Cynewulf (8th – 9th Century)
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Probably Northumbrian
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One of 12 O.E poets known by name from Anglo-Saxon period.
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His poems are religious in theme.
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3 of the poems are martyrolical (the branch of history that deals with the lives of martyrs) in which protagonists suffer for their religious values. The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, Elene.
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His 4 poems with runic signature:
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The Fates of the Apostles – 122 lines. The speaker creates a song that meditates on the death of the apostles which they joyously faced.
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Juliana – 731 lines. The titular character dies after she refuses to marry a pagan man, thus retaining her christian integrity.
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Elene – 1,321 lines (longest). In Elena, Saint Helena endures her quest to find the Holy cross and spread Christianity.
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Christ II (The Ascensions)– 427 lines (also known as The Christ’s Ascension)
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Dialect: Cynewulf wrote in the Anglican dialect.
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The Exeter Book holds his Juliana and Christ II (The Christ’s Ascension) and the Vercelli Book his Elene and Fates of Apostles.
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Lives of saints: 1. Fates of The Apostles 2. Christ’s Ascension
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**The Dream of The Rood: finest of all O.E religious poem, controversy over authorship. Rood = Cross. It gives us the image of Suffering and redemption.
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Who is “the young hero” of the poem “The Dream of the Rood”? Jesus Christ
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Rood = Cross
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Which of the following is an example of a kenning? Triumph-tree
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In “The Dream of the Rood,” the word “triumph-tree” is used to refer to Christ’s cross. A kenning replaces a single word with a compound word, often linked by a hyphen. A kenning used for God’s thoughts in “Caedmon’s Hymn” is “mind-plans,” and a kenning used for the sea in “Beowulf” is “whale-road.”
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From what work does this quote come? “Wonderful was the triumph-tree, and I stained with sins, wounded with wrongdoings.” The Dream of the Rood
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What work contains the characters Birhtnoth and Ethelred? The dream of the rood
