Sedulius Scottus’s De quodam verbece a cane discerpto

Transaction Number: 4007982 C-' Z ｾ＠ ｾ＠ o ｾ＠ oｾ＠ I E o ｾ＠ ｾ＠ (/J 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 ILLnumber: Lenders: Call #: Philol 299.54.58 v.9-1 0 (1983-84) Location: Article Information Journal Title: Mediaevalia Volume: 9 Issue: Month/Year: 1983Pages: 1-24 (]) ｾ＠ ｾ＠ cr Article Author: Jan M. Ziolkowski Article Title: Sedulius Scottus's De uodam verbece a cane discerpto § ｾ＠ NOTES: Call Num o Loan Information Loan Title: Loan Author: Publisher: Place: Date: Imprint: Customer Information co § Additional information 0. Article Loan type: Article on spine incorrect) MEDIAEVALIA A JOURNAL OF MEDIEVAL STUDIES Editor: Bernard S. Levy Med iaevalia seeks to encourage the publication of articles on the Middle Ages that are interdisciplinary in nature. It also intends to publish articles on history, literature, art history, and philosophy that, though not strictly interdisciplinary in themselves, may by their content lead to interdisciplinary application. It is also interested in encouraging new interpretations and new interpreters. To this end Mediaevalia invites both younger, unpublished scholars and established scholars to submit such work for consideration. In the development of new knowledge, the editor regards the publication of the following as particularly important: significant new texts, translations of difficult works, and bibliographical essays that will stimulate and direct research in the area surveyed. Manuscripts to be considered for publication should be double-spaced throughout and should be submitted in duplicate copies, together with a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Essays submitted must be written in English; authors should provide translations of quotations in foreign languages. l\1anuscripts should conform to the MLA Handbook, with footnotes indicating place and date of publication (not publisher), and normally should be limited to twenty-five pages plus reasonable footnotes. MEDIAEVALIA A JOURNAL OF MEDIEVAL STUDIES Volume 9, 1986 (for 1983) Manuscripts and correspondence should be sent to: The Editor, !'.1ediaevalia Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies State University o f New York Binghamton, New York 13901 The Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies of the State University of New York at Binghamton Copyright © 1987 Center for l\1edieval and Early Renaissance Studies State University of New York at Binghamton --,...- THE MEDIEVAL ART OF IMITATION AND CHAUCER'S LEGENDA TESBE 181 James H. McGregor ON NOT READING CHAUCER-ALOUD 205 SEDULIUS SCOTTUS'S DE QUODAM VERBECE A CANE DISCERPTO Michael Murphy POLITICAL MYTH IN THE POEMA DE ALFONSO XI J an 225 D avid G. Lanoue PIERS PLOWMAN AND THE UNWILLINGNESS TO WORK 239 John M. Bowers THE CRISIS OF AUTHORITY AT THE END OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY: A CANONIST'S RESPONSE 251 Thomas E. Morrissey METAPHORS OF CLOTH AND CLOTHING IN THE SHOWINGS OF JULIAN OF NORWICH Ritamary Bradley Ziolkowski 269 Sedulius Scottus's De quodam verbece, a hundred and forty lines of elegiacs, is one of the most exciting Latin poems to survive from the ninth century ; J it is an impressive piece of serio-comic writing, one that draws daring parallels between the death of a ram and the Passion of C hrist. Although the second longest of Sedulius's many poems,2 the De quodam verbece achieves its varied effects within an economical plot: a ram given to Sedulius by Hartgar, his patron, is stolen and then torn apart by dogs which take the ram to be a henchman of the thief, who escapes unharmed. The naming of Hartgar, Bishop of Liege , enables us to fix the composition of the poem within a span of seven years: it must have been written between 848, when Sedulius came to Liege from his native Ireland, and 855, when the Bishop died . 3 Whereas Sedulius's topical pieces have been ignored in scholarship, his De quodam verbece has won many admirers . Readers concur that the De quodam verbece is "the most original" of Sedulius's poems. 