Womanhood, independence and sanctity in Cynewulf’s Juliana.

Cynewulf's Juliana is a crucial work that sheds light on the themes of femininity,
independence, and sanctity in the Old English period. The 10th-century poem, preserved in
the Exeter Book, is an account of the martyrdom of Saint Juliana of Nicomedia. It is one of
only five Old English lyric texts describing the lives of saints, and it may have derived from
earlier Latin accounts of the same story. The Latin version differs slightly from Cynewulf's,
but the plot proceeds in the same way. Differences in the presentation are also apparent in
Juliana. Cynewulf intended to show the protagonist's soul as a fortress and to draw attention
to her heroic rebellion against hegemonic masculinity. He achieves this through the
juxtaposition of Juliana and the men in the poem, both Eliseus and Africanus. However, the
reader must perceive the story in its historical context, that is, the persecutions of Christians
and fixed roles for a particular gender. This complex story requires a critical reading to see the
connection between body and spirit, the bonds of the feminine and the sacred. Therefore,
Juliana is a crucial female work from the Old English period. In this paper, I will focus on
Juliana's story in relation to femininity, heroic rebellion, and martyrdom.
The idea of close reading of the text seems to be one of the most interesting aspects of
Juliana. There are those who argue that the poem constructs a male reader, as "medieval
literary theory correlates "good" reading, that is, spiritual reading of an allegorical text, with
masculinity" (Horner, 2001, p.104).  Shari Horner mentions that nuns generally have the
ability to read beyond the literal meaning, it is crucial to see that the physical body is a
separate component and can be a vessel for a more spiritual message hidden behind it. This
idea was also observed by Horner: “The body of the female virgin saint is both an enclosure, a
vessel that must be discarded, passed through, or transformed in order to reach the spirit
within” (Horner, 2001, p.112). In Juliana, the body is an essential aspect of the story, but it is
no more important than the spirit. Cynewulf wants the reader to see the protagonist's body as
an integral part but at the same time, he draws attention to the idea that it is the spirit of the
saint that we are meant to notice. Although the text is about a female character, perhaps even
written for female readers to teach them about the story of the Christian virgin, it is meant to
be read critically by a male reader who can penetrate the literal to reveal the spiritual. As
Horner notes, "to derive spiritual meaning from the text, women readers, too-especially-must
read beyond its literal level, must read "like men," must "master" the text." (Horner, 2001,
p.109). That is why the text must be read closely without focusing on the literal, for it is no
ordinary account of the life of a martyr - it is a historically significant poem that shows the
connections between religion, physicality and femininity.
The historical and cultural context of Juliana is pivotal to understand the work.
Cynewulf wrote the poem during times that were difficult for women in general. It was a time
of fixed roles and expected behaviours for women who were expected to be submissive and
compliant to men. It was very unusual for a woman to rebel against her father or husband, any
kind of disobedience was considered a terrible disgrace to the family. A woman's situation
could be even worse if she was a Christian. As Gopa Roy notes, "the epic opening is swiftly
modified by the description which follows of violence and persecution throughout the world.
Maximian, the wicked heathen king, shed the blood of Christians and destroyed their
churches" (Roy, 1991, pp.164-165). Thus, the first lines of the poem convey to the reader the
religious background of the Christians who were persecuted for their faith:
"Listen - we have heard of heroes deliberating,
deed-brave men determining what occurred in the days
of Maximian, who throughout middle-earth raised up
persecution, an infamous king killing Christian men 
and felling churches - a heathen war-leader pouring out
upon the grassy field the sainted blood of the God-praising,
the right-performing. His realm was broad, wide and mighty
across human nations-very nearly across the enormous earth." (Juliana, lines 1-10)
Juliana, who was born a pagan, converted to Christianity and embraced both the faith and the
customs of the religion. Cynewulf's story may not be about a real character, it focuses on a set
pattern of action, "Cynewulf impresses on the reader that there is a pattern and significance in
the life of Juliana which needs to be recognised" (Roy, 1991, p.163). That is why the reader
should be firstly aware and knowledgeable about the historical and cultural context, that
Christians and especially Christian women were persecuted at that time.
