Cynewulf

“ Over the roof of clouds he saw the beauteous tree of glory, gleaming with treasure and decked with gold—and the gems shone90 brightly. The shining tree was inscribed with letters of brilliance and light: ‘By this sign thou shalt overcome the foe in the dread peril; by this thou shalt stay the hated host.’
Then the light vanished, ascended up on high,95 and together with it the messenger, unto the throng of the pure ones. And the king, the leader of men, was the blither and the freer from grief in his heart by reason of that fair vision. ”

“ And fast in their grasp the drawn sword, sharp of edge, quivers, trembles, and changes its hue. For thou dost rule,760 O Lord God, eternally, and thou didst hurl thy sin-stained foes, the workers of iniquity, from the heavens, and the unhappy host fell to the dark abodes, into the pains of hell. ”

“ The people beheld a miracle shown forth unto their queen, where, like unto the stars of heaven or gems set in gold, out of the darkness glittered the nails brightly, gleaming from their burial-place1115 beneath the surface of the earth. ”

“ Ye doomed Him to death who among a multitude of men roused from death itself unto their former life a number of your own race.305 Ye blind of soul, thus have ye confounded false with sooth, light with darkness, hate with reverence, and have woven a crime from your evil thoughts. ”

“ A mighty host hastened to war through the cities, gleaned from all the men the Hunnish king could summon from the near-lying towns. A vast army sallied forth—bands of picked horsemen strengthened35 the force of the foot-soldiers—until within a foreign land upon the bank of the Danube these stout-souled brandishers of the spear pitched their camp near the water’s flow, amid the tumult of the army. ”

“ With souls uplifted in their victory, they sat themselves down about the rood, and with earnest thought raised their voices in song until the ninth hour, when they had new joy, gloriously gained.870 For many came there, no small multitude, and among the press of men close by on a bier they brought one who was dead, a young man, lifeless ”

“ Now thou canst understand, my dear son, how merciful is the Lord of all, if we straightway purge ourselves of our evil deeds and cease again from the unrighteous act, though many times we transgress515 against Him, and wound Him with our sins. Wherefore I, in sooth, and in after times my dear father, believed that the God of all glory, Giver of life, suffered bitter agony for the surpassing need520 of mankind. ”

“ Unto the Jews, men of misfortune, it was a most bitter grief and most hated of fates that they could change neither it nor the joy of the Christians in the world. Then the queen980 bade messengers from her noble company make them ready with haste, for they were to seek the lord of the Romans over the deep sea, and declare unto that warrior in person the best of glad tidings—how the tree of victory, that had been hidden a long985 time before to grieve the holy ones, the Christian people, had been discovered and found in the earth through the grace of the Creator. ”

“ And there are two among their number in the heavens, the victorious race,755 whereon man bestoweth the name of seraphim. With flaming sword they are to keep sacred the field of Paradise and the tree of life. ”

“ Likewise again350 Isaiah the prophet, deeply moved by the Spirit of God, spake concerning you before the multitudes in these words: “I raised up sons and I begat children, and unto them I gave possessions, and holy balm for their souls; but they scorned me, loathed me355 with their hate, and they had no forethought, no skill of wisdom. Even the wretched oxen, which man doth each day drive and beat, know their well-wisher, and in their revenge for wrong hate not their friend who giveth them fodder. ”

“ The ships stood ready by the shores of the sea, bound ocean-coursers resting on the deep.
And the journey of the queen was plainly manifest when she sought the swell of the ocean with230 her company; many a noble stood there, near to the water’s edge, and from time to time crowds of men pressed across the way.
Then they loaded the ships with battle-dress, shields and spears; mail-clad warriors and men and235 women embarked thereon. And they let the steep ocean-speeders course over the foamy deep; often the hull bore the shock of the billows on the ocean-way, and the sea raised her song. ”

“ They shall be refined and freed from their sins, like pure gold that is all1310 cleansed from every alloy, refined and melted in the surge of the furnace’s fire. Thus shall each of those men be separated and purified from all their guilt, their deep transgressions, by the fire of the judgment. And thereafter they may enjoy peace and1315 eternal well-being. The Lord of angels shall be merciful and gracious unto them, inasmuch as they abhorred each sin, each work of guile, and called upon the Son of the Creator in their prayers. ”

