Christ I

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Christ I is an Old English collection of poetry on the coming of the Lord also known as the Advent Lyrics, written between the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 9th century (Schaar 9).

Contents

[edit] Exeter Book

The folios of Christ I can be found in the Exeter Book. The Exeter Book is a collection of Old English poetry containing 123 folios (Rumble 285). The book contains the items of the Cynewulf group, which is made up in part by Christ I. The collection also contains a number of other religious, allegorical, and category poems (Rumble 285).

[edit] Formation

The lyrics included within Christ I selection derive from the antiphons known as the “O Antiphons”, which receive their name because they all begin with the Latin interjection “O”. An antiphon is a verse from the Holy Scripture that is to be sung before and after the reading of a psalm (Otten 1). The verse selected for the antiphon is chosen to reflect the fundamental ideas presented during the psalm (Otten 1). Seven of the antiphons in Christ I have come to be known as the “Seven Greater Antiphons” for their use in the Magnificat (Henry1). The opening interjections of the “Seven Greater Antiphons” include, "O Sapientia", "O Adonai", "O Radix Jesse", "O Clavis David", "O Oriens", "O Rex Gentium", and "O Emmanuel". The remainder of the antiphons used in Christ I had come to be included with the “Greater Antiphons”: “O Virgo virginum”, “O Gabriel”, “O Rex pacifice”, “O Mundi Domina”, and “O Hierusalem” (Campbell 8).

[edit] Subject

The foundation of the work derives from the topic of the Advent. The Advent, in its most general definition, is the time period leading up to the anniversary of the coming of Christ. Advent at that time, as it is today, would have been a period of spiritual and symbolic significance within the church. Followers, following the rules governed by the church, would often fast during these times. St. Gregory the Great, who lived from 590-604, wrote a sermon on the second Sunday of Advent in a collection of his homilies (Mershman 1). With this evidence, it is understood that the Advent was celebrated as early as the time of Christ I’s composition and and celebrated within the church. The lyrics, playing off the Latin antiphons, are poetry commenting on this period of symbolic preporation.

[edit] Classification

The selection known as Christ I is often referred to as being part of the collection of work known as “the Cynewulf group” (Schaar 9). This set of poems are composed of four works by the author, Cynewulf, which include “Elene”, “Juliana”, “Christ II”, and “Fata Apostolorum” (Schaar 9). The remainder of the works are done by other authors, which include “Andreas”, “The Dream of the Rood”, “Christ I & III”, “Guthlac A & B” and the “Phoenix” (Schaar 9). Although the “Christ I” poem is generally associated and analyzed alongside the works of Cynewulf, it is in fact an anonymous writing and its construction is unrelated to either of the other "Christ" poems.

[edit] Structure

The poem of Christ I is broken down into twelve smaller subsections of individual verse. Each subsection is introduced with a selection from a Latin antiphon, followed by lines of poetry in Old English. Sections I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, and IX derive from the “Greater Antiphons”, while sections VII, X, XI, and XII do not. It is unknown if the author intended to use all of the selections from the “Great Antiphons”, but some scholars speculate that the antiphons not used, “O Sapientia”, “O Adonai”, and “O radix Jesse”, have been lost (Campbell 9). The order the antiphons used by the author in laying out the Advent Lyrics appears to have no predetermined structure and have not followed the pattern of the list used in observed in all other sources containing the list.

[edit] Interpretation of Structure

The order of antiphons that the author uses for the lyrics imply that the poet was not concerned about any distinctions between antiphons, or the order that he had found them in his sources (Campbell 9). Upon analysis of the position of each poem, no rational order can be found, therefore it appears as though the order of each poem is unimportant (Campbell 11).

[edit] References

  • Campbell, Jackson J. The Advent Lyrics of the Exeter Book. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1959.
  • Cook, Albert S., ed. The Christ of Cynewulf. Hamden: The Shoe String P, 1964.
  • Henry, H T. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. XI. New York: The Robert Appleton Company, 1911. [1]
  • Mershman, Francis. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. I New York: The Robert Appleton Company, 1907.[2]
  • Otten, Joseph. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. I New York: The Robert Appleton Company, 1907.[3]
  • Rumble, Alexander R. "Exeter Book." Medieval England: an Encyclopedia. Ed. Paul E. Szarmach, M T. Tavormina, and Joel T. Rosenthal. New York: Garland, Inc., 1998.
  • Schaar, Claes. Critical Studies in the Cynewulf Group. Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup, 1949.