Christ I

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Christ I
Also known as Advent Lyrics or Christ A
Author(s) anonymous
Language Old English
Date Unknown, possibly around 800
Series Old English Christ poems, along with Christ II and Christ III
Manuscript(s) Exeter Book, fo. 8a-14a
Genre Religious poem in 12 subsections
Subject The Advent of Christ
Christ I, also Christ A or (The) Advent Lyrics, is a collection of twelve anonymous
Old English poems on the coming of the Lord, preserved in the Exeter Book. Claes
Schaar suggests that it may have been written between the end of the 8th century
and the beginning of the 9th century.[1]

The poem is assigned to a triad of Old English religious poems in the Exeter Book,
known collectively as Christ. Christ comprises a total of 1664 lines and deals with
Christ's Advent, Ascension and Last Judgment. It was originally thought to be one
piece completed by a single author, but the poem is now broken up into three parts.

Contents
1 Exeter Book
2 Formation
3 Subject
4 Classification
5 Structure
6 Interpretation of structure
7 Influence on other writers
8 Notes
9 References
10 External links
Exeter Book
Christ I can be found on fols. 8a-14a of the Exeter Book. The Exeter Book is a
collection of Old English poetry containing 123 folios.[2] The book contains the
items of the Cynewulf group, which is made up in part by Christ I. The collection
also contains a number of other religious, allegorical, and category poems.[2]

Formation
The lyrics included within Christ I selection expand upon antiphons known as the �O
Antiphons�, which receive their name because they all begin with the Latin
interjection �O�. An antiphon is a verse from the Holy Scripture that is to be sung
before and after the reading of a psalm (Otten 1). The verse selected for the
antiphon is chosen to reflect the fundamental ideas presented during the psalm.[3]
Seven of the antiphons in Christ I have come to be known as the �Seven Greater
Antiphons� for their use in the Magnificat.[4] The opening interjections of the
�Seven Greater Antiphons� include, "O Sapientia", "O Adonai", "O Radix Jesse", "O
Clavis David", "O Oriens", "O Rex Gentium", and "O Emmanuel". The remainder of the
antiphons used in Christ I had come to be included with the �Greater Antiphons�: �O
Virgo virginum�, �O Gabriel�, �O Rex pacifice�, �O Mundi Domina�, and �O
Hierusalem�.[5]

Subject
The foundation of the work derives from the topic of the Advent. The Advent, in its
most general definition, is the time period leading up to the anniversary of the
coming of Christ. Advent at that time, as it is today, would have been a period of
spiritual and symbolic significance within the church. Followers, following the
rules governed by the church, would often fast during these times. St. Gregory the
Great (590-604CE) wrote a sermon on the second Sunday of Advent in a collection of
his homilies.[6] With this evidence, it is understood that the Advent was
celebrated as early as the time of Christ I�s composition and celebrated within the
church. The lyrics, playing off the Latin antiphons, are poetry commenting on this
period of symbolic preparation.

Classification
The selection known as Christ I is often referred to as being part of the
collection of work known as �the Cynewulf group�.[1] This set of poems comprises
four works by the author Cynewulf (Elene, Juliana, Christ II, and Fata Apostolorum)
[1] and eight by other authors (Andreas and The Dream of the Rood from the Vercelli
Book, and Christ I, Christ III, Guthlac A and B, The Phoenix, and Physiologus from
the Exeter Book).[1] Although the Christ I poem is generally associated and
analyzed alongside the works of Cynewulf, it is now considered to be an anonymous
writing and its construction is unrelated to either of the other Christ poems.

Structure
The poem of Christ I is broken down into twelve smaller subsections of individual
verse. Each subsection is introduced with a selection from a Latin antiphon,
followed by lines of poetry in Old English. Sections I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII,
and IX derive from the �Greater Antiphons�, while sections VII, X, XI, and XII do
not. It is unknown if the author intended to use all of the selections from the
�Great Antiphons�, but some scholars speculate that the antiphons not used, �O
Sapientia�, �O Adonai�, and �O radix Jesse�, have been lost.[7] The order the
antiphons used by the author in laying out the Advent Lyrics appears to have no
predetermined structure and have not followed the pattern of the list used in
observed in all other sources containing the list.

Interpretation of structure
The order of antiphons that the author uses for the lyrics imply that the poet was
not concerned about any distinctions between antiphons, or the order that he had
found them in his sources.[7] Upon analysis of the position of each poem, no
rational order can be found, therefore it appears as though the order of each poem
in the sequence is unimportant.[8]

Influence on other writers

J.R.R. Tolkien was influenced by the following couplet from Christ I (lines 104-5),
which inspired his portrayal of Middle-earth and his character E�rendil.[9]

E�l� Earendel engla beorhtast

Ofer middangeard monnum sended.

Hail Earendel brightest of angels,

over Middle Earth sent to men.

Notes
Schaar 1949, pp. 9.
Rumble 1998, pp. 285.
Otten 1907, pp. 1.
Henry 1911.
Campbell 1959, pp. 8.
Mershman 1907.
Campbell 1959, pp. 9.
Campbell 1959, pp. 11.
Carpenter, Humphrey (1977), Tolkien: A Biography, New York: Ballantine Books,
"Reunion", pp. 72, 79, ISBN 0-04-928037-6
References
Campbell, Jackson J (1959). The Advent Lyrics of the Exeter Book. Princeton:
Princeton UP.
Cook, Albert S (1909). "Introduction". In Cook, Albert S. (ed.). The Christ of
Cynewulf (2nd ed.). Boston: Ginn and Company. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
Henry, Hugh T. (1911). "O Antiphons". The Catholic Encyclopedia. 11. New York: The
Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
Mershman, Francis (1907). "Advent". The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1. New York: The
Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
Otten, Joseph (1907). "Antiphon". The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1. New York: The
Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
Rumble, Alexander R. (1998). "Exeter Book". In Szarmach, Paul E.; Tavormina, M T;
Rosenthal, Joel T (eds.). Medieval England: an Encyclopedia. New York: Garland,
Inc.
Schaar, Claes (1949). Critical Studies in the Cynewulf Group. Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup.
External links
Modern English translation of The Christ of Cynewulf by Charles Huntington Whitman,
1900
The Old English poems, Christ I-III
A Modern English translation (PDF), by Charles W. Kennedy. From "In Parentheses".
vte
Old English poetry
Poems
Nowell Codex
BeowulfJudith
Junius MS
Genesis A, BExodusDanielChrist and Satan
Vercelli Book
Andreas"The Fates of the Apostles""Soul and Body I"Dream of the RoodElene"Homiletic
Fragment I"
Exeter Book
"Christ I""Christ II""Christ III""Guthlac A, B""Azarias""The Phoenix""Juliana""The
Wanderer""The Gifts of Men""Precepts""The Seafarer""Vainglory""Widsith""The
Fortunes of Men""Maxims I""The Order of the World""The Rhyming Poem""The
Panther""The Whale""The Partridge""Soul and Body II""Deor""Wulf and
Eadwacer"Riddles 1�59"The Wife's Lament""The Judgment Day I""Resignation""The
Descent into Hell""Alms-Giving""Pharaoh""The Lord's Prayer I""Homiletic Fragment
II"Riddle 30bRiddle 60"The Husband's Message""The Ruin"Riddles 61�95
Metrical charms
"�cerbot""Against a Dwarf""Against a Wen""A Journey Charm""For a Swarm of Bees""For
Loss or Theft of Cattle""For Delayed Birth""For Water-Elf Disease""Nine Herbs
Charm""Wi� f�rstice"
Chronicle poems
"Battle of Brunanburh""Capture of the Five Boroughs""The Coronation of Edgar""The
Death of King Edgar""The Death of Alfred""The Death of Edward""The Rime of King
William"
Other poems
"Metres of Boethius""Paris Psalter" (BNF MS 8824)"Finnsburh Fragment""Waldere A,
B""The Battle of Maldon""Durham""Rune poem"Solomon and Saturn"The
Menologium""Maxims II""Proverb from Winfrid's time""Judgment Day II""An Exhortation
to Christian Living""A Summons to Prayer""The Lord's Prayer II""The Gloria I""The
Lord's Prayer III""The Creed""Old English Psalms" (fragments)"The Kentish
Hymn""Psalm 50""The Gloria II""A Prayer""Thureth""Aldhelm""The Seasons for
Fasting"C�dmon's "Hymn""Bede's Death Song""Leiden Riddle""Latin-English
Proverbs"Metrical Preface and Epilogue to Alfred's HierdebocMetrical Preface to
W�rferth's translation of the DialoguesMetrical Epilogue to CCCC MS 41Brussels
CrossRuthwell Cross
Poets
AldhelmC�dmonCynewulf
Other
Alliterative verseBeasts of battleKenningsOn Translating BeowulfScop
 Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Crist
Categories: Old English poems
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