Cynewulf

For other uses, see Cynewulf (disambiguation).

Cynewulf (/ˈkɪniwʊlf/, Old English: [ˈkynewuɫf]; also spelled Cynwulf or Kynewulf)[1][2] is one of twelve Old English poets known by name, and one of four whose work is known to survive today.[3] He presumably flourished in the 9th century, with possible dates extending into the late 8th and early 10th centuries.

Cynewulf is a well attested Anglo-Saxon given name literally meaning cyne (royal, of a king) and wulf (wolf).

Known for his religious compositions, Cynewulf is regarded as one of the pre-eminent figures of Anglo-Saxon Christian poetry. Posterity knows of his name by means of runic signatures that are interwoven into the four poems which comprise his scholastically recognized corpus. These poems are: The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, Elene, and Christ II (also referred to as The Ascension).

The four signed poems of Cynewulf are vast in that they collectively comprise several thousand lines of verse. In comparison, the one work attributed to Cædmon, Cædmon's Hymn, is quite succinct at nine lines.

  1. ^ Herbert Thurston (1908). "Cynewulf". In Catholic Encyclopedia. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ^ Bradley, Henry (1911). "Cynewulf (poet)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). pp. 690–691.
  3. ^ The twelve named Anglo-Saxon poets are Æduwen, Aldhelm, Alfred the Great, Anlaf, Baldulf, Bede, Cædmon, Cnut, Cynewulf, Dunstan, Hereward and Wulfstan.