Millennium: Apocalypse and Antichrist

Thundy IN GEARDAGUM: Beowulf, Apocalypse, and the East “Now, therefore, it is meet to sing of endings, of what was, and may be no longer. . . . A last sigh for a lost world, a tear for its passing. Also, however, a last hurrah,”—Salman Rushdie, The Moor’s Last Laugh Zacharias P. Thundy In Geardagum © Copyright: Author ii Thundy CONTENTS Introduction Part I: Apocalypse as Literary Genre 1. Apocalypse 2. Apocalypse as Genre 3. .Eschatology as Apocalypse 4. Apocalypticism and the East PART II: Beowulf, Apocalypse and the East 1. Beowulf is also a Christian Poem 2. Apocalyptic Techniques A. Use of Formulas B. Prophecy and History C. Intercalation with Digressions D. Recapitulation E. Use of Numbers F. Allegory G. Chiasmus/Ring Composition 3. Monsters as Historical Allegories 4. Rome as an Allegory of Evil in Early Christianity 5. The Dragon: Cain’s Seed, Heretics, and Islam A. Seed of Cain and Heretics B. The Dragon and the Heresy of Islam iii In Geardagum C. Beowulf and Islam 6. The Eastern Antichrist in Beowulf A. The Byzantine Version B. Jewish Origin of Antichrist C. Double Antichrist and the Last Emperor D. Anglo-Saxons and Pseudo-Methodius E. Anglo-Saxons and Islam 7. The Spirit of Beowulfian Apocalypse COROLLARY: The Beowulf-poet even did read Plato! NOTES iv Thundy Introduction Which book of the Bible do you like most, I used to ask my students. Most of them said, the Book of Apocalypse or Revelation. Indeed, like my students and most Christians, our Anglo-Saxon ancestors had also enjoyed reading and reflecting on the Book of Apocalypse, especially on the applicability or suitability of Apocalyptic prophecies to their times just as we continue to speculate in our times about the end of the world as if it were forecast in the Book of Apocalypse, for example. The purpose of this short book is to explore this attraction to apocalypse by exposing the Anglo-Saxon writers’ familiarity with this biblical book as can be seen in Beowulf, the iconic poem of the Anglo-Saxons. Also, central to this study is the recognition that the Anglo-Saxon poet was familiar even with the East and the Byzantine Greek interpretation of the Apocalypse and Islam to some extent. There are two parts to this study: (1) Apocalypse in general as a literary genre and (2) the literary influence of Apocalypse on Beowulf. I shall conclude this study with a corollary on the Anglo-Saxon poet’s erudition, which included also knowledge of Plato, which has not been recognized until now. In other words, our ancestral ancients and poets, scholars, and writers knew more about the distant world of the East than we give them credit for. 1 In Geardagum PART I APOCALYPSE AS A LITERARY GENRE Though the Book of Apocalypse is popularly known as a revealed book of the Christian Bible, the apocalyptic concept is neither exclusively nor proprietarily Christian. Since the concept of apocalypticism is not exclusively Christian and since Christianity is a descendant of Judaism, one would suggest that we should look for apocalypticism’s antecedents in Judaism. Of course, Jewish literature abounds in the use of apocalyptic types and legends. Interestingly, Judaism is not the only player in the apocalyptic field, nor is Jewish apocalypticism an Athena-like figure conceived and born immaculately. In fact, there are numerous non-Semitic apocalyptic ideas found in the Hebrew tradition, which necessitate the recognition of nonJewish apocalyptic literary traditions including Islamic traditions which vied for notice at least as objects of intellectual curiosity during the first millennium as is the case with us today toward the end of the second millennium of the Common/Christian Era. So it is necessary to give nonbiblical, particularly Eastern, literary traditions their due as we discuss the Western apocalyptic traditions of the first thousand years. 1. Apocalypse The Greek term apocalypse means “revelation.” Traditionally, the word is associated in the English-speaking world with the Catholic titling of the last book of the Christian Bible, which in the King James Version as well as in later English non-Catholic versions is called “The Book of Revelation” or “Revelation to John” as in the Revised Standard Version. Currently, the 2 Thundy word apocalyptic (from the German Apokalyptik) is used to represent the identifiable literary genre of apocalypse and the eschatological doctrine of the last things (death, the end of the world, judgment, hell, purgatory, and heaven) known in literature as apocalypticism. From a historical perspective there seems to be a connection between apocalypse and apocalypticism. The apocalyptic form is usually the literary vehicle for eschatological thought.2 2. Apocalypse as Genre Though Gerhard von Rad refused to consider the apocalyptic as a distinct literary type, modern scholars tend to view it as a genre with subgenres.3 For example, John Collins, who edited the Semeia volume on the genre issue, writes: “Apocalypse” is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another supernatural world.4 The genre of apocalypse, understood thus, certainly accommodates the Jewish books of Daniel (chs. 7-12), 1 Enoch, 4 Ezrah, 2 Baruch, and the Christian book of Apocalypse/Revelation ascribed to Evangelist John. The content of the revelation could be cosmic history, cosmogony, theogony, and/or eschatology—personal, national, and/or cosmic. Collins distinguishes two major types of apocalypses: (1) those with otherworldly journeys and (2) those without. The eschatological contents of these two types differ in the following ways: 3 In Geardagum 1. Historical apocalypses contain historical references and allusions as well as eschatological crises; Daniel (7-12) belongs to this category. 2. Cosmic and political apocalypses contain both cosmic and political eschatology; for example, the Apocalypse of John. 3. Personal apocalypses deal with the destinies of individuals rather than those of nations and the universe; for example, the Gnostic apocalypses of Adam, of James, and of Peter. These generic divisions are often of academic interest only simply because a given apocalypse may cut across all the various subgenres as does the Johannine Apocalypse. What is important to note here is the common denominator found in all these apocalypses: eschatology, be it cosmic, historico-political, and/or personal. Furthermore, apocalyptic writings are not uniquely Jewish and Christian; rather, apocalypticism is a universal phenomenon (for example, Indo-European), biblical (Hebrew and Christian), and para-biblical (Islamic, for instance). All three of these different types of apocalypse have left their indelible marks on the Western apocalypticism of the first millennium. 3. Eschatology as Apocalypse For the practical purposes of this book, apocalypticism means eschatology, “the science or teachings concerning the last things (ta eschata),” whether eschatological knowledge is mediated through a vision by an otherworldly figure or not. Though the Greek term eschatology was introduced into English only in the nineteenth century, eschatological ideas are much more ancient. In fact, all cultures not only entertain ideas of the beginning—of gods, of the universe, and of humankind—but also discuss ideas of death and the end of 4 Thundy all things including gods and mystify the future with colorful stories and images. Often the notion of end is not a return to absolute chaos or absolute order. As for humans, rebirth and resurrection are possibilities, entailing the process of purification after death through purgatory or a cycle of rebirths. Similarly, the universe could also undergo the process of recycling or expect the appearance of a new heaven and a new earth. The doctrinal option is whether the end of this age is followed by eternity or by a golden age or by a millennium or by a series of ages or cycles. Different religions teach different eschatological doctrines. Apocalypticism found in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures owes a great deal to non-Jewish religions, which directly and indirectly influenced the biblical traditions. The pagan Anglo-Saxons, on their part, not only adopted Roman Christianity but in turn paganized or Germanized Christianity and Christian apocalypticism.5 It is perhaps this Germanizing movement in the history of European Christianity between 400 and 1000 that eventually culminated in Hilaire Belloc’s classical statement: “The Faith is Europe. And Europe is the Faith,” leading the way to Christianity’s Euro-centrism. Avery Dulles writes: Originally centered in the Mediterranean countries, Catholic Christianity later found its primary home in Europe…. As a plea to Europeans to recover the religious roots of their former unity, this slogan could be defended. Christianity was in possession as the religion of the Europeans, and the Christianity that had united Europe was Catholic. The Ottoman emperors helped Germanize Christianity throughout Western Europe during the tenth and eleventh centuries, while the Gregorian, Cistercian, and Franciscan movements seemed to have been de-Germanizing movements.6 5 In Geardagum It is true that post-colonial Christianity is trying to shed its predominantly European, Germanic image. As James Russell points out, this transformation can be witnessed “in the Church’s ecumenical relationships with representatives of non-European Christianity and non-Christian religions, its appointment of more non-European prelates, in its canonization of more non-European saints, and in its virtual elimination of Germanic elements from liturgical rites.”7 This de-Germanicization of the Church or the divesting of the aristocratic character of the Germanized European Church is conceived of as a return to the sitz-im-Leben of the early Church.8 Characteristically, the pre-Germanic Church was an Eastern Church, taking its orientation, inspiration, and theology from the East. Therefore, submerged under the Germanic veneer of the Mediterranean Christianity we should expect to find traces of Eastern apocalyptic thought. Interestingly, the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic kings and churchmen also had extensive contact with Byzantium and the East, which means that the medieval Germanic thinkers and writers were not altogether xenophobic or strangers to Eastern Christian and non-Christian thought. Undoubtedly, Jewish apocalypses have been the most influential factors in the development of Christian apocalypticism.9 Though most scholars tend to argue for pure Israelite and Canaanite sources for the study of the Jewish apocalyptic,10 some see the origins of this phenomenon in non-Jewish, Oriental traditions.11 The Oriental influence on Western apocalypticism should be seen in the broader meaning of intertextuality, which is based upon the propositions that “every text builds itself as a mosaic of quotations, every text is absorption and transformation of another text.”12 In its narrowest sense, intertextuality is limited to source, allusion, parody, or source criticism. In 6 Thundy the larger sense, intertextuality also refers to generic resemblances found in common sets of plots, characters, images, and conventions. Following Julia Kristeva’s lead, we can define a “text” as a system of signs and intertextuality as the transposition of one or several systems of signs into another. In this sense, intertextuality can be described as repeating a previously heard story reshaped by our consciousness.13 It is the oral-aural intertextuality that was at work in ancient apocalyptic traditions. Only in this sense, in the absence of datable literary manuscripts, I discuss the presence of Oriental sub-texts in Anglo-Saxon and European apocalyptic texts. It is customary to talk about the presence of Western travelers and traders like Marco Polo in the East during the Middle Ages but not about the presence of Eastern travelers in the West. The narrative of the eighthcentury Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan in Europe, the discovery of over 200,000 Arabic coins in Sweden alone during the Viking Age, and the presence of the Buddha-statue in Scandinavia from the Viking Age, of the Chinese cup from Gotland, Bede’s death scene at which the saint distributed his Indian possessions to the fellow monks, the ninth-century presence of King Alfred’s emissaries in Mylapore, India, and the Oriental silk covering with the Islamic profession of faith all suggest the presence of the Orient in Europe. In the fifth century we hear of Britons in Syria; we hear of the British Pelagius in Rome during the time of St. Augustine; in the sixth-century Procopius could give news on Britain; in the seventh-century Egypt there are references of contact with Cornwall.14 While Procopius complained of Justinian’s attempts to make diplomatic contacts with Britain (Anekdota, xix.13), Spain entertained a Byzantine colony at Merida with a diplomatic mission while another existed at Bordeaux.15 Sture Bolin who studied the Viking hoard of Arabic coins in Scandinavia and Russia argues for close 7 In Geardagum commercial connections between Frankish and Arab worlds.16 Bolin also points out that Charlemagne’s coin reforms were based on an Islamic model. Maurice Lombard even maintains that it was the economic relationship between Islam and Europe that brought about the economic revival of the West.17 Indeed, these mercantile, economic, and diplomatic exchanges suggest the presence of oral-aural intertextuality in the transmission of cultural traditions. There is every likelihood, therefore, that Eastern apocalyptic thought also penetrated the West at various times in various stages—read more about the East-West contact in the section on Byzantine apocalypses. In short, as the Western medieval Christians continued to encounter the wider world of Eastern culture, they learned a great deal from the East and discovered that the East shared many eschatological views in common with their own faith. This intercultural encounter also contributed fuzziness, pluralism, and heterogeneity to the Western Christians’ own visions of the end. 8 Thundy PART II BEOWULF, APOCALYPSE, AND THE EAST About seventy years ago, S. J. Crawford, talking about the monsters of the sea and land populating the Apocalypse, observed: “I am somewhat surprised that we have not already had an article with the title ‘Beowulf and the Apocalypse.’”1 The main reason no such study appeared until recently is simply that scholars were too preoccupied with reading Beowulf as a pagan Germanic poem or as a poem shaped almost exclusively by the Western Latin intellectual traditions dominated by St. Augustine and his disciples or that they were trying to avoid these two extremes. I view this very absence of agreement and agon as an invitation to open the critical window (“wind’s eye”) wider because there is more light and heat out there in the oft-wintry world of scholarship for rereading and re-visioning the fading lines of the English poem, which must continue to remain an open text: Tolle et lege (“Take and read”), as St. Augustine would urge us to do. 1. Beowulf Is Also a Christian Poem The Old English epic Beowulf composed in its present form around the tenth or early eleventh century has been the subject of much criticism, interpretation, and controversy.2 Early critics of the nineteenth and early twentieth century viewed the poem primarily as a pagan work with Christian interpolations. In the second half of the twentieth century the critical pendulum has swung in the opposite direction of Christian interpretation, according to which the poem is a thoroughly Christian work with pagan residues. Critics find that the Christianity of the poem is nonetheless a Euro9 In Geardagum centric Christianity or Western Christianity derived from the teachings of the Western Fathers of the Church, (Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome, and Gregory), erroneously called “the Founders of the Middle Ages” (Haskins) as though there were no other eminent personalities figuring in this foundation myth! In such a conceptual framework we are faced with opposites as though one excludes the other, as though Western Christianity is antithetical to Eastern Christendom, as though paganism is the implacable foe of Christianity. The traditional response to Alcuin’s famous rhetorical question: “Quid Hinieldus cum Christo? (What has Ingeld to do with Christ?”)— a paraphrase of Tertullian’s “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?”—is “Nothing.” Wrong. The answer should be, “Everything.” Christianity is Western as well as Eastern; Western literary tradition is thoroughly Eastern in origin and development. Christianity itself is a religion which has derived its mythology and cult not only from the Roman pagan world but also from the Eastern religions of Judaism, Gnosticism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. I have shown the extent of such intercultural dependence in the development of eschatological thought in the first chapter. In this chapter I shall show that the Anglo-Saxons’ jewel in the crown, Beowulf, has an Eastern aura and dimension.3 Though we are often reluctant to admit it, literary interpretation is based on the critical assumptions the reader brings to a literary text. As James Earl puts it, “In literary criticism everything depends upon the assumptions we bring to the text. Some of these are imprinted deeply in our characters and in our cultures, and some are the result of intellectual struggle and insights.”4 As for me, my literary hermeneutics to a great extent consists of the principles of “fuzzy literature,” as explained in the conclusion, which recognize the presence of opposites in a text and eschew reductionism while 10 Thundy celebrating Nils Bohr’s motto Contraria sunt complementaria. It means that in the case of Beowulf the poem does not have to be purely pagan or purely Christian, oral folklore or written literature, Western or Eastern. It is all this and more. By avoiding the scylla of narrow ethnic interpretations and the charybdis of total subjectivity in interpretation, I follow the middle-road critical principle that Beowulf is also an apocalyptic work with ideas, inspiration, and motifs drawn from Germanic paganism, Latin Christianity, Eastern thought, and Byzantine apocalypses. The fact that the poem was composed—written or copied or recited—around the apocalyptic year 1000 may perhaps have something to do with the apocalyptic character of the book, which is a tragic tale of doom and disaster though not devoid of hope, the last survivor in Pandora’s Box. Earlier critics were more fascinated with historical aspects, folkloric elements, structural analyses, moral vision, and the mythological dimensions of the poem than with the poem’s apocalypticism. The first great student of the poem, the Danish Grundtvig, though he did not like the poem’s mixing of history and folktale, its lack of unity, and its many digressions, sees the moral vision or “higher meaning” of the poem as the universal theme of the struggle of good against evil.5 Writing around the turn of the century, W. P. Ker disapproved of the poet’s use of folktales but praised the poet’s dignified style: “It is too simple. Yet the three chief episodes are well wrought and well diversified…. The great beauty…is in its dignity of style.”6 From the middle of the nineteenth century to about World War II, during the heydays of philological scholarship, the poem was taught in colleges in England, North America, Australia, and India primarily as a linguistic, cultural, and historical document, which J. R. R. Tolkien thought were the wrong reasons for studying the poem. Tolkien says: 11 In Geardagum Nearly all the censure, and most of the praise, that has been bestowed on The Beowulf has been due either to the belief that it was something that it was not—for example, primitive, pagan, Teutonic, an allegory (political or mythical), or, most often, an epic; or to disappointment at the discovery that it was itself and not something that the scholar would have liked better—for example, a heathen heroic lay, a history of Sweden, a manual of Germanic antiquities, or a Nordic Summa Theologica.7 Tolkien’s Gollancz Lecture to the British Academy in 1936 was a turning point in Beowulf criticism; all subsequent criticism, especially the present one, is only a footnote or appendix to Tolkien’s seminal study. Tolkien called for a re-evaluation, appreciation, and criticism of the poem on its own terms. Against the detractors of the structural unity of the poem, he states: The general design of the poet is not only defensible; it is, I think, admirable…. For Beowulf was not designed to tell the tale of Hygelac’s fall, or for that matter to give the whole biography of Beowulf, still less to write the history of the Geatish kingdom and its downfall. But it used knowledge of these things for its own purpose—to give that sense of perspective, of antiquity with a greater and yet darker antiquity behind. These things are mainly on the outer edges or in the background because they belong there, if they are to function in this way. But in the centre we have an heroic figure of enlarged proportions.” (85) Tolkien sees in the static structure of the poem, since “the poem was not meant to advance” (81), a balance, an opposition between beginnings and endings, rising and setting, youth and age, first achievement and final death (81). As such, the poem is not a narrative epic but an elegy: “It is an heroicelegiac poem; and in a sense all its 3136 lines are the prelude to a dirge” (85). 