4 This unanimity evaporates, however, once the discussion shifts from the poem's originality to its genre . According to one scholar, the poem is a repository of Germanic beast lore, a chance survival of oral Tiermarchen . 5 According to others, it is a Tiernovelle, an epicedium , a mock-necrology, a mockepic narrative with planctus and epitaph, "an elegant and sophisticated little piece of mock-herioc," or an epyllion. 6 From each new consideration of the poem , a new name for its genre has resulted. Paradoxically, the lack of consensus about the genre of the De quodam verbece pays the highest conceivable compliment to its originality. Sedulius tapped so many poetic resources and emulated or simulated so many types of poetry that his De quodam verbece defies quick pigeonholing. In spite of the rush to associate the De quodam verbece with a given genre, no one has taken the trouble to place Sedulius's beast poem in Mediaevalia Vol. 9, 1983 ｾ＠ the context of the other poems he wrote. Perhaps in his other compositions we will find landmarks that will enable us to move through the De quodam verbece without straying. The two of Sedulius's poems that survive in more than one manuscript, the D e quodam verbece 7 and the "Gloria nostra redit,"8 were both written in elegiacs, directed to the Bishop, and concerned with sheep. The "Gloria nostra redit" opens with four merry couplets celebrating, in the n1anner of an eclogue, the safe return of a shepherd. "Daphnis" (as the poem charmingly styles Hartgar) is a pastor both in the strict Christian sense, because he is a bishop, and in the classical and literal meaning of the word, because he controls the sheep that Sedulius desires so passionately.9 In the remaining eight distichs of the poem, Sedulius glides deftly from extolling sheep to averring that both sheep and Daphnis will earn immortality, provided that Sedulius receives the sheepskin to use for parchment. 10 To complement the whimsy that a sheep may outlast death, Sedulius puns incessantly on multus ("great": lines 10, 11, 19,23) and multo ("wether": 8 , 9 , 10, 16, 19 , 20, 24). The gaiety of the "Gloria nostra redit" may have pleased Hartgar's entourage and encouraged Sedulius later to attempt a more ambitious poem about sheep. Whatever his reason, the ninth-century poet made the De quodam verbece much longer and more involved than the "Gloria nostra redit." For example, even before narrating the tragic tale of how Tityros was stolen and died, Sedulius allows himself to strike a special tone in three preliminary sections. In the first one, he depicts God's creation of sheep; in the second he elaborates upon his personal infatuation with mutton; and, in the third, he singles out for praise the extraordinary ram, Tityros. This preamble initiates the three forces that govern the rest of the poem. The biblical typology inherent in the sheep genesis 11 resurfaces again and again, finally to predominate in an analogy between Tityros and the ram slain in lieu of Isaac (Gen. 22: 13). In contrast to the scriptural references, the autobiographical details at first seem incidental, brought up only because Sedulius happens by chance to have owned the hero of the poem; but these details become paramount at the close of the poem, in an epitaph that eternalizes Sedulius's craving for mutton . Most pervasive of the three forces that regulate the poem is the classical language, mainly from Vergil's Aeneid) that Sedulius cultivates. Pagan antiquity also supplies the gods, historical figures, and literary 2 personages whom the poet invokes. Thus in the opening portion of the poem Sedulius refers to Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in Hades (17); to the constellation Aries (31; the Ram was illustrated vividly in manuscripts)12; to Lucina, a name for the goddess Juno (33); and to the myth of Pan and Luna (35-36).13 At times this classical coloring interacts with the biblical one to produce unusual blends: a robber who traces his lineage from Goliath is characterized as a Cacus (43-44) whereas the ram called Tityros1 4 dies at