Christ II

Christ II, also called The Ascension, is one of Cynewulf’s four signed poems that exist in the Old English vernacular. It is a five-section piece that spans lines 440-866 of the Christ triad in the Exeter Book (folios 14a-20b), and is homiletic in its subject matter in contrast to the martyrological nature of Juliana, Elene, and Fates of the Apostles. Christ II draws upon a number of ecclesiastical sources, but it is primarily framed upon Gregory the Great’s Homily XXIX on Ascension Day.

Christ II

Christ II, also called The Ascension, is one of Cynewulf’s four signed poems that exist in the Old English vernacular. It is a five-section piece that spans lines 440-866 of the Christ triad in the Exeter Book (folios 14a-20b), and is homiletic in its subject matter in contrast to the martyrological nature of Juliana, Elene, and Fates of the Apostles. Christ II draws upon a number of ecclesiastical sources, but it is primarily framed upon Gregory the Great’s Homily XXIX on Ascension Day.