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Author David Wiley

~ Author of science fiction and fantasy stories, choosing to write the stories that he would love to read.

Author David Wiley

Tag Archives: Book Club

Medieval Book Club Preview: Judith, Dream of the Rood, & Juliana

15 Monday May 2017

Posted by David Wiley in Books and Reading, Medieval, Medieval Book Club, poetry

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Anglo-Saxon, Book Club, Caedmon, Cynewulf, Dream of the Rood, Judith, Juliana, Medieval Poetry

Welcome to the sixth preview for the 2017 Medieval Book Club. For June we’re going to read a trio of Medieval poems, but these ones do not stem from the Bible. Of course, like many Medieval works, there may be Biblical allusions. The Dream of the Rood, in particular, is an overly Christian poem. This will be our last poetry month until the fall, so I hope you’ll join me in June with reading these poems! Read on for a short preview of each poem:

Title: Judith

Author: Unknown, although many attribute the authorship to Cynewulf or Cademon

Date of Composition: Unknown

Link to read for FREE: (https://anglosaxonpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/judith/

Length: 348 Lines

Summary: Judith conveys a moral tale of heroic triumph over monstrous beings. Both moral and political, the poem tells of a brave woman’s efforts to save and protect her people. Judith is depicted as an exemplar woman, grounded by ideal morale, probity, courage, and religious conviction. Judith’s character is rendered blameless and virtuous, and her beauty is praised persistently throughout the poem.

Title: Dream of the Rood

Author: Unknown, but speculation includes Cynewulf and Caedmon

Date of Composition: Around the 8th century, based on the dating of the Ruthwell Cross where the poem is found in rune form.

Links to read for FREE: https://anglosaxonpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/dream-of-the-rood/

Length: 156 Lines

Summary: The poem is set up with the narrator having a dream. In this dream or vision he is speaking to the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The poem itself is divided up into three separate sections. In section one, the narrator has a vision of the Cross. Initially when the dreamer sees the Cross, he notes how it is covered with gems. He is aware of how wretched he is compared to how glorious the tree is. However, he comes to see that amidst the beautiful stones it is stained with blood. In section two, the Cross shares its account of Jesus’ death. The Crucifixion story is told from the perspective of the Cross. It begins with the enemy coming to cut the tree down and carrying it away. The tree learns that it is not to be the bearer of a criminal, but instead Christ crucified. The Lord and the Cross become one, and they stand together as victors, refusing to fall, taking on insurmountable pain for the sake of mankind. It is not just Christ, but the Cross as well that is pierced with nails. The Rood and Christ are one in the portrayal of the Passion—they are both pierced with nails, mocked and tortured. Then, just as with Christ, the Cross is resurrected, and adorned with gold and silver. It is honoured above all trees just as Jesus is honoured above all men. The Cross then charges the visionary to share all that he has seen with others. In section three, the author gives his reflections about this vision. The vision ends, and the man is left with his thoughts. He gives praise to God for what he has seen and is filled with hope for eternal life and his desire to once again be near the glorious Cross.

Title: Juliana

Author: Cynewulf, and the text is ascribed with his signature

Date of Composition: Likely sometime in the 9th century, although Cynewulf could have been around in the late 8th or early 10th century.

Links to read for FREE: https://anglosaxonpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/juliana/)

Length: 731 Lines

Summary: The story begins by illustrating the harsh life for Christians under the rule of Galerius Maximian, describing various acts of violence visited upon Christians. Juliana is introduced as the daughter of Africanus of Nicomedia, who has promised Juliana’s hand in marriage to Eleusias, a wealthy senator and friend of Maximian. Although Juliana was born a pagan, she has converted to Christianity, and so she vehemently resists being married to the pagan Eleusias, not wanting to violate the relationship she shares with God.

When she publicly voices her dissatisfaction, Eleusias becomes outraged and insists that he has been publicly insulted. Africanus, upon hearing of this, becomes similarly outraged, believing his daughter has embarrassed him by refusing the hand of a man of much higher status. As a result, Africanus declares that Eleusias is free to punish Juliana in whatever way he wishes.

Eleusias proceeds to have Juliana stripped naked, hung from a tree by her hair, whipped, and beaten with rods for over two hours. Then she is thrown into prison.

While in prison, Juliana is visited by a demon pretending to be an angel of God, who tries to trick her into blasphemy. Juliana, being the epitome of unwavering Christian faith, doesn’t fall for the charade and prays to God for guidance. A voice tells her to reach out and grab the demon, and Juliana obeys.

This point forward contains the bulk of the story, in which Juliana and the demon have a lengthy war of words, with Juliana clearly dominating. She holds the demon and forces it to confess all of its wicked deeds several times over, ostensibly humiliating him forever in the kingdom of Hell.

After her victory over the visiting demon, Eleusias comes back for Juliana and seems to offer her a chance to change her mind. Not surprisingly, Juliana refuses him once again, and just as scathingly as before.

Eleusias then attempts to have Juliana burned alive in hot lead. Yet, even though he has Juliana placed in the fire, not a spot on her body or clothes is touched by the flames. Angrier than ever, Eleusias finally resolves to have Juliana beheaded, for which she becomes a Christian martyr.

 

****

So there you have it. I’m excited to dive into some more Anglo-Saxon poetry. Come back on the 18th of this month for our discussion of Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich, and then on June 16th for our discussion of these poems!

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Medieval Book Club Preview: The Discarded Image by C.S. Lewis

15 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by David Wiley in Book Review, Books and Reading, C.S. Lewis, Medieval Book Club

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Book Club, C.S. Lewis, Medieval Book Club, Medieval Literature, Medievalist, reading, Renaissance Literature, The Discarded Image

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 The Discarded Image paints a lucid picture of the medieval world view, providing the historical and cultural background to the literature of the middle ages and renaissance. It describes the ‘image’ discarded by later years as ‘the medieval synthesis itself, the whole organization of their theology, science and history into a single, complex, harmonious mental model of the universe’. This, Lewis’s last book, has been hailed as ‘the final memorial to the work of a great scholar and teacher and a wise and noble mind’.

This is the third entry into the monthly Medieval Book Club, and this is one of the ones I am most excited to read. Why? C.S. Lewis was not only an author of excellent stories and one of the brightest layman Christian writers of his time. He was also a Medievalist, and so any chance to look at his thoughts about the literature of that period is something I get excited about. This is tagged as an introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature, and I fully expect about 70% of what he discusses to be above my own level of understanding because this man was intelligent on a level I could never hope to achieve. Yet I hope it will be worthwhile to wade through his work and, hopefully, walk away a little brighter than I had been in the beginning. Here is the breakdown of chapters:

  • Preface
  • The Medieval Situation
  • Reservations
  • Selected Materials: The Classical Period
    • The Somnium Scipionis
    • Lucan
    • Statius, Claudian, and the Lady Natura
    • Apuleius, De Deo Socratis
  • Selected Materials: The Seminal Period
    • Chalcidius
    • Macrobius
    • Pseudo-Dionysius
    • Boethius
  • The Heavens
    • The Parts of the Universe
    • Their Operations
    • Their Inhabitants
  • The Longaevi
  • Earth and Her Inhabitants
    • The Earth
    • Beasts
    • The Human Soul
    • Rational Soul
    • Sensitive and Vegetable Soul
    • Soul and Body
    • The Human Body
    • The Human Past
    • The Seven Liberal Arts
  • The Influence of the Model
  • Epilogue

Will you join me in reading this book? You can pick up a copy on Amazon at this link. The post for this book’s reading will be on March 16th, which is the third Thursday of that month.

Check out the full list of books we’re reading this year for the Medieval Book Club.

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