POEMS ON THE MEANING OF LIFE

This section is intended as a tribute to the Exeter Book, without which English literature would be far poorer. The Exeter Book was bequeathed to its Cathedral Library by the half-French Bishop Leofric in 1072. Over the Channel and in England during this Klondyke Norman time, a new form of chivalric literature was stirring which would transform love poetry into the roman courtois (see Early Chivalry). And here we have a book containing many short poems now known as elegies, some of which celebrate the pathos of love, as well as Christs life and works, Saints Lives, God, fate, nature and nurture, sex and entertainment. The provenance of this book is uncertain, let alone its place of origin, though the hand of the one scribe gives reason to suppose that it was copied in stages in the 96070s. Leofric appears to have described it in his inventory as micel englisce boc be gehwilcum ingum on leowisan geworht a great English book made up in verse about various things. Such will be the character, we hope, of this section. Greater poems will here be given in extract, lesser ones usually in their entirety. As with the previous section, however, we intend to mix these poems with others composed in a similar vein. The Wanderer, a meditation on bereavement and Providence, is thus followed by Hard Loss of Sons, a true elegy to a son who was the light of the poets life. The Seafarer explores the world beyond, inciting ecstasy as a means of approaching God. Yet other poems, Norse as well as English, are less strenuous and reect on men and women and the everyday. The Rhyming Poem, on changes of life, experiments by changing the traditional English for a new Latin-based poetic form. Then there are Riddles, which offer surreal perspectives on the things and people we all take for granted. Some of the elegies that follow have been read as Riddles too, so mysterious they are, with their poets using heroic legends as a vehicle for ideas about love. The genre of these Exeter Book poems on various things remains problematic: elegies, wisdom and riddles have been variously accepted as markers for most of the poems here. Yet the OE term giedd (song) is found in most poems of each supposed category. The fact that OIce ge (soul, affection, spirit), the formal cognate of OE giedd, is also a prominent word in two of the Norse poems quoted here, reveals an archaic common ground between most of the poems in this section which is sufcient for the OE term, at any rate, to be treated as the contemporary name for the genre. Where our terms are concerned, in any case, elegies, wisdom and riddles are really different aspects of the same kind of poetry. This is why we decided to call the present section Poems on the Meaning of Life. General bibliography
Bradley, S. A. J., trans., Anglo-Saxon Poetry: An Anthology of Old English Poems in Prose Translation (London, 1982) Conner, P. W., The structure of the Exeter Book Codex (Exeter, Cathedral Library, MS. 3501), Scriptorium 40 (1986), 23342; also in Richards 1994: 30115 Fulk, R. D., and C. M. Cain, A History of Old English Literature (Oxford, 2003)

165

Poems on the Meaning of Life Gameson, R., The origin of the Exeter Book of Old English Poetry, Anglo-Saxon England 25 (1996), 13585 Klinck, A. L., The Old English Elegies: A Critical Edition and Genre Study (Montreal and Kingston, 1992) Larrington, C., trans., The Poetic Edda (Oxford, 1996) Muir, B., ed., The Exeter Anthology of Old English Poetry: An Edition of Exeter Dean and Chapter MS 3502, 2nd ed. (Exeter, 2000) Neville, J., Joyous play and bitter tears: the Riddles and the Elegies, B&OS 13059 Richards, M. P., ed., Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: Basic Readings (New York and London, 1994) Swanton, M. J., trans., The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (London, 1996) Williamson, Craig, The Old English Riddles of the Exeter Book (Chapel Hill, NC, 1977)

