Poculum Mortis in Old English

Brown, Carleton

doi:10.2307/2853458

Cited by 29 publications

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“…Our poet, never able to resist a metaphor, 33 From the sweetness of mead, this drink turns bitter, and the 'meoduscerwen' figure has been imagined as 'poculum mortis'. 34 It might be, but 'the cup of death' still forms part of the cultural background rather than informs the passage. The immediate image is different, that of a wild party going wrong, a self-inflicted disaster, the poet's own metaphor for heathendom in general.…”

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confidence: 99%

Meet the pagans: on the misuse of Beowulf in Andreas

North¹

2018

Aspects of Knowledge

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Richard North’s chapter argues that the Old English verse saint’s life Andreas (on the apostle St Andrew) appropriates the secular epic poem Beowulf for mock-epic purposes, turning knowledge of Beowulf, a poem which by implication must have been famous in Anglo-Saxon England, to a new Christian purpose. Andreas is seen to offer through its mock-epic style a satirical commentary on the heathen nostalgia of Beowulf. In Andreas knowledge of secular literature and its version of the past is astutely re-appropriated for religious purposes, being absorbed into and transcended by a Christian celebration of the true heroism of the saint. This chapter adds a new dimension to the understanding of Anglo-Saxon literary history and the place of secular tradition within it.

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confidence: 99%