The Complete Old English Poems

by Craig Williamson

  The credal form that eventually developed into what is now known as the Apostles’ Creed and was used at baptism throughout the Western Christian church is known technically as the Old Roman Creed, described at the beginning of the fifth century in detail by Rufinus, who was responsible for promulgating the legend of its apostolic composition. (2010, 25–26)

  In the translation below, the lines of The Creed originally in Latin are printed in italics; the lines originally in OE, in Roman type. The Latin lines, sometimes abbreviated in the original, are expanded in the translation.

  The Creed

  I believe in God the Father almighty:

  Almighty Father in heaven on high,

  Who shaped this shining, wondrous world,

  The sweep of creation, the earth’s expanse,

  I fervently believe and fully profess 5

  That you are the one and only God.

  You are the Lord of life, the Author of angels,

  The Source and Sustainer of all creatures,

  From the ocean’s depths to the spectacular stars

  That only you, Lord, are capable of counting. 10

  And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord:

  I believe in the Savior, your own true Son,

  The redeeming King sent down from heaven,

  The high realm of angels, whom Gabriel,

  God’s messenger, announced to holy Mary, 15

  That innocent maiden. She accepted that gift,

  Bearing the Father’s Self and Son

  With a chaste heart, pure and pregnant.

  There was no sin or shame at that wedding

  For the Holy Spirit gave mother and maiden 20

  A nuptial gift, a noble child conceived

  In a virgin’s womb, filling her heart

  With gladness and joy, rapture and radiance.

  Mary gave birth to the Shaper of angels,

  A living gift to all of earth’s children, 25

  The Christ-child who came as our consolation,

  Our comfort and care, our righteous Redeemer,

  As the angels circled and sang round Bethlehem,

  Proclaiming that Christ the Lord was born.

  Who suffered under Pontius Pilate: 30

  When Pontius Pilate, a hard prefect,

  Wielded power under the Romans,

  Our beloved Savior was put to death.

  The Lord of mankind mounted the gallows,

  Climbed on the cross, suffered and died. 35

  He was buried by Joseph, sad and brooding,

  And out of hell, that prison of pain,

  Christ brought back the devil’s plunder,

  A treasure of souls rescued from torment,

  And he told them all to go home to heaven. 40

  On the third day he rose from the dead:

  On the third day the Lord of all peoples,

  The mightiest of masters, rose up from the ground,

  His earthly grave, and for forty days

  He comforted his disciples, his faithful servants, 45

  With spiritual counsel, his laws and lore,

  Then set out at last for his heavenly homeland,

  Promising his followers he would never abandon

  Any believer whose spirit was steadfast,

  Whose faith was firm, whose heart was true. 50

  I believe in the Holy Spirit:

  I embrace with hope the Holy Spirit,

  One and eternal with the Father and Son,

  As it is said in our way of speaking.

  These are not three gods with three different names, 55

  But one God, who is known by a trinity of names—

  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—

  In the might and mystery of his noble nature,

  The divine riddle of the living Lord,

  Our righteous Ruler, whose power will prevail 60

  Throughout creation over time and tide,

  Our Giver of glorious gifts to the faithful,

  Our bold Redeemer, our eternal Lord.

  In the holy Catholic Church:

  I also believe that they are beloved by God 65

  Who praise the Lord with a singular purpose,

  Gathered together, worshipping wholly

  With heart and mind the King of heaven.

  In the communion of saints:

  I believe in the glorious fellowship of saints, 70

  Your faithful followers who served in this life.

  In the forgiveness of sins:

  I believe in forgiveness, the remission of sin.

  In the resurrection of the body:

  I believe in the resurrection of the flesh 75

  For everyone on earth in that hour of dread.

  And in life everlasting:

  I believe that you will deliver us, Lord,

  To eternal life if we measure up,

  And our thoughts and deeds, our words and works, 80

  Prove pleasing in the eyes of almighty God.

  FRAGMENTS OF PSALMS

  The psalm fragments translated here occur as part of the Office in MS Junius 121 in the Bodleian Library in Oxford (see headnote to The Gloria I above). Most of the fragments are part of the service of Prime. Each of the OE fragments is preceded by a corresponding Latin verse, and each is a translation of that verse. The translations range from reasonably faithful to moderately expansive. Since the Latin and the OE verses are reasonably close, I have not included translations of the Latin here. Dobbie explains the source of the Latin verses:

  The Psalm fragments in the Benedictine Office were taken from a complete Anglo-Saxon verse translation of the Psalter, from which Psalms 51.6–150.3 of the Paris Psalter, that is, all the metrical portions of the Paris Psalter, were also taken. The Psalm passages which appear in both manuscripts show so complete an agreement between the two texts that no other conclusion is possible. Our Benedictine Office, then, preserves the only remains of the Anglo-Saxon verse translation of the first fifty Psalms. The Latin Psalm verses which appear in the manuscript usually follow the Roman Psalter, St. Jerome’s earlier revision of the Old Latin, rather than the Gallican Psalter, the later revision which is found in the Vulgate Bible. A few of the Latin verses, however, are closer to the Gallican Psalter than to the Roman. (1942, lxxvii–lxxviii)

  Jones argues that “monks and secular clergy celebrated slightly different versions of the daily office, and while some features of [the] compilation in Junius 121 do suggest a monastic or ‘Benedictine’ background, others seem to point to a secular one,” and he prefers the term, “Junius Office” (284–85).

  The psalm fragments are given in biblical order as they are in ASPR, volume VI, not as they are in the Junius Office itself. The verse numbers are given here in two forms: the first is that in ASPR (Dobbie, 1942, 80 ff.), and the second, in parentheses, corresponds to the recent edition of The Vulgate Bible, volume III: The Poetical Books, by Edgar and Kinney. For a complete edition of the Office with Latin and OE, see Ure and also Jones (which includes translations of both the Latin and Old English). For a translation of the office of Prime, which contains most of the psalm fragments, see Thomson and also Griffiths. The version of the Junius Office with its OE translations of selected passages was probably meant “to be used by literate monks for the instruction of ignorant secular clergy in the performance of the seculars’ own proper divine service” (Houghton, 445) or by both monks and secular clergy (Jones, 284; see also Caie, 2000, 20–21, and Fulk and Cain, 122). The psalm fragment at 122.4 is not included in ASPR, probably because, as Ure notes, the Latin text “has been dropped out of our text in the process of copying” (126); it is included, however, in both Ure (93) and Jones (310).

  The psalm fragments here are sometimes translated more literally than they are in the Paris Psalter section of this collection, where the context of the whole psalm often requires more poetic flexibility. I have followed Jones’s text and drawn occasionally upon his literal prose translation.<
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  Fragments of Psalms

  5.1a (5.2)

  Receive my words, Ruler of glory—

  Let my song rise up to your listening ears.

  Accept my prayer, my eternal Lord.

  5.1b (5.3)

  Listen to my voice, my familiar supplication.

  Look upon my prayer with a favorable mind,

  For you are my eternal God and King.

  5.2 (5.4)

  I sincerely pray to you, O Lord.

  Listen to my voice in the morning light.

  5.3 (5.5)

  I stand before you in the early morning

  And behold you, Lord. I know truly

  That you will never do anything unjust.

  19.9 (19.10)

  Lord, save the king with your works,

  Make the king whole in his heart,

  Just in his deeds, generous in his acts,

  And hear our prayer with favor and grace

  When we call out each day to you, O Lord. 5

  24.3 (24.4)

  Teach me the truth of your ways, O Lord,

  Show me also the steps of your sure paths.

  24.4 (24.5)

  Give me your counsel, guide me along,

  Teach me swiftly so that I may know

  Your truth and live in your righteousness.

  24.5 (24.6)

  Remember the mercies, almighty Lord,

  You have always offered us here on earth

  Since you shaped creation in your infinite wisdom.

  24.6 (24.7)

  Do not recall too keenly, Lord,

  The oppressive sins of my youthful days

  That went unrecognized, unnoticed by many,

  When my heart was heedless, my mind ignorant.

  Remember me, Lord, in your endless mercy. 5

  27.10 (27.9)

  Save your people, O holy Lord,

  Bless and protect your living inheritance.

  Rule them and raise them into righteousness,

  So they may live and thrive in joy forever.

  32.18 (32.22)

  Let your mercy be over us, beloved Lord,

  As we hope and believe in your holy power.

  34.1 (34.1)

  Judge now, Lord, those who have injured me.

  Overthrow my enemies, defeat my attackers.

  34.2 (34.2)

  Take up your spear and shield, O Lord,

  Stand before me against my fierce foes.

  34.3 (34.3)

  Preserve me, Lord, with your powerful weapons,

  Protect me from the ferocity of my savage foes,

  Then speak to my soul with shielding words,

  Reminding it that you stood firm for its salvation.

  40.4 (40.5)

  I pray to you now with a keen conviction:

  “Pity me, Lord, heal my heart,

  Save my soul, for now I repent

  That I have so often sinned against you.”

  43.27 (43.26)

  Rise up, O Lord, and rush to our aid.

  Rescue us now from all our enemies,

  For we fervently praise your beloved name.

  50.1 (50.3)

  Have mercy on me, mighty Lord,

  Spare and sustain me, as you have saved

  So many before in your great compassion.

  50.10 (50.11)

  Turn aside your eyes from my grievous sins,

  Almighty God, wash away my iniquities,

  My wicked deeds, always and everywhere.

  50.11 (50.12)

  Grant me a pure heart, O holy God.

  Renew the righteous spirit in my mind.

  50.12 (50.13)

  Do not cast me out, King of glory,

  From your vision, your power and presence,

  Or withhold the Holy Spirit from my heart,

  Lest it suddenly become a stranger to my soul.

  50.13 (50.14)

  Grant me the grace and bliss of salvation

  And strengthen my spirit, Lord of hosts.

  Fortify my faith according to your will.

  53.1 (53.3)

  Save me, God, in your holy name.

  Release me from my enemies, my fierce foes.

  Deliver me now through your precious power.

  58.1 (58.2)

  Deliver me, holy God, from the hostility of my enemies,

  The oppression of my foes. Release me from the wicked

  Who would rise up against me without your aid.

  58.2 (58.3)

  Deliver me from those who do evil against me.

  Save me from those who embrace injustice

  And from all battle-hungry, bloodthirsty ones.

  60.6, 2–4 (60.9)

  So I fervently sing in praise of your name,

  Fulfilling my promise, keeping my vow

  From day to day as is only fitting.

  64.6 (64.6b)

  Hear us now, our God and Savior.

  You are the hope of the ends of the earth,

  Of everyone at home and across the seas.

  69.1 (69.2)

  Be a precious help to me, Lord God—

  Look down on me now in my urgent need

  And come to my aid without delay.

  70.7 (70.8)

  May my soul be strong, my mouth empowered

  To proclaim your glory all day long,

  Singing praise-songs to you in all places.

  79.18 (79.20)

  Turn us around, restore us, Lord of hosts,

  Show us your kind face and we will be saved.

  84.4, 1–2 (84.5)

  Turn us around, O Lord and Savior,

  Transform us, avert your anger from us.

  87.13 (87.14)

  I have called out fervently to you,

  Eternal Lord, in my secret soul.

  May my impassioned prayer, my true words,

  Enter into your presence every morning.

  89.15 (89.13)

  Turn back to us just a little, holy Lord,

  Be openly entreated by your own servants.

  89.18 (89.16)

  Look upon your servants with loving eyes

  And upon your handiwork, the whole of creation.

  Lead their children with a gracious spirit.

  89.19 (89.17)

  Let the brightness of the benevolent Lord be upon us,

  The radiance of our great God shine over us,

  Directing the work of our hands from above.

  101.1 (101.2)

  Listen to my prayer, O glorious Lord,

  Guardian of heaven, and let my cry

  Reach up to you, Ruler of all peoples.

  102.1 (102.1)

  Bless the Lord gladly, O my soul.

  Let everything inside me, body and spirit,

  Bless the name of the eternal Lord.

  102.2 (102.2)

  Bless the Lord surely, O my soul—

  May you never desire to forget his favors,

  All the good things he has done for you.

  102.3 (102.3)

  He has offered you mercy for your sinful deeds,

  Healing you of all your illness and infirmity.

  102.4 (102.4a, 5a)

  He has redeemed your dear life from destruction

  And fairly fulfilled your desires with goodness.

  102.5 (102.4b, 5b)

  He has made you triumphant, crowned with mercy,

  And strengthened your spirit with true compassion—

  So your life is renewed like that of an eagle,

  In molting made keen and young again.

  118.175 (118.175)

  My soul shall live and gladly praise you,

  And your judgments will aid me in all my works.

  118.176 (118.176)

  I was led astray like a foolish sheep

  That desired in its heart to be lost to you,

  And in deepest despair even wanted to die.

  Lord, seek out your servant with great passion,

  For I have never for
gotten your sublime commands.

  121.7 (121.7)

  Let peace be in your power, first and foremost,

  Let your towers be filled with a timeless abundance.

  Not in ASPR (122.4)

  Have mercy on us now, O mighty Lord,

  Have mercy on us.

  139.1, 1–2 (139.2)

  Rescue me in your name, eternal Lord,

  From enmity and affliction, and from the evil one.

  140.2 (140.2)

  Let my prayer rise up quickly in your sight

  As incense burning, wisps in the air,

  Curling from its coals, those devouring embers.

  THE KENTISH HYMN

  This poem and the next one are contained in MS Cotton Vespasian D.vi in the British Library. They are both “among the few and scattered Kentish texts written during the Anglo-Saxon period” (Dobbie, 1942, lxxviii). Fulk and Cain note that The Kentish Hymn “bears no relation to the Latin hymns of the Divine Office” and is rather a poem “in praise of the triune God, alluding to several liturgical and biblical texts, including the Te Deum, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Agnus Dei” (121; see also Shepherd, 395–97, and Keefer, 2010, 119 ff., on the possible sources). Keefer notes that the composer of the poem was surely “familiar with the monastic Offices as well as with the liturgy of festal Mass, and was probably a monk or nun,” arguing that the poem “was composed in the first flush of the Benedictine Reform, sometime between 960 and 975, when the Rule of St Benedict was being learned (and indeed translated) throughout monastic establishments that were being revitalized or newly founded across Anglo-Saxon England” (2010, 120).

  The Kentish Hymn

  Let us glorify the Lord God of hosts,

  The Guardian of heaven, with holy words.

  Let us lovingly embrace the Author of life.

  Let triumphant glory be given to him

  In the air with angels without end, 5

  And on earth peace to all men of good will.

  We praise and bless you with our holy voices,

  Honor and adore you, merciful Father,

  Thank you profoundly, Lord of all peoples.

  We bless you always for your bliss in glory, 10

  Your heavenly rapture, your celestial joy,

  And the great mysteries and holy sacraments