounts the legend of Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, in her quest to locate the True Cross in Jerusalem around 326 CE. Prompted by Constantine's visionary conversion and battlefield victory under the cross's sign, Helena interrogates Jewish elders, leading to the tormented Judas Cyriacus revealing the cross's burial site; its authenticity is verified by resurrecting a dead man, and the nails are discovered for Constantine's bridle and crown. The narrative celebrates Helena's role in establishing Christian relics and doctrine, adapted from Latin sources including the Acta Cyriaci in the Acta Sanctorum. A unifying feature across these poems is their epilogues, which incorporate Cynewulf's runic signature and personal pleas for intercessory prayers from readers to aid his soul's salvation and release from earthly bonds. These autobiographical appeals, evoking themes of penitence and communal prayer, appear in Juliana (lines 695b-731) and The Fates of the Apostles (lines 88-122) with explicit requests for the Church's aid, while Christ II and Elene integrate similar reflections on judgment and divine mercy, suggesting the poet's intent to forge a spiritual connection with his audience.

Disputed Attributions

Several poems in the corpus have been proposed as additional works by Cynewulf due to shared contexts, thematic parallels, or stylistic affinities with his signed poems, though none bear the characteristic runic signatures. Among the most frequently discussed is Guthlac B, preserved in the alongside Cynewulf's . This hagiographic poem narrates the final days of Saint Guthlac, emphasizing themes of spiritual endurance and divine consolation that resonate with the religious motifs in Cynewulf's canon, such as the trials of faith in . Scholars like have argued for attribution based on verbal echoes and structural similarities, suggesting Cynewulf's hand in its composition. However, the absence of a runic signature—potentially explained by the poem's fragmentary ending—and subtle differences in personal tone weigh against it, leading many to view the link as unproven. Another candidate is , found in the with Cynewulf's Elene and The Fates of the Apostles. In the early , editors inclined toward attributing Andreas to Cynewulf owing to its hagiographical focus on apostolic heroism and shared formulaic diction with the signed works, such as recurring motifs of divine intervention and trial. Yet, modern analyses highlight divergences, including a more impersonal narrative voice, higher frequency of double in meter, and less refined dialectal features compared to Cynewulf's consistent West Saxon influences. These factors, combined with no , have led to its rejection from the core canon by late 20th-century scholarship. Attribution debates trace back to 19th-century philologists like C. W. Grein, whose editions expanded Cynewulf's oeuvre to include , Guthlac B, and others based on broad stylistic groupings, reflecting the era's enthusiasm for authorial unity in anonymous traditions. By the , however, criteria shifted toward stricter metrics: alignment in patterns, specialized vocabulary (e.g., Cynewulf's preference for compound words evoking light and glory), and a unified religious intensity, all cross-referenced against the signed poems' linguistic profile. These standards, refined in works like Robert E. Bjork's editions, now confine Cynewulf to his four verified texts, relegating disputed pieces to the "Cynewulfian school" rather than direct authorship.

Runic Signatures

Technique

Cynewulf employed the Anglo-Saxon futhorc, an extended runic alphabet derived from the Elder Futhark, to embed his signature into the concluding passages of four poems: The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, Elene, and Christ II. These signatures consist of seven or eight runes selected such that the initial sounds of their traditional names form an acrostic spelling "Cyn(e)wulf," a variant of the poet's name, interwoven seamlessly with the Latin bookhand script used in the manuscripts. The runes appear in epilogues or colophons, typically spanning several lines at the poem's end, where they function as logograms—standing for entire words derived from their rune names—while preserving the poem's metrical and alliterative structure. For instance, in The Fates of the Apostles (lines 98–110 in the Vercelli Book), the signature begins with runes integrated into a passage reflecting on the poet's legacy, such as ᚠ (feoh, meaning "wealth" and sounding /f/) and ᚹ (wynn, meaning "joy" and sounding /w/), which replace ordinary words without altering the alliterative patterns required by Old English verse. This integration disguises the signature as conventional poetic elements, demanding close scrutiny to discern the acrostic. Technically, each rune retains its phonetic value and visual distinctiveness: angular forms like ᚳ (cen, /k/, "torch") and ᚣ (yr, /y/, "bow") contrast with the rounded Latin letters, yet they align phonetically with surrounding words to maintain , as in ᚾ (nyd, /n/, "need") linking to stressed syllables in adjacent half-lines. Other examples include ᚢ (ur, /u/, "") for the vowel sound and ᛚ (lagu, /l/, ""), ensuring the runes contribute to both the sense and prosody without disruption. This method served primarily for self-identification, allowing Cynewulf to claim authorship and solicit prayers for his soul amid a broader poetic tradition characterized by anonymity. Unlike the unsigned works of contemporaries, such as , Cynewulf's innovation marked a deliberate assertion of personal presence through script, blending runic heritage with Christian textual practices.

