The Complete Old English Poems

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The Complete Old English Poems Page 54

by Craig Williamson


  Their souls shall be cleansed of all corruption,

  Separated from sin by the purging flame.

  Let no one imagine that this tale is untrue,

  That this poem is a lie. It is a sacred story.

  Listen to the wisdom of Job’s songs. 550

  Inspired by the spirit, blessed with insight,

  Honored by the vision, he spoke these words:

  “Deep in my heart I have no dread

  Of dying in this nest, my last-breath bed,

  To make my journey on death’s long road, 555

  Weary with years, covered with clay,

  Dressed in dust, lamenting my deeds.

  I hope through the gift of God’s eternal grace

  That I may be resurrected, renewed like the phoenix,

  To live a new life in perfect pleasure 560

  With my beloved Lord in the exultation of angels—

  My only doom an endless delight.

  The Lord’s light never ends—his life

  Sustains all living souls. He is the radiant Son.

  Though my flesh shall feel the corruption of time, 565

  My body become a feast for worms,

  Yet the God of hosts will free my soul

  In death’s dark hour and wake me to glory.

  This is my heart’s hope—it never falters—

  That I will enter a homeland in heaven 570

  To abide in joy with the Lord of angels.”

  So the wise seer sang this prophetic song

  In ancient days about God’s power and glory

  And man’s resurrection into eternal life,

  So that we might understand the holy miracle 575

  Of the bird’s burning, the phoenix in flames,

  His radiant rebirth. He gathers the fire’s remnants,

  Ashes and bones, sinews and cinders,

  Carries them in his clutch to the house of the Lord,

  Soaring skyward toward the transforming sun. 580

  There he remains, restored, rejuvenated,

  For many years where nothing can harm him.

  Likewise, after death, through the Maker’s might,

  Souls shall travel together with their bodies

  Heavenward, radiantly adorned, just like the bird, 585

  Surrounded by sweetness, the herbs of grace,

  Where that true and undimmed sun always shines,

  And the Son of God, Savior and Ruler,

  Reigns over the multitudes in eternal glory.

  High over heaven’s rooftops the Savior shines, 590

  The radiant Redeemer, the Lord Christ.

  The blessed souls with their restored bodies,

  Beautifully adorned, will flock like birds

  About the phoenix, their sun-bright Lord,

  Exulting in bliss in their heavenly home. 595

  There the fierce fiend, the demon of darkness,

  Can no longer harm them, steal their hearts

  With subtle guile. They will thrive in the light,

  In the Lord’s pure presence, just like the phoenix,

  Bathed in bliss. The works of the blessed 600

  Will shine forth forever in that perfect paradise,

  Sun-bright before the glorious countenance

  Of their almighty Creator, the ever-living Lord.

  Their heads will be crowned in great splendor

  With precious stones, a braid of gems, 605

  A twist of light, a heavenly halo.

  Their brows will brighten with holy bliss,

  Gleaming with the radiant majesty of God.

  They will live in the light of enduring joy,

  Enjoying eternal youth in a world unwaning. 610

  They will dwell forever in that heavenly home

  In matchless beauty, adorned with grace,

  Alive in the light of the Father of angels.

  There they will live untouched by trouble,

  Unmarred by misery, unharmed by strife. 615

  No sin will unsettle them, no wickedness wound them,

  No poverty plague them, no agony upset them,

  No old age upend them, no hunger hurt them,

  No thirst torment them. They will each exult

  In the goodness and glory of everlasting God. 620

  The blessed will sing out hymns of praise,

  Hosannas to the Prince, and celebrate the power

  Of heaven’s King. Their perfect melodies

  Will surround God’s throne with the sweet sound

  Of saints and angels, blessed and beloved, 625

  As the host of heaven begins to sing:

  “Our Lord and Savior, Shield and Protector,

  All peace and power are in your keeping,

  All gifts and goodness, all wisdom and wonder,

  All shelter and sustenance, comfort and consolation. 630

  The heavens resound with your eternal glory,

  From the arc of angels to the curve of earth.

  Protect and preserve us, almighty Father,

  Our Creator and Ruler, our radiant King.”

  So the righteous will sing in that glorious city, 635

  Sanctified in spirit, purged from sin,

  Proclaiming God’s majesty, praising his power.

  His honor is eternal, without origin or end.

  His blessing had no birth or beginning—

  It always was, is, and will be, 640

  Creation continuous, an everlasting gift.

  Though he had a beginning in middle-earth,

  As a child conceived in a virgin mother,

  Born an innocent babe in Bethlehem,

  Still his power remained complete in heaven. 645

  He was bound to suffer in his human form

  Slander and torture, suffering and pain,

  The doom of death on the holy rood,

  Christ’s cross. Yet on the third day

  After flesh-fall, his loss of life, 650

  Through his Father’s grace he revived and lived,

  Resurrected and restored. So the fair phoenix,

  That reborn bird, young in his new nest,

  Is a token of Christ, the Son of God,

  With his power of preserving life after death 655

  As he rises reborn with life in his limbs,

  A miracle of muscle, a wonder of wings,

  Alive out of the ashes of his own death-fire.