166

The Wanderer
The Wanderer was highly regarded by the compiler of the Exeter Book, in which it is now found in folios 76 verso on into 78 recto. Two-thirds of the way into the tenth century, this poem was copied into the rst booklet of the manuscript as its fourth poem (after Azarias, The Phoenix and Cynewulf s Juliana), before a new booklet was sewn on to the front with ve lengthier poems (Christ I, II (Cynewulf ) and III and Guthlac A and B). The Wanderer is a devoutly Christian poem, yet not openly so, for in it Christs name is not mentioned once. The poem thus marks the beginning of the so-called elegies of the Exeter Book in which Christian concerns are expressed through largely secular forms of wisdom and experience. In keeping with this, the question of who speaks where in this poem is often left to one side as immaterial, and the poem is read as the transformation of a character from long-term sufferer to wise philosopher at the end. The present text has a more traditional view. Here the poets unnamed persona introduces an unnamed heroic type whose life, according to his speech from line 8 onwards, is spent moving from one court to another in his search for a new employer. This is the Wanderer. The present text xes the end of the Wanderers speech at line 29a. Thereafter the poets persona describes the lonely Wanderer again and the dreams, disappointments and apparent hallucinations of his dismal life, before speaking as himself at the poems mid-point, on line 58. Here the poem becomes didactic, a little fabulous, even mystical, as the poets persona urges a man to be moderate in all things and ready to accept the worlds end as surely as he does his own. At this point he creates a new archetype, a Wise Man, whose speech in lines 92110 reects on the worlds decline. The rst difference between Wise Man and Wanderer is that the Wise Mans words are hypermetric, unstable and emotionally turbulent. The second difference is that the Wanderer knows only fate, the impact of events, whereas the Wise Man knows that there is a Providence that fashions them. To say that the rst type develops into the second is to describe this religious poem as if it were a psychological novel. A less anachronistic approach would be to see the Wanderer as a heathen stoic, godless and going nowhere in a Christian sense, and the Wise Man as a philosopher whose speech contains an epiphany. Like Boethius in his De consolatione Philosophiae On the Consolation of Philosophy, the poet of The Wanderer reaches enlightenment through stages of teaching, fable and poetry. He is a Christian but never becomes explicit about the Christian message, which is implied, never revealed. Moreover he lays false trails, with one archetype whose narrative identies him with mercenary heroic life, and with another who seems to sit in a library. The poets tantalising evasive style brings his work close to a riddle, but never close enough to be classed as one. The meanings one can infer are various, but the compiler was in no doubt about the excellence of this poem. The Wanderer may be read for a lifetime and still yield something new.
Cross, J. E., Ubi sunt passages in Old English sources and relationships, Vetenskaps-Societetens i Lund rsbok (Lund, 1956), 2544 Diekstra, F. N. M., The passion of the mind and the cardinal virtues, Neophilologus 55 (1971), 7388

167

Poems on the Meaning of Life Dunning, T. P., and A. J. Bliss, ed., The Wanderer (London, 1969) Klinck, A. L., The Old English Elegies: A Critical Edition and Genre Study (Montreal and Kingston, 1992) North, R., Boethius and the Mercenary in The Wanderer, in Pagans and Christians: the Interplay between Christian Latin and Traditional Germanic Cultures in Early Medieval Europe, ed. T. Hofstra, L. A. J. R. Houwen and A. A. MacDonald, Germania Latina II (Groningen, 1995), 7198 Richardson, J., Two notes on the time frame of The Wanderer (lines 22 and 7387), Neophilologus 73 (1989), 1589 Roberts, J., Understanding Hrothgars humiliation: Beowulf lines 14474 in context, in Text, Image, Interpretation: Studies in Anglo-Saxon Literature and its Insular Context in Honour of amonn Carragin, ed. A. Minnis and J. Roberts, Studies in the Early Middle Ages 18 (Turnhout, 2007), 35567