Interpretations

Cynewulf's runic signatures carry profound religious symbolism, often interpreted as "runes of grace" that link the poet directly to Christian themes of and redemption. In these epilogues, the embedded not only spell the poet's name but also serve as pleas for , urging readers to pray for Cynewulf's soul amid fears of . This act transforms the signatures into a meditative device, where deciphering the runes mirrors the soul's journey toward , emphasizing the transient nature of the earthly body against eternal spiritual reward. Culturally, the signatures represent a bold within the largely oral and anonymous tradition of Anglo-Saxon poetry, introducing a personal authorial mark in a medium dominated by collective composition. Scholars view this as a bridge between oral performance and written literacy, possibly drawing from Latin acrostics in hagiographic texts, which Cynewulf adapts to embed his identity subtly within the verse. This technique elevates the poet's voice from the margins, fostering a sense of textual authority in monastic scriptoria. Psychologically, the signatures reveal expressions of deep and personal devotion, as Cynewulf fragments his name into to underscore his unworthiness and dependence on communal for . This self-effacement suggests an intimate fear of , positioning the poet as a humble supplicant rather than a celebrated . Scholarly interpretations further frame these elements as a "poetic will," bequeathing the work to future readers while marking Cynewulf's place in a nascent canon of Christian .

Themes and Style

Religious Motifs

Cynewulf's poetry prominently features that emphasize the endurance of saints as exemplars of unwavering in the face of adversity. In Juliana, the saint's resistance to persecution and her steadfast commitment to serve as a model for Christian devotion, portraying her martyrdom as a triumphant assertion of spiritual autonomy against pagan authority. Similarly, in Elene, the empress's relentless quest for the underscores perseverance in seeking divine truth, transforming her journey into a devotional that inspires communal faith. These motifs elevate beyond mere biography, positioning saints as intercessors who guide believers toward salvation through their exemplary trials. Doctrinal themes in Cynewulf's works reinforce core Christian tenets, particularly the triumph over sin and the call to evangelism. The Ascension section of Christ II depicts Christ's ascent to heaven as a victorious elevation that liberates humanity from earthly bondage, symbolizing the soul's ultimate redemption and the defeat of infernal powers. In The Fates of the Apostles, the martyrs' sacrifices highlight the apostolic mission's enduring legacy, framing evangelism and martyrdom as essential responses to divine command, with each apostle's death reinforcing the spread of the Gospel amid persecution. These elements underscore a theology of active participation in Christ's redemptive work, blending eschatological hope with ethical imperatives. Cynewulf infuses his poetry with personal through self-referential epilogues that reveal the poet's vulnerability and dependence on communal . In these concluding passages, he inserts his runic while expressing fears of damnation and pleading for prayers from readers, transforming the text into a medium for shared spiritual solidarity. This introspective device humanizes doctrinal themes, urging audiences to mirror the poet's humility and devotion in their own lives. Drawing from Latin hagiographical and patristic sources, Cynewulf adapts these texts to infuse Anglo-Saxon verse with heightened emotional and theological resonance. For instance, Elene expands upon the Acta Cyriaci by amplifying nautical metaphors for the Church's salvific role, adding layers of intimacy absent in the original. In Juliana, derived from a Latin passio, he incorporates motifs of spiritual warfare and treasure as symbols of temptation, enhancing the narrative's devotional urgency beyond the source's framework. Such modifications reflect Cynewulf's intent to make continental theology accessible and affectively compelling for his audience.

Poetic Techniques

Cynewulf's poetry adheres closely to the classical alliterative verse tradition, characterized by two half-lines divided by a , each with two primary stresses linked by on stressed syllables. This structure, derived from Germanic poetic conventions, creates a rhythmic flow that emphasizes key ideas through variations such as double alliteration and hypermetric lines, which extend beyond the standard four-stress pattern to heighten dramatic tension. For instance, in Christ II, lines 481–490 feature imperatives with clashing verbs and repeated on "f-" sounds ("Farað nu geond ealle eorðan sceatas"), reinforcing the Ascension's cosmic scope without disrupting the metrical integrity. In terms of and , Cynewulf employs metaphors, kennings, and biblical typology to enrich his verse, drawing on Latin influences while maintaining vigor. Metaphors often symbolize divine concepts, such as representing grace or as "flanpraece" (arrow-flight) in (l. 384a), evoking spiritual peril. Kennings like "heofona helm" (heaven's helmet, denoting God in l. 722) and "hildenaedre" (war-serpent, for battle in Elene l. 117) add layered, traditional poetic density. Biblical typology integrates Old Testament prefigurations with New Testament fulfillment, as seen in Elene's linkage of Constantine's vision to Christ's passion (ll. 69–104), using across historical, spiritual, moral, and anagogical levels. such as anaphora (repetition for emphasis) and (contrasting ) further amplify these images, blending description with moral reflection. Cynewulf's narrative structure skillfully blends , vivid , and authorial reflection, often expanding Latin sources with original interpolations to deepen emotional . In Juliana, the devil's monologue (ll. 352–417a) expands a brief Latin source through ethopoeia (character speech) and complex clauses, heightening tension via and descriptive buildup. Similarly, Elene interweaves Constantine's quest with reflective passages on the cross's discovery (ll. 827–836), using type-scenes for . These expansions incorporate personal reflections in epilogues, shifting from third-person action to first-person meditation on mortality (Fates of the Apostles ll. 98–106). Among Cynewulf's innovations, the epilogues feature rhythmic prose with parallelism, repetition, and leonine rhyme, transitioning from strict verse to a more fluid style that invites meditative reading, as in the closing epilogues of his poems. His runic signatures, spelling "Cynewulf" across poems like Christ II (ll. 793–807), integrate seamlessly without metrical disruption, using zeugma to link runes to surrounding syntax (e.g., single runes per line in Elene ll. 1257b–1269, alliterating with "cyning"). These elements showcase Cynewulf's in adapting traditional forms to personal and devotional ends.

