Cynewulf

Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Cynewulf’

7
Birds of Paradise Cynewulf

Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf paints a word-picture of heaven and the seraph-band that swoops and soars before the throne.

Cynewulf (possibly the 8th century bishop Cynewulf of Lindisfarne) lets his raptures flow on the Seraphim, the angels described by Isaiah, Ezekiel and St John the Divine; the singing angels, who surround the throne of God in heaven.

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8
The Last Commandment Cynewulf

Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf imagines the farewell between Jesus and his Apostles, forty days after his resurrection.

Cynewulf (possibly the 8th century bishop Cynewulf of Lindisfarne) imagines Christ’s last words to his Apostles, before a cloud came and took him from their sight, never to be seen again – and yet, somehow, never to leave them.

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9
At Heaven’s Gate Cynewulf

The eighth-century English bishop and poet Cynewulf takes us to the threshold of God’s holy city, and gives us a choice.

Cynewulf (possibly the 8th century bishop Cynewulf of Lindisfarne) presents the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a choice given to all mankind: what kind of life do we want in the hereafter, and what are we prepared to do in order to obtain it?

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10
The Six Leaps of Faith Cynewulf

The eighth-century English bishop and poet Cynewulf explores a prophecy from the Song of Solomon.

In these lines from ‘Christ’ by Cynewulf (possibly the 8th century bishop Cynewulf of Lindisfarne), the poet reflects upon some beautiful words from the Song of Solomon, which he understands as a prophecy of Jesus Christ.

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11
Annunciation Cynewulf

Cynewulf reflects on the mystery of the appearance of the angel Gabriel to Mary.

‘Christ’ is an Anglo-Saxon poem in three parts by Cynewulf (possibly the 8th century bishop Cynewulf of Lindisfarne, in the Kingdom of Northumbria). In this extract, the poet reflects on the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary, to tell her that she is to become the earthly mother of the Son of God.

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12
St Helen Finds the True Cross Clay Lane

The mother of the Roman Emperor goes to Jerusalem on a quest close to her heart.

In AD 326 Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, went to the Holy Land to search for the cross on which Jesus Christ had been crucified. The story is told in one of the oldest pieces of English literature, the epic Anglo-Saxon poem ‘Helen’ by Cynewulf.

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