The sea-strength grew—that wave-warrior
Assaulted the earth. Old shield-bearers wept—
Their weapons were useless against the ocean.
The unholy heathens wanted desperately to flee
From the savage flood, striving to survive, 1580
Climbing the hills and cowering in caves,
But a holy angel held them back,
Blanketing the city with a battle-flame,
A blade of fire, a searing death-slash.
Those twin warriors of flame and flood 1585
Imprisoned the people. There was no escape.
The water welled up, the fire descended—
Men mourned, women wailed, people perished.
Every cry in that city was a death-dirge.
Wind blew waves of fire over every wall, 1590
And the water rose up from floor to ceiling.
Lamentation was heard throughout the land.
Out of the chaos rose a lonely voice,
The mournful sound of a suffering wretch,
Lamenting to the lost crowd, saying: 1595
“Now in our terror we can see the truth—
That we unjustly shackled this poor stranger,
Tormenting the sinless with scorn and scourge,
Torturing the guiltless with blood-hungry blades.
Now some hideous hatred, some fierce fate, 1600
Has descended here to punish us with pain,
Treat us to terror, dealing out death.
I believe it would be better to free this prisoner
And beg God’s holy warrior for help.
Let’s release him. Maybe he can release us 1605
From this harrowing torment of unending wave,
Wind, and fire. Maybe he can rise above revenge
To banish the flames and bring us peace
In place of punishment. We must look to him
For any hope and protection, any end to sorrow.” 1610
Then the bearing and behavior of the people
Was known to Andrew immediately in his heart—
That the mighty heathen warriors were humbled.
Still the sea flowed in and the water rose
Up to their bellies, up to their breasts, 1615
Up to their shoulders, up to their necks.
Then the sacred warrior, the soldier of God,
Commanded the rivers to run down,
The streams to be still, the angry ocean
To return to its bed, the fires to cool, 1620
The sea-storms to cease, the sword to sheathe,
The waves to draw back from the broken walls.
The wise one walked out of his prison,
Unbound, undefeated, dear to his God.
The waves parted and a road was readied, 1625
A street through the sea-stream. The land was dry
Wherever the holy saint set down his foot.
The people rejoiced, the waves recoiled—
Help had arrived after all their agony.
Andrew invited the tempestuous sea 1630
To be still. He opened an abyss in the earth
With unwavering power to drain the waves.
The water rushed down and sinners sank,
The worst of the heathens, the cruelest of criminals.
Fourteen of the fiercest fiends slid straight 1635
Down into hell to the demons’ delight.
Many of the survivors were sorely afraid.
They expected grim torment and righteous terror,
The savagery and slaughter of men and women,
The cruelest of miseries beyond human ken, 1640
When they saw their kin, stained by sin,
Marked by murder, plunge into the abyss.
Then all together they declared as one:
“Now we can see that the King of all creatures,
The Ruler of the world, both heaven and earth, 1645
Sent this holy herald as a gift to our people,
And we threw him in prison, blind to God’s truth.
The all-powerful Lord has prevailed over us.
Now we should eagerly obey the commands
Of his faithful servant, his chosen champion.” 1650
Then Andrew began to gladden the hearts
Of the waiting warriors with these words:
“Fear not in this dark hour your own destruction,
Even though those sinners are headed toward hell,
For the radiance of glory will reveal the truth 1655
To those who realize and repent their crimes
And live mindfully in the Lord’s light.”
Then Andrew prayed to the Son of God
To save those young men who lost their lives
In the bitter embrace of the fierce flood, 1660
So that their eternal souls, stained with sin,
Devoid of goodness, denied grace,
Deprived of glory, should not be gathered
In the grasp of demons in the hold of hell.
When the saint’s message made its way 1665
From Andrew’s heart to the mind of God,
The Lord of hosts heard the holy prayer
Of the humble hero and commanded the dead
To rise up alive from their watery graves.
Then I heard that a holy miracle occurred— 1670
Many young men rose from the dead,
Restored in body, refreshed in spirit,
Even though they had lost their lives before
In the sudden attack of the savage flood.
They received baptism and a promise of peace, 1675
A covenant with God, a pledge of protection—
His grace and glory in a place beyond torment.
Then the spirited hero, the mighty saint,
The King’s craftsman, commanded them all
To build a church, raise up God’s temple 1680
On that sacred spot, where each had been raised
From the dead at the source of the flood, to partake
Of the sacrament of baptism through God’s power.
Then a festive host of men and women
Began to gather throughout the city. 1685
They promised to forgo their heathen faith,
Their ancient gods, their false idols—
To follow the Lord’s will, accept his laws,
And live in the promise of his eternal love.
They embraced this faith and boldly approached 1690
God’s holy messenger for a bath of baptism.
The sacrament was established and embraced by all
Who promised to serve God and follow his faith.
The church was consecrated in the eyes of God.
The Lord’s commandments were the law of the land. 1695
Then Saint Andrew chose a man named Plato,
Who was bold in spirit, wise in words,
To serve as bishop in that glorious city
And consecrated him in his apostolic office
For the people’s need. He charged the faithful 1700
To follow God’s teachings and seek salvation.
Then Andrew admitted that his spirit was eager
To leave that city of worldly wealth,
Of gold and gift-giving, of silver and song-sharing,
Of the joys of the great high-gabled halls. 1705
He said he would seek a swift sea-slider,
A sure wave-walker down by the shore.
It was hard for the multitude to hear this news,
That God’s champion intended to return home.
Then the God of glory, the Lord of hosts, 1710
Appeared to Andrew on his homeward journey,
Urging him to return with these words:
“[Why leave so quickly your beloved people
When you have just saved their souls from sin,
Healed their hearts, and brought them grace?] 1715
They lament their loss, the love of their leader,
And go about grieving, men and women together.
They suffer great sadness and bring me their woe.
Do not suddenly forsake this young flock
In their nascent joy but set my name securely 1720
In the home of their hearts. Stay in the city,
Protector of warriors, preserver of people,
Sharing their joy in the wine-halls of men
For seven days’ duration. After that wait,
You can set sail for home with my blessing.” 1725
So Andrew returned to Mermedonia once more,
Bold-hearted, brave-spirited, eager to obey God.
This time he had no fear of fierce foes,
The fiendish race who once devoured their dead.
Christian wisdom flourished there in words and works 1730
After the people had set their eyes on Andrew,
Heaven’s holy thane, and their hearts on the Lord.
Andrew instructed each of them in the faith,
Counseling and confirming them in Christ’s
Love and law, strengthening their spirits, 1735
Guiding the multitudes to the heavenly halls,
The heart’s homeland where the Father, Son,
And comforting Spirit reign forever
In the singular radiance of the true Trinity.
Saint Andrew attacked the heathen temples, 1740
Destroyed the idols, erased all evil and error.
Satan suffered deep agony in his heart
To see his followers turn from hell’s temples
To the happiness of heaven, from terror to truth,
From peril to peace and a place of joy 1745
Where demons and hell-fiends cannot come.
Then the seven days passed as God had commanded,
And Andrew ended his preaching in the city,
His teaching of the people, and he took his leave.
He readied his ship to return to Achaia, 1750
Where he would await a brave warrior’s death,
The sure separation of his soul from his body.
His grim loss of life was no laughing matter
To his savage slayer who was sent on a journey
To the jaws of hell where he suffered the terror 1755
Of greedy flames, friendless and alone,
An outcast without any comfort or consolation.
Then I heard that a host of people led Andrew,
Their beloved leader, to the ship’s prow
With sad spirits at the saint’s leaving. 1760
Their hearts surged up with hot tears
As tender sorrow touched their souls,
And they turned to weeping. Men brought
Their beloved mentor, the brave warrior,
The best of men, to his ship on the strand, 1765
Watched him sail over the seal’s road
And slip silently beyond the sea’s horizon.
Then they worshipped the God of glory,
Praising his power in one voice, saying,
“There is only one God, our holy Father, 1770
The Lord and Creator of all living things,
Almighty, everlasting. His right and rule,
His promise and power, are glorious and blessed
All over middle-earth. His holy splendor
Makes bright each quickened creature, 1775
Each shining saint, each shimmering angel.
We bask in his living light and realize glory
In his holy radiance for ever and ever.
He is the Lord of lords, the King of kings.”
THE FATES OF THE APOSTLES
This poem was once thought to be an epilogue to Andreas, but is now taken to be a separate poem. It combines elements of elegiac sadness and heroic diction, along with the tone and treatment of Christian martyrologies. The poet opens with a heroic Hwæt! (Listen!), then introduces a travel-weary, heart-sad speaker like those in some of the elegies, before he goes on to briefly summarize the fates of the twelve apostles (substituting Paul for Matthias), finally concluding with a set of runic clues to indicate his identity and an appeal to sympathetic readers for their prayers and support. Donoghue notes the contrast between the heroic saints and the poetic speaker: “By bravely and willingly accepting martyrdom, the apostles gained salvation, but the narrator implies he is an ordinary sinner who must appeal for help from friends when he has to go on the lonely journey of death” (62). Greenfield similarly highlights the poem’s central contrast and connection: “Through his opening lines and double epilogue, [the poet] establishes an analogical relationship between the apostles and himself, between their preaching and his art, at the same time creating an ironic distance between their past heroic deaths and heavenly rewards, and his fearful lone journey” (Greenfield and Calder, 166).
This poem is one of four that contains the signature of Cynewulf or Cynwulf embedded in runes; the other three are Elene: Helena’s Discovery of the True Cross in the Vercelli Book (see below) and Christ II: The Ascension and Juliana in the Exeter Book. The names and meanings of the Cynewulfian runes here and elsewhere are much debated, as is the identity of Cynewulf himself. We know almost nothing about the name or its exact significance in these poems. Frese argues that the poet finally “through the elaborate human exercise of art in each of these four runic signatures, reached, with faith and good works, toward an existence beyond the temporal human sentence [which is] literally and figuratively, the only salvation for a poet to whom words are deeds” (334). For more on Cynewulf and the runic signatures, see Brooks (123 ff.) and the articles by Elliott (1953b), Diamond (1959), and Frese in Bjork (2001); see also Niles, 2006, 285 ff., and Bjork (2013), vii ff. My reading here follows that of Elliott in most, but not all, respects. Each runic name in OE is given in the text in parenthesis with the letter value in bold; the name translated is part of the text itself. For example, “Wealth (Feoh)” means that the F rune, called Feoh, means wealth.
The Fates of the Apostles
Listen! World-weary, sick at heart,
I shaped this song, gathered these stories
From far and wide about the twelve apostles,
Noble heroes who showed great courage
And attained glory in the eyes of God. 5
These faithful champions were chosen by the Lord;
They were respected and renowned, beloved in life.
The power and glory of the Prince’s servants
Were known to all men across middle-earth.
Theirs was no small fame. The sacred band 10
Was guided by lots and God’s hand
To the places where they could glorify God’s law,
Making it manifest to a multitude of people.
Some of these brave and notable men
Lost their lives in the city of Rome 15
Through the terrible treachery of Nero—
These were the apostles, Peter and Paul.
Apostleship is honored throughout the world.
Andrew also risked his life before the cruel
Ægias in Achaia. He refused to bow 20
To any earthly king or temper his faith
To any powerful tyrant. God’s champion
Chose eternal life, the unworldly, timeless
Light of the Lord, when the battle-bold warrior
Entered the fray, embracing his fate 25
As God willed it, and climbed on the cross.
Listen! We have also heard from holy men,
Learned in the scriptures, about John’s lineage—
Because of his kin he was dearest to Christ
Among mortal men, once the King of glory, 30
The Creator of angels, the Father of mankind,
Descended from heaven through the doors of delivery,
Entering our world through a virgin’s womb.
John taught the words of Jesus in Ephes
us,
Where he also sought through the doors of death 35
The rapture of life, the radiance of heaven.
Nor was John’s brother James slow to serve
In the face of death. Among the Jews,
James was forced by the unholy Herod
To brave the unsheathed sword’s bite 40
And leave life, his soul sheared from his body.
Philip preached among the peoples of Asia
Where he also sought eternal life
By climbing the gallows-tree, the cross
Where he was hung by a hostile mob 45
In Hierapolis. The cruel ones crucified him.
Far and wide it’s no great secret
That bold Bartholomew, a valiant servant
Who endured strife, served in India.
The heathen Astrages, blind in his heart, 50
Ordered his head severed at Albanapolis
Because he would not bow down to idols
Or worship false images as they demanded.
He lost his head and gained great glory.
The joy of heaven seemed far more precious 55
To him than false gods and worldly goods.
Likewise Thomas traveled to parts of India,
Where hearts were healed and minds enlightened
Through his trusted teaching of the holy word.
This bold-hearted man of exalted spirit 60
And astonishing skill, through the Lord’s power,
Boldly raised the king’s brother from the dead
Before the multitudes. The young man
Whose name was Gad was battle-brave.
Later Thomas yielded his life to the people 65
In a cruel conflict when a heathen sword
Slashed through his body, freeing his soul
To seek out the light of heaven as his reward
For virtue and victory as the saint went down.
Listen! We have heard from the holy books 70
That truth was revealed, God’s great glory,
To the Ethiopians through Matthew’s teaching.
As the day dawned, the radiant sun
Awakened a belief in the Lord’s light,
Illuminating the minds of the multitudes. 75
Through the Son’s love, the land was cleansed.
Unfortunately, Irtacus, the bloodthirsty king,
Ordered Matthew killed with savage weapons.
We have heard that James suffered death in Jerusalem
Before the priests. The steadfast man 80
Fell to the ground, battered to death
By a cruel cudgel—he fell prey to hatred.
That human malice was no misery to him:
He was blessed and happy at his life’s end,
The Complete Old English Poems Page 33