12 Thundy Tolkien places the monsters—Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon— alongside Beowulf in the center of the poem: “I would suggest…that the monsters are not an inexplicable blunder of taste; they are essential, fundamentally allied to the underlying ideas of the poem” (68). Tolkien sees the monsters as adversaries of God and powers of evil, “mortal denizens of the material world, in it and of it” (69). He sees Grendel as “an ogre, a physical monster, whose main function is hostility to humanity (and its frail efforts at order and art upon earth” (91); Tolkien also admits that Grendel “approaches to a devil, though he is not yet a true devil” (89). Tolkien prefers to view the monsters as mortal beings, inhabiting the real world and symbolizing the forces of evil. He seems to have a problem with Grendel’s mother, who “becomes a marginalized woman” (Clark 10), because, as Clark argues, “Grendel’s mother spoils the lyric balance of ends and beginnings…. Worse still, the poet’s explicit representation of Grendel’s mother (and the dragon) seems morally neutral” (Clark 10).8 Tolkien sees the Beowulf-poet as an English Christian author at home in the Christian traditions and in the pagan Germanic lore, though the poet suppresses specific references to the Christian deity as well as the old gods (71-72). The poet cleverly fuses various traditions, and Tolkien sees “the key to the fusion-point of imagination that produced this poem lies…in those very references to Cain” (68). As I shall show later, the references to Cain leads to Islam and Antichrist, Islam and Apocalypse, which is the key to the deeper understanding and appreciation of the poem. Tolkien’s view of the Christian authorship of the poem was anticipated by Blackburn and Klaeber and later supported by a large number of critics.9 By 1922, Fr. Klaeber had already talked about “the Christian coloring” of Beowulf: “The presentation of the story material in Beowulf has been 13 In Geardagum influenced, to a considerable extent, by ideas derived from Christianity.”10 He argued for “the transformation of old heathen elements in accordance with Christian thought” (xlix). He concludes: We might even feel inclined to recognize features of the Christian Savior in the destroyer of hellish fiends, the warrior brave and gentle, blameless in thought and word, the king that dies for his people. Though delicately kept in the background, such a Christian interpretation of the story could not but give added strength and tone to the entire poem. It helps to explain one of the great puzzles of our epic. (li) Klaeber is right: A Christian apocalyptic interpretation of the monster fights as the battles of Christ with the Antichrist-like hellish fiends explains the great puzzle of Beowulf. In fact, the apocalyptic tone displayed by the poet in his references to creation, destruction, and regeneration is the hallmark of Beowulf. The poet, who announces the creation of the world through the symbolic building of Heorot, laments the destruction of the great hall (lines 81-85) and later ends the poem with the death of the hero and of his nation. This eschatology of Beowulf, however, is not purely and simply Christian with the revelation of a new heavenly Hierusalem/Heorot at the end. The poet’s eschatology is historical apocalypticism with a veneer of Germanic speculation as outlined in the Voluspa. As James Earl would put it, “We might be tempted to say…that Beowulf’s eschatology is essentially northern and not Christian; but there are…Christian components to it. Beowulf takes the myth of the eschaton from native belief and historicizes it the way Christianity does” (48). Earl is right in suggesting that the historical pattern employed by the poet is similar to Augustine’s presentation of the fall of Rome, Gildas’ story of the 14 Thundy fall of Britain, and Wulfstan’s analysis of the fall of England. I shall show that the poet incorporates not the fall of Rome and of Britain but also the fall of Europe to Islam through the use apocalyptic imagery. Allegory is, therefore, the key to the interpretation of this poem, and allegory simply means saying one thing to mean other things. So, when the poet talks about the pagan king Beowulf or a pagan god by the name of Beowulf, he also means Christ the king and the Lord. The one meaning or literary figure without being wholly co-extensive and coterminous with the other does not contradict the other but rather complements it while retaining opposition as contrarium.15 For example, the moral meaning of the poem so ably elucidated by Tolkien and Goldsmith or the literal meaning of a vampire story contained in the folkloric antecedents of the poem or the historical meaning of Germanic kings and tribes at war with one another does not in any way prevent either the poet from presenting allegorical and anagogical meanings or the reader from perceiving them. The extremely allusive poet of Beowulf, without contradicting himself, has left enough traces in the form of images, for example, in the poem to lead readers to the discovery of the presence of allegorical and anagogical meanings, as coexistence of opposites, leading the readers to the discovery of fascinating and tantalizing new syntheses. The apocalyptic reading of Beowulf is one such fascinating synthesis. The apocalyptic elements of Beowulf can be grouped into three: (1) eschatological themes, (2) artistic techniques of apocalyptic composition, (3) apocalyptic monsters of the poem as historical entities. 2. Eschatological Themes in Beowulf 15 In Geardagum Eschatology is about end. We can view the end of the individual as death, the end of society as its disintegration, and the end of the world as consummation by fire or water. As Edward Risden’s study indicates, we find a tripartite apocalypticism in Beowulf: societal apocalypse, personal apocalypse, and cosmic apocalypse. He writes: In Beowulf, I find three levels of apocalypticism: (1) societal—Beowulf presages a society’s collapse and enslavement; (2) personal—Beowulf is largely about death and how to meet it; (3) cosmological—Beowulf metaphorically prefigures the end of the world and seeks partly to direct the reader’s attention to imminence of the end.16 The prologue of the poem deals with the deaths of Scyld Scefing and his son Beowulf and then the succession of kings and their deaths, indicating that death is inevitable and that all human beings are fated to die. As the poet puts it, “Then at his destined hour Scyld departed, still full of vigor, to pass into the keeping of the Lord” (26-27); his death is followed by the death of his son Beowulf I, and then by the death of his son Healfdene, and so on. Some deaths are peaceful, but others violent; some die by fire, others in battle; some by treachery and others fratricidally, and yet others in the violent clutches of Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. Grendel kills, but he dies in shame and disgrace; Grendel’s mother also kills, but she, too, dies ignominiously. In three passages—lament of the last survivor (2247-66), the father’s lament (2444-62), and Hrothgar’s speech (1700-84)— the poet explicitly reminds his hearers of the inevitability of death. For example, Hrothgar exhorts: O renowned champion, now for a little while your might is at its full glory; yet soon it will come to pass that sickness or the sword’s edge will 16 Thundy strip you of your strength; or it will be the embrace of fire, or the surge of the flood, or the bite of a blade or the flight of a spear, or fearsome old age; or else the clear light of your eyes will fade and grow dim; presently it will come about that death shall overpower you, O warrior. (1761-68) In one sense, the poem is the celebration of death culminating in the death of the two great adversaries—Christ-like Beowulf and the Antichristlike dragon. As Risden puts it, “Beowulf as a whole becomes a memento mori” (93).17 Beowulf, however, celebrates not only death but also life after death. Evil-doers go to fiery hell, while the righteous enjoy happiness after death; for example, Heremod (1709-22), Unferth (581-9), and Grendel (809-24) suffer torments in hell, whereas Scyld goes into the Lord’s protection (27) and Hrethel finds Divine light (2469-70). Apocalypses talk about the end not only of individuals but also of human societies. Empires come and go; heroic societies come into existence and then disappear into oblivion. Kingdoms fall sometimes due to external aggression but often due to internal strife. The poet waxes eloquently about the end of the Scylding dynasty caused by internal rivalries and of the Geatish royal family. After the death of Beowulf, the Geats would find themselves unable to hold off their enemies. The poet implies that with the death of the hero king, society itself will fall into chaos. For instance, the poet’s lament bears out this perception: O earth, guard now what earls have owned, now that heroes cannot! Indeed, it was from you that noble men once won it. Death in the fray, that fierce destroyer of life, has carried off every single man of my race, and they have forsaken this life and seen the last of the joys of the hall. I have none to bear the sword, none to burnish the gold-plated flagon or 17 In Geardagum the precious drinking-vessel; the flower of the host has passed swiftly away. The hard helm must be bereft of its plates and golden ornament; the burnishers whose task it was to polish the vizored helm are now sleeping in death. So too the warlike mail-coat which, amid the crashing of shields, endured the slash of steel blades in battle, will crumble away along with the warrior; nor can the ringed corselet travel far and wide with the war-leader, or be at the hero’s side. There comes no delight from the harp, no mirth from the wood that brought good cheer, nor does the good hawk swoop through the hall, nor the swift steed stamp in the courtyard. Deadly slaughter has carried away many of the race of the living! (2247-66)18 No wonder that many past critics stress the symbolic value of the death of Beowulf as presaging the passing away of civilization.19 Another apocalyptic theme that haunts Beowulf is its indirect preoccupation with the end of the world. Nowhere does the poet directly refer to the end of the world, but he alludes to it several times inasmuch as “he implies a consistent cosmological (or anagogical) metaphor, though not a full-blown allegory, as part of his apocalyptic technique” (Risden 109). Risden shows that references to the Signs of Doom or the traditional fifteen biblical signs associated with the coming of Antichrist in end times, as listed, for example, in de quindecim signis of Pseudo-Bede, abound in Beowulf.20 The desolation and burning of Heorot caused by Grendel’s depredations and by wars and the cremation of Beowulf at the end of the poem are the prime signs of end times and symbols of cosmic conflagration in the poem. The poet depicts the two episodes as Jesus describes the destruction of Jerusalem and lists the signs of the last times. Jesus says: 18 Thundy O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those those who are sent to you!... Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate…. You see all these [buildings of the Temple], do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down [The Romans set fire to the temple and destroyed it without a stone upon another in 70 CE]. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes…. And then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray…. But he who endures to the end will be saved…. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place…, then let those who are in Judea will flee to the mountains…. And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved. (Matthew 23:37-24:22) The Beowulf-poet’s description of Rome-like Grendel’s destruction of Heorot (a pun on Hierusalem) and the attendant incidents resemble very much the persecution of the Jews and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem described in the Gospels. The powerful and tyrannic Grendel terrorized the Danes and reigned in Heorot without resistance from the Danes who fled the hall: This creature, cut off from grace, grim and greedy, fierce and fell, at once set to work and seized thirty thanes from their couches…. Too 19 In Geardagum fierce was that strife, too relentless and long-lasting…. He again wrought more murderous havoc, more violent and bloody deeds and felt no remorse; he was too deeply rooted in such ways. It was not hard now to find a man seeking elsewhere for some resting place farther afield or some bed among the outbuildings…. From that time onwards, whoever escaped the foe kept himself at a safe distance for the future. Thus did Grendel make himself master and wage a wrongful war against them all, single-handedly, until that finest of halls stood empty. This went on a long time; for twelve year’s space…Grendel had waged war on Hrothgar, pursuing through many seasons his spiteful hatred with violent and bloody deeds, a conflict which had no end. (120-54) The long passage cited above indirectly describes the Roman persecution of the Jewish people and their predatory attacks on Jerusalem. As a result, the Danes left Heorot and sought refuge elsewhere as the Jewish people did during the siege of Jerusalem. The following description of Grendel’s entry into the hall and the use of fire metaphor seem to describe the Roman attack on the Holy Temple and its destruction by fire: Grendel came, making his way to the building, an attacker bereft of all joys. The door gave way at once, though held by fire-forged bars, when he touched it with open palm; then, with his mind set on havoc, he thrust back the doors of the building, for fury was rising in him. Next, the fiend swiftly set his foot upon the bright-hued floor and advanced with wrathful heart; from his eyes there flashed an ugly gleam, much like a flame. Inside the building he saw many a warrior, a friendly company of young warlike kinsmen sleeping together. At this his heart laughed within him, for the fearsome monster meant, before day came, to tear 20 Thundy the life out of the body of every single one of them, now that the chance of a lavish feast had come his way. (720-35) The Roman allusion of the poet in this section is found in Wealhtheow’s appearance in Heorot (612 ff) since Wealh means not only Welsh but also foreign and Roman. Following Helen Damico’s argument that Wealhtheow is a valkyrie-figure who appears in end times in in Voluspa (stanza 30), one may find here a poetic pun, another eschatological allusion.21 Two other apocalyptic signs found in Beowulf are interesting; they are references to widespread apostasy and the appearance of the false prophet. According to the predictions of Jesus, during the eschatological times many faithful will fall away from the true faith and false messiahs and prophets will try to seduce them: “Take heed that no one lead you astray. For many will come in my name and say, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray” (Matthew 24: 4-5). Some of the Danes became apostates, like the followers of Antichrist during the end times: At times they viewed holy sacrifices to honor the shrines of idols and prayed aloud that the Destroyer of the Souls [devil] might render them aid against the calamities of their nation. Such was their custom; such was the hope of the apostate. It was towards hell that they turned their minds; they ignored God, the Judge of deeds [at the Last Judgment]; they ignored the Lord God; they preferred not to worship the Heavenly Father, the God of glory. Woe unto those who through evil deeds must lose their souls in the expanse of eternal fire without the hope of any respite. (175-86) In the Apocalypse an associate of Antichrist is the false prophet (19:20); he is very much like Unferth, who prophesies that Beowulf will fail in his 21 In Geardagum undertaking against Grendel (525-8). Both of them end up in hell; the false prophet is thrown into hell with Antichrist: “These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone” (19:20) just as Grendel and Unferth were also cast into hell. The end of the world is foreshadowed in two passages in Beowulf: in the reference to the destruction of Heorot by fire and in the cremation of Beowulf. The high hall of Heorot goes up in flames only much later, symbolizing the end of the world: “There stood that lofty towering hall with its broad horns; yet it was for swirling flames of war and for destroying fire that it waited” (81-3). It is more logical than arbitrary to place the cremation of Beowulf at the end of the poem. The sad funeral scene of Beowulf is a vivid portrayal of last days of the world: Then the Geatish people made ready a funeral pile for him on that spot—no petty one, but one hung around with helms and battle-shields and bright corselets, as had been his request. Then in the midst of it the lamenting warriors laid the renowned prince their beloved lord. The fighters then began to kindle the greatest of funeral fire upon that crag; wood-smoke rose up, black above the blaze, and roaring of flames was mingled with wailing, while the swirling winds fell still, until fire had split his bony frame and lay hot about his heart. With cheerless spirits they mourned the killing of their lord, a heavy grief to them. Also a Geatish woman, with her hair bound up, in her sorrow and care sang again and again a funeral chant, saying she sorely dreaded that she would know days of mourning, and a time of great slaughter and terror among the host, with humiliation and captivity. Heaven swallowed up the smoke. (3137-55)22 22 Thundy While fire and smoke filled the skies, the retainers of the king cried their hearts out in grief and sang the late king’s praises; they also left behind countless treasures in the barrow of the dragon. This passage is reminiscent of the fall of Babylon in fire and smoke, with her treasures laid waste in an hour (18:17), wailed over by merchants of the earth but celebrated by the visionary of the Book of Apocalypse (18:2-24). One often gets the impression that Beowulf is devoid of the sense of hope in regeneration and recreation which the biblical book of Apocalypse exudes in the following verses: Then I saw a new heaven and new earth; for the first earth has passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a great voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God Himself will be with them.” (21:1-2) Even though the English poem does not use the same language, it offers an interesting alternative in the memorial shelter built by the Wederas on the headland [Hronesnaes]. This building is like a lighthouse-like beacon of hope for seafarers as in the Apocalypse, where “by its light [of the Heavenly City] shall the nations walk” (21:24); it does not take a millennium to build it but ten days—10 seems to be a deliberate parallel to 1000—; it is a dwelling for hero Beowulf in order to be with his people; this house, which is built on a hill as Jerusalem is built on Mount Zion, is adorned with treasures, jewels, and rich trappings, somewhat like a well-adorned spouse, the heavenly Jerusalem, that the Apocalypse is talking about; the poet’s references to fire reminds us of the destruction of Jerusalem by fire and to wall reminds us of 23 In Geardagum the Apocalypse’s description of the wall (Apoc. 21:12) of the Heavenly Jerusalem; it exists on earth and is made by human hands. Obviously, the poet interprets the Apocalypse and invents his own heaven on earth made of human hands for human beings struggling in the sea of life as pilgrims and wayfarers—like human beings caught in the sea of samsara (cycle of rebirths) of the Hindu tradition. The poet seems to suggest that, while alive, we build our castles of hopes here on earth and not elsewhere. In other words, he implies that we humans should build the new heaven and new earth on the middle earth by our own hands until the end of the world. In fact, the poet has already mentioned this point earlier in the passage where Hrothgar gives orders that “Heorot be again bedecked inside by human hands; there were many, both men and women, who made ready the banquet-chamber, the hall for the guests” (991-4). This is how the poet unfolds his existential vision of life after death for the survivors on earth: Then the people of the Wederas built a shelter on the headland; it was high and broad and could be seen far and wide by those who travel the waves. In ten days they had built up this memorial to a man bold in combat; they raised a wall round what the fire had left, the worthiest that men of deep knowledge could devise. In this barrow they placed armrings and jewels, and all the rich trappings which men intent upon strife had taken from the hoard; they left this wealth of earls for the earth to guard, laying the gold in the ground, where it still exists, and now, as before, is set apart from the use of men. (3156-68) The values and good deeds that make a person worthy of fame and glory both on earth and in heaven are deeds of valor, loyalty to liege lord, gentleness, graciousness, kindness, and eagerness to win fame: 24 Thundy Then round the burial mound rode men brave in battle, sons of highborn men, twelve in all; they wished to lament their sorrow and mourn for their king, to utter a lay and to speak of this man. They praised his heroism and proclaimed the excellence of his deeds of valor, for it is fitting that a man should thus honor his liege lord by his words and show him heartfelt love when his spirit has been taken from his body. Thus did men of the Geats, his own hearth-companions, bewail the fall of their lord; they said that among all the kings in this world he had been the gentlest of men and the most gracious, the most kindly to his people, and the most eager to win renown. (3169-82) The poet’s use of the symbolic number of twelve in the passage above recalls the apocalypse’s use of the same symbolic number for the twelve tribes of Israel, and for the twelve Apostles: And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel…. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (21:10-14) Thus the visionary author of Beowulf, while reflecting on the themes of the Book of Apocalypse, gives a secular twist to them and uses several artistic devices borrowed from the biblical Apocalypse. 2. Apocalyptic Techniques 25 In Geardagum The biblical Apocalypse uses the literary devices of repetition of formulas like “ I saw” and “I heard,” intercalations, recapitulations, interlocking, digressions, and ring compositions, as explained in chapter two. That the Beowulf-author also uses similar techniques suggests that he is probably trying to imitate the apocalyptic style in his writing of Beowulf, which is not an oral formulaic poem at all.23 Some of the techniques are the use of formulas, prophecy-cum-history, intercalation, recapitulation, the use of numbers, and chiasmus (ring composition); because of space restrictions, I shall discuss these only briefly.24 A. Use of Formulas As in the Apocalypse, there are in Beowulf so many instances of the use of formulas—especially of “I heard” (from gehyran) in lines 38, 62, 273,582, 1197, 1346, 2163, 2172, and “I learned” (from gefrignan) in 74, 575, 776, 837, 1011, 1027, 1196, 1955, 2484, 2685, 2694, 2752, 2773, and 2837.25 Most people tend to associate repetition of phrases and formulas with oral composition and extemporary singers of tales and to think that lettered poetry is not formulaic. The formula-laden, visionary biblical Apocalypse, on the other hand, is a written text, as we know from chapter 1:11: “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches.” Without getting into the mine field of theories of and controversies on oral formulaic composition, let me simply suggest from the evidence of apocalyptic literature that formulaic composition is quite compatible with literary poetry. I further suggest that the English poet has probably used the repetition of formulas to create a visionary poem after the model of the biblical Apocalypse. B. Prophecy and History 26 Thundy The Apocalypse was, and is still, considered a prophetic book as the book itself states explicitly: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show his servants things which must shortly come to pass” (1:1). The author also identifies his words as “words of prophecy” (1:2; 22:18,19). Most readers then, as now, interpreted the eschatological prophecies of the Apocalypse not simply as the message of God but as the foretelling of future events taking place in end times. In other words, prophecy is history. As we have seen before, interpreters had been and are still busy unravelling the mysterious threads of prophetic statements in the Apocalypse and trying to apply them to past, present, and future events. As for Beowulf, there is the unfulfilled false prophecy of Unferth; and the fulfilled, half-fulfilled and tobe-fulfilled prophecies about wars and uprisings pronounced by the last survivor in lines 2910-3006; and the Sibyl-like Geatish woman’s prophecy that there would be “days of mourning, and a time of great slaughter and terror among the host, with humiliation and captivity” (3150-55). The most important prophetico-historical dimension of the poem is tied up with the allegory of the beasts of the poem—I shall develop this point below. C. Intercalation with Digressions Intercalation is a technique of connecting two related episodes with a digression, as explained earlier; for example, in Apocalypse chapter 8:1-2, the seven angels with the trumpets are introduced but a heavenly liturgy (8:3-5) intervenes before they can blow the trumpets and start the plagues in 8:6.26 The well-known digressions of Beowulf, like the Finn episode (10631160) and the story of Modthryth (1925-62), function in the poem as examples of the technique of intercalation. The scop in Beowulf brings about some such digressions. Risden gives the following example: 27 In Geardagum An example occurs when the poet interrupts Grendel’s approach to Heorot with comments on the creature’s heritage, the brood of Cain (ll.100-14), before continuing with Grendel’s murderous attack. This intercalation accounts for the presence of monsters in the world. (74) These intercalations are “tinged with doom foreshadowing violence…and a strongly apocalyptic sentiment (Risden 74-5). It is the method of intercalation that gives a chiasmic or ring or envelope structure to the poem. Lack of the understanding of the method of intercalation is one of the obstacles to the correct understanding of Beowulf since literary critics are trained to divide a text into sections which follow one upon another in logical linear fashion. The author of Beowulf does not divide the text into sections or parts but joins units together by interweaving them through the method of intercalation as the author of the Apocalypse does. It is very important to identify the links or joints in this type of structure.27 Much more work remains to be done in this area. D. Recapitulation Recapitulation means literally “repetition.” It does not mean always a summary or concise review, as the word is supposed to mean today. This ancient literary device could simply be the exact repetition of a story or the restating of an idea slightly differently in any place in the narrative or poetry.28 The biblical practice of recapitulation is quite obvious in the Psalms, in which the second half-line, as a rule, restates what the first halfline has already stated; for example, The heavens are telling the glory of God; and firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day unto day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice 28 Thundy is not heard. Yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Ps. 19:1-4) The author of the Apocalypse makes frequent use of this device especially in the case of the monsters and the dragon. The visionary sees two beasts, the harlot, and a dragon, which are all repetitions of the same concept, which is the Roman Empire. By using the metaphors and prophecies borrowed from Daniel, the author of the Apocalypse incorporates the Old testament type and its anti-type of fulfillment in end times. He repeats the same theme with many variations, emphasizing not only similarity but also antithesis. For example, the dragon or Antichrist is like Christ the Lamb of God and Christ the warrior, but the dragon/Antichrist is also opposed to the slain Lamb of God and Christ, the ultimate victor. F. C. Burkitt says, “According to the terminology of Tyconius a ‘recapitulation’ is made when a Biblical writer is speaking of the type and the anti-type, the promise and fulfillment.”29 In other words, type and anti-type are not diametrically opposed to each other and cancel each other but rather complement each other like the two sides of the coin; one is not given without the other. The Beowulf-poet, as Hugh Keenan brilliantly demonstrates, makes frequent use of the device of recapitulation, which involves not only repetition but also fulfillment. For example, in Beowulf, there are two creation stories and two judgments; Scyld creates a tribe of Danes and thereafter there is the biblical story of creation; that is, as God created heaven and earth, Scyld created the Danish nation; likewise, Cain’s banishment parallels Heremod’s banishment. In the end, there is a judgment on Beowulf, who is saved, whereas his tribe, in the words of the messenger, is doomed (122). Earlier, hero Scyld is entrusted to the waters of the sea, while Beowulf is consigned to the flames; Scyld is associated with the beginning, 29 In Geardagum whereas Beowulf is associated with the end. As Fitela fights with a dragon and kills it, so does Beowulf; kinsmen play a role in both stories; Fitela survives, but Beowulf does not; Fitela’s sword is effective, but Beowulf’s isn’t.30 Hero Beowulf’s harrowing of Grendel’s netherworld lair is reminiscent of Christ’s own harrowing of hell. Above all, Beowulf’s victory over Grendel in the first part of the poem foreshadows Beowulf’s eschatological victory over the dragon. In all these instances the poet uses the technique of recapitulation effectively with variation recalling secular as well as Old Testament types and biblical anti-types.31 E. Use of Numbers We have noted earlier the careful use of numbers in the Book of Apocalypse. Besides the twofold revelations, two ecstasies, and twelve tribes, we find the number seven—seven candles, seven churches, seven angels, seven trumpets, seven bowls of wrath, and seven seals. Then there is the mysterious number 666 standing for the devil or Antichrist. The Beowulfpoet is also preoccupied with numerical structures. Hrothgar rules for fifty years as Grendel’s mother lives in the underwater lair for fifty years, and the dragon is fifty feet long. Grendel kills thirty men in the first attack and carries away fifteen bodies. Beowulf leads a group of fifteen men to Heorot. Beowulf has the strength of thirty men; he carries thirty suits of armor from the battle scene. The number twelve is also important: Beowulf takes twelve men with him to fight the dragon and twelve warriors circumambulate Beowulf’s grave—almost in accordance with traditional Indian customs—, while Grendel reigns in Heorot for twelve years. The millennial number 1000 is applied to the period of time the dragon guards the buried treasure. Isn’t it fascinating that the name of Grendel appears on line 666 of the 30 Thundy poem? My intention here is only to allude to the poet’s familiarity with the Apocalypse-author’s use of numbers and not develop the idea. The poet’s fascination with numerical structures is the subject matter of the scholarly studies of Thomas Hart and David Howlett.32 F. Allegory Allegory, or a deeper meaning other than the literal, underlies the Apocalypse. Readers have never failed to recognize this deeper meaning (hyponoia); that is, the Apocalypse contains more than what is said on the literal level. The moral message of the story, as can be gleaned from Hrothgar’s sermon, is easy and obvious: “Pride goes before a fall.” The Augustinian interpretation of the Apocalypse is the best example of this kind of reading. But the interpretation that places stress on prophecy and history seeks out a deeper meaning in the work by relying on the literary and historical contexts of the book. The images of beasts and the dragon have always been seen and interpreted in that way. As for Beowulf, too, the search for the deeper meaning has always led to the search for allegorical meanings, as we shall see below. Particularly, this issue is relevant to the poem since the poet introduces the figures of Cain and Abel about whom Philo, the archpriest of allegorical interpretation, has written extensively. In the beginning of his book On the Birth of Abel and the Sacrifices Offered by Him and by His Brother Cain, Philo writes: In case these unfamiliar terms may cause perplexity to many, I will attempt to give as clear an account as I can of the underlying philosophical thought. It is a fact there are two opposite contending views of life, one which ascribes all things to the mind as our master, whether we are using our reason or our senses, in motion or at rest, the 31 In Geardagum other which follows God, whose handiwork it believes itself to be. The first of these views is figured by Cain who is called Possession, because he thinks he possesses all things, the second by Abel, whose name means “one who refers (all things) to God.” Now both these views or conceptions lie in the womb of the single soul.33 The Philonesque preoccupation with allegory and history seems to be a hallmark of the poetic art of Beowulf, as we shall see in more detail in the following pages.34 G. Chiasmus/Ring Composition We have already seen in chapter three that the Johannine Apocalypse follows the ring structure of compositional method, in which the prologue is contrasted against the epilogue in decremental contrast and repetition as a b c d c´ b´ a´. This type of chiasmic structure is found also in Beowulf, as the studies of A. C. Bartlett, Constance B. Hieatt, J. O. Beaty, David R. Howlett, John Niles, and H. Ward Tonsfeldt have clearly demonstrated.35 In this type of composition, the series revolves around a single kernel, which we can call media res as in the classical phrase in medias res. The author first establishes or determines or marks off this “middle piece” as in a tic-tac game and then looks for the pieces at each end and then moves centripetally by alternating the arrangement of the pieces. As for the Apocalypse, we have seen that the central episode is that of the small prophetic scroll (10:111), which the seer eats from the hand of the angel, and he is told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings (10:11). In Beowulf it is the passage found in lines 1677-97, the episode of the decorated hilt of the melted sword that Beowulf retrieved from Grendel’s cave after he had defeated Grendel’s mother and harrowed the lair. The 32 Thundy engraved sword-hilt is similar to the small scroll of the Apocalypse. The hilt told the story of the past and held the secrets of the future in runic script: Then the golden hilt, the work of giants of yore, was given into the hand of the aged warrior, the grey-haired leader in battle. Thus after the fall of the devils, this work made by wondrous craftsmen passed into the possession of the Danish lord. When the savage-hearted creature, guilty of murder, the adversary of God [Godes andsaca—Antichrist] and his mother, too, had forsaken this world, it passed into the power of the noblest of all earthly kings from sea to sea, and of all who have shared out their wealth in the realm of Denmark. Then Hrothgar spoke, after he examined the hilt, the ancient heirloom. There was engraved on it the origin of that strife after which the flood and the gushing waters had struck down the giant race, who had brought that peril upon themselves. Also, by means of runic letters on foil of shining gold, it was rightly marked down, set forth and recorded, for whom that sword had first been wrought…. (1677-96) As the hilt tells the story of the flood and the destruction of the race of the ancient giants on the literal level, it also allegorically alludes to the fall of the Roman Empire and the passing of power into the hands of the Germanic people, to the triumph of Germania over the Roman Empire, to the first victory over Antichrist at his first appearance.36 The following diagram will give a rough idea of the way the poet created his poem chiasmically, with the golden-hilt episode (D) as the capstone event. A B C D C‘ B‘ 33 A‘ In Geardagum The poet conceived the poem in his mind probably in the linear pattern given above. He could have then composed each segment episodically and centrifugally. The resulting schema would look like this: a. Scyld’s creation b. Scyld’ funeral A c. History of the Danes d. Hrothgar’s order to build Heorot B Night attack C Second Fight D The hilt episode C´ Dragon’s attack B´ Beowulf’s fight with the dragon a´ Beowulf’s order to build the barrow b´ History of Geats after Beowulf A´ c´ Beowulf’s funeral d´ Re-creation I have given here only a bare skeleton of the structural framework of the poem according to the principle of ring composition just to indicate that the Book of Apocalypse and Beowulf are very much alike in their compositional technique. Since other scholars have already shown in greater detail various ring-structural patterns of the poem, I shall not belabor the point any further.37 Where did the Beowulf-poet learn the techniques of such symmetrical tectonic composition? David Howlett suggests: “The author of Beowulf may have learned the art of symmetrical composition from the works of Vergil.”38 34 Thundy In view of the English poet’s familiarity with the Book of Apocalypse, it is reasonable to suggest that the Apocalypse may also have contributed to the poet’s use of tectonic structure in the Old English poem. 3. Monsters as Historical Allegories The monsters of Beowulf are related not only archetypically but also genetically to the monsters of Apocalypse. As the apocalyptic monsters are historical and allegorical, so are the Beowulfian monsters. Martin Green is willing to admit that Grendel “fits the paradigm of the apocalyptic beasts in general terms. He is the enemy of men and God (godes andsaca); he is associated with apostasy…. In other words, like apocalyptic beasts, Grendel becomes a physical projection of the world in a state of imminent collapse; and it is this level of symbolism that gives to Beowulf’s battle against him its intensity and urgency.”39 Green, however, refuses to dwell on the allegorical element of the apocalyptic beasts and instead talks about them as symbols and archetypes. Margaret Goldsmith, who also links the Beowulfian monsters to the beasts of the Apocalypse, sees rather only the moral sense of the patristic tradition which associates the dragon to concupiscence. In general, most critics, following the lead of Tolkien, view Grendel as an elemental force of evil unleashed on an orderly universe, which forces of order and good overcome. But the question is how and why the monsters are forces of evil and adversaries of God. Grendel, indeed, is an archetype of evil and malevolence and a figure of the devil. Grendel is all that because he is also an allegory in the context of Germanic political history and the apocalyptic context. If he is a historical allegory—I refrain from calling Grendel an individual person—, then he must be identifiable by a referent in a literary text and in historical