Legacy

Manuscript History

The works attributed to Cynewulf are preserved in two primary manuscripts: the , housed in the Capitulary Library of Cathedral in , which contains The Fates of the Apostles and Elene among its six poems and twenty-three prose homilies; and the , held in the library of in England, which includes and Christ II (also known as The Ascension) within its anthology of 131 folios of poetry. The originated in late tenth-century , , likely as a compilation by a single , before being transported to , possibly by an Anglo-Saxon pilgrim en route to ; it remained unnoticed in the library until publicized by Italian scholars in 1824, with news reaching in 1832. The , donated to by Bishop Leofric in 1072 and described in an eleventh-century inventory as "a large English book with everything written in the manner of poetry," dates to the mid-tenth century based on palaeographic analysis of its script. Neither manuscript is an authorial holograph; both represent later copies of Cynewulf's ninth-century compositions, with no original drafts surviving. The survives in relatively good condition on 135 folios, though some passages have been damaged by the application of gallnut in the nineteenth century, obscuring legibility in certain areas. The , while the largest and best-preserved of the major poetic codices, shows signs of historical use and wear, including a scorch mark, a spill stain, and evidence of its repurposing as a or coaster in the medieval period, with eight additional leaves inserted after its original composition. Early editorial efforts began with John Mitchell Kemble's 1843 publication of the poetic contents of the for the Aelfric Society, followed by Benjamin Thorpe's 1842 edition of the , which provided the first printed transcriptions and introduced many modern readers to Cynewulf's signed works. Standard modern editions appear in the Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records (ASPR) series: George Philip Krapp's 1932 volume for the (ASPR 2) and Krapp and Elliott van Kirk Dobbie's 1936 volume for the (ASPR 3), which compile the texts with diplomatic accuracy and glossaries.

Scholarly Reception

Scholarly interest in Cynewulf emerged in the 19th century through philological efforts to edit and attribute Old English poems. Pioneering scholars such as Christian W. M. Grein included Cynewulf's works in his multi-volume Bibliothek der angelsächsischen Poesie (1857–1864), establishing an early canon by identifying the runic signatures in Christ II, Juliana, Elene, and The Fates of the Apostles. Richard P. Wülker later revised and expanded Grein's edition in the 1880s, refining textual attributions and emphasizing linguistic evidence for Cynewulf's authorship while debating the poems' dialectal features. These foundational works focused primarily on philological accuracy and canon formation, laying the groundwork for subsequent attribution studies. In the 20th century, scholarship shifted toward thematic and stylistic analyses, influenced by evolving literary criticism. Charles W. Kennedy's translations and interpretations in The Poems of Cynewulf (1910) highlighted the poet's pious devotion, portraying Cynewulf's works as expressions of Christian spirituality and moral instruction, with particular attention to the devotional tone in Elene and Juliana. The rise of New Criticism in mid-century encouraged close readings of Cynewulf's poetic style, such as Earl R. Anderson's examination of structure and rhetoric in Cynewulf: Structure, Style, and Theme in His Poetry (1983), which analyzed formal elements like alliteration and metaphor independent of historical context. These approaches emphasized Cynewulf's artistic sophistication within Anglo-Saxon religious verse. Modern scholarship has adopted interdisciplinary methods, including feminist critiques and digital humanities. Feminist readings, such as Alexandra Hennessey Olsen's analysis in "Cynewulf's Autonomous Women" (1990), reinterpret female saints in Elene and Juliana as empowered figures challenging patriarchal norms through bold speech and agency. Digital editions, like Marijane Osborn's online Fates of the Apostles (2002) and the ongoing Dictionary of Old English projects, facilitate comparative linguistic studies, revealing dialectal mixtures that inform dating and provenance. Recent comparative linguistics, as in R. D. Fulk's metrical analysis (1992), supports a ninth-century composition but highlights gaps in archaeological corroboration for Cynewulf's life. Ongoing debates center on regional origins, with linguistic evidence suggesting Mercian rather than Northumbrian dialect, though no consensus exists. Cynewulf's runic signatures have also influenced modern fantasy literature, notably J. R. R. Tolkien's incorporation of runic elements and the name "Eärendil" inspired by Christ II.

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