the teeth of a dog named Cerberus (97), but is compared with the sacrificial ram - one is tempted to say "scapegoat" - in the Abraham and Isaac episode. The biblical and classical tones mingle most often and forcefully in the central narrative, which commences after the enumeration of gods who are enamored of Sedulius's ram and after the tactful announcement that the ram was a present from Hartgar. As the story shows, the ram's demise results not from a flaw in his character or comportment, but from an unprovoked act of crime : a robber absconds with Tityros. For this nefarious deed, the miscreant receives a train of names that associates him with the devil. He is a swarthy Ethiop , a Cacus, and a spawn of Goliath. Is As the scoundrel carries the ram through the undergrowth, a pack of dogs sights them and gives such vigorous pursuit that the robber drops his woolly booty and takes to his heels. The ram, mistaken for the culprit, is attacked, but he puts up valiant resistance and persuades the dogs that he is innocent. All the dogs relent except the bellicose Cerberus, grandson of the mythical Cerberus (78), who accuses Tityros of being a fox in sheep's clothing (83-84). Two lines in this passage are reworkings of verses in one of Aldhelm's Latin riddles (compare 72 and 79 with Aldhelm, Aenigma 65.7 -8). Both paraHels derive from Aldhelm's riddle about the muriceps) "the mousecatching cat." In the riddle, the lines come up in a passage where the cat explains its reluctance to hunt with packs of dogs, since the hounds might turn on it: "Nee volo cum canibus turmas agitare fugaces, I Qui mihi latrantes crudelia bella ciebunt" (Aen. 65.7-8). These two lines were an appropriate choice for Sedulius as he recounted the wrangles of a ram with overzealous dogs, so much the more because both scenes revolve around cases of mistaken identity: in Aldhelm's riddle dogs are said to confuse a fellow hunter (i.e., the cat) for quarry, while in Sedulius's poem they punish the victim of a crime and let the perpetrator run scot-free. Despite the ominous allusions, Tityros is not yet ready to surrender 3 like a cat to a pack of dogs. Unable to tolerate the calumny Cerberus has pronounced against him , Tityros butts the dog in the face, breaking two of the beast's teeth with his horns. Far from giving up, Tityros has all but won the skirmish when, inexplicably, he turns tail. Would that he had stood his ground! As he flees, his horns catch in a thicket and he is held helpless . Like the stag in the famous fable, Tityros dies as a result of the physical attribute that makes him proudest: his set of horns. 16 He is slain from behind by the cursed Cerberus. Although not a cento, the De quodam verbece rests on a bedrock of classical expressions absorbed from Ovid, Persius, and Vergil. 17 Whereas in some lines the phrases are adopted casually, as if only in passing, in other verses they are crowded together to achieve a deliberately mockepic, Vergilian effect. is But the playful tone coalesces with, rather than excludes, the underlying Christian meaning. The couplet describing the ram's demise demonstrates this cohesion amply: "Labitur exanimis multo, miserabile visu, / irrorans vepres sanguine purpureo" (99-100) .1 9 While the original context of "labitur exanimis" and "purpureo" (the death of Camilla in Aeneid 11.818-19)20 contributes nothing precise to the reader's vision of the ram's demise, the language imbues the scene with the gravity of a Classical Latin epic. The same observation holds true for the cliche "miserabile visu" and for the first three words of the second line (to be compared with Aeneid 8.645). The Christian significance of this couplet, still veiled at this moment, is emphasized at the end of the poem, where Sedulius likens the death of the ram to that of the lamb of God, Christ (both died to save a latro: 117-120), 2i and to that of the ram substituted for Isaac (121-22). Sedulius's equation of Tityros to the Old Testament ram and, by extension, to Christ is not a last-minute solemnification of the poem. Rather, it is