The Conclusion of the Old English ‘Descent into Hell’
In the Exeter Book, the poem now known as The Descent into Hell begins with an account of the women finding the empty sepulcher on Easter morning (1–16); describes Christ's resurrection and descent into hell (17–55), including a brief anticipatory speech by John the Baptist (26–32); and then re...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
1976
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| In: |
Traditio
Year: 1976, Volume: 32, Pages: 47-59 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In the Exeter Book, the poem now known as The Descent into Hell begins with an account of the women finding the empty sepulcher on Easter morning (1–16); describes Christ's resurrection and descent into hell (17–55), including a brief anticipatory speech by John the Baptist (26–32); and then reports a longer speech by John the Baptist (56ff.), apparently extending without interruption through the final lines of the poem: Swylee ie pe halsige, hælend user, fore [.]inum cildhade, cyninga selast, 120 ond fore ϸære wunde, weoruda dry[…. …….] ϸinum æriste, æϸelinga wyn, ond fore ϸinre me[… ……….]ian nama, ϸa ealle hellwara hergað ond lof[…. ………….]lum ϸe ϸe ymb stondað, 125 ϸa ϸu ϸe lete sittan [……………] hond, ϸa ϸu us on ϸisne wræcsið, weoroda dryhten, ϸurh ϸines sylfes geweald secan woldest, ond fore Hierusalem in Iudeum, (sceal seo burg nu ϸa bidan efne swa ϸeah, 130 ϸeoden Ieofa, ϸines eftcymes), ond for Iordane in Iudeum, (wit unc in ϸære burnan baϸodan ætgædre), oferwurpe ϸu mid ϸy wætre, weoruda dryhten, bliϸe mode ealle burgwaran, 135 swylce git Iohannis in Iordane mid ϸy fullwihte fægre onbryrdon ealne ϸisne middangeard. Sie ϸæs symle meotude ϸone! (118–37) I read this difficult passage, except for the final half-line, as a single long sentence, with oferwurpe (133) construed as the second-person singular present subjunctive of oferwurpan, a possible variant of oferweorpan: ‘Likewise I beseech you, our savior, by …, by …, by …, by …, and by …, and by Jordan among the Jews (we two bathed ourselves together in that stream), may you sprinkle with the water….’ |
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| ISSN: | 2166-5508 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Traditio
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0362152900018377 |