Cynewulf

Crist (Dodo Press) Cynewulf

Cynewulf is one of twelve Anglo-Saxon poets known by name today, and one of four whose work still survives. He is famous for his religious compositions, and is regarded as one of the pre-eminent figures of Old English Christian poetry. Posterity knows of his name by means of runic signatures that are interwoven into the four poems which comprise his scholastically recognized corpus. These poems are: The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, Elene, and Crist (also referred to as The Ascension). The four signed poems of Cynewulf are vast in that they collectively comprise several thousand lines of verse. Crist is divided into Crist I, II, III (or A, B, C), and deals with Christ's Advent, Ascension, and Last Judgment respectively.