Oft him anhaga are gebide, Metudes miltse, eah e he modcearig geond lagulade longe sceolde hreran mid hondum hrimcealde s, wadan wrclastas. Wyrd bi ful ard! Swa cw eardstapa, earfea gemyndig, wrara wlsleahta, winemga hryre: Oft ic sceolde ana uhtna gehwylce mine ceare cwian. Nis nu cwicra nan
Often a lone survivor experiences grace, Measurers mercy, though, sad at heart across the paths of ocean long has he had to stir with his arms the rime-cold sea, travel the roads of exile. Fate is fully determined. Thus spoke the Wanderer, mindful of hardships, of cruel savage slaughters, of the ruin of friends and family: It is often alone each early dawn I have had to lament my griefs. There is no one alive

1 anhaga lone survivor. See Dunning and Bliss (1969: 3740). Most probably the same word as anhoga in earmne anhogan on line 40, especially as in Beowulf, line 2368, the bereaved hero swims back to Geatland as an earm anhaga wretched lone survivor of Hygelacs Frisian raid. More gurative uses: for the Phoenix, in The Phoenix, line 87, and in Guthlac B, line 997, enge anhoga mean lone survivor for death; and for the subject of Riddle 5.1 (shield, or chopping block). [are gebide experiences grace. The ge-prex on bidan wait, endure suggests getting something by waiting for it, hard to render in Modern English. In addition, the rowing in line 4 makes experiences the oar a momentarily viable meaning for line 1 (f. ar means both). Does the poem start by trying to mislead us? 5 Wyrd bi ful ard Fate is fully determined. The poet either invokes predestination, or gives this half-line as the Wanderers unthinking response to his lot, or both. 6 Swa cw Thus spoke. A clear rubric which has been taken to look back to lines 15 as well as forward to the speech beginning on line 8. See note to line 111, where Swa cw looks back. 67 The words earfea, wlsleahta and hryre are all in the genitive, dependent on gemyndig. A lifetimes experience is compressed into a small space, as if to capture the workings of memory.

168

The Wanderer

10

15

20

e ic him modsefan minne durre sweotule asecgan. Ic to soe wat t bi in eorle indryhten eaw, t he his ferlocan fste binde, healde his hordcofan, hycge swa he wille. Ne mg werig mod wyrde wistondan, ne se hreo hyge helpe gefremman. Foron domgeorne dreorigne oft in hyra breostcofan binda fste; swa ic modsefan minne sceolde, oft earmcearig, ele bidled, freomgum feor feterum slan, sian geara iu goldwine minne hrusan heolstre biwrah, ond ic hean onan
to whom my thoughts and feelings I dare say clearly. I know, in truth, that in a gentleman it is a courtly virtue that he bind fast his spirit locker, keep in his hoard-coffer, let him think what he will. Neither can a weary heart withstand fate, nor can the angry mind extend any help. And so men eager for glory often bind fast their sad minds in their breast-coffers; Likewise I have had to seal, often wretchedly grieving, robbed of my inherited land, far from noble kinsmen, my own thoughts and feelings with fetters, since long long ago my gold-giving friend I covered with soils holster, and disgraced from that place

10

15

20

1516 An active-passive dichotomy for elements of mod mind resists events, while hyge tries to extend help against them; futile in either case. 17 domgeorne dreorigne (men) eager for glory . . . sad (minds). This poets diction is elliptical, compressed and ambiguous. The adjective stands for a noun and hyge is left out because we have heard it already on line 16. The word dom glory may connote Judgement and afterlife in heaven, as entirely Christian, or it may refer to a mans reputation for skill in war, as entirely secular; or in between, depending on the readers piety (see also Dunning and Bliss 1969: 45). 1921 The enveloping of three half-lines between sceolde have had to and slan seal illustrates the poets desire to enclose his memories through the very syntax of his line. In between, the compressed wretched deprived remote sequence of epithets presents the Wanderers experiences as worsening each time. 22 geara iu long long ago. This expression in all other cases (Richardson 1989: 158) denotes times extending far beyond the human lifespan (about 670 years, in The Dream of the Rood 27; see Poems of Devotion). 23 hrusan heolstre biwrah [I] covered with soils holster. With the darkness of the ground: a periphrasis for buried (see the scene on line 84). OE heolster, etymon of holster, means a veil or covering that produces darkness. The ic-subject of biwrah is left out because we have heard it on line 19 and hear it again on 23b. Still, some have emended to heolster in order to make the darkness cover the dead lord.