“ When the ring-prowed ships had reached their harbor in the land of the Greeks over the fastness250 of flood, they left their vessels, their olden water-homes, lashed by the sea, bound with anchors, to await upon the surging deep the fate of the men, when the warrior queen with her band of heroes255 should again seek the eastern ways. ”

“ The people rejoiced, the throng were glad of heart; and they said with one accord that the miracle was of God, although hitherto they had been long in heresy and turned from Christ, through the death-wielding power of the devil. ”

“ As the Lord of spirits counseled her from the heavens, she bade deck out the rood with gold and with gems, adorn it most artfully with precious1025 stones; then to seal it with locks in a casket of silver. There hath the rood of life, best tree of victory, dwelt since then, indestructible in its nobleness. There shall it be ever ready, a solace for1030 the ill of any disease, affliction, or sorrow. Then straightway shall men find aid and divine grace through that holy form. ”

“ And there are four of their number ever in flight that perform the service of glory745 before the sight of the eternal Judge, and they continually sing in holiness with clear voices the laud of the King of heaven, fairest of songs, and they chant these words in pure tones—their name is750 cherubim:—“Holy is the holy God of the archangels, the Lord of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of His majesty, and all His exceeding might is marked with His glory.” ”

“ Those who have clung fast to the truth shall be highest in the flame, the throng of the blessed, the1290 host of them that yearn for glory, the multitude of the righteous, and thus may they endure and suffer more lightly without distress. He tempers for them all the glare of the flame as shall be most easy for them and most mild. The sinful men, those1295 stained with evil, heroes sad of heart, shall be in the middle place, shrouded with smoke amid the hot surge of fire. ”

“ And it is his nature to have sage answers and wisdom of soul. He shall show forth to thee before595 the multitude with his great power the gift of wisdom, even as thy heart desireth.’
Then she let each man seek his own home in peace, and took Judas alone as hostage. And she earnestly600 bade him tell the truth concerning the cross, which had been long buried in a secret place. Then Elene, the glorious queen, drew him aside by himself, and thus spake to the lonely man:—‘Two ways605 are ready for thee, either life or death, whichsoever thou shalt please to choose. ”

“ Then there was the clash of shields and the shock of men, the bitter hand-to-hand struggle and the115 slaughter of hosts, when once they had passed within an arrow’s flight. On the fated folk dire enemies hurled a shower of darts, and with might of arm sent their spears, biting battle-adders, over the yellow shields into the midst of their foes. ”

“ Thus shall all this world pass away, and in like manner devouring flame shall seize upon whoever was born into it, at that time when the Lord himself ’with a host of angels shall come1280 unto judgment. There shall each man hear the doom on all his deeds from the mouth of the judge, and likewise shall pay the penalty for all the foolish words ever spoken by him, and all his overbold1285 thoughts. Then shall the people divide into three parts for the embrace of the flame, every man who hath ever lived throughout the broad earth. ”

“ Even as thou didst hearken unto785 the words of that holy seer, Moses, in prayer, when thou, O God of power, didst reveal unto the noble man in due time the bones of Joseph beneath the mountain-side, so would I, O God of hosts, if it be thy will, beseech thee in the name of that fair being790 that thou, Creator of souls, wilt disclose unto me this treasure-house that long has been hidden from men. ”

“ He shall have good speed in war, victory in battle, and peace everywhere, the calm following the strife, who holds the bridle before him upon a white1185 steed when his trusty heroes, far-famed in the fight, bear shield and spear into the press of weapons. For any man shall this be a guard invincible against stress in war. ”

“ Now is there great need that we steadfastly fortify our minds not to betray that murder, nor declare where the holy tree was hid after the stress of strife, lest thereby the wise430 writings of old be cast aside, and the lore of our fathers forsaken. ”

“ He was a just king, a war-lord of men. God strengthened him with majesty and might till15 he became a joy to many men throughout the world, an avenger for his people when he raised aloft his spear against their foes. ”

