The purpose of this edition is to produce a new interpretation of the Exeter Book poem currently entitledThe Descent into Hell. It is a poem that has been both neglected and misinterpreted over the centuries, and hence a fresh reading of the poem is long overdue. My study focuses extensively on the poem’s content, meaning and the methods by which the main theme is conveyed. At the heart of this edition is a change in the poem’s current title that, in my view, better reflects its central theme. However, in order to interpret the poem it is essential to...

The Exeter Book, also known as manuscript 3501 in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter Cathedral in Exeter, contains the only extant text ofThe Descent into HellorJohn the Baptist’s Prayer. Dating of the manuscript has not gone without controversy, since it has been difficult to date the specific poetic works within the manuscript.¹ Despite this dating controversy the manuscript is generally attributed to the latter half of the tenth century, and codicological and literary evidence suggests that the entire manuscript was both designed and copiedc.965–75. The Exeter Book may very well...

The concept of Christ’s Descent into the Underworld was moulded into the framework of Christian teaching and thought early in ecclesiastical history. Although the doctrine of thedescensusseems to have always been a complicated concept, it can be said that by the Anglo-Saxon period thedescensushad not only secured its position into Christian doctrine, but had etched its way into the popular imagination, commonly depicted in art, poetry, sermons and even drama. A brief analysis of the origins of this belief will aid our understanding of its significance in popular Anglo-Saxon consciousness.¹

Although many scholars and theologians claim...

AlthoughJohn the Baptist’s Prayeroccupies only 137 lines of alliterative verse, the content within boasts of a richly layered work of literary skill. The aim of this chapter is to investigate the poem within the context of specific themes that will enhance our understanding of the poem’s main theme whilst also facilitating an appreciation of the poet’s resourcefulness, imaginative power and commitment to his audience.

The poem has generally been known asThe Descent into Hellever since late commentators changed it from the previous English titleThe Harrowing of Hell.¹ There is of course no title provided in...

There seems nothing peculiar about an Anglo-Saxon poet writing about the theme of thedescensus, since the motif was so popular during the period. Certainly narratives of thedescensuscould conjure up images of liberation, salvation and judgement, and in many instances within the corpus of Old English poetry, writers exercised literary passion to convey what was evidently a popular narrative. Most often, as this chapter examines, thedescensusmotif was employed to communicate the details of Christ’s Passion, the salvation that comes through Him and His victory over Satan. This cosmic struggle between good and evil which had its...

Central to this edition was the need to rectify misinterpretations of the main theme inJohn the Baptist’s Prayerand to question whether a name change might facilitate readings to support the poem’s central focus on baptism. I have demonstrated that at its coreJohn the Baptist’s Prayeris not a poem about Christ’s Descent; rather, the main theme is John the Baptist’s message of redemption and salvation through baptism. For today’s readers titles have become more than labels and they do often function as guides to assist in establishing the theme of a text. The previous titleThe Descent...

In the early morning the noble women began

to prepare themselves for the journey; the council of men knew

the prince’s body had been encased in an earth-house.

Those desolate women wished to mourn with weeping,

to bewail with lamentation, alone for a while,

the death of the prince. The grave was grown chill,

it was a hard journey hence. Dauntless were the heroes,

that they found at the quiet tomb.

In the daybreak, grieving Mary, she went

[and] she summoned the other nobleman’s daughter with her.

The sorrowful two sought God’s victorious son

alone in that earth-house where they...

I him] Some early critics foundhimtroublesome in context with the rest of the line owing to its usual translation as a masculine pronoun, although in this case the subject is feminine plural. To explain the pronoun’s case in the text, Cramer (1897), p. 159, proposes the wordhī, while Cosijn (1898), p. 127, suggestshīe.ASPRIII, p. 356, suggests thathimmay very well have been the poet’s intended word. Becausehimmay simply refer to ‘themselves’, that is the ‘women’ at the beginning of the poem, consequently I have retainedhimas it makes sense in...