time. 35 In Geardagum Further, if he is an apocalyptic allegory, he should be identifiable, at least partially, with the denizens of the Apocalypse. The Beowulfian monsters in their physical and moral and allegorical nature are patterned after the monsters of the Book of Apocalypse. In other words, their textual existence is derived, to a great extent, from the Apocalypse, and they are human and demonic at the same time—far be it from me to deny the genealogical literary descent of these monsters from the Irish, Nordic, Latin, and other traditions.40 Let me show how similar are the Beowulfian monsters to the apocalyptic monsters. Grendel is not just a cannibalistic, misanthropic animal; he has anthropomorphic characteristics like Antichrist. On three occasions Grendel is referred to as a man (wer 105, 352; rinc 720; guma (1682); as Lars Malmberg (241-3) points out, Grendel is not just an ordinary human enemy who engages in honest combat to redress a right violated; he rules in Heorot where he has no rights; he does not care to follow the Germanic law of wergild, which implies that he follows some other law code. Grendel’s mother is also human; as the poet says, she draws her sword and strikes Beowulf (515 ff). Grendel is associated with the devil, as Greenfield has suggested, on account of the formulaic link between him and the other exiled devils.41 Like the devil, Grendel bears God’s anger and is Antichrist or godes andsaca (786, 1682). There are ten occurrences of godes andsaca in Old English poetry, and six of these refer to Lucifer and his fellow demons (Malmberg 241-242). Other epithets of Grendel that make him demonic are feond mancynnes (164, 1276) and ealdgewinna (1776). These two expressions are literal translations of Latin phrases for the devil: hostis humani generis, which in Vespasian Psalter becomes feond mennesces cynnes (13.4) and hostis antiquus (Malmberg 242). The 36 Thundy reference to Grendel as helle hæfta(n) (785), as captive in hell, is the English translation for the Latin captivus inferni found in the seventh Blickling Homily, which is another important demonic characteristic pertinent to the apocalyptic tradition, where the beast is a captive in hell. Further, the poet’s clear identification of Grendel as a spirit from hell (helle gæst 1274) and as wergan gæstes (1747)—translation of malignus spiritus —42 tells us more about the demonic dimensions of this apocalyptic monster. As Malmberg (243) suggests, we must talk about Grendel not simply as a hellish fiend but as a fiend in hell (feond on helle) (101). Most readers also readily recognize that the account of Grendel’s lair is similar to the description of hell in the seventeenth (XVI) Blickling Homily, which is based on the visionary apocalyptic work of Visio Pauli. Though the netherworldly personality of Grendel as a demonic or Antichrist figure would place him in the biblical world from the time of the Fall of the Angels, during the time of creation, during the time of Adam and Cain, during the time of the Noachic Flood, and to the end of the world, the physicality of Grendel places him at a certain place on the Continent and point in time; the numerous historical references and allusions place Grendel not only in the specific land of Europe, in the land of the Danes, but also in a specific historical time. Heusler, Klaeber, and others place the dates of Hrothgar, Halga, Hrothulf, and the other historical figures of the epic in the fifth century, the period of Germanic migrations in Europe (Klaeber, Beowulf, xxxi). At least one of the events mentioned in the poem, the disastrous Frankish raid of Hygelac, is considered by most historians, since the days of Grundtvig, as a real event taking place in the sixth century (Klaeber, xlv). According to R. W. Chambers, Grundtvig’s identification of Chochilaicus with Hygelac “is the most important discovery ever made in 37 In Geardagum the study of Beowulf, and the foundation of our belief in the historic character of its episodes.”43 In the fifth century, Antichrist was still operating under the assumed name of Grendel, the murderous enemy of the Germanic nations. The major sinister power, the evil force, that threatened the existence of the Germanic nations in the fifth century was imperial Rome; it was not the Huns, for they were already a remnant at that time and somewhat friendly, though still treacherous, toward the Germanic nations—that is what Hunferth and Hunlafing seem to indicate. I feel like suggesting here that Beowulf is like the thirteenth-century Nibelungenlied. The latter historicized in epic form the conflicts among the Germanic tribes and the Huns without much deep emotional involvement. I would go further and stake the claim that the Old Norse Volsungasaga is also like Beowulf, in the sense that it, too, allegorizes the conflict between Rome and the Germanic nations; in this saga, for instance, Sigurd’s (Siegfried’s) killing of the she-wolf—in Beowulf, Sigurd kills a dragon—allegorizes the victory of Germania over Rome which is represented by the she-wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. I do not imply that the Old English poet and the other German writers were trying to give vent to their hatred toward Rome or the Huns when they wrote these epics; they were rather like Virgil when he wrote the Aeneid; Virgil does not display any strong animosity toward the Greeks in his epic. In other words, poets could write national epics on ancient conflicts without being emotionally involved or without taking sides in the conflict or without having to admit that emotional conflict was still important at the time they wrote their poems. Therefore, it is not necessary to establish the absurd thesis that the Old English poet was still smarting under Roman persecution when he 38 Thundy wrote the poem about the conflict between Germania and Roma in the tenth century! Was it feasible for the Old English poet to portray Rome as Antichrist, as the diabolical, apocalyptic, cannibalistic, vampirish, detestable, abominable, hellish, satanic fiend Grendel? It is impossible for us who tend to identify Rome with Virgil, Livy, Horace, Ovid, and Gregory the Great to talk about Rome as the great Satan. But the Germanic peoples could talk about imperial Rome and her blood-thirsty legions that destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, that executed Jesus Christ, that massacred countless innocents, that traded in blond English boys in the Roman market place as hideous and devilish. The Romans robbed the Germanic peoples of their land, destroyed their homes, killed their men, just as Grendel did, over a period of some four hundred years. It is important to point out that there are a few allusions to the language and culture of Rome in the poem. Dorothy Whitelock had already called our attention to the poet’s use of gigant-giant (113, 1562, 1690—a Latin loan-word), candel (1572—Latin candela), forscrifan (106—from the Latin proscribere, and most significantly to the word non (1600)—from the Latin word nona meaning church service at the ninth hour (5-6). Then there is the common word beor as in beor-scealc (“beer-drinker,” 1240), beorsele (“beer hall,” 482, 492, 1094); beor is not a native Germanic word even though it is a popular Germanic drink; it is a sixth-century monastic loan word from the Vulgar Latin biber. Interestingly, the poet even uses the Latin word recte and rihte in line 2110. The Roman roads are mentioned in stræt wæs stanfah (“The highway gleamed with bright stones, 320); the hall of Hrothgar (724-25) has the tessellated floor of the Roman buildings, according to Klaeber, Gummere, and Stanley (Thundy, “Meaning” 19). Grendel, as the Romans desecrated the Temple of Jerusalem, would also trample Heorot, Antichrist39 In Geardagum like, underfoot. Beowulf, like Christ or like the Last Emperor, would later cleanse the temple; Grendel’s grasp in Heorot, even though it was placed there by Beowulf himself (830-36), is ironically like the abomination of desolation set up by the Romans in the Jerusalem Temple (Matt 14: 15). 4. Rome as Allegory of Evil in Early Christianity Did the poet have any literary precedent to portray Rome as the apocalyptic monster? The answer is yes.44 In the literary tradition of historical apocalypticism, which the Christian author of Beowulf inherited, Rome is presented as a hideous apocalyptic monster and as Antichrist—morally and literally-physically. It is true that St. Paul presents Rome in a favorable light and exhorts Christians to give Rome her due because political rulers receive their authority from God (Rom. 12-13). St. Paul would also counsel the Christians: “Bless those who persecute you” (Rom. 12: 14); the implication is that God in His turn will prosecute the persecutor to avenge the persecuted (Rom. 12: 19). However, as we have noted before, other contemporary Jewish and Christian writings (1 Peter, 2 Esdras, and the Book of Sibylline Oracles) present Rome in a negative light. The most antiRoman Christian text is the Book of Apocalypse. It is the moral and theological view of this Christian text that underlies the Beowulf-poet’s portrayal of Grendelkin as images of the sub-human, demonic Roman Empire as well as his ethics of the desire for vengeance on one’s enemies. Obviously, Beowulf’s desire to avenge the death of his kinsmen does not conform to the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount, where Christians are urged not only to avoid murder but also anger (Matt. 5: 21-26). Neither Beowulf nor the Book of Apocalypse shows the Old Testament Ezra’s concern 40 Thundy for the multitude which will be damned (2 Esdras 7: 45-48, 62-69). Rather, the Christian Apocalypse entreats God to avenge the blood of the saints (6:911). The angel over the waters does not preach and practice non-violence but the law of revenge or vindication. The author says that those who shed the blood of the saints and prophets will be given blood to drink, because “they deserve it!” (16: 4-7). Grendel’s drinking of blood and eating of human flesh is to be seen as punishment in the light of this passage; this act makes Grendel look detestable and deserving of punishment like Rome, the Prostitute of the Apocalypse, for she is portrayed as drunk with the blood of the saints and prophets and of all who have been slain on the earth (17:16; 18:24). The poet also gloats over the fall of these fiends, especially when he gives all the gory details of the battle between her and Beowulf (1534-89). All this makes sense if we bear in mind that the entire story is told in the spirit of the Christian work of Apocalypse. Further, Grendel’s mother is patterned after the prostitute of the Apocalypse who was made naked and defenseless, her flesh burned up and devoured by fire. Indeed, all this happened, as in Beowulf, to fulfill God’s purpose (17:17). Is the prostitute of the Apocalypse an allegory of Rome? Jewish and Christian apocalyptic writings assimilate Rome, the destroyer of Jerusalem, to Babylon, the early destroyer of the Holy City. In chapter 16, God makes Babylon “drink the cup of the fury of his wrath” (16:19); in chapter 17, the city of Rome is personified as a prostitute with whom the kings of the earth have prostituted themselves (17: 1-2); she is clothed in gold and surrounded by a treasure and holds a golden cup (17:4). In Beowulf, the poet transfers the treasure and golden cup to the dragon, though there is reference to treasures in Grendel’s abode as well—incidentally, Beowulf did not take any treasures, except the hilt of the melted sword, from Grendel’s house; like Beowulf, 41 In Geardagum Alaric did not plunder Rome and take treasures away with him. The inference that the prostitute is Rome can be seen from facts that she is seated on seven hills (17:9) and that she has dominion over the kings of the earth (17:18), as mentioned earlier in chapter three. As in Beowulf, the prostitute of the Apocalypse is found in the company of a beast, which also represents Rome (17:10-11), and the beast’s ten horns represent ten Roman emperors; in other words, the Book of Apocalypse allegorizes Rome in several ways: as the beast from the sea, as the beast from the earth, as the ten horns of the beast, and as the prostitute. Obviously, there is no one-to-one correspondence between image and reality in the biblical work; rather, it seems that the biblical author is employing different allegories to represent the same reality in order to achieve a more intense effect. I suggest that it is the same technique that the author of Beowulf is employing in the poem: he, too, uses the allegories of Grendel, Grendel’s dam, and the dragon to signify the Roman empire. The following similarities between Beowulf and Apocalypse are also worth mentioning: The apocalyptic beast, or Antichrist, is allowed to exercise power for a certain period of time (42 months—13:5), and Grendel for twelve years (147); Rome, the beast, and Antichrist enjoyed universal power and divine worship: “Over every tribe and people and tongue and nation” (13:7); “all who dwell on earth worship the “beast” (13:8); likewise, Grendel is associated with divine honors in the sense that the Danes “vowed holy sacrifices to honor the shrines of idols and prayed aloud that the Destroyer of Souls might render them aid against the calamities of their nation. Such was their custom; such was the hope of the heathen” (175-79). That the Germanic peoples in Grendel faced a human force or an imperial power is evident in 42 Thundy the following passage: “Grendel had long waged war on Hrothgar…a conflict which had no end. No peace did he wish with any man of the Danish host, nor was he willing to…offer blood-money in settlement; nor need any counsellors there expect compensation in bright gold from the slayer’s hand” (151-58). In chapter 19, the apocalyptic beast is captured after the battle between him and the Word of God by the armies of heaven; the beast is then thrown alive into the lake of fire (19:20); likewise, when Grendel is dispatched to his fiery lake abode (fyr on flode, l366), he is alive. In both works, the monsters are identified with Satan/Antichrist (12-13); in both works there is also reference to an interregnum: In Beowulf, there is the period of prosperity between the death of Grendel and the start of the attacks of the dragon while in the Apocalypse there is the anticipation of the messianic millennium (20:1-6). In both works, after the introductory part we find three acts: (1) the first Act of the eschatological drama (5:1- 11:4): the events which introduce the decisive struggle between God and Satan; in Beowulf, it is the Beowulf-Grendel struggle; (2) the second act of the eschatological drama: the decisive struggle between God and Satan for the possession of “the kingdom of this world” (11: 15 - 20:15); in Beowulf, it is the battle between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother; (3) the third act of the eschatological drama (21:1 - 22:5): it is the establishment of the eternal kingdom of God with the Heavenly Jerusalem as its center upon a new earth; in Beowulf, it is the battle between Beowulf and the dragon. In the biblical work, there are two accounts of the fall of Satan (12:9-12; 20:2-3); Beowulf also recounts the twin fall of the Roman Empire in the stories of the defeat of Grendel and his mother. In the Apocalypse, “one of the beast’s ten heads seemed to have a mortal wound” (13:3); Grendel also receives a mortal wound in the Old English poem. 43 In Geardagum The Beowulfian identification of the Grendelkin with the apocalyptic beasts, Antichrist, and Rome finds support not only in the Book of Apocalypse but also in the early medieval exegeses of the Apocalypse. Briefly recapitulated from chapter three, the anti-Roman reading of the Apocalypse was fairly well known among Christian exegetes. For example, Ireneus (second half of the second century) sees the Roman empire in the Beast of the Sea of the Apocalypse, without mentioning Rome by name; however, he attributes the mysterious number 666, which indicates the name of the Beast, to Latinus since the Latins currently hold imperial power (Adversus Haereses 5.30.3). Hippolytus of Rome (third century) does not hesitate to identify unequivocally the beast of Daniel with Rome (Refutation of Heresies 25, 28,33); later on, he referred to the Second Beast of the Apocalypse 13 as Antichrist, who would be a Roman emperor (49). Like Ireneus, Hippolytus, too, thought that the number 666 stands for Latinus (50). The Latin Christian poet Commodian, enraged by the persecution of the Christians by imperial Rome, became a convinced chiliast (Instructions i. 44) and wrote a fervent anti-Roman poem in the tradition of the Book of the Apocalypse. He taught that there would be two Antichrists—a revived Nero in the West who would be killed by the final Antichrist arising from Persia (Song of the Two Peoples 933-935; McGinn 23). The Latin Church Father Tertullian, who himself was persecuted, had no hesitation whatsoever in calling Rome a devil and the Babylon of the Apocalypse (Adversus Judaeos 94; Paschoud 49). The Latin Fathers—Cyprian, Victorinus, and Lactantius— who, too, were persecuted, saw one of the caesars as Antichrist and Rome as the prostitute of the Apocalypse (Paschoud 55-57). The Latin version of the fifth-century apocryphal work, Testament of the Lord, after enumerating the recognizable physiognomical signs of Antichrist, ends with the statement” 44 Thundy Dexius [Emperor Decius] erit nomen Antichristi” which statement seems to refer to the mid-third-century persecuting emperor Decius.45 The anti-Roman attitude of the early Christian writers, as mentioned before in chapter three, underwent a significant change with the conversion of Constantine and the Christianization of the empire in the fourth century. Eusebius of Caesarea, Jerome, and Augustine rejected the anti-Roman interpretation of the biblical Apocalypse. Augustine, for instance, without denying the theological veracity of the coming of the Antichrist, refused to calculate the time of the advent of the Antichrist or to read the signs of the final consummation; he understood apocalyptic symbolism in terms of the constant struggle between the forces of good and evil within the Church in every age. Hence the prophecies of the Apocalypse do not refer to any particular catastrophe but to the end of all history, and the time of that no one can know (McGinn 26-27). Mainline Christianity since the time of Augustine has officially taught the Augustinian interpretation of the Apocalypse. This does not mean that all medieval writers necessarily rejected the anti-Roman interpretation of the Book of Apocalypse. For instance, Beatus of Lièbana’s influential eighthcentury Commentary of the Apocalypse identified the Apocalyptic beasts with Rome (VI:7). This implies that all medieval Christian writers did not follow the Augustinian interpretation the Apocalypse. Even the staunch Augustinian Bede refers to Rome as Antichrist in his exegesis of Matt. 24:19: Woe to you, women with children.”46 Most of them probably could not overtly proclaim their anti-Roman interpretation of Apocalypse for fear of official censure since Church authorities in Rome could easily misinterpret anti-imperial statements and sentiments as anti-papal/anti-ecclesiastical 45 In Geardagum statements and sentiments; so poets had to exercise caution and employ ambiguous expressions when they treated controversial topics. 5. The Dragon: Cain’s Seed, Heretics, and Islam Tolkien suggested a link between Beowulf and Islam when he said: The monsters are not an inexplicable blunder of taste; they are essential, fundamentally allied to the underlying ideas of the poem, which give it its lofty tone and high seriousness. The key to the fusion-point of imagination that produced this poem lies, therefore, in those very references to Cain which have often been used as a stick to beat an ass— taken as an evident sign (were any needed) of the muddled heads of early Anglo-Saxons. They could not, it was said, keep Scandinavian bogies and the Scriptures separate in their puzzled brains. The New Testament was beyond their comprehension. (68) Tolkien is right: The Anglo-Saxons and the English poet deserve better treatment from us simply because they were smarter than many of their critics. As for the Cain-reference, Tolkien could have said instead of Cain Cham because that is the manuscript reading in line 107. Cham’s/Ham’s sons are Muslim Arabs from Egypt and Moorish marauders or Moorish Vikings from Africa, who invaded Europe in the eighth century. For example, the Cronica Mozarabica of 754 from Spain uses the following names for Muslims: Arabes, Sarracini, multitudo Ismahelitarum, and Mauri (when referring to the Berbers who made up the bulk of forces that invaded Spain); very remarkably the annalist prefers Gothi and Franci for Christians.47 Understanding the image of the dragon is the key that unlocks the door of the dragon’s barrow where the secret of Islam lies buried. 