“ May hell’s portal be closed and heaven’s opened, may the1230 eternal kingdom of the angels be revealed with joy unceasing, and may their part be assigned with Mary, to each man who keepeth in memory the most sacred festival of the cross beneath the heavens,1235 which the almighty King over all protected with his arm! ”

“ And she thanked God, the King of glory, that through the Son of God the joy of both these things was come unto her—on the one hand at the sight965 of the tree of victory, and on the other at this faith which she so clearly understood as a glorious gift in the breast of this man. ”

“ I would thou shouldst find1080 those that are hidden, buried deep in the earth and shrouded in darkness. Ever doth my heart mourn, sorrow in sadness, and rest not, until the Father Almighty, the Lord of hosts and Saviour of men, the Holy One from on high, shall fulfill unto me my1085 desire through the finding of these nails. ”

“ The people of the Huns and famous Goths20 gathered a host together; and the Franks and Hugas marched forth, men fierce in fight and ripe for war. The spears and woven mail-coats glittered, as with shouts and clash of shields they lifted up on high the standard of battle. Openly25 the fighters gathered all together, and the throng marched forth. The wolf in the wood howled his war-song, and hid not his secret hopes of carnage ”

“ Judas answered, and his heart was heavy within him; there was grief in his soul, and woe either way, whether thus he forsook the joy of the630 heavenly realm and this present kingdom beneath the skies, or disclosed the rood:—‘How can I reveal that which came to pass so long ago in the course of years? Two hundred or more in number are now vanished away—I know not the sum of635 them, and I cannot declare the event. Many of wisdom, of virtue, and of learning, who were before our time, are told among the dead. ”

“ And again Elene gave unto him gifts of great worth when she was ready for the journey back to her own land, and when she bade1220 all those who glorified God in that kingdom, both men and women, to honor in their thought with heart and strength that great day on which the holy rood was found, most wondrous tree of them that1225 have grown up from the earth, laden with leaves. ”

“ Then were they in the fear of death, of the funeral-pyre, and the end of life; and there they585 thrust forth one of exceeding wisdom in the lore of old, whose name was Judas, sprung from noble lineage; and they gave him up unto the queen, and called him a man of wondrous learning: ‘He can show forth to thee the truth, unlock the secret of the fates, expound the just law from the beginning590 even to the end, according as thou dost ask him. He is of noble race in the world, wise in speech, the son of a prophet, outspoken in council. ”

“ But there the fiend, the devil from hell, dire monster mindful of evil, sinning with his900 lies, rose up into the air, flying, and spake thus:—‘Lo! what man is this who doth again in the ancient enmity destroy my following, swell the olden hatred, and waste my possessions? Continual905 strife is this. No longer may the souls of them that work evil dwell among my possessions, since now a stranger hath come, whom I counted fast in his sins, and hath robbed me of my every right910 and of all my wealth. ”

“ Wealth (F) is but a loan to each beneath1270 the heavens; the beauties of the field vanish away beneath the clouds, most like unto the wind when it riseth loud before men, roameth amid the clouds, courseth along in wrath, and then on a sudden1275 becometh still, close shut in its narrow prison, crushed by force. ”

“ And they325 found among their number a thousand of exceeding wisdom, who most fully knew the traditions of old among the Jews. In a great crowd they hastened to where, upon a royal throne in majesty, the kinswoman330 of the emperor waited, a stately queen of battle adorned with gold. And Elene spake before the folk:—‘Hearken, ye wise of soul, unto a holy mystery, the word and the wisdom. Lo! ye had the teaching of prophets how the Prince of life and Lord335 of might should be born in the likeness of a child. ”

“ Then the well-beloved woman spake unto the men of the Hebrews in these words:—‘This have I learned well by the mystic sayings of prophets in the books of God, that in days of yore ye were290 dear unto the King of glory, loved of the Lord and strong in his service. ”

“ Then the queen bade seek far and near those1020 skilled in the arts, the best of those who could work most wondrously in the laying of stone upon stone, that they might raise a temple of God upon that place. ”