169

Poems on the Meaning of Life

25

wod wintercearig ofer waema gebind, sohte seledreorig sinces bryttan, hwr ic feor oe neah ndan meahte one e in meoduhealle [minne] mine wisse, oe mec freondleasne frefran wolde, weman mid wynnum. Wat se e cunna, hu slien bi sorg to geferan, am e him lyt hafa leofra geholena. Wara hine wrclast, nales wunden gold, ferloca freorig, nals foldan bld. Gemon he selesecgas ond sincege, hu hine on geogue his goldwine wenede to wiste. Wyn eal gedreas! Foron wat se e sceal his winedryhtnes
I travelled, grieving in winter, over the waves binding, sad in a hall went searching for a dispenser of treasure, where, far or near, I might be able to nd the man who would know what I like in the mead-hall, or would want to give me solace in my friendless state, draw me in with joy. He knows, who tries it, how sharp sorrow is as a travelling companion to the man who has few dear associates he might call his own. Exiles road keeps hold of him, not ne-twisted gold, a frozen mind-locker, not the glory of earth. He remembers hall-servants and receiving treasure, how in his youth his gold-giving friend would accustom him to the banquet. Joy all fell away. And so he knows, who must long suffer without

30

35

25

30

35

25 sohte seledreorig sad in a hall went searching. Or the manuscripts sele dreorig, of the same meaning. Others add at the loss of to the meaning of seledreorig (Dunning and Bliss 1969: 65, 137; Klinck 1992: 110). This spoils the sense, for the text does allow the Wanderer to visit new halls in search of a lord to replace the one he has lost. 27 [minne] mine wisse would know what I like. OE myne desire, liking, thought has a short vowel and cannot take the lines third stress as in the manuscript. OE mCne (of ) me has been proposed, which would have much the same meaning, but the phrase ne his myne wisse occurs also in Beowulf, line 169, where the intruding Grendel could not approach Hrothgars gift-throne because of God or know His purpose (Roberts 2007: 358). This, however, could be Hrothgars purpose, as an idiom of the bond between king and thegn. The present reading assumes that the scribe wrote one word (mine) for his exemplars possible two (minne mine). 29 weman mid wynnum draw me in with joy. Sometimes emended to wenian accustom on the basis of wenede to wiste would accustom . . . to the banquet on line 36 (see Klinck 1992: 111). But in lfrics Life of St Oswald, King Oswald asks the Irish (of Iona) to send him sumne lareow . . . e his leoda mihte to Gode geweman some teacher who might entice his people to God. 29b The switch from rst-person to third halfway through line 29 is here taken to mark the end of the Wanderers speech. At 21.5 lines (829a), this is comparable to the Wise Mans at 19 (lines 92110).

170

The Wanderer

40

45

50

leofes larcwidum longe forolian, onne sorg ond slp somod tgdre earmne anhogan oft gebinda, ince him on mode t he his mondryhten clyppe ond cysse, ond on cneo lecge honda ond heafod, swa he hwilum r in geardagum giefstolas breac. onne onwcne eft wineleas guma, gesih him biforan fealwe wegas, baian brimfuglas, brdan fera, hreosan hrim ond snaw, hagle gemenged. onne beo y hegran heortan benne, sare fter swsne. Sorg bi geniwad, onne maga gemynd mod geondhweorfe. Grete gliwstafum, georne geondsceawa
the teachings pronounced by his beloved friend and lord, that when sorrow and sleep, in combination, often bind up the lone survivor, it seems to him in his mind that he embraces and kisses his man and lord, and places on his knee his hand and his head, just as in former times in the old days he enjoyed gifts from the throne. Then the man without friends awakens once more, sees fallow waves in front of him, sea-birds bathing, stretching out their wings, frost and snow falling mingled in with hail. Heavier to bear then are hearts wounds, grief for the sweet man. Sorrow is renewed when feeling moves through memory of kinsmen. He greets them with their notes of music, with yearning he observes,

40

45

50

44 giefstolas breac enjoyed gifts from the throne. The scene in the Wanderers dream is a thegns personal love for his king stylised within the limits of the ritual of homage. 46 fealwe wegas fallow waves. Colours are difcult. There are fealwe mearas tawny stallions riding on fealwe strte a dusty road in Beowulf, lines 865 and 916 (see Heroic Poems) and fealwe blostman blossoms . . . (autumnal) brown in The Phoenix, line 74. Here the etymological sense fallow captures (a) mud and (b) the barenness of salt (in contrast with foldan bld glory of earth on line 33). 51 mod geondhweorfe feeling moves through. On parallels for mod as the subject, gemynd as the object of this verb, see Dunning and Bliss (1969: 212), and compare with Alfreds cuman on gemynd come to memory constructions in his Preface to the West Saxon translation of Gregorys Pastoral Care (The Earliest English Prose). 52 Grete gliwstafum He greets them with (their) notes of music. The meaning of these lines is a puzzle still waiting to be solved. For a theory that this is (a) the Wanderer observing birds for omens, and beneath that (b) Ulysses observing the Sirens (a trio of musicians according to Isidores Etymologies) for what they have to offer, see North (1995: 8891). Gliwstafum occurs only here. Joyfully (Dunning and Bliss 1969: 58, 133) is wrong for this, given that gliw means music.

171

Poems on the Meaning of Life

55

secga geseldan. Swimma eft on weg! Fleotendra fer no r fela bringe cura cwidegiedda. Cearo bi geniwad am e sendan sceal swie geneahhe ofer waema gebind werigne sefan. Foron ic geencan ne mg geond as woruld for hwan modsefa min ne gesweorce, onne ic eorla lif eal geondence, hu hi frlice et ofgeafon, modge maguegnas. Swa es middangeard ealra dogra gehwam dreose ond fealle. Foron ne mg weoran wis wer, r he age wintra dl in woruldrice. Wita sceal geyldig, ne sceal no to hatheort ne to hrdwyrde, ne to wac wiga ne to wanhydig,
the companions of men always swim away. The minds of oating ones will never in that place bring many familiar articulate songs. Care is renewed for the man who must very constantly send over waves binding a weary sense. For this reason I cannot think through this world why my own mind does not darken, when I ponder all the lives of men, how they suddenly gave up the oor, brave young thegns. Thus this Middle World each and every day and night declines and falls. And so a man cannot become wise until he may possess his share of winters in the worldly kingdom. A wise man must be patient, never too hot-headed, nor too hasty of speech, nor too weak a fellow, nor too reckless,

60

65

55

60

65

54 Fleotendra fer minds of the oating ones. Of the birds, otherwise seen here as mens companions. OE fer is in the singular, but with a plural meaning. The birds are not the intelligent oracles of information which heathen augury makes them out to be, is what the poet seems to mean: they can give the Wanderer no comfort. 58 The subject switches here out of third back into the rst person for the rst time since line 29a. This point is also halfway through the whole poem. The emphasis on as woruld this world and min my, both in third-stress positions, announces the following as the poets personal reection, his authenticating voice, between his personae of Wanderer (line 829a) and Wise Man (lines 92110). 59 for hwan modsefa min ne gesweorce why my own mind does not darken. Optimism. The poets mind does not darken, and he cannot think why, although it will soon become clearer that heaven is the reason for his lightening mood. 669 The intense ne-anaphora is part of homiletic discourse, in which the poet must have been trained (Klinck 1992: 119). Is he, by implication, also wita wise man, the member of an ecclesiastical or other political council? At any rate, he urges moderation in all things, as a conciliator might.

172

The Wanderer

70

75

80

ne to forht ne to fgen, ne to feohgifre ne nfre gielpes to georn, r he geare cunne. Beorn sceal gebidan, onne he beot sprice, ot collenfer cunne gearwe hwider hrera gehygd hweorfan wille. Ongietan sceal gleaw hle hu gstlic bi, onne ealre isse worulde wela weste stonde, swa nu missenlice geond isne middangeard winde biwaune weallas stonda, hrime bihrorene, hryge a ederas. Woria a winsalo, waldend licga dreame bidrorene, dugu eal gecrong, wlonc bi wealle. Sume wig fornom, ferede in forwege, sumne fugel obr ofer heanne holm, sumne se hara wulf deae gedlde, sumne dreorighleor in eorscrfe eorl gehydde.
nor too frightened, nor too relieved, nor too eager for money nor ever too eager to boast before he sees what things are. A man must wait when he makes a vow, or when, stout-hearted, he may clearly see in which direction the thoughts of his mind will tend. A prudent man must take it in, how terrifying it will be when the wealth of all this world stands waste, just as now, variously throughout this middle world, the walls stand blown upon by wind, encrusted with frost, snow-swept the buildings. Those wine halls crumble, their rulers lie deprived of the good times, all the host has perished, arrogant by the wall. Killing took some men, carried them on the way forth, a bird bore off another over the high seas, the hoary-coated wolf shared another man with death, a sad-featured nobleman hid yet another man in an earthen grave.

70

75

80

72 hrera gehygd the thoughts of his mind. The only other surviving example of this collocation is in Beowulf, line 2045, where an old mercenary probes the young Heathobards hrera gehygd for what he is really thinking (see Heroic Poems). This phrase thus denotes the mind in its more tangled state before concentration allows one thought to emerge. 73 hu gstlic bi how terrifying it will be. A parallel sense development, from spiritual, is found in the word ghastly (Dunning and Bliss 1969: 53). But a positive vision of oneself as ghost proceeding to heaven on Doomsday is what the poet is also keen to promote. 81 sumne fugel obr a bird bore off another. The physical entirety of this transport poses a problem if we understand a raven with esh from the dead, as most readers do (Klinck 1992: 122). Other suggestions lie further out, including Norths that this bird is a Siren carrying off a sailor guratively (1995: 93).

173

Poems on the Meaning of Life

85

Yde swa isne eardgeard lda Scyppend ot burgwara breahtma lease eald enta geweorc idlu stodon.

Se onne isne wealsteal wise geohte ond is deorce lif deope geondence, 90 frod in fere, feor oft gemon wlsleahta worn, ond as word acwi: Hwr cwom mearg? Hwr cwom mago? Hwr cwom maumgyfa? Hwr cwom symbla gesetu? Hwr sindon seledreamas? Eala beorht bune! Eala byrnwiga! 95 Eala eodnes rym! Hu seo rag gewat, genap under nihthelm, swa heo no wre. Stonde nu on laste leofre dugue weal wundrum heah, wyrmlicum fah. Eorlas fornoman asca rye, 100 wpen wlgifru, wyrd seo mre, ond as stanhleou stormas cnyssa,
85 Thus Mans Creator destroyed this worlds habitations, until, bereft of the revelries of the inhabitants of their towns, the ancient works of giants stood idle.

He then who wisely thought of this foundation and this dark life deeply thinks through, 90 experienced in heart, from far back often remembers a number of cruel slaughters, and will say these words: What came of the horse? Of the young man? What came of the wealth-giver? What came of the banqueting halls? Where are the good times of the hall? Alas the bright beaker! Alas the man in chained mail! 95 Alas the kings magnicence! How that time passed away, grew dark beneath nights cover as if it had never been. Stands now in the track of the beloved host a wall wondrously high, painted with serpentine forms. Warriors were taken by the strength of ashen spears, 100 by weapons keen to taste slaughter, by fate the infamous, and these stone cliffs the storms do buffet,
85 Yde swa lda Scyppend thus Mans Creator destroyed etc. An oxymoron, unless one thinks of the periodic annihilations of Genesis (which are in mans interest). The vocabulary inevitably recalls that of Cdmons Hymn (see Poems of Devotion). 92 Hwr cwom mearg? What came of the horse? etc. The language is homiletic, with hypermetric lines, anaphora (with eala also) and the use of a motif known as ubi sunt where are? (Cross 1956). The querulous voice of this speaker, the Wise Man, is quite different to the dismal mood of the Wanderer earlier. If the same voice, then the speaker has become more distressed. 98 weal wundrum heah, wyrmlicum fah wall wondrously high, painted with serpentine forms. Still a puzzle waiting to be solved. The line at any rate captures the idea of human cycles, the lost greatness of civilisations now vanished.

174

The Wanderer

hri hreosende hrusan binde, wintres woma, onne won cyme, nipe nihtscua, noran onsende 105 hreo hglfare hleum on andan. Eall is earfolic eoran rice, onwende wyrda gesceaft weoruld under heofonum. Her bi feoh lne, her bi freond lne, her bi mon lne, her bi mg lne, 110 eal is eoran gesteal idel weore! Swa cw snottor on mode, gest him sundor t rune. Til bi se e his treowe gehealde, ne sceal nfre his torn to rycene beorn of his breostum acyan, neme he r a bote cunne, eorl mid elne gefremman. Wel bi am e him are sece, frofre to fder on heofonum, r us eal seo fstnung stonde.

115

a blizzard descending binds the ground, winters tumult, when darkness comes, when night-shadow grows black, from the north is dispatched 105 an angry hail-storm in malice against men. All is full of hardship in the kingdom of earth, the shaping of events changes the world beneath the heavens. Here money is borrowed, here friend is borrowed, here man is borrowed, here family man is borrowed, 110 all this earths foundation will become empty! Thus spoke a man clever in mind, sat apart with himself in secret counsel. Excellent is he who keeps his faith, nor shall a man ever reveal grief from his breast too quickly, unless he, a gentleman, can rst carry out the cure with courage. It will be well for him who seeks grace, solace from the Father in heaven, where security waits entirely for us.

115

102 hri blizzard. Not found outside The Wanderer. The adjective is hryig snow-swept on line 77. From Old Scandinavian hr snow-storm? Dunning and Bliss believe so (1969: 61). 107 wyrda gesceaft the shaping of events. Providence, as opposed to fate or what happens in wyrd on lines 5, 15 and 100. The line is also hypermetric, apparently for emphasis. This speaker, unlike the Wanderer, can see through fate to the Providence which fashions it. Boethius, through Lady Philosophy, comes to mind (on Fate and Providence in the West Saxon Boethius, see The Earliest English Prose). 108 Her bi feoh lne, her bi freond lne Here money is borrowed, here friend is borrowed etc. Anaphora, but within the frame of traditional wisdom, for the Norse line deyr f, deyja frndr livestock die, kinsmen die is clearly cut from the same cloth in The Sayings of the High One, stanzas 76 and 77 (see below). 111 snottor on mode, gest him sundor t rune a man clever in mind, sat apart with himself in secret counsel. This man looks like Boethius, with Lady Philosophy as his run. The speech in any case distils the argument of De consolatione, with the opening word swa thus recalling his speech as heard. 112 Til bi se Excellent is he etc. This and the following hypermetric lines to the end express a proposition in syllogism: if (a) you are virtuous and (b) moderate, then (c) you will achieve grace in heaven. The poet returns to are gebide on his rst playful line, adding the weight of the intervening meaning in order to turn his eardstapa into an Everyman.

175