Cynewulf

Cynewulf (pronounced [ˈkynewuɫf] in Old English, also written as Cynwulf or Kynewulf) is one of only four named Old English poets whose work still exists, out of a total of twelve known by name. He likely lived and wrote in the 9th century, though his career could have started as early as the late 700s or stretched into the early 900s. The name Cynewulf is a common Anglo-Saxon given name, combining *cyne* ("royal, of a king") and *wulf* ("wolf").

He is best known for his religious poetry and is considered a major figure in Anglo-Saxon Christian verse. Scholars know his name only because he wove runic signatures into four poems that make up his accepted body of work: *The Fates of the Apostles*, *Juliana*, *Elene*, and *Christ II* (also called *The Ascension*). Together, these four signed poems run to several thousand lines—far longer than the nine lines of *Cædmon's Hymn*, the sole surviving work of the other named poet Cædmon.

**Life**

**Dialect** By studying the spelling of his name and the verse itself, some basic conclusions can be drawn. Although the Vercelli and Exeter manuscripts that preserve his poems were copied in a late West Saxon dialect, Cynewulf most likely wrote in an Anglian dialect, meaning he probably lived in either Northumbria or Mercia. Linguistic and metrical analysis supports this. For example, in the epilogue of *Elene* (starting at line 1236), imperfect rhymes like *miht:peaht* become correct when Anglian forms replace the West Saxon ones—changing the vowel to an [æ] sound gives *maeht:paeht*, a typical Anglian smoothing of ⟨ea⟩. Many similar "Anglianisms" in *Elene* and *Juliana* suggest an original Anglian dialect beneath the West Saxon translation. While it is hard to say for sure whether Cynewulf was Northumbrian or Mercian, the medial ⟨e⟩ in his signed name would have been characteristic of Mercian during the broad period he lived.

**Date** No exact date for Cynewulf is agreed upon, but he likely flourished in the 9th century. A firm *terminus ante quem* comes from the Vercelli and Exeter manuscripts, which date to roughly the second half of the 10th century. Beyond that, no certain date can be fixed, leaving open the entire span of Old English literature from the 7th to the early 10th centuries. Attempts to link him to a known historical figure have failed or produced unlikely matches. However, early West Saxon forms in both manuscripts suggest an Alfredian scribe may have first translated his verse, placing him no later than around 900. A tentative *terminus post quem* comes from the two spellings of his name, Cynewulf and Cynwulf. The older form was *Cyniwulf*, and scholar Sisam notes that the ⟨i⟩ tended to change to ⟨e⟩ around the middle of the 8th century, with the ⟨i⟩ form fading out by the century's end. This suggests Cynewulf cannot be dated much before 800. Additionally, the "cult of the cross" seen in *Elene* reached its cultural peak in the 8th century. Another argument points out that acrostic signatures were most fashionable in 9th-century poetry, and Cynewulf's own acrostic would have followed that trend.

**Identity** Cynewulf was certainly literate and educated, as the maturity of his poetry cannot otherwise be explained. Given his subject matter, he was likely a clergyman, and his deep Christian knowledge shows he was well versed in ecclesiastical and hagiographical literature, as well as Catholic doctrine. His reliance on Latin sources means he knew Latin, which fits with being a churchman. One plausible candidate is Cynewulf of Lindisfarne (died around 780), since his elaborate religious works suggest "the scholarship and faith of the professional ecclesiastic speaking with authority," but this is not universally accepted. Other suggestions include Cynwulf, a priest of Dunwich (active around 803), and Cenwulf, Abbot of Peterborough (died 1006).

**Views on poetry** In *Christ II*, Cynewulf wrote that the creator "honoured us and gave us gifts ... and also sowed and set in the mind of men many kinds of wisdom of heart. One he allows to remember wise poems, sends him a noble understanding, through the spirit of his mouth. The man whose mind has been given the art of wisdom can say and sing all kinds of things." In the epilogue of *Elene*, he claims his poetic skill came directly from God, who "unlocked the art of poesy" within him. Cynewulf seems to have justified his work through a philosophy linking poetry with wisdom.

**Works** Following studies by S. K. Das (1942) and Claes Schaar (1949), mainstream scholarship limits Cynewulf's canon to the four poems bearing his acrostic signature: *Juliana* and *Christ II* (The Ascension) are in the Exeter Book, while *Elene* and *Fates of the Apostles* are in the Vercelli Book. Early scholars once assigned many other Old English pieces to him, but this is no longer accepted.