carefully anticipated through a verbal allusion to Genesis. The terse account in the Bible tells that the races, like Tityros, met death because it was entangled in vepres (Genesis 22.13).22 We are entitled to conclude that the scene Sedulius portrays is patterned in its language on Vergil, but in its meaning on the Bible; and it rests on the word vepres) charged with this dual importance. Because so many words in the text carry a double weight, it is a tribute to Sedulius's finesse that the poem never seems to oscillate between two opposed extremes. The word pius serves in one appearance as a ludicrous claim to epic dignity, when the ram intones "sum multo 4 pius" (68) as unabashedly as his Vergilian forebear declared "sum pius Aeneas" (Aeneid 1.378).23 In a later instance, pius functions as an epithet of a pious Christian martyred for his faith ("Aspris inhaesit heu pius ille locis'j: 96) .24 Still more words gain resonance from the special connotations that Sedulius gave them in his other poems. When the poet caBs the ram the custos of the flock (4, 25, 68, 133) and names it after Vergil's most famous shepherd, the ram assumes the air of a pastor who lays down his own life in order to shield his flock against the wolf. This metaphor of shepherd, sheep , and wolf, which greets one constantly in Sedulius's other poems, 25 accords perfectly with the figurative construction implied at the curtain-fall of the De quodam verbece: Christ, the leader of the flock (who happens to be a ram), surrenders his life in an attack by the wolf (in this instance, a hell-hound descended from Cerberus). Sedulius's scene gains in Christian symbolism if we assume that his audience, which was familiar with typological interpretation of the Psalms (127-32), interpreted Psalm 21 . 17 ("circumdederunt me canes multi") as referring to Christ's tormentors . 26 The dog's most heinous offence against the virtuous ram is his untruthfulness (,'falsidici": 89) to which the ram, untainted by any mendacity (115) , reacts by making the assault that culminates in his death. Falsehood was the sin that most preoccupied Sedulius in his other poetry: he wrote one poem against liars (Carm. 2 .56) and another two against false witnesses (Carm. 2.56 and 57). In all three poems the liars are satanic beasts - wolves , foxes , and asps - who harry the faithful sheep (55.7; 56.12; 57.7). These false men merit the same unflattering epithets as the namesake of Cerberus received in the De quodam verbece: they are pitchblack Ethiops (55.17). Their three tongues ("lingua trisulca": 55.17) correspond to the three throats of Tityros's killer ("gutture triplice": line 79) . In sum, these poems share with the De quodam verbece too many expressions for the common theme to have been fortuitous ; Sedulius either returned to the falsehood poems when writing the De quodam verbece or vice versa. 27 In both the falsehood poems and the ram poem, the liars resort to animal metaphors to insult their opponents (compare the De quodam verbece lines 83-84 with Carm. 2.55.7 -8). They have the effrontery to accuse the truthful of having lied . In neither case does the slandered party fail to notice and to respond to the evil. In the falsehood poems God 5 ｾ＠ perceives the "figmina falsa" with "vibratis oculis" (57 .14), while in the De quodam verbece the ram lunges with "vibratis cornibus" to smash the "os falsidici" (89). Not accidentally, the fal sehood poem conj ures up the image of horned Moses taking action (57.21). Elsewhere in Sedulius's poetry, God enlists the faithful to raise the "ecclesiae cornua clara" (67.37-38 and 77.13).28 In one poem, the faithful warrior is a sheep capable of becoming a lion when confronted with wickedness (67.30-32); the ram undergoes the same leonizing metamorphosis (61-62) . By the earlier-mentioned Vergilian allusions and perhaps by judicious inclusion of self-quotations from his falseness poem s, Sedulius manages in the main narrative of the De quodam verbece to strike a subtle balance between the classical and Christian forces that he counterpoised in the first three sections. He is equally adept in the final three parts. The fifth segment (100-04), two taut couplets, memorializes the reaction s of figures from classical mythology to the death of the heroic ram. A sixth section (105­16) discards this mock­epic hyperbole for a rehearsal of the ram's good points. In a form of drollery that anticipates later beast poetry , Sedulius lauds natural traits of his ram as commendable human attainments. 