The cultural and historical context points to the most important theme of the poem -
the struggle between the body and the spirit. In Christianity, virginity is a sacred quality in a
woman, and for Juliana, it becomes a primary virtue. She knows that both must remain intact
in order for her to remain pure for Christ. Therefore, she rebels against this hegemonic
masculinity, by becoming the bride of God who possesses both physical chastity and spiritual
purity. Her rejection of marriage and traditional feminine life plays a crucial role in the battle
between the flesh and the spirit, it is all connected to her virginity and chastity. As Roy
mentions, "Juliana's virginity symbolises the identification of her will with God's, and It
becomes a militant and powerful virtue when threatened by its opposites. The poem
dramatises the conflict between the forces of the spirit and the flesh in a series of
confrontations which are strongly physical (...)" (Roy, 1991, pp.163-164) Despite all the
physical horrors, her body and spirit remain untouched. The men have no power over her
mind and body, they can only resort to physical violence. Moreover, they do not learn from
their failures. No harm can be done to her physically, she is sacred in body and soul. Juliana
has spiritual integrity, while others have a strong sense of the physical. Horner also notes that
"this conflict between the body and the spirit is to be resolved through the patristic insistence
that women must reject not only their earthly bodies, but even -especially - their gender. They
must progress, as St. Ambrose says, " to complete manhood" (Horner, 2001, p.119).
Juliana's femininity and sanctity are shown in her rebellion against the civic order. She
is a noblewoman who is to marry a pagan suitor, but she despises material values. The
protagonist is indifferent to her own high social status: 
“Then was that woman, with the wish of her father,
betrothed to that wealthy man. He did not fully know the outcome—
how she, young in spirit, despised espoused friendship” (Juliana, lines 32-34)
She also detests men's obligations and refuses to act as a peace-weaver between her father and
the suitor - she annuls a marriage contract between the two men. And the refusal of the
betrothal is a central theme: 'As in the lives of other virgin martyrs, Juliana's virginity, her
rejection of marriage and what this represents, is itself a central issue in the poem, and plays a
most important part in this ‘cosmic struggle' between the representatives here of Christ and
Satan (Wittig, 1975, cited in Roy, 1991, p.163). The heroine rebels against submission to her
husband, both because he is of higher rank and because he is a man. While Eliseus wants to
be one with the people, a part of the comitatus, Juliana commits social ostracism by choosing
another deity - she can no longer be part of the group. She exposes Eliseus to public shame;
he is stripped of his honour. He endures the pain and the rejection hurts him greatly. His pride
is wounded and he cannot bear to be humiliated by the will and power of a woman. He is
addicted to the flesh and his malice and anger make him order to beat Juliana: 
“Then the nobleman grew swollen with fury,
stained with criminal acts, hearing that woman’s words.
Rough and heart-blind, he ordered then a swift messenger
to fetch the saint’s father to deliberation at once.” (Juliana, lines 58-61)
Eliseus, like other men, is very physical and does not see the spirit. For both Eliseus and
Africanus, marriage “is either a matter of physical fulfilment of lust or of securing one’s
family’s economic stability and social connection”(Tanner, 2010, p.8). Juliana, the spiritual
being, rejects an identity imposed on her by the patriarchal order - she does not weave peace
between men - she refuses to be made an object of exchange. Moreover, she is powerful
because of her spirituality and worship of God. Men have no power over their own emotions
because devil worship robs them of that control, they cannot hurt her physically or spiritually,
according to Juliana. So this could indicate that sinfulness is connected to the physical.
Juliana's independence is much to be admired. She decides to convert to Christianity
because she feels it is necessary for her, not because someone else has persuaded her to do so.
Her faith plays a crucial role in her life and she has a strong need to decide her own fate, "But
Juliana has strong opinions on this subject, as she wishes to remain a virgin in the service of
Christ and believes marrying a pagan would be a sin" (Tanner, 2010, p.5 ). The protagonist
does not want to abide by any rules, her attitude must have been a novelty when the poem was
written, but to this day her behaviour should be seen as admirable. As Rosemary Woolf states,
"Above all, for a feminine audience there is the pleasure in seeing the principle of heroic
magnification applied to a woman" (Woolf, 1986 cited in Horner, 2001, p.105). The only
person Juliana is ready to listen to is God himself. She can only submit to her Lord, the
heroine is willing to put up with a contradiction to her culture for the sake of religion. She
does everything on her own terms because she knows that her independence, especially the
fact that she is not subject to any man because of a marriage union, will bring her closer to
God. She never asks for advice because all her knowledge comes from the Lord. Juliana
knows she will be rewarded for her independent, rebellious faith and does not hold back when
faced with torture or other obstacles.
While every opponent of Juliana is tormented, she remains holy and in control. And
her religious beliefs provoke a quarrel: "Because this is the cause of her refusal to marry, her
faith becomes the source of the conflict on which the poem turns, and in her faith she is
steadfast: she will not be tempted by worldly offers, by flattery or by threats" (Roy, 1991,
p.172). She will not change her mind, which upsets everyone. She is fearless, Christ is in her.
So too is the Holy Spirit, when it is near her she cannot be hurt: 
“The holy woman abode within pledge-fast. Always she praised
the Glory-King in her heart, Heaven-realm’s God, the Savior of Men,
within her constraining cell, covered with darkness.
The Holy Spirit was her enduring companion” (Juliana, lines 236-242a).
As Roy states: "Juliana is in union with the eternal and spiritual, not tied to the temporal and
physical, a contrast reinforced by the violent but impotent activity of her adversaries" (Roy,
1991, p.175). The protagonist knows exactly what she desires, she wants to take a place next
to God and is willing to sacrifice herself. She rejects her body, seeing in it only a vessel. She
is even willing to give up her feminine traits in order to gain a place in heaven: "Above all,
'becoming male' meant maintaining a closed, impenetrable body, impervious to any kind of
hostile attack; to do so meant acquiring or 'layering on' those masculine attributes (whether
spiritual or literal) that would serve to protect the female saint" (Horner, 2001, p.123). It is
noteworthy that she defends her fortress, her very important attribute of preserving her faith,
despite all the obstacles she encounters.
Juliana faces numerous difficulties and suffers various forms of torture. As mentioned
earlier, the heroine cannot be physically harmed: "again, physically Juliana cannot be harmed
by the tortures, as spiritually she is unblemished" (Roy, 1991, p.179). Her holiness protects
her and she has the power to destroy evil. Because Juliana resists sin and temptation, she is
not touched by the flames and thanks God for it. The torturers try to get her to do their
bidding, but she remains calm. They do not learn from their fatal mistakes and keep trying to
hurt her, revealing their bestiality and showing once again that they can have no power over
the woman. Juliana gives advice to the crowd before she becomes a martyr: "Therefore I, dear
people, wish to teach you to secure your house with law-doing, lest with sudden blasts the
winds throw it down. [...] May peace be among you, and perpetual true love" (Juliana, lines
647-669). When Juliana dies by the sword, her soul is released from her body. "She has been
holy in both, and when she dies her death is swift and her soul's destination certain:
“Ða hyre sawl wearð
alæded of lice to þam langan gefean
þurh sweordslege (669-671)"1 (Roy, 1991, p.180). Juliana is now a martyr. She has achieved
her main goal - to remain pure for Christ and sacrifice her earthly body to find peace in
heaven alongside other Christian martyrs.
Juliana's sanctity, womanhood, and independence are intimately connected. Juliana's
female body is an essential part of her being, but not more important than her spirit. The
protagonist's pure soul is very much connected to her body, an impenetrable fortress that she
must protect from evil. By choosing to preserve her chastity for Christ, she must rebel against
her father and her suitor. The heroine knows that once she is married, especially to a pagan
Eliseus, her purity will no longer be a virtue that allows her to sacrifice her life for religion
and thus become a martyr. Juliana is an example of a woman who, through admirable
1
”At that moment Juliana’s soul was led away
from her body to its lengthy joys
by the blow of the sword.“ ( Juliana modern English version )
rebellion, remains true to her ideals and is not afraid to achieve her goals. She does not listen
to anyone who gives her advice and finds it essential to make her own decisions. Cynewulf
shows that one can be rewarded for such an attitude, and the protagonist eventually finds
peace in heaven, alongside her Lord. The poet knows that "the outcome for the individual
depends on the relationship between the body end the soul during life" ((Roy, 1991, p.182).
Juliana determines her destiny and this proves that in Old English there were women who had
the power to make their own choices, to rebel against the civic order to achieve their own
potential.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
 Roy, G. (1991). WOMEN AND SANCTITY: LIVES OF THE FEMALE SAINTS
WRITTEN IN ENGLISH FROM CYNEWULF TO THE KATHERINE GROUP.
[PhD Thesis] Available at https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1317618/
 Tanner, K.J. (2010). Radical saints and conservative churches: Cynewulf’s Juliana in
its cultural context. [MA thesis] Available at https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11392/?
utm_source=lib.dr.iastate.edu%2Fetd
%2F11392&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages. 
 Horner, S. (2001). The discourse of enclosure: representing women in Old English
literature. Albany: State University Of New York Press, cop. 
 Rosemary Woolf, “Saints’ Lives,” in Art and Doctrine: Essays on Medieval Literature,
ed. Heather O’Donoghue (London: Hambledon, 1986), 226–227