46 Thundy In the Book of Apocalypse, Rome/Antichrist is represented by several allegories: the beast of the land, the beast from the sea, the harlot, Babylon, and the dragon. The Beowulf-poet also manipulates the dragon allegory to represent Rome (the first Antichrist or Antichrist’s first coming), but his dragon represents Antichrist (the second Antichrist or Antichrist’s second appearance), who is more than Rome in the latter part of the poem. There is increasing consensus among critics—against Tolkien’s views— that the dragon is “a different sort of creature from the Grendel tribe” (Gang 6) and that among the innumerable dragon stories “there is probably not one which we can declare to be really identical with that of Beowulf” (Chambers 97). Of course, nobody denies that the dragon is like the Germanic worm that dwells in a barrow and guards treasure. The dragon, unlike, Grendel, has no ancestry, no companion; he is a venomous foe (attorsceatha, 2839) and is the enemy of the Geatish nation (theodsceatha, 2278, 2688); therefore, a confrontation is bound to take place between the shepherd of the kingdom (rices herde, 3080) and the kingdom’s enemy, who is mindful of past enmity (fæhtha gemyndig, 2689). Therefore, Beowulf is obliged to take up arms against the dragon to defend his country and to avenge his fallen comrades: “With his live coals the fiery dragon had utterly destroyed all the coastline and nation’s impregnable fortress, the stronghold of that region; the warlike king, the prince of the Wederas, planned to take revenge on him for this” (233336). The dragon’s attacks, indeed, are like the attacks of Grendel on Heorot, like the attacks of the Romans against Jerusalem, and like Antichrist’s attacks against the believers. The dragon also, like Grendel, hates the Geats and humbles them (231819); he too harms the Geats and even destroys the royal hall of Beowulf (2325-26), while Grendel is not allowed to approach Hrothgar’s gifstol (16847 In Geardagum 169). The dragon, like Grendel (166-167), is also a ruler of the land only during dark nights (2210-11). Though remarkably, Grendel is called heathen (852, 986)—appropriate for pagan Rome, the dragon is not called “heathen” specifically by the poet, or guards.48 The dragon is more like the heresy of Islam. A. Seed of Cain and Heretics The poet disguises Antichrist as the dragon and links it with Cain’s/Cham’s kin who are connected with Islam the latter-day Antichrist. The controversial passage on Cham/Cain in Beowulf reads: The unhappy man [Grendel] occupied the dwelling of the monsters a while after the Creator had condemned him [to live] among Cham’s kin. The eternal Lord avenged that murder, because he [Cain] slew Abel. He [Cain] rejoiced not in that feud, but the Creator banished him far from mankind for that crime. Thence arose all monstrous births, ogres, and elves and spirits from hell; likewise, the giants that strove against God for a long time; for this he gave them their reward. (10414)49 The poet seems to be deliberately playing an onomastic game here. He is playing Cham with Cain. It makes sense. According to medieval tradition, the Arabs are considered descendants of Cham, and Muslims are heretics; and as heretics Muslims are also the seed of Cain.50 In the biblical tradition, Ham (Cham) is the son of Noah, brother of Shem and Japheth. Cham’s descendants are Cush (Ethiopia), Egypt (Misri), Arabia, Canaan (Palestine), and (the rest of) Africa (Gen. 10:6). Egypt is called “the land of Cham” (Ps. 78:51; 105:23, 27;106:22); Palestine was for centuries part of Egypt since it was often under Egyptian control. 48 Thundy Though Cain, in general, is accredited to be the patriarch of biblical monsters, Alcuin, who knew about Muslims, preferred to use Cham for Cain when he talked about the birth of the giants resulting from the union of the daughters of men with the sons of God referred to in the books of Genesis and Enoch. Alcuin probably did so because of the belief that all humans died during the flood including all the giants. He could also draw from tradition that Cham was a spiritual progeny of Cain, the ancestor of all giants, as evident from Irish traditions.51 In that sense, Cham could be considered to be a son of Cain. It is also possible that Alcuin inherited a confusion of the names of Cainus and Chamus, which confusion is evidenced in the Old English Salomon and Saturn, where to the question who made the first plow, the answer is Cham, son of Noah, whereas the answer should have been Cain.52 Alcuin writes: When men began to multiply on the face of the earth, the daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw the daughters of men were fair, and they took to wife such of them as they chose…. Scripture chose to call the progeny of Cham daughters of men and the children of Seth sons of God. The former were unchaste on account of Noah’s curse on Cham; the latter were religious by virtue of ancestral (Adam’s) blessing;…but, after the sons of Seth, overcome by lust for the daughters of Cham married them, from such a union men of great stature who prided themselves of their immense strength, whom Scripture calls Giants, were born.53 The poet, I think, is deliberately merging Cham into Cain and into Cain’s theological tradition, which incorporates heretics into Cain’s kin, the typical brood of monsters and giants. It is this tradition that prevails in the 49 In Geardagum depiction of Muslim opponents of Christian warriors with gigantic stature, flaming eyes, cannibalism, and a knowledge of sorcery—traits shared by Grendel and the dragon—in the later Chansons de geste.54 Though the common tradition equates the monsters with Cain’s seed, another tradition equates them with Cham’s kin. Since there exists considerable literature on the monsters as Cain’s kin, I shall not belabor the point.55 What is, however, less known but important to note here is that heretics were also called Cain’s seed and that Muslims, because they were considered heretics, were also classified as Cain’s seed in the Middle Ages. Though it is possible exegetically to derive Grendel and the dragon from Cain, the poet seems to repudiate a literal reading by stating that the giant race perished in the Deluge (1687-97).56 Only an allegorical reading can save us from the danger of falling into literalism, which would compel us to postulate an ante-diluvian date for the events of the poem. The poet implies that Grendel and the dragon are allegorical figures who could have lived before the Flood and after the Flood; they could even be living today. D. W. Robertson makes this point very clearly: Figuratively, the generation of Cain is simply the generation of the unjust to which all those governed by cupidity belong. They are monsters because they have distorted or destroyed the Image of God within themselves. Babylon…traditionally began with Cain, and it is maintained on earth by his generation…. Thus Grendel is the type of the militant heretic or worldly man.57 Marie Padgett Hamilton also makes a similar observation She writes: In identifying the Grendel family with “the race of Cain,” the poet, I take it, is merely employing a metaphor for the society of reprobates, 50 Thundy which is tersely contained in St. Guthlac’s condemnation of his fiendish tempters: Vae vobis, filii tenebrarum, semen Cain!”58 Hamilton also points out, in support of her views, that Bede in his Commentary on Genesis, chapters 4 and 5, presents Abel as a type of Christ, Christ on the cross, Christian martyrs, and the elect, whereas Cain is the type of those who persecute the just and are shut out from the grace of God and from the faith and hope of the elect.59 Actually, this perception of the heretics as seed of Cain comes down from Patristic writings, which use the term “seed of Cain” to designate heretics. For instance, Tertullian in his Praescriptio against heretics (ch. 33) says that besides the Nicolaitans of Apoc. 2:6,15 and Acts 6:5, “There are even now another sort of Nicolaitans; they are called Cainites.” In De Baptismo, he talks about “the viper of the Cainite heresy…who has carried away a great number with her most venomous doctrines, making it her aim to destroy baptism.”60 Ireneus says that some heretics glorify Cain: Others again say that Cain was from the superior power and confess Esau and Korah and the Sodomites…as their kinsmen. They were attacked by the creator [hystera—the womb], but they suffered no ill. For Sophia snatched what belonged to her away from them to herself. This Judas the traitor knew very well, and he alone of all the apostles recognized the truth and accomplished the mystery of the betrayal…. They say they cannot be saved unless they experience every thing…every sinful…action…. And this is the perfect “knowledge,” to enter without fear into such operations, which it is not lawful even to name.61 51 In Geardagum Pseudo-Tertullian also refers to the Cainites: “They glorify Cain, as if conceived by some potent power. Abel was conceived and brought forth by an inferior power and was therefore found to be inferior” (Haereses 2; Pearson 98). Some Gnostic treatises develop the idea that Cain is a superior power. In The Apocryphon of John, Ialdabaoth, the First Archon begotten by Sophia, brings forth twelve “powers’ (zodiacal constellations), and Cain is the name of the sixth power” (Pearson 99). The source of Cain’s power lies in his supernatural origin; in some Jewish and Gnostic traditions, he is the son of Eve and the devil (Sammael). Through some heavy word-play, Gnostic writers develop the idea that Cain is teacher and beast. He is teacher because he is born of Eve (Hawa); he is the teacher of life (hayye) because Eve is the mother of all the living; because Cain is from Hawa, he is also called hewiya (serpent). The Gnostic treatise On the Origin of the World states: The Hebrews call Eve the mother of Life, namely, the female instructor of life. Her offspring is the creature that is lord. Afterwards, the authorities called him “Beast,” so that it might lead astray their modelled creatures. The interpretation of “the beast” is “the instructor.” For it was found to be the wisest of all beings. Now, Eve is the first virgin, the one who without a husband bore her first offspring. It is she who served as her own midwife. (Pearson 101) Partially, it is this Gnostic tradition that has seeped down into the Apocalypse, wherein the Beast is worshipped with the overlay of the Roman conception of emperor-worship because the Beast, the Antichrist figure, appears also as instructor and as seducer of mankind. 52 Thundy On the contrary, it should also be emphasized here that in the vast majority of Gnostic and Jewish and Christian texts Cain is portrayed in a negative light, and the seed of Cain is a general designation for heretics. That is how the Epistle of Jude addresses Heretic Gnostics: “Woe to them! For they walk in the way of Cain” (11) because Cain is the progenitor and prototype of theological heresy. In the Alexandrian Judaism of Philo, Cain’s race is associated with “impious and atheistic opinion,” whereas Seth (not Abel) is the “seed of human virtue,” and all virtuous people are by implication the “seed of Seth.”62 Pearson concludes: “By the first century at the latest, there is an established Jewish tradition that assigns to Cain the role of the first heretic. All subsequent heretics are of his (spiritual) lineage, his genos “(105). The figure of Cain as the patriarch of heretics persisted throughout the Middle Ages. The seed of Cain appears as Caines cynne in Beowulf, as Kaymes kunrede in Kyng Alisauder (1933), as Kaym kin in Havelok the Dane (2045), as Kaymes kyn in Ywaine and Gawin (589), and kyndrede of Caym in Piers Plowman (486).63 As Hamilton suggests, “These analogies, which obviously cannot result from the influence of Beowulf…point to a common tradition, compounded of European giant-lore and Christian doctrine” (318). As for Beowulf, the race of Grendel, which includes the dragon, belongs to the race of Cain who is the archheretic. Just as the Beast leads Christians astray from the worship of the true God in the Apocalypse, Grendel leads the Danes astray because they refuse to acknowledge the true God and worship false gods. These Danes are heretics. In the context of the Apocalypse’s condemnation of emperor worship, the heresy of Rome is tied closely to that of emperor worship, as noted in chapter two. 53 In Geardagum B. The Dragon and the Heresy of Islam Does the dragon, like Grendel, belong to the heretic race of Cain? What kind of heresy is the dragon associated with? The English poet says that from Cain sprang all unholy broods—ogres and elves and revenants and even the giants who strove against God (111-4). Though the dragon is not mentioned specifically, he belongs to the unholy brood of Cain. In his Moralia on Job, Gregory says: “‘I was a brother to dragon and a companion ostriches.’ What is there denoted by ‘dragons’ but the life of malicious men?… He refuses to be Abel whom the evil of Cain does not distress” (20:39).64 Most likely, the idea of the dragon as the devil in monster form comes from the Apocalypse, which derives it from Genesis, where the devil tried to seduce Eve by assuming the form of a serpent. Gregory associates the image of the dragon with Cain, when he says that Cain succumbed to the fire of the dragon Leviathan when he murdered Abel (Moralia 34:38).65 The dragon, being a member of the race of Cain, thus stands also for heresy. The dragon of Beowulf represents the heresy of Islam with the figure of Muhammed as Antichrist. It was John of Damascus (d. 749) who first called Islam a heresy in his catalogue of heresies.66 In the following century (857), the Spanish Eulogius declared: “He [Muhammed] teaches with his blasphemous mouth that Christ is the Word of God, and Spirit of God, and indeed a great prophet, but bestowed with none of the power of God.”67 The same Eulogius connects Muhammed’s errors with those of Arius who denied the divinity of Christ, and Muhammed is a heresiarch in Eulogius’ eyes: 54 Thundy Of all the authors of heresy since the Ascension, this unfortunate one, forming a sect of novel superstition at the instigation of the devil, diverged most widely from the assembly of the holy church, defaming the authority of the ancient law, spurning the visions of the prophets, trampling the truth of the holy gospel, and detesting the doctrine of the apostles.68 Beatus of Lièbana, though characteristically silent about Islam in his famous Commentary on the Apocalypse, seems to refer to the heresy of the Muslim ruler of the province of Bishop Elipandus in Adversus Elipandum by suggesting that “the prince of the land be put away completely from your [Elipandus’] lands for promoting schism and heresy.”69 There is much behind this sort of passionate condemnation of Islam as heresy in Spain. Between 850 and 859, the Muslim rulers of Cordoba put to death some fifty Christians for blasphemy, for alleging that Muhammed was a false christ.70 Eulogius and Paul Alvarus, outraged by the turn of events, interpreted the signs of the times as a fulfillment of biblical prophecies on the end of the world. The Book of Daniel was the focal text of the apologists: Thus he said: “As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and shall think to change 55 In Geardagum the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, two times, and half a time.” (7:23-25) Alvarus and Eulogius interpreted this passage as follows: The fourth beast was the Roman Empire, following the empires of the Assyrians, Persians, and Greeks. The ten horns were the barbarian invaders who had destroyed the Roman Empire. The one that arose after them is the army of Muhammed which triumphed over the Greeks, Franks, and Goths. Islam would flourish for three and a half periods of seventy years each, giving 245 years all told. From the year 854 of his writing to the year 1000, the space is 246, making it evident that the end was very close.71 By this time, in 848 at the monastery of Leyre, Eulogius discovered a spurious life Muhammed, which gave the year of his death as 666, the number of the Beast of the Apocalypse (13:18).72 In 883, an anonymous Oviedan cleric edited the Cronica Profetica, which gives a convenient interpretation of Ezekiel 39 by stating that the Visigothic state, called the biblical Gog, would take revenge on the Ishmaelites after 170 years (884), after the Muslim invasion of Spain: That the Saracens were going to possess the land of the Goths was stated in the book of the Prophet Ezekiel: “You, son of man, turn your face against Israel, and say to him: I have made you the strongest among the peoples and you have multiplied…. And you will enter the land of Gog easily and you will fell Gog with your sword…. Even so, since you abandon the Lord your God, so I will deliver you into the hands of Gog…. As you did to Gog, thus will I do to you. Once you have possessed them in slavery for 170 years, Gog will repay you, even as you 56 Thundy had done. Explanatio: Gog is certainly the people of the Goths…. Gog signified Spain under the domination of the Goths.73 Paul Alvarus in his Indiculus (26, 30) applies the description of Leviathan and Behemoth found in Job 40 and 41 to Antichrist Muhammed. Leviathan’s breathing of fire and smoke—as in the case of the fire-breathing dragon of Beowulf—symbolizes the persecution of the Christians of Cordoba (Wolf 98). Though Beatus generally gives the Augustinian interpretation in his famous Commentary on the Apocalypse, he says on Apocalypse 7:4 that there are only fourteen years to complete the sixth millennium. He attacked Elipandus as an Antichrist for teaching the heresy of Adoptionism, which taught that Christ was only a man before his adoption as the Son of God. Elipandus counter-attacked Beatus for teaching the imminence of the end in a letter to the bishops of Gaul in 793, wherein he compared Beatus with the heretic Migetius in a case of prophecy unfulfilled: Beatus prophesied the end of the world to Hordonius of Liébana in the presence of the people during the Easter Vigil so that they became terrified and crazed. They took no food that night and are said to have fasted until the ninth hour on Sunday. Then Hordonius, when he felt afflicted with hunger, is said to have addressed the people, “Let’s eat and drink, so that if we die at least we’ll be fed.”74 In 1954, Menendez Pidal suggested that the imagery of the tenth-century Beatus Commentaries identified Islam with Antichrist and prophesied the defeat of the Muslims; Peter Klein finds Christian-Muslim conflict in the illustration of the Killing of the Two Witnesses of Apocalypse 11:7-10.75 The scene included a siege of Jerusalem labeled as “Antichrist overthrows the city 57 In Geardagum of Jerusalem” (antichristus civitatem hierusalem subvertit)—the image is evocative of the damage done to Heorot by Grendel and the damage done by the dragon to the realm of Beowulf. Klein sees the combination of this detail with the killing of the Witnesses as an association of the fall of Jerusalem and the conquest of Spain in the context of the martyrdom of the Cordoban Christians (Williams 134). Beatus’ Commentary was copied many times and there survive twenty-six illuminated manuscripts with portrayals of Antichrist as human and beast. The popularity of Beatus’s work suggests that the poet of Beowulf could have seen and consulted the illuminated Beatus Commentaries.76 C. Beowulf and Islam There are some indications to Islam in Beowulf: (1) The most prominent one is the reference to Egypt, Cham’s kin. Egypt, as we have noted before, was populated, according to the biblical tradition, by the descendants of Cham. Grendel’s name is associated with the genealogy of Cham, and as a descendant of Cham, Grendel is associated with Islamic Egypt, which attacked Christian Spain. The second reference to Egypt is found in the first fight of Beowulf; the hero cuts off Grendel’s arm and disables him. (2) It seems that the poet is applying Ezekiel 30:21 to this episode: “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharao, king of Egypt; behold, it is not bound up to be healed, to be tied with clothes and swathed with linen that it might recover strength and hold sword. The arm of Pharao shall fall, and I will disperse Egypt among the nations and will scatter them through countries” (30:25-6). (3) The mysterious passage in Beowulf that Grendel would not have peace with the Danes with the payment of tribute (146-63) can be interpreted in the context of Islam in occupied Spain. In accordance with 58 Thundy the teaching of the Qur’an, non-Muslims are given protection on condition they pay tribute to the Islamic state. (4) According to the Qur’an, Christians, though being the people of the Book are protected, should still “be brought low” (sura ix); this means no public worship, ringing of bells, procession, and blaspheming of the Prophet. In Beowulf, we read that the creation song sung to the accompaniment of musical instruments angers Grendel and brings his wrath on the Danes (86-98). 