29 The ram drank neither beer nor wine and eschewed sumptuous food. In addition, he dressed in a humble suit of wool and walked rather than rode a horse. To cap his virtues, he spoke no lies, but only the "mystica verba" of baa and bee. 30 The seventh section of the De quodam verbece (117 ­32) makes explicit, almost in the fashion of an exegetic gloss, the somber religiosity that informed the action of the narrative . Without faltering, Sedulius draws analogies between Tityros and Christ , between the sheep thief and the robber crucified beside Christ (Luke 23.39­43), and between Tityros and the ram in G enesis (itself a prefiguration ofChrist).31 At this juncture the ram has the air of a martyr, rather than of an epic her0 32 ; bu t even here the classical atmosphere lingers, as is evident in Sedulius's choice of the word Olympus to describe the Christian heaven (129). Just when the poem heads toward a devout close with a paraphrase of a Psalm, Sedulius brings humor, and his own personality, once more to the fore. He expresses his willingness to give any sheep a hot bath, from head to foot (135­40); in this way he intimates that he will make mutton stew whenever the opportunity presents itself. 33 An evenhanded appraisal of the poem should not underplay the autobiographical force, because the strain between epic language and religious spirit that per6 vades the De quodam verbece is in a sense dissipated into laughter by Sedulius's mania for mutton. His infatuation with the ram helps to make his poem as gentle and unblasphemous a burlesque of the Passion as The Second Shepherds' Play is of the Nativity.34 The Wakefield pageant establishes a daring network of correspondences: the supposed birth on Christmas of a child, who is in fact a stolen sheep disguised as a child, is linked by implication with the Nativity of the agnus Dei who saved humanity . The De quodam verbece traces similarly audacious connections between the death of a ram and the Passion of Christ. The De quodam verhece is all that it has been called ­ a parody, a mock epic, an epyllion, and more ­ but above all it is Sedulian. The poem has refused to be categorized generically for the simple reason that it was not designed to satisfy the requirements of anyone literary form. On the contrary, in it Sedulius reveled in the distinctive artistic possibilities that he had won when he had decided to write about talking animals. Like other Medieval Latin poets who wrote about loquacious beasts, Sedulius vied with the most hallowed models he could find in his case, Vergil and the Bible ­ and pinned his hopes for success on an extensive use of parody and on a sophisticated narrative structure with several levels of meaning; like some of his successors in the composition of beast poetry, he succeeded in creating a masterpiece. Harvard University NOTES 1. The De quodam verbece has been edited twice . The most widely available edition is by Ludwig Traube , in Portae Latini aevi Carolini, 3, Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Berlin, 1886­1896),204­07; but Traube's text has been superseded by the edition of Reinhard Di.ichting, "Vom Hammel, den ein Hund gerissen ," in Das Tier in der Dichlung, ed. by Ute Schwab (Heidelberg, 1970), pp . 114­21 . Di.ichting's text, modified only in matters of punctuation and capitalization to make it more meaningful to an audience of English speakers , has been used as the basis of my translation . Traube's text has been retained for references to all of Scdulius Scott us's other poems . 2. Only Carm. 2.7 (edited in Poetae Latini aevi Carolini 3.172­76) is longer. 