The Complete Old English Poems
Page 54
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,