6. The Eastern Antichrist in Beowulf A. The Byzantine Version The Eastern Apocalyptic association of Islam with Antichrist is not merely a Spanish phenomenon but part of an earlier Byzantine tradition, which flourished in the east especially after the sacking of Rome and the Western Roman Empire by the marauding Germanic tribes in the fifth and the sixth centuries. During its existence the Eastern Empire was the most influential cultural force for Christians both in Europe and in the Aramaic/Syriacspeaking the Middle East. During the reign of Theodosius (379-395) Christianity became the Empire’s official religion, and under the reign of Heraclius (610-641), Greek became the official language instead of Latin. From the seventh century, After the Western Roman Empire was declining, the Anglo-Saxons came in contact with the Greek-speaking Byzantines with the arrival of Theodore and Hadrian in England. Both these scholars were scholars of Greek. Michael Lapidge writes in his article “The School of Theodore and Hadrian” (Anglo-Saxon England 15 (18860: 45-72): 59 In Geardagum In 669 Theodore, a Greek-speaking monk originally from Tarsus in Asia Minor, arrived in England to take up his duties as archbishop of Canterbury. He was joined the following year by his colleague Hadrian, a Latin-speaking African by origin and former abbot of a monastery in Campania (near Naples). One of their first tasks at Canterbury was the establishment of a school; and according to Bede (writing some sixty years later), they soon ‘attracted a crowd of students into whose minds they daily poured the streams of wholesome learning’. Bede goes on to report, as evidence of their teaching, that some of their students who survived to his own day were as fluent in Greek and Latin as in their native language. Elsewhere he names some of these students: Tobias (later bishop of Rochester), Albinus (Hadrian's successor as abbot in Canterbury), Oftfor (later bishop of Worcester) and John of Beverley. Bede does not mention Aldhelm in this connection; but we know from a letter addressed by Aldhelm to Hadrian that he too must be numbered among their students. It appears that the School of Theodore and Hadrian probably introduced the Anglo-Saxons to the philosophy and theology of the Byzantine literary tradition. The Eastern Christians, as McGinn points out, were very creative in their apocalypses, which the West later adopted and adapted for three reasons: (1) They did not have to endorse the Augustinian-Bedan allegorical theory and explain away historical apocalypticism. (2) The Eastern Christians still viewed their Rome (Byzantium) as the “Restraining Force” of 2 Thessalonians 2:6. (3) They had to contend with the irruption of the new power of Islam long before the West had to face it.77 60 Thundy The Byzantine apocalypses, in spite of their eschatological preoccupation, show a marked reluctance in the use of the term Antichrist; instead, they use a series of circumlocutions. In Pseudo-Ephrem’s homily, antichristus appears only once, toward the end; he prefers terms like malus, draco, nequissimus serpens, abominatio desolationis, adversarius serpens, etc.; in The Oracle of Baalbek, Antichrist is a clever shape-shifter. Pseudo-Ephrem also dwells on Antichrist’s cleverness, hypocrisy, lies, and wrath almost as in the case of the monsters of Beowulf. The homilist writes: The accursed destroyer of souls, rather than of bodies, a crafty serpent while he grows up, appears in the cloak of justice before he assumes power. For all men he will be cunningly gentle, unwilling to accept gifts or to place his own person first, lovable to everybody, peaceful to all, not striving after gifts of friendship, seemingly courteous among his entourage, so that people will bless him and say he is a just man—they do not realize that a wolf is hidden beneath the appearance of a lamb and that he is inwardly rapacious under the hide of a sheep.78 In the Oriental tradition, the devil-Antichrist receives more emphasis as a dragon monster than as a man. Pseudo-Ephrem begins with the announcement that he will speak “on the most shameless and terrible dragon that will bring disaster into the world.”79 The following description of Antichrist from Ephrem is not found in later Byzantine writings except in its adaptation in Beowulf’s description of the depredations of the dragon: A great conflict, brethren, in those times amongst all men but especially amongst the faithful, when there shall be signs and wonders by the dragon in great abundance when he shall again manifest himself as God—in fearful phantasms, flying in the air, and all the demons in the 61 In Geardagum form of angels flying in terror before the tyrant; for he crieth out loudly, changing his forms also, to strike infinite dread into all men. (Bousset 146) The description of the ravages done by the dragon to the Geatish people found in Beowulf is very similar: Then this newcomer began to spew forth coals of fire and burn the brightest dwellings. The glow of burning rose up, bringing horror to men; the hateful creature that flew through the air meant to spare no living thing. From far and near could be seen the spiteful onslaught of the serpent, their cruel foe, showing how the warlike ravager hated the Geatish people and was humbling them. (2311-9) In the Syriac version of Ephrem, Antichrist comes from the lower world (Syriac abada) (Bousset 152). Andreas, in his Commentary on Apocalypse 11:7, says: “Antichrist comes out of the dark and deep recesses of the ground, to which the devil had been condemned” (Bousset 152-3). The Antichrist-like Grendel and the dragon also ascend from underground: Grendel’s lair is an underground cave and the dragon’s abode is an underground barrow. The early Eastern traditions also represent Antichrist as a human monster as the Beowulf-poet does. For example, the Apocalypse of Ezra says: “The form of the face of him is as of a field; his right eye as the morning star, and the other one that quaileth not; his mouth one cubit; his fingers like unto sickles, the imprint of his feet two spans, and on his brow the inscription Antichrist” (xxix) (Bousset 156).80 As we have seen in chapter three, Antichrist is not devil, pure and simple; he is also human with devil’s features such as having horns and a tail as often found in iconography; he is also a monster, serpent, or dragon, especially in 62 Thundy Eastern traditions. Remarkably, Antichrist’s avatars in Beowulf—Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon—are called human, devil, and serpent, as discussed earlier. That means the English poet follows the Eastern Antichrist-tradition closely by referring to Antichrist as dragon and monster. B. Jewish Origin of Antichrist One other feature of the Eastern Antichrist is his Jewish origin. Antichrist, according to the New Testament (2 Thess. 2:9-12; John 5:43; Apoc. 11; Matt. 14:15) appears in Jerusalem, as the abomination of desolation in the holy place, as Satan’s emissary working wonders and telling lies, as a false messiah among the Jews. Hippolytus says that he will get circumcised: “Christ came into the world in the circumcision, and the other [Antichrist] shall come likewise.” (ch. vi). Further Antichrist’s Jewish origin from the tribe of Dan—as opposed to the notion of the gentile Antichrist as Nero redivivus, which is not found in Eastern apocalypses—occurs as early as in Ireneus. According to Pseudo-Methodius, “And immediately the son of perdition will be revealed…. He is a man of sin clothed in a body from the seed of man, and he will be born from a married woman from the tribe of Dan.”81 Antichrist’s birth from the tribe of Dan also shifts his geographical location to Babylon whither the tribe of Dan was deported (Bousset 172). This notion of Antichrist’s Jewish origin must be as old as the New Testament times, as the testimony of Ireneus, the disciple of Polycarp, who in turn was the disciple of Evangelist John, indicates: “And for this reason this tribe [Dan] is not numbered in the Apocalypse amongst those that are saved” (V.30.2). Jerome sums up the theory of the Oriental origin of Antichrist while commenting on Daniel 11:37: “But our [interpreters] 63 In Geardagum explain in the above sense everything concerning Antichrist, who is to be born of the Jewish people and to come from Babylon” (Bousset 172). The Jewish origin of Antichrist is relevant to Beowulf on three counts: (1) The tribulations—Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon— afflicting the Germanic people correspond to the three woes pronounced by Christ on the cities of Chorazin (Antichrist was born there), Bethsaida (Antichrist grew up there), and Capernaum (Antichrist ruled from there). Pseudo-Methodius says: And the Son of Perdition will be revealed, the false Christ: He will be conceived in Chorazin and will be brought up in Bethsaida and will rule in Capernaum. And Chorazin will glory in him that he was born there, and Bethsaida that he was raised there and Capernaum that he ruled there. And because of this Our Lord pronounced the Woes over the three of them in his gospel: Woe to thee, Chorazin, and woe to thee, Bethsaida, and thou, Capernaum that hast exalted thyself unto heaven, thou wilt descend to Hell [Matt. 11:20-24]. (Alexander 50) It is possible that these three towns are cursed not necessarily because of their refusal to repent but also in view of their association with Antichrist in the theological framework of the gospel writers. (2) Antichrist will issue his edict imposing universal circumcision “according to the rite of the ancient law (Old Testament),” as PseudoEphrem says.82 In this context Beowulf’s apprehension that he might have sinned against the ancient law (ofer ealde riht in line 2330) makes good sense. According to the poem, the dragon’s depredations brought much suffering to Beowulf, who imagined that he had bitterly offended the Eternal Lord and Ruler by sinning against some ancient law (2329-31). The implication of this 64 Thundy passage seems to be that Beowulf had not circumcised himself and thus offended against the old law of circumcision. On the other hand, literally, if he had circumcised himself, he would have offended against the God of the New Testament, which discouraged the old law of circumcision in the case of converted pagans (Acts ch. 15). Beowulf’s suspicion was well-founded: He had not had himself circumcised in accordance with the edict of Antichrist; therefore, he incurred the wrath of the Dragon-Antichrist. (3) The reign of Grendel at Heorot for some twelve years (144-9) corresponds to Antichrist’s rule from the Temple of Jerusalem. Ireneus says: “But when Antichrist shall have ravaged everything in this world…he shall seat himself in the Temple” (V.25). Antichrist will set himself up to be worshipped as God. Again, as Ireneus puts it, “And he shall indeed depose the idols that he may persuade the people that he is himself God, setting himself up as the one idol” (V.25.1).83 In this context of Antichrist worship, the Beowulfian passage regarding the Danes’ practice of idolatry (175-81) makes sense. It seems that many Danes, unlike Hrothgar, went too far and worshipped Antichrist, hoping for a respite from their sufferings: “They [the Danes] prayed that the destroyer of souls [the Devil-Antichrist] might render them aid against the calamities of their nation” (175-8). The twelve-year-old rule of Grendel in Heorot is perplexing as far as the numerical symbolism is concerned. The number of twelve is not accounted for the reign of Antichrist in the Bible or for the reign of historical antichrists in Byzantine apocalypses. Of course, the symbolic number twelve may refer to the twelve tribes of Israel or to the twelve Apostles (Matthew 19:28) in view of the poet’s reference to the throne of grace (gifstol of line 168) in the larger context of the Apocalypse’s references to the throne of God surrounded by the elders. In the Antichrist-context of the poem, the number 65 In Geardagum twelve may refer to the twelve sons of Ishmael (Gen.19:20), whose offspring Islam is represented as Antichrist in medieval lore as mentioned above. The number symbolism also may refer to the twelve tribes of Apocalypse 17:4-8, which excludes Dan, the ancestral father of Antichrist, who is excluded from the list of Israel’s twelve tribes in the Book of Apocalypse. However, there is one reference in the Eastern tradition for the length of the time of the residence of the Last Emperor in Jerusalem, which is twelve years in the Slavonic Daniel, which is derived ultimately from Pseudo-Methodius. Again, this intriguing point suggests that the English poet probably knew Eastern Antichrist traditions fairly well.84 The reference to the tribe of Dan raises an interesting issue. In medieval folklore, Denmark was considered to be the home of the tribe of Dan. The appearance of Antichrist Grendel in Denmark among the members of the tribe of Dan is quite appropriate in the apocalyptic imagery and symbolism of the poem. Similarly, through the use of Healfdenes, perhaps the poet may be alluding to the fact that some (half) of the Danes (Healfdenes), like Hrothgar, did not follow Antichrist! Further, in the apocalyptic context, Grendel’s ravages of Heorot correspond to Antichrist’s profanation of the Jewish Temple and to Daniel’s “abomination of desolation.” According to the Greek Visions of Daniel, Antichrist will trample the Temple of God underfoot.85 As Lactantius puts it, “He will attempt to overthrow [eruere templum Dei conabitur] (Alexander 206). Most importantly, Grendel’s attempt to grab Beowulf has a very close parallel in Antichrist’s attempt to capture God. According to the Erithrean Sibyl’s prophecy, “Antichrist will extend his lips and palate to the heavens and will stretch out his hands to grab God the Highest; the people will say, ‘Is this not the one the prophets had announced’” (Alexander 207). In 66 Thundy Beowulf, first Grendel seeks to grasp the hero with his hand (745-8); later, Grendel’s mother grabs him (1501). Also, the breaking down of the doors of Heorot finds a significant parallel in the legends of the apocalyptic figure of Alexander, who became the focus of romance in Alexandria probably in the third century CE. The Alexander romance was popularized by Pseudo-Callisthenes, whose versions are found in some twenty-four languages. The Syriac versions of the Greek text was the first to fuse Alexander legends with classical apocalypticism; they were translated into Latin in the tenth century (McGinn 57). According to the romance, Alexander constructed a wall or gate in a mountain pass of the Caucasus to prevent the wild barbarian tribes from invading civilization.86 In 395, the Huns overran the barriers and invaded the empire. What is important for Beowulf studies is the reference that the invaders were not allowed to enter Jerusalem just as Grendel was not allowed to touch the giftthrone (of Hrothgar), though the Danes had deserted Heorot because of all the havoc done by Grendel in Heorot: When night had come, Grendel went forth to seek out that lofty hall…. From that time on, whoever escaped the foe kept himself at a safe distance for the future. Thus did Grendel make himself master and wage a wrongful war against them all, single-handedly, until that finest of halls stood empty…. He took Heorot…to be his abode in the dark nights; yet, under Providence, he had never been permitted to come near the precious throne, the source of gifts. (115-168) The Beowulf-poet’s familiarity with this Eastern tradition can be seen in this passage if we compare it with a passage from the metrical homily ascribed to the Syrian writer Jacob of Serugh: 67 In Geardagum On the day on which these people go forth over the earth at the end of times…mighty Rome from her greatness He shall throw down to the depths…. They shall not, however, enter into Jerusalem, the city of the Lord. For the sign [of the cross] of the Lord shall drive them away from it, and they shall not enter it. All the saints shall fly away from them to Mount Sanir; all faithful true ones and the good and all the wise. They shall not be able to approach mount Sinai, for it is the dwelling place of the Lord, nor to the high mountains of Sinai with their shame.87 Antichrist is supposed to create apostasy among the believers. As there is apostasy during the reign of Antichrist, there are two cases of apostasy in Beowulf. In the first instance, during the raids of Grendel on Heorot many Danes abandoned the worship of the one God and resorted to idol worship. In the second instance, while Beowulf was engaged in the fight against Antichrist-dragon, his own hearth companions fled in terror to save their lives, abandoning their liege lord (2596-2601). C. Double Antichrist and the Last Emperor Two other related features of the Antichrist legend that bear on the Old English poem are the notion of the double Antichrist and the legend of the last emperor. The basic idea behind the variants of the last-emperor motif is simply that as Christ came down to battle Satan first and then defeated Antichrist at his second coming, a noble king will appear to conquer God’s enemies in the end times and surrender his crown to God, paving the way for the manifestation of Antichrist who will be vanquished by Christ and his angels. The earliest version of the last-emperor legend appears in the Pseudo- 68 Thundy Ephrem homily and in the seventh-century Syriac Pseudo-Methodius apocalypse. The Pseudo-Ephrem sermon (early seventh-century homily preached before the rise of Islam), after describing the sufferings and persecutions of the last times, especially the wars between the Romans and the Persians, announces that one sign predicted by St. Paul in 1 Cor. 15: 24—“Afterwards the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall have brought to nought all principality and power and virtue [shall come]”—hasn’t been fulfilled yet: And when the days of the times of those races have been completed, after they shall have corrupted the earth, the kingdom of the Romans will also rest and the empire of the Christians “will be taken from their midst and handed to God and the Father.” Then will come the consummation, when the kingdom of the Romans will begin to be consumed and “every principality and power” will have ended.88 Pseudo-Methodius, composed later in the seventh century after the rise of Islam and written in Syria where Islam was dominant, describes the destruction of the Persian Empire and the irruption of Islam, the children of Ishmaelites. The emperor of the Greeks and his sons will go forth against the Ishmaelites and utterly destroy them. During the subsequent peaceful period, the unclean nations of Gog and Magog, earlier imprisoned by Alexander will sally forth to the plain of Joppa, where they will be destroyed by hosts of angels. After that the king of the Greeks will reign in Jerusalem for ten-and-a-half years until he surrenders his kingdom to Christ on Calvary and “gives up his soul to his Creator.” The Son of Perdition will be revealed soon thereafter. 69 In Geardagum Paul Alexander’s careful study of the legend of the last emperor lists the following apocalyptic stages—not necessarily in the same order—in different texts: 1. The appearance of warlike races. 2. The surrender of the last empire (1 Cor. 15:24). 3. The “first” manifestation of Antichrist in his adolescence and youth. 4. The “second” manifestation of Antichrist, as adult and ruler. 5. The description of the short reign (42 months) of Antichrist. 6. The coming of Elijah and Enoch who will resist Antichrist. 7. The second coming of Christ and the death of Antichrist.89 One interesting aspect of the last emperor legend has to do with the identity of the last emperor: in the Byzantine apocalypses the last emperor is the king of the Greeks; in the Latin versions the emperor is the king of both the Romans and the Greeks; in the Germanic version of Adso (tenth century), culled from Pseudo-Methodius, the Roman emperor becomes the Frankish king, successor to the Roman emperor.90 As we compare the Pseudo-Methodian Antichrist tradition with Beowulf, we find vestiges of it in the English poem. The poet uses elements of this tradition according to his will and pleasure, without slavishly adhering to it, as is his practice with all his subtexts. On the theme of the last emperor, the following observations are in order. After having accomplished the reconquest of his realm at the hands of the dragon by destroying him, at his death Beowulf ascends—metaphorically—the funeral pyre and surrenders his soul. He orders Wiglaf to build a burial mound on a hill (hronesnaes); the hero also renders thanks to God like the last emperor: 70 Thundy To the Lord of All, the King of Glory, the Eternal Lord, will I utter my thanks…that I was able to acquire such things for my people before the day of my death…. Bid men…build a fair burial-mound on the headland by the sea…Beowulf’s barrow. (2793-2808) Later the poet would say about the giving up of his spirit: “These were the last words to reveal the thoughts in the aged man’s breast before he chose the funeral pyre and the hot destroying flames; his soul passed away from his breast to seek the glory of the righteous” (2817-20). Like the last emperor, Beowulf also triumphs over all his enemies and leaves no son as heir behind, which implies that the poet makes Beowulf the last emperor of the Germanic peoples: I would now wish to give my war-garb to my son, if it had been granted me that any heir of my body would remain after me. I have ruled this nation for fifty winters; there was no king among all neighboring peoples who dared attack me with trusty swords or threaten terror against me (2729-36). Further, according to the testimony of the dying king himself and that of other men, Beowulf resembles the last emperor not only as a hero king but also as a holy king: I guarded well what was mine, I did not pursue crafty spites, I did not swear any oaths unjustly…when my life slips from my body, the Ruler of men will have no cause to accuse me of the murderous slaughter of any kinsmen. (2736-42) The king’s retainers said that among all the kings in this world Beowulf had been “the gentlest of men, the most gracious, the most kindly to people, and the most eager to win renown” (3180-2). 71 In Geardagum Indeed, the apocalyptic king Beowulf wins renown as the legendary last Germanic emperor. The apocalyptic idea of the double Antichrist or of the two comings of Antichrist has its reverberations in the poem. In the Eastern tradition, as noted above, Antichrist makes two appearances: as a young man and as an adult ruler. The English poem also refers to the two comings of Antichrist; first, during the youth of Beowulf and later during the old age of Beowulf, and we are all too familiar with Tolkien’s own famous contrasting distinction between the youthful Beowulf and the aged Beowulf, between beginnings and ends. Indeed, the English poet develops the career of Beowulf in two stages, first as a young man, the thane of Hygelac, and later as the ruler of the Geats. During both these stages of his career, Beowulf encounters Antichrist, first Grendelkin and next the dragon; that is, Antichrist appears in the English poem in two stages as in Pseudo-Ephrem and PseudoMethodius. D. Anglo-Saxons and Pseudo-Methodius There is every reason to believe that the Anglo-Saxons knew the Oriental apocalyptic tradition as they were aware of Islam from the eighth century. For example, the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius was very popular in Western Europe, second only to the canonical Bible and Church Fathers.91 The key evidence that attests to the popularity of Pseudo-Methodius in England and Europe consists in the comparatively large number of surviving manuscripts of Pseudo-Methodius. There are over twenty-four short and long versions of Pseudo-Methodius, excluding fragments and extracts, in the various libraries of England. There are five manuscripts in the British Library, six at the Bodleian, and several more at the colleges in Oxford and 72 Thundy Cambridge.92 Further, the frequent citation of Methodius in various English works would also suggest a wide knowledge and use of his text (D’Evelyn 144-56). It is this popularity of Pseudo-Methodius in England that culminates in three independent Middle English versions, two in prose and one in metrical verse.93 Indirectly, Pseudo-Methodius was known in England also through Adso’s paraphrase of it in his famous work on Antichrist. E. Anglo-Saxons and Islam The association of Islam with the dragon of Beowulf inevitably raises the question of the Anglo-Saxons’ knowledge and awareness of Islam. The answer is that the Anglo-Saxons knew much about Islam like their neighbors in Spain and elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East since they belonged not only to England but also to the larger world of Catholic Christianity. From the time of Bede and Alcuin, Islam was a powerful force that Europe had to reckon with; in fact, it was the most potent power in the entire Middle East, including North Africa, the former Roman colony and the home of the immigrant Germanic tribes like the Vandals. After the death of the Prophet in 632, a hundred years before Bede’s death, or by the time of Bede’s death, Islam expanded its sway from the Atlantic to the Indus. By 640, the Byzantines had lost Syria and Palestine to Islam; in 642 they lost Alexandria; between 673 and 677, an Islamic force laid siege to Constantinople, and Carthage fell in 698. In 710 the Arabs crossed to Spain from Mauritania, Africa, and overthrew the Visigothic kingdoms of Spain and moved into Provence. In 732 Charles Martel won a decisive victory over a probing expeditionary force of the Muslims at Poitiers. Bede refers to this particular victory in apocalyptic language in his Ecclesiastical History, which he just completed: 73 In Geardagum In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 729, two comets appeared by the sun…. One of them went before the rising sun in the morning, and the other followed him when he set at night, as it were presaging much destruction to the east and the west…to signify that mortals were threatened with calamities at both times. They carried their flaming tails towards the north, as it were to set the world on fire…. At which time a dreadful plague of Saracens ravaged France with miserable slaughter; but they not long after in that country received the punishment due to their sins. (v.23) What is remarkable here, as Wallace-Hadrill puts it, is, “A northern civilization [Frankish kingdom] was emerging as surely as an Arabic civilization of the Mediterranean.”94 Just as Byzantium took over the imperial role of Rome in the fourth century, now Germanic Western Europe would take it over from the declining Byzantium, while contenting with Islam which was emerging in the East as the political power that was slowly but surely edging out Byzantium. The crowning of Charlemagne on Christmas day in the year 800 symbolized a momentous historical change in the West. Henri Pirenne’s seminar work, Muhammed and Charlemagne, best illustrates this historical polarity of the times. How much did the West know about Islam even at the beginning of the eighth century? Very much, if Bede’s own writings alone are an indication. De locis sanctis, a guide book for travelers to the Holy Places, based on Adamnan’s earlier work, which Bede composed between 702 and 709, contains much valuable information. The information was supplied by Arculf, a Frankish bishop, who traveled between 679 and 682 to the Holy Land held by the Arabs. Though Bede was rather indifferent toward the Saracens in his earlier references in 711, after the Arab invasion of Spain in 74 Thundy 711, he viewed them as enemies of the Church in his Commentary on I Samuel 25:1.95 In 720, Bede went further and branded the Saracens, the children of Ishmael, who had much of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe under their power, as enemies of the entire world (Wallace-Hadrill 6). In 725, Bede’s de Temporum Ratione refers to the Saracen attack on Sicily, to the capture of Carthage, and the great siege of Constantinople in 716 and 717. That Bede’s knowledge of the events is factual can be seen in his change of triennio to biennio and cum immenso exercitu in Liber Pontificalis . He also appends the story of the pestilence among the besiegers as well as the story of the transfer of the bones of St. Augustine from Africa to Sardinia to Pavia (WallaceHadrill 7). It is perhaps coincidental that the regnal years of Bede’s greatest hero Oswald (634-42) were almost the same as those of Caliph ‘Umar (63444). Perhaps the most significant use of an Islamic source, the Qur’an, by Bede is found in Bede’s story of Caedmon. As I had discussed extensively in a previous study, the closest parallel to the Caedmon story—the bestowal on Caedmon of poetic gift from heaven—is the Qur’anic testimony of the miraculous enlightenment of Prophet Muhammed by Archangel Jibril. Let me restate the fascinating parallels found in these two miracle stories: In both stories the protagonists are untutored, unlettered, and mature adults. Both receive the revelation in a dream or a trance. The angel commands Caedmon two times to sing; the angel orders Muhammed three times to proclaim from the book. The subject matter of the revelation in both cases is creation. Both of them sing a verse on creation and remember the words after they wake up. There is a woman behind the revelation in each case; Abbess Hilda in the case of Caedmon and Khadijah in Muhammed’s case. The women refer the 75 In Geardagum matter to a third party who confirms the authenticity of the revelation. All the main topics Bede says that Caedmon sang about such as the revelation of God on creation, the origin of the human race, the story of Genesis, Exodus, and the story of Jesus are found in the Qur’an and, of course, much more.96 Bede even seems to pattern Caedmon’s death scene, in which Caedmon requests that he be taken to the Eucharist instead of having the Eucharist brought to him, after the story of the Prophet’s night flight to Jerusalem, where the Prophet shows his humility to go to Mount Moriah instead of having Mt. Moriah brought to him. Bede’s possible use of the Qur’an makes sense if only we recall the fact that we do not know the authority for it either from Bede or from any other historical sources. By 732, Bede viewed the Saracen threat as “gravissima Sarracenorum lues’ (the gravissima lues of Gregory of Tours v.34) after their move against Tours in 732, their campaign in Toulouse in 721, and after their capture of Carcassone and Nimes in 725. In 732, Boniface also referred to the Saracen threats to Europe in his letter to the English nun Bucga, advising her to delay her pilgrimage to Rome.97 Henri Pirenne argues that the Muslims effectively cut off commercial sea-lanes in the Mediterranean from practical use both by the Western Empire and Byzantium. These dramatic changes weakened the Merovingian kings in north-west Europe and encouraged the gradual rise of the Carolingians, with whom the Pope allied himself in the latter part of the eighth century for political reasons, especially by crowning the Frankish Charlemagne as emperor in Rome in 800. Pirenne writes: It is therefore strictly correct to say that without Muhammed Charlemagne would have been inconceivable. In the seventh century 76 Thundy the ancient Roman Empire had actually become an empire of the East; the Empire of Charles was an empire of the West.98 It often happens that armchair theologians and preachers as well as poets in their literary imagination, because they are removed from the theater of realpolitik, tend to exaggerate the confrontation of the forces of Islam and Christianity in apocalyptic terms. On the other hand, men like Emperor Charlemagne and Caliph Harun-al-Rashid respected each other and eschewed total war by making compromises and diplomatic overtures based on mutual understanding for mutual advantage. At one point Harun-alRashid even sent the gift of an elephant to Charlemagne, who in 799 wrote a letter to Alcuin for a copy of the Disputatio cum Sarraceno composed by a certain Felix. Alcuin wrote back saying that the treatise could be found with Liutprand of Lyons; Alcuin, however, added that information on that issue could also be obtained from the Pisan Peter who was at that time residing at Charlemagne’s own court.99 Indeed, at least some among the English and the French knew Islam and the Muslims fairly well. 7. The Spirit of Beowulfian Apocalypse Unlike preachers and propagandists, the poet of Beowulf seems to have his own vision of the end times. He uses apocalyptic motifs and metaphors without falling into literalism and millenarism. As we have seen before, he uses allegory to avoid the scylla of literalism and interpretations of history to avoid the charybdis of Augustinian spiritualist view of the Apocalypse. The final end, the end of the world, does not come about in the poem with the death of Antichrist-dragon. On the contrary, it seems that the death of the dragon is only the beginning after an end, the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, as in Indian apocalyptic mythology, where we find the 77 In Geardagum constant passage of ages. The poet suggests this eschatological view by giving several indicators. First, King Beowulf anoints Wiglaf as his successor by bestowing on him royal insignia (2809-16). Similarly, the poet’s other references to the succession of the kings Scyld and Beowulf I, Healfdene, Hrothgar, and so on seem to point toward the on-going process of history without end but not without hope. It is this note of hope that characterizes the spirit of the English poem, following on the heels of apocalyptic doom. The poet seems to say that tragedy should spell not necessarily despair but hope not only for victims of the tragedy but also for their heirs. As for the dead Beowulf, there is hope because he would long abide in his tomb, his final abode, “in the keeping of the God the Ruler,” resting in peace (3105-9). As for Beowulf’s followers, sinners and saints alike, his burial mound would presumably function as a beacon light for the safety of the sailors in the storm-tossed sea of life. The poet adds caution as a safeguard against unbridled optimism by indirectly alluding to future attacks from Franks, Frisians, and Swedes (2910 ff). The poet’s message seems to be this: prevent wars if you can in order to postpone the inevitable end. Though it was not possible to save Beowulf’s life because he was fated to die, it is possible to postpone the inevitable end just as Beowulf did by triumphing over obstacles and enemies. Just as Beowulf lived to mature old age by leading a life of courage and virtue, it is possible for individuals to postpone the end by living a righteous life at least for the sake of a fuller, longer life, resonating the Deuteronomic theological view, “Honor thy father and mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged and that it may go well with thee in the land” (Deut. 5:16). 78 Thundy The Beowulfian apocalypse is not a simple replica of the final vision of the biblical apocalypse, where the visionary sees “a new heaven and a new earth…a new Jerusalem coming out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband…[as a place] where God shall wipe away all tears and where death, mourning, crying, and sorrow shall be no more (21;1-4). The English poet would have nothing of such sentimental, maudlin, unrealistic dream vision in this world. On the contrary, in the Beowulfian universe, only those who have died in the Lord— Scyld, Beowulf I, and Beowulf II, to wit—have that privilege; the living have to live death, mourning, crying, and sorrow. This is the message the poet sends through the wailing of the Geatish woman, probably even Beowulf’s own wife, literally or figurally: “She would know days of mourning, and a time of great slaughter and terror among the host, with humiliation and captivity” (3150-55)—which could be eschatological or merely futuristic troubles ahead, a sentiment expressed by the last survivor (2910-23), cited earlier. This somber view seems to be imbued with the spirit of Germanic apocalypticism. The picture of the end is similar both in Beowulf and in the Voluspa. In Beowulf both hero Beowulf and the villainous dragon are killed as in ragnarøk, where both gods and demons meet their inevitable end just as in Hindu mythology. However, the sons of gods as well as two members of the human race survive the ragnarøk to start the reconstruction of heaven and earth. In Beowulf, Wiglaf and his companions survive the death of their lord and the dragon. In fact, Beowulf instructs Wiglaf to look after the needs of his people (2801-2). To repeat, “Make the best of both worlds” seems to be the parting message of the poet. In other words, life must go on because life is stronger than death. That is, though destruction casts its pale shadow on earth, the spirit of reconstruction will rise ever resplendent, flame-like, like 79 In Geardagum the legendary phoenix of the East, from the fuzzy fire and gray smoke enveloping the burning pyre of Beowulf. 80 Thundy COROLLARY: The Beowulf-poet even did read Plato! Let me conclude this “littel book” with a note about the unassailable erudition of the poet by alluding to his acquaintance with Plato and to his knowledge of Greek. Literary Source of the last three lines of Beowulf (3180-3) Anglo-Saxonists will be thrilled to learn that the Old English author of Beowulf proclaims the last verses of Plato's "Phaedo" as a tribute to Beowulf, the great deceased king of the legendary Geats: “Cwædon ∂æt he wære wyruldcyninga/manna mildust; on mon(∂w)ærust,/leodum li∂ost ond lofgeornost" (3180-2) (They said that of all the kings of earth,/ of men he was mildest and most beloved,/ to his kin the kindest, keenest for praise” ). Plato concludes his recollection of the final moments of Socrates' life in Phaedo as follows: "Such was the end . . . of our friend; concerning whom I may truly say, that of all the men of his time whom I have known, he was the wisest and justest and best." The Beowulf-passage would, indeed, raise the issue that probably the Anglo-Saxon poet of Beowulf and his peers also knew enough Greek to be able to read Greek classics like Plato’s Phaedo either in the original or in excerpts found in rhetoric handbooks or anthologies commonly used in the monastic seminaries. Certainly at least a few Anglo-Saxons knew enough Greek like the brilliant Neo-Platonist poet and philosopher Johannes Scotus Eriugena, the ninth-century, “John, the Irish-born Scot,” who translated Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and succeeded Alcuin as education minister in Charlemagne’s kingdom, later probably as a master at Oxford at 81 In Geardagum the invitation of King Alfred and finally as monk at Malmesbury Abbey. It is important to note that Greek was used in the learning tradition of Early and Medieval Ireland, as evidenced by the use of Greek script in medieval Irish manuscripts.100 Eriugena's "The Division of Nature" ((Περί φύσεων) has been called the final achievement of ancient philosophy, a work which "synthesizes the philosophical accomplishments of fifteen centuries." It is presented, like Alcuin's book, as a dialogue between Master and Pupil; Aelfric would use the same model in his colloquy. In support of my contention on the knowledge of Greek among the Anglo-Saxons, let me repeat what the great scholar Michael Lapidge has said and what I have quoted earlier: In 669 Theodore, a Greek-speaking monk originally from Tarsus in Asia Minor, arrived in England to take up his duties as archbishop of Canterbury. He was joined the following year by his colleague Hadrian, a Latin-speaking African by origin and former abbot of a monastery in Campania (near Naples). One of their first tasks at Canterbury was the establishment of a school; and according to Bede (writing some sixty years later), they soon ‘attracted a crowd of students into whose minds they daily poured the streams of wholesome learning’. Bede goes on to report, as evidence of their teaching, that some of their students who survived to his own day were as fluent in Greek and Latin as in their native language. Elsewhere he names some of these students: Tobias (later bishop of Rochester), Albinus (Hadrian's successor as abbot in Canterbury), Oftfor (later bishop of Worcester) and John of Beverley. Bede does not mention Aldhelm in this connection; but we know from a letter addressed by Aldhelm to Hadrian that he too must be numbered among their students. 82 Thundy Finally, this little book is another attestation to the linguistic, literary, and philosophical erudition of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors. 83 In Geardagum NOTES FOR PART I 1. Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (New York, 1990), p.17.; Rushdie would also add: “Oh...that’s too much too complicated to explain” (p.17). 2. Klaus Koch, The Rediscovery of Apocalyptic (Naperville, 1972); Paul D. Hanson, “Prolegomena to the Study of Jewish Apocalyptic,” in Magnalia Dei: The Mighty Acts of God, edited by F. M. Cross et al (Philadelphia, 1976), pp. 29-30. For a good introduction to the topic, see Bernard McGinn, Apocalypticism in the Western Tradition (Brookfield, 1994), pp. 1-39 and Robert W. Funk, ed., Apocalypticism (New York, 1969). 3. Gerhard von Rad, Theologie des alten Testaments (Munich, 1965), II: 330; Semeia 14 (1979): Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre , passim. 4. Semeia, 9; see also D. S. Russell, The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic (Philadelphia, 1964), ch. 4; K. Koch, The Rediscovery of the Apocalyptic, passim. 5. See the important work of James C. Russell, The Germanicization of Early Medieval Christianity (Oxford, 1994). 6. Avery Dulles, The Catholicity of the Church (Oxford, 1985), p. 75. 7. Russell, viii; see also Avery Dulles, “The Emerging World Church: A Theological Reflection,” Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America 39 (1984): 1-12. 8. Ironically, much of the impetus for the de-Germanicization of the Catholic Church at the Second Vatican Council came from Germanic 84 Thundy bishops and Germanic theologians like Döpfner, Frings, König, Rahner, Küng, Semmelroth, and Schillebeeckx. 9. See John J. Collins, “The Jewish Apocalypses,” Semeia 14 (1979): 21-59 for a list and summary of extant Jewish apocalypses. 10. P. D. Hanson, “Prolegomena,” pp. 27-34. 11. Wilhelm Bousset, Die Religion des Judentums im späthellenistichen Zeitalter (Tübingen, 1926); H. D. Betz, “On the Problem of the ReligioHistorical Understanding of Apocalypticism,” JTC 6 (1969): 134-156. 12. Julia Kristeva, Semiotike, recherches pour une semanalyse (Paris, 1969), p. 146. 13. See Judie Newman, The Ballistic Bard: Post-colonial Fictions (London, 1995), pp. 2-3. 14. E. A. Thompson, “Procopius on Britain and Brittania,” Classical Quarterly 30 (1980): 498-507; M. G. Fuford, “Byzantium and Britain: A Mediterranean Perspective on Post-Roman Mediterranean Imports in Western Britain and Ireland, “Medieval Archaelogy 33 (1989): 1-6. 15. J. M. Wooding, “Cargoes in Trade along the Western Seaboard,” cited by K. R. Dark, Civitas to Kingdom: British Political Continuity 300-800 (Leicester, 1994), p. 211. 16. Sture Bolin, “Mohammed, Charlemagne, and Ruric,” Scandinavian Economic History Review 1 (1952). 17. See “Mahomet et Charlemagne. Le Problème economique,” Annales ESC 3 (1948): 188-89; cited by Richard Hodges and David Whitehouse, Mohammed, Charlemagne, and the Origins of Europe (Ithaca, 1983): 7-8. 85 In Geardagum NOTES FOR PART II 1. S. J. Crawford, “Grendel’s Descent from Cain,” MLR 23 (1928): 208. 2. Zacharias P. Thundy, “Beowulf: Date and Authorship,” NM, 87 (1986): 102-116.; Kevin Kiernan, Beowulf and Beowulf Manuscript (New Brunswick, 1981); Kiernan, “The Eleventh-Century Origin of Beowulf and the Beowulf Manuscript,” in Colin Chase, ed. The Dating of Beowulf, pp. 9-22. 3. On the Eastern dimension of Beowulf, see Zacharias P. Thundy, “Beowulf: Geats, Jutes, and Asiatic Huns,” Littcrit 17 (1983): 1-8. 4. James Earl, Thinking About Beowulf (Stanford, 1994), p. 1. 5. Kemp Malone, “Grundtvig as Beowulf Critic,” Review of English Studies 17 (1941): 129-138; George Clark, Beowulf (Boston, 1990), for a good survey of critical approaches to the study of Beowulf. 6. W. P. Ker, Epic and Romance (London, 1908), p. 158. 7. J. R. R. Tolkien, Beowulf: The Monsters and Critics,” in Lewis E. Nicholson, ed. An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism (Notre Dame, 1980), p. 54. 8. My apocalyptic interpretation of the poem accounts for the role of Grendel’s mother rather well; see “Beowulf: Method, Meaning, and Monster,” Greyfriar 24 (1983): 5-34. 9. F. A. Blackburn, “The Christian Coloring in Beowulf,” PMLA 12 (1897): 205-25; Marie P. Hamilton, “The Religious Principle in Beowulf,” PMLA 61 (309-31; M.B. McNamee, “Beowulf—An Allegory of Salvation?” JEGP 59 (1960): 190-207; Margaret E. Goldsmith, “The Christian Perspective in Beowulf,” Comparative Literature 14 (1962): 71-80; Edward B. Irving, Jr., “The Nature of Christianity in ‘Beowulf’,” ASE 13 (1984): 7-21, recently counted approximately 178 Christian references in Beowulf, 86 Thundy consisting of words all could agree on such as epithets for God and references to sin, hell, and heaven: “These figures confirm our sense that we have in Beowulf as a poem narrated by an unquestionably Christian poet” (9). 10. Fr. Klaeber, Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg (Boston, 1950), xlviii. 11. Margaret E. Goldsmith, “The Christian Perspective in Beowulf,” in Lewis Nicholson, An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism, p. 375. 12. Margaret Goldsmith, The Mode and Meaning of “Beowulf” (London, 1970), pp. 254-56, 72-73, 146. 13. Robert E. Kaske, “Sapientia et Fortitudo as the Controlling Theme of Beowulf,” Studies in Philology 55 (1958): 423-56. 14. Charles Donahue, “Beowulf and Christian Tradition,” Traditio 21 (1965): 55-116. 15. Beowulf and Christ are not contradiction in terms or contradiction in adjecto, but contraries like colors; for example, black and white do coexist and mix to give a new coloring. Contradictories, on the other hand, are incompatible like a square and a circle so much so we can’t have square a circle. 16. Edward Risden, Beasts of Time: Apocalyptic Beowulf (New York, 1994), p. 83. I am indebted to this study for the exploration of some of the eschatological themes of Beowulf. 17. See Risden, pp. 89-109, for a good discussion of the theme of death in the poem. 18. The poet’s reference to the flying hawk in lines 2263-64, indeed, reminds the readers of his probable acquaintance with Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, where we find the colorful image of the sparrow flying through the hall. 87 In Geardagum 19. See Risden, pp. 84-89 for additional references to the works of critics like Dronke, Irving, Lee, Gatch, and Earl. 20. Pseudo-Bede, de quindecim signis, PL 94:555.; Risden 62 ff. These signs are the following: 1) the sea rises, 2) mountains descend, 3) sea and land are even, 4) sea monsters growl, 5) sea monsters burn, 6) grass and trees become bloody, 7) buildings are destroyed, 8) stones battle one another, 9) earth quakes, 10) earth becomes a plain, 11) men run from their caves, 12) stars fall, 13) bones of the dead rise, 14) all men die, 15) and the earth burns. 21. Helen Damico, Beowulf’s Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition (Madison, 1984), p. 84; Risden, 63. 22. The Geatish woman should also remind us of Virgin Mary, the sorrowful Mother, whose heart would be pierced by a sword with her son set up as a sign of contradiction and for the fall and rising of many (Luke 2:345). 23. I have no intention to enter into the fray on the oral-formulaic composition of Beowulf, which was first written and then recited. 24. For the discussion of apocalyptic literary devices, I am indebted to the studies of Bernard McGinn, “Revelation,” in The Literary Guide to the Bible, ed. Robert Alter and Frank Kermode (Cambridge, 1987), pp. 523-41 and Edward Risden, Beasts of Time, pp. 70-77. 25. See Ward Parks, “The Traditional Narrator and the ‘I Heard’ Formulas in Old English Poetry,” ASE 16 (1987): 45-66. 26. See Schüssler-Fiorenza, pp. 171-3. 27. Chaucer seems to use a similar method in The Canterbury Tales. 28. See Hugh Thomas Keenan, “The Apocalyptic Vision in Old English Poetry,” Dissertation, University of Tennessee, 1968, pp. 208-13. 88 Thundy 29. F. C. Burkitt, ed. The book of Rules of Tyconius. Text and Studies III, pt. 1 (Cambridge, 1894), p. xxi. It seems that Bede understands recapitulation as a retelling of events only and not as the simultaneous presence of type and anti-type, as Tyconius uses the term (see Keenan 20813). Bede uses recapitulation to explain Apoc. 4:1, 8:1, and 20:1 30. Keenan, pp. 122-4. 31. A thorough application of the principle of recapitulation is beyond the scope of this work. Fred Robinson’s Beowulf and Appositive Style (Knoxville, 1985) is an excellent starting point for such an undertaking. 32. Thomas E. Hart, “Ellen: Some Tectonic Relationships in Beowulf and Their Formal Resemblance to Anglo-Saxon Art,” Papers on Language and Literature 6 (1970): 263-90; “Tectonic Design, Formulaic, Craft, and Literary Execution: The Episodes of Fin and Ingeld in Beowulf,” Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik, 2 (1972): 1-61; David R. Howlett, “Form and Genre in Beowulf,” Studia Neophilologica 46 (1974): 309-25. 33. Philo, On the birth of Abel and the Sacrifices Offered by Him and by His Brother Cain, in Philo in Ten Volumes, trans. F. H. Colson and G. H. Whitaker, II (Cambridge, 1958), pp. 95-7; cited by Gerald L. Bruns, “Midrash and Allegory: The Beginnings of Scriptural Interpretation,” in The Literary Guide to the Bible, p. 639. 34. It is very likely that the poet is referring to the works of Philo in the Abel-Cain passage of the poem. 35. A. C. Bartlett, The Larger Rhetorical Pattern in Anglo-Saxon Poetry (New York, 1935), pp. 9-22; Constance B. Hieatt, “Envelope Patterns and the Structure of Beowulf,” English Studies in Canada, 1 (1975): 249-65; J. O Beaty, “The Echo-Word in Beowulf with a Note on the Finnsburg Fragment,” PMLA, 49 (1934): 365-73; David R. Howlett, “Form and Genre in Beowulf,” 89 In Geardagum Studia Neophilologica, 46 (1974): 309-25; H. Ward Tonsfeldt, “Ring Structure in Beowulf,” Neophilologus, 61 (1977): 443-52; John Niles, “Ring Composition and the Structure of Beowulf,” PMLA 94 (1979): 924-35. 36. See more on this below. 37. See endnote 34. 38. David R. Howlett, “Form and Genre in Beowulf,” Studia Neophilologica 46 (1974): 325. 39. Martin Green, “Man, Time, and Apocalypse in The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and Beowulf,” JEGP 74 (1975): 515. 40. Literature on Grendel is rather voluminous. Wayne Hanley’s article “Grendel’s Humanity Again” In Geardagum XI (June 1990), 6-13, contains a current bibliography. I am grateful to Professor Raymond Tripp for calling my attention to his study. 41. "The Formulaic Expression of the Theme of ‘Exile’ in Anglo-Saxon Poetry,” Speculum 30 (1955): 205. See also Fr. Klaeber, Die christlichen Elementen im Beowulf,” Anglia 35: 252. 42. Gregory, Moralia, PL 56: 113. 43. R. W. Chambers, Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem (Cambridge, 1967), p. 4. 44. For this section of the paper, see Adela Collins “Oppression from Without; the Symbolization of Rome as Evil in Early Christianity,” Concilium 200 (1988): 66-74. 45. M. R. James, Apocrypha Anecdota II (Cambridge, 1893), p. 188. 46. In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio iv; PL 92: 103: “Vae praegnantibus etc. Hoc quoque secundum historiam dici potest quod in persecutione Antichristi seu Romanae captivitatis praegnantes….” 90 Thundy 47. See Kenneth Baxter Wolf, “Christian View of Islam in Early Medieval Spain,” in John V. Tolan, ed., Medieval Christian Perceptions of Islam (New York, 1996), p. 88. 48. It is interesting to note that, while the persecuted Christians viewed Islam as Antichrist and as dragon, the British viewed the Saxons almost in the same terms. Gildas (d. 570) writes in a style reminiscent of the style of the Beowulf-poet: Then a brood of whelps, breaking forth from the lair of barbaric lioness…borne in three ships…under favorable sails, with omen and divinations wherein it was being foretold…that for three hundred years [see Beowulf 2278-79] they should occupy the fatherland…first infixed their terrible claws in the eastern part of the island…. To whom the aforesaid mother (of the brood)…sends a second and larger jail-gang of accomplices and curs, who…attach themselves to their bastard comrades. Then the seed of iniquity…sprouts in our soil.” (Wade-Evans 147-48) 49. In Middle English also Kaymes kin is the ordinary form of the name; see Oliver F. Emerson, “Legends of Cain, Especially in Old and Middle English,” PMLA 21 (1906), p. 885. 50. Some medieval people mistakenly derived the origin of Muslim Saracens from Abraham’s wife Sarah; the Muslims were also called “Hagarenes” from Abraham’s wife/mistress Hagar, and also “Ishmaelites” from Ishmael. 51. Edmund Hoga, The Irish Nennius from L. na Huidre, Royal Irish Academy Todd Lecture Ser 6 (Dublin, 1895), pp. 7-8; cited by Ruth Mellinkoff, “Cain’s Monstrous Progeny in Beowulf: Part II, Post-Diluvian 91 In Geardagum Survival,” Anglo-Saxon England, 9 (1980): 193: “And Cham was thus the first person that was cursed after the Deluge, and he was the heir of Cain after the Deluge, and from him sprang the Luchrupans, and Formorians, and Goatheads, and every unshapely form in general that there is on men. And it is therefore that overthrow was brought on the descendants of Cham and that their land was given to the sons of Israel in token of the same curse. And that is the origin of the Torothors, and they are not of the seed of Cain as the Gaels relate, for there lived not aught of his seed after the Deluge, for it was the purpose of the Deluge to drown the descendants of Cain, and all the descendants of Seth were also drowned along with them, but for Noah with his sons and with their four wives, as Moses, son of Amram, tells in Genesis of the Law.” 52. For the mix-up of the Cain-Cham traditions, see Francis Lee Utley, “The Prose Salomon and Saturn and the Tree Called Chy,” MS 19, (1957): 62. 53. Alcuin, Interrogationes et Responsiones in Genesim 96; PL 100:526. In the Muslim tradition, the daughters-in-law of Noah were all descended from Cain (Mellinkoff 196). 54. See C. M. Jones, “The conventional Saracen of the Songs of Geste,” Speculum 17 (1942): 205 and n. 2, 218-9; W. W. Comfort, “The Literary Role of the Saracens in the French Epic,” PMLA 55 (1940): 629, 652. 55. Charles Donahue, “Grendel and the Clanna Cain,” Journal of Celtic Studies 1 (1949-50): 167-75; see also Ruth Mellinkoff, “Cain’s Monstrous Progeny in Beowulf: Part I, Noachic Tradition,” ASE 8 (1979): 143-62. 56.It is because all the monsters, the descendants of Cain, perished in the Flood that Lewis E. Nicholson, “The Literal Meaning and Symbolic Structure of Beowulf,” Classica et Medaevalia 15 (1964): 151-201, argues that the story takes place in pre-diluvian times. 92 Thundy 57. D. W. Robertson, “The Doctrine of Charity in Mediaeval Literary Gardens: A Topical Approach through Symbolism and Allegory,” Speculum 26 (1951): 33. 58. Vita Guthlaci, c. 19; Marie Padgett Hamilton, “The Religious Principle in Beowulf,” PMLA 61 (1946): 316. 59. Venerabilis Bedae Commentaria in Scripturas Sacras, ed. J. A. Giles, I, 67, 70-71, 74-75, 78-79. 60. This passage is reminiscent of the abduction of the Danes by Grendel and his mother. 61. Adversus Haereses, 1.31.1-2; cited by Birger A. Pearson, Gnosticism, Judaism, and Egyptian Christianity (Minneapolis, 1990), p. 97. 62. Cited by Pearson, p. 104. 63. Hamilton, p. 317. 64. PL 76:183. 65. PL 76:716. 66. See D. J. Sahas, John of Damascus on Islam: the Heresy of Ishmaelites (Leiden, 1972). 67. Eulogius, Liber apologeticus martyrum, 19; cited K. B. wolf, p. 97. 68. Liber apologeticus martyrum, 19; cited by K. B. Wolf, p. 99. 69. Cited by Edward P. Colbert, Martyrs of Cordoba (Washington, 1962), p. 70. 70. PL 115:766. 71. Indiculus Luminosus; PL 121:535-6. 72. PL 115:159-60; Colbert, pp. 334-8. 73. Gomez-Moreno, “Las primeras chronícas de la Reconquista: el ciclo de Alfonso III. BRAH, 100 (1932): 622-3; Cronícas asturianas, ed. J. Gil et al. (Oviedo, 1985); pp. 186-7, 261-2. 93 In Geardagum 74. Elipandus, Letter of the Bishops of Spain to the Bishops of Gaul 5, ed. Joannes Gil in Corpus Scriptorum Muzarabicorum (Madrid, 1973), p. 92; see references in John Williams, The Illustrated Beatus (New York, 1994), pp. 1157. The credibility of Elipandus’ charges is equivocal because of the caricatural tone of the response. 75. Mozarabes y asturianos 151-2; cited by Harvey Williams, p. 134. 76. A project on Beowulf and iconography, using illustrated apocalypses is an undertaking well worth the effort of a PhD candidate, but it is beyond the scope of this paper. I have done some work in this regard; my webpage http://www.nmu.edu/staff/zthundy carries the article “Beowulf, Apocalypse, and Iconography” with images and sound. 77. Bernard McGinn, Antichrist, p. 88. 78. Pseudo-Ephrem, cited by Paul J. Alexander, The Byzantine Apocalypse Tradition, pp. 194-5. 79. The following citations and references are from W. Bousset’s classical work The Antichrist Legend (London, 1896), p. 145. 80. See McGinn, Antichrist, pp. 70-4, for more on the physical descriptions of Antichrist as found in the Eastern tradition. 81. Cited by Alexander, p. 195; in Pseudo-Chrysostom and the Byzantine Visions of Daniel, Antichrist’s mother is a whore. 82. Caspari, p. 277.13: “Proponent enim edictum ut circumcidantur homines secundum ritum legis antiquae. Tunc gratulabuntur et Iudaei eo quod eis reddiderit usum prioris testamenti.” 83. See Bousset, pp. 160-2. 84. Alexander, p. 198. 85. Alexander, p. 206. 86. According to Josephus, the excluded tribes are the Scythians. 94 Thundy 87. Cited by McGinn, Visions of the End, p. 58; the translation is from E. A. Wallis Budge, History of Alexander the Great, pp. 186-88. 88. Cited by McGinn, Antichrist, p. 90. 89. Alexander, pp. 218-9. 90. See Adso Dervensis, De Ortu et Tempore Antichristi necnon et tractatus qui ab eo dependunt, ed. D. Verhelst, CC 45 (Turnhout, 1976). 91. Ernst Sackur, Sibyllinische Texte und Forschungen (Halle, 1898), pp. 4 ff. 92. See Charlotte D’Evelyn, “The Middle English Metrical Version of the Revelation of Methodius; With a Study of the Influence of Methodius in Middle English Writings,” PMLA 33 (1918), pp. 139 ff. 93. See D’Evelyn, passim. 94. Wallace Hadrill, Bede’s Europe, Jarrow lecture 1962, p. 2. 95. Cited by Wallace-Hadrill, p. 6: “Quae Saracenos specialiter adversarios ecclesiae generaliter describunt.” Boniface, in a letter to King Aethelbald of Mercia, described the invasion of Spain as a punishment for sin, Epistola 73, MGH, Epistolae Selectae, I (1955): 151. 96. Zacharias P. Thundy, “The Qur’an: Source or Analogue of Bede’s Caedmon Story?” Islamic Culture 63 (1989): 109. 97. See R. W. Southern, Western Views of Islam in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1962), p. 18. 98. Henri Pirenne, Muhammed and Charlemagne, pp. 234-5.; Richard Hodges and David Whitehouse, Muhammed, Charlemagne, and the Origins of Europe (Ithaca, 1983), p. 4. Recent historians and archeologists argue that even before the Muslim invasions, the empire was gradually declining; they claim that Muhammed and Charlemagne were both products of the collapse of Rome. 99. Epistola 172, MGH, Epistolae IV: 284-5. 95 In Geardagum 100. See Freemantle, Anne, ed. (1954/5), “John Scotus Erigena", The Age of Belief, pp. 72–87. 96