3 On Sedulius's life, see Max Nlanitius, Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Miltelalters, 1 (Munich , 1911), 3 15­23 , and Di.ichting , "Vom Hammel," p. 122. 7 ｾ＠ 4. See Ludwi g Bieler, Ireland, Harbinger oj the Middle Ages (Londo n , 1963 ), p. 123, and Reinhard Duching, Sedulius Sco ttus. Seine Dichtungen (Munich, 1968) , p . 139. 5. This theory is advanced by J. van Mierlo, "Het oudste Dierengedicht in de Letterkunde der Nederl ande n ," Verslagen en M ededelzngen der Kon inklijke Vlaamsche Academie voor Taal- en Lellerkunde (Ghent, 1943), pp. 13­3 1; but it has been refuted by Hans Robert j auss, Untersuchungen zur mittelaLledichen Tierdichtung, Beihefte zur Zeitsch rift fur romanische Phi lologie, 100 (Tubingen, 1959), pp. 59­65 . 6. 7. 8. 9. See Boris I. jarcho, "Die VorHiufer des Golias," Speculum 3 (1928), 523 ­79 (here: 566 and 579); Gerhard Herrlinger, Totenklage um Tim in der antiken Dichtung, Tubingencr Beitdige zur Altertumswissenschaft , 8 (Stuttgart , 1930), p . 122 ; Bieler , Ireland, p. 123; Dennis M. Kratz, "Aeneas or Christ? An Epic Parody by Sedulius Scottus," The Classical World 69 (1 976) , 319; Helen Cooper, Pastoral: Mediaeval into Renaissance (Ipswi ch, England 1977) , pp. ] 7­18; and Di..ichting, "Vom Ham mel," pp . 122 and 127. Brussels MS 106 15­729 (twelfth century), folios 219 v­220r, and Freiburg im Breisgau, Domkapitelsbibliolhek, MS D 1442 (ninth century), folios 3J v ­32r. Although the Freiburg manuscript is nin th­cen tury , the De quodam verbece itself is copied in a ten th­cent ury hand : see Duchting, "Vom Hammel ," p. 277 . Brussels MS 10615­ 72 9 (twelfth century), and MetzMS 500 (destroyed in 1944): see Di..ich ting, Sedulius Scottus, p . 14. The poem has been edi ted by Tra ube, Poetae Latini aevi Carolim, 3 178­79, and has been an notated by Duchting, Sedulius Scottus, pp . 56­58 . In a special Sedulian sense (Carm . 2.3.26) , Hartgar is the pastor of the Irish , since he provided hospice fo r Sedulius and his compatriots. On Hartgar as the dispenser of sheep, see Carm . 2. 36.17 ­18 . 14. T he name Tityros would have calJed to mind to a ninth­century scholar not onl y the herdsman ofVergilian renown, but also a form ida ble creature that was supposedly the cross between a she ­goat and a ra m. See Duchting, "Vom Hammel," p. 280 , and (for an illus tration) Joh n V inycomb, Fictitious and Symbo lic Creatures in Art, with special reference to their use in British Heraldry (London, 1906), p. 217. 15. T he Ethiop was a conventional figu re for the devil: see Kratz, "Aeneas or Christ ?" p . 321. Cacus also often stood for th e devil: see Paul Lehmann , Erforschung des Mittelalters, 2 (St uttgart, 1959),230. In Sedulius's personal idiom (Carm. 1.1 6 . 11 and 2.8 .25 ), Goli ath was the peak of evil violence . 16 . The fable, found in the verse of both Phaedrus ( 1. 12) and Bab rius (43), was cu rrent in the Middle Ages in the prose of the R omulus collections: see Leopold Hervic ux, Les Fah ulistes latins, second edition, 2 (Paris , 1893­99), 764 ("Le Cerf a la fontain e") for a de tailed listing. 17 . See the list of "Sou rces and Parallels" that follows the present edition and translation. 18 . Compa re lines 54­56 wit h Ve rgil , Aeneid 1.725 , 9.749, and 8 .305 . 19 . Discussed by Duchting, "Vom Hammel ," p. 124 , and Kratz, "Aeneas or Christ?" p . 320 20. K ratz (p . 320) erroneously refers to Aen.eid 9 and the death of Arruns. 21. D uch ting, Sedulius Scottus, p. 141 , and "Vom Hammel," p . 12 5, called attention to the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lu ke 10.29­37, especially 30). 22 . See Duchti ng , "Vom Hammel," p. 124. 10 . On the importance of sheepskin as a writing material, see Wilhelm Wattenbach , Das Schrijtwesen im M ittelalter, third ed ition (Leipzig, 1896: rep rinted 1958), pp . 121­23. 23 . See Dieter Schaller, review ofj auss's Un.tersuchungen, in Anzeiger Jurdeutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 72 (1 960­6 1) , 68­76 (here : p . 71 ), and Kratz, "Aeneas or Christ ?" p . 320. 11 . I tra nslate the apt phrase of j auss, Untersuchungen, p . 