Squee!

[ramblin_rosie]

Guess what I just found in my Old English book?

Eala earendel, engla beorhtast
ofer middangeard monnum sended....

It's the beginning of an Advent lyric, but STILL!
(For you non-Tolkien bods out there, this is where Himself found the word 'earendel,' which became the name Earendil. The lines say, "Hail morning star [Earendil], brightest of angels / over Middle-earth sent unto men.")

Now to see whether any of the other Tolkienisti in the class pick up on it....

Comments

[kisaoda.livejournal.com]

That's Cynewulf, right? Christ I or II?

[ramblin_rosie]

Actually, the book just says that it's fifth of a cycle of twelve Advent lyrics based on a cycle of Latin antiphons and that it's from the Exeter Book. So I'm not sure.

[kisaoda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it is. I went to Wiki for this and found the entry (note the bolded):

Crist is the title given to a group of Anglo-Saxon religious poems by the medieval poet Cynewulf, divided in Crist I, II, III (or A, B, C). A total of 1664 lines is preserved.

Together with Beowulf it is one of the primary examples of Anglo-Saxon literature.

Lines 104 addresses earendel, the morning star, possibly as a metaphor for John the Baptist. These lines was one of the inspirations for J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and his character Eärendil.

[ramblin_rosie]

Aha. Thanks. I thought the name Cynewulf sounded familiar, but it's not in the textbook. :P

[mumstheword54.livejournal.com]

Isn't that too cool?! *squee*

I just love how much you love to learn!

*hugs and brownies*

[ramblin_rosie]

*hugs* :)