  So our benevolent Redeemer offered us aid,

  Life without end, through his body’s death 660

  And God’s grace, the greatest of gifts,

  Just as the phoenix carries herbs and fruits,

  A bounty of plants, a redeeming gift,

  When he desires a new life beyond death.

  So Christ eagerly climbs the cross, 665

  Embracing his death, resurrecting himself,

  Restoring his body, so that mankind may also

  Have the chance to live reborn in heaven.

  These are holy words, the wisdom of scripture,

  The inspired writings of saints and sages 670

  Whose hearts and minds were wholly on heaven,

  An offering of fragrant words and works,

  Celebrating their Creator, their radiant King.

  Praise be to God in his everlasting glory,

  In his power and perfection in the celestial city 675

  Where he dwells forever surrounded in bliss.

  He is the righteous and radiant King,

  The majesty and might of all middle-earth

  And the heavenly host in the eternal realm.

  The Author of light has granted us here 680

  His righteous reward for our good deeds,

  The gift of grace, the deep delight

  Of being with him in the realm of bliss,

  The light and peace of that perfect place,

  The holy homeland where the heart’s joy 685

  Endures in God’s blessing, and t
he soul sings

  Timeless hymns to our triumphant Lord

  Among the exultation of angels. Alleluia!

  JULIANA

  Juliana is one of several saints’ lives in OE verse. Woolf notes in her edition that “the martyrdom of Juliana took place during the Diocletian persecution, and was probably first set down in writing in the reign of Constantine, when the Church, at last unmolested, zealously sought out the names and histories of her martyrs” (1993, 11). The poem “is the earliest extant vernacular version of this saint’s life” (Bjork, 2013, xv). It is probably based on a Latin prose life resembling the Vita printed later in the Acta Sanctorum of Bolland (Woolf, 1993, 11; Fulk and Cain, 100). Though the plot of the OE poem follows that of the prose Vita, there are significant differences in the characterizations and narrative foci. Fulk and Cain point out that the poet here “has increased the contrast between Juliana and her opponents by means of polarization … polishing her character and besmirching theirs,” noting that “Heliseus is made particularly demonic and bestial in his deranged furor at her resistance” (100). Juliana is more worldly-wise in the Vita and even manipulates her antagonist with great skill. In the OE poem, she is an innocent martyr, however strong-minded, from beginning to end. Greenfield argues that “her imitatio Christi seems specifically reflected in at least two ways: (1) the punishments her father and suitor inflict on her have their parallels in Christ’s Passion; for Africanus interrogates, beats, and hands Juliana over to Heliseus for judgment, while Heliseus has her scourged again and hung on a high cross for six hours; and (2) her besting of the devil in her prison cell resembles the Harrowing of Hell” (Greenfield and Calder, 169). Horner argues that “in a text like Juliana—a hagiographical and thus idealized portrait, likely read by female readers—the discourse of enclosure functions both on a physical, spatial level and a spiritual one: the woman is closed and enclosed: she must maintain her body as an impenetrable fortress (a favorite metaphor in female saints’ lives) against evil intrusions” (106).

  There are two gaps because of folios missing in the manuscript that can be filled in from details in the prose Vita. After line 300 in my translation, the break contains a section in which Juliana forces the devil to admit that he is Belial and to confess his many crimes throughout history from leading Adam and Eve to fall and Cain to kill Abel, to Judas’s betrayal of Christ (Woolf, 1993, 33). After line 566, there is a gap in which Juliana is tortured on a wheel of fire but endures the flame with the help of an angel who releases her. Her executioners are converted and later beheaded because of their conversion. Heliseus again orders her to be burnt alive, and she responds by praying once more for divine aid (Woolf, 1993, 47). After the gap, Juliana seems to be recounting to Heliseus some examples of holy men whose plight is like her own.

  There is much debate about the runes at the end of the poem (indicated by bold capital letters in the translation), which spell out both individual words (which I have given both in OE and in translation in the text) and all together, the name of the supposed poet Cynewulf. The reading here follows the suggestions of Elliott (1953b). Little is known about the identity of Cynewulf, although there is much critical speculation on this account (see the headnote to Christ II: The Ascension).

  Juliana

  Listen! We have heard bold heroes declare

  Judgment on the reign of the ruthless Maximian,

  A savage king who persecuted many people

  Throughout middle-earth. That unholy heathen

  Killed Christians, destroyed churches, 5

  Spilled the blood of righteous believers,

  Staining the grassy fields, the innocent earth.

  His empire was endless, his power unchecked.

  His perverse soldiers swept through cities,

  Violent and depraved, wicked and deluded, 10

  Exalting idols, embracing evil, sowing enmity,

  Harrowing the holy. His troops hated God’s law.

  They wounded the wise, savaged the saints,

  Burned the blessed, persecuted God’s people,

  His faithful warriors, with spear and fire. 15

  One of his senators, a wealthy aristocrat,

  Ruled fortified cities on the frontier,

  Often inhabiting his homestead in Nicomedia,

  Where he hoarded his treasure of heathen gold

  And prayed in pagan temples to false idols. 20

  He eagerly indulged his evil needs

  And never once heeded the word of God.

  His name was Heliseus—his power was a peril

  To all mankind. In his devious heart

  He began to desire a beautiful maiden, 25

  A virtuous virgin named Juliana,

  But she bore in her soul a saintly spirit,

  A firm faith, and a love of God.

  She vowed to remain pure and spotless,

  Untouched, untainted, immaculate for Christ. 30

  Then she was promised in an unwanted betrothal

  To the rich Heliseus by her unthinking father,

  Who was heedless of his own daughter’s heart,

  For the young virgin despised the idea

  Of marriage to any man. Worldly wealth 35

  Meant less to her than love of her Lord.

  Her fear of God was greater than her want

  Of wealth. She desired only spiritual treasure.

  The rich aristocrat with his great power

  Had his mind on marriage. His deep desire 40

  Was for the young maiden to be made ready

  To be a wife in his house, a bride in his bed.

  Juliana rejected his offer, his jewels and gold,

  His heathen hoard, and his greedy love,

  Saying to him before a multitude of men: 45

  “There’s no need to indulge in endless torment

  Of the heart. If you love the one true God

  And are faithful to him, follow his laws,

  Find shelter in his protection, raising songs

  Of praise to his glory, I will grant you the gift 50

  You so earnestly desire. On the other hand,

  If you praise demons and promise your faith

  To a false idol, an inferior pagan god,

  Then this is the promise I hold in my heart—

  You will never bring me home as a bride. 55

  This is my vow, the word of a virgin—

  No torture or pain, no suffering or sorrow,

  No menacing threat will move me from this.”

  The proud prince, corrupted by sin,

  Inflamed with rage, heard the maiden’s words. 60

  He was cold and cruel, blinded with anger,

  Bent with wrath, an ungovernable passion.

  The powerful man sent his speedy messengers

  To fetch the girl’s father to bargain for his bride.

  Those old sinners leaned their spears together, 65

  Began to trade talk, heathens haggling,

  A faithless father-in-law and scheming son-in-law,

  Men making deals in a bridal market.

  The heartless Heliseus, guardian of the realm,

  Raised his weapon in righteous rage, 70

  Speaking fiercely to the virgin’s father:

  “Your daughter dishonors me, insults my affection,

  Spurns my offer of wealth and marriage.

  She blasphemes my gods before my people,

  Assaults my integrity, angers my heart. 75

  She insists that I worship some strange god

  With offerings and praise, and lift this alien deity

  Above all the other gods we’ve known and loved.

  So I must turn unholy apostate before I have her.”

  Then her father’s face grew darkly fierce. 80

  He swore in anger, unlocked his heart’s hoard.

  Seething with rage, he began speaking:

  “I swear by the true gods, the guardians who hold

  My faith and
favor, and before you,

  My glorious prince, wielder of wine-halls, 85

  That if these words you tell me are true,

  And Juliana is rejecting your generous offer,

  Then I will not spare her or shelter her,

  But give her up as an ungrateful girl,

  A gift to you for desire or destruction. 90

  Grant her life or death—your power is my pleasure.”

  Then the father went back, searching for the maiden,

  His spirit seething with a terrible fury.

  He shocked her out of her cheerful mood,

  Brought her to the edge of anguish, saying: 95

  “You are the dearest daughter of my heart,

  My only joy, the light of my eyes.

  Juliana, you are being foolish in this faith,

  Resisting your ruler and the wise judgment

  Of revered counselors. Resistance is fruitless. 100

  Give up your stubborn struggle and settle

  For this generous offer from a powerful prince.

  He is nobler, richer, and mightier than you.

  He is a good friend who can help you succeed

  In this difficult world. Don’t spurn his wealth, 105

  His affection, his promise of lasting love.”

  Then blessed Juliana, the gem of virtue—

  Her heart true, her faith firm, her love fixed

  On her only Lord—offered her answer:

  “I cannot and will not marry this man 110

  Unless he agrees to worship the Lord of hosts

  More freely and firmly than he has done,

  Adores him with offerings, following in faith

  The one who created the light of the world,

  Heaven and earth, the spread of the sea, 115

  The length of the land. If Heliseus desires

  To hold his unholy gods in his heart,

  He will not have me in his heathen house.

  He should seek another woman with his wealth.

  I am bold believer, not a bride to be bought.” 120

  Then her furious father spit out his answer.

  He gave her no treasure in his gift of words:

  “As long as I live, I make you this promise:

  If you do not give up this folly of your alien faith,

  If you continue to worship your strange gods, 125

  Neglecting those who shelter and sustain this nation,

  If you are bent on forsaking your father’s faith,

  Then you shall forfeit your life, becoming food

  For wild beasts who will tear at your throat.

  If you refuse the handsome proposal of this prince 130

  And treat his generosity like an unwanted gift,

 

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