6v. 24 . 12. See jessica Rawson, Animals in Art, British Museum Publications (Lonndon , 1977), p . 67, plates 94 (constell ation Aries from 9th­c. manuscript, British Li brary MS Harley 647, foli o 2b) and 95 (constellation Aries fro m 11 th­c. English manuscript , Briti sh L ibrary MS T ibe ri us BV, part 1, folio 32b). jams (Untersuchu ngen, pp . 63­64) d iscounted the Vergilian tone altogether and concluded that the ram's claim ("su m multo pius") had more to do with Chris tian pie ty than wit h Aeneas ; but Schaller took the opposi te stand in his review , pp. 71­ 73. Both Kratz and Duchti ng in their articl es show that the poem is simultaneously mock­epic and religious . 25. 13 On thi s my th , see Ovid , Metamorphoses 1.694­712, and Philargyrius on Vergil, Georgics 3.392. Carm . 2.1. 18­20 ; 2.21­22; 3.26; 5. 12 ; 6 .17­ 18 and passim; 7.5­6 and 124; 21. 8; 68 .24; 71. 25 ; 72. 18­20. 8 9 ｾ＠ 26. This suggestion was first made by Dennis Kratz, Mo cking Ep ic: Waltharius, A Lexandreis and the Problem of Christian Heroism, Studia Hu manitatis (Madrid, 1980), p . 9 . On the medieval interp retation of the ve rse, see James Marrow , "C ircumdederunt me canes m ulti. Christ's tormen tors in Northern European art of the late M iddle Ages and earl y Renaissance," Art Bulletin 59 (1977 ), 167­ 181. 27 . Compare Carm . 2.55 .3 with 41. 73 and Carm. 2.57.4 with 41.84. There is no means of proving that the De quodam verbece was written after the falsehood poems. 28 . Compare with Die Apokalypse des Golias, edited by Karl Strecker, Texte zur Kultu rgeschichte des Mittelalters , 5 (Rome, 1928), p. 23 (st anza 33 and notes). 29 . Compare with Nigel de Longchamps, Speculum Stultorum, edited by John H . Mozley and Robert R. Raymo , University of California English Studies, 18 (Berkeley and Los Angeles, ]971), lin es 1185­90. 30 . SeeJan Ziolkowski , "Ne btl ne ba," Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 84 (1983),287 ­290. 3 1. D uchtin g ("Vom Hammel," pp. 124­25) call s atten tion to Augustine , EnaTTaliones in Ps. XXX, II Serm . 2.9 . See also Am brose, De Abraham 1.8 (= Migne, Palrologia Latina 14.47 1B) . 32. J auss (Untersuchungen, p . 63) and Duchting ("Vom Hammel," pp. 122 and 126) go so far as to refer to the ram as a marty r and to the poem as a passio. 33 . Duchting and others have seen in these lines a play on monas tic or liturgical footwashing ("Vom Hammel ," p. 280: note 17); but Sedulius offers to wash head and feet, not j ust fee t. If Sedu lius has parody in mind, he is thinkin g of Exodus 12 .9 , which specifies that the paschal lamb be roasted "his head with his feet" ("caput cum pcdibus eius"). 34 . The Second Shepherds' Play, also known by the Latin title Secunda Pastorum, is accessible in man y anthologies. A good critical edition is A. C . Cawley, editor, The Wakefield Pageants in the Towneley C.ycle, Old and Middle English Texts Series, 1 (Manchester, 1958). 10 Musimon, Tityrus. 11 12 Sedulius Scottus, De quodam verbece a cane discerpto Sedulius the Irishman, "About a certain bell­wether torn apart by a dog" Cum deus altipotens animalia condidit orbis, quae mare, quae tellu s, quae tenet atque polus, multo multones tunc multiplicavit honore inter balantes fecit eosque duces. Tegmine lanigero vestivit conditor almus 5 induit ex crasso corporis hosque peplo cornibus et curvis frontes armavit aduncas, contra cornigeros bella superba gerant ; naribus in geminis sparsit viresque superbas, 10 flatibus in multis multiplicavit eos. Mitis simplicitas sed cornibus insita sacris, toxica nee lacerant hosque venena pios. U nde mihi, fateor , horum dilectio crevit, crevit amor pepli pinguis et umbilici. 15 Iuro per hos digitos, quod in hoc non mentior umquam : tales quod cupio, diligo, semper amo nee Letheus fluvius sacrum delebit amorem. Os quod proloquitur, conscia mens perhibet. Nostri versiculi hos laudant hosque salutant 20 nee falsum dico, scis velut, alme pater; nam vestri nobis furvos clementia furvis multones tribuit saepe dedit niveos. Quorum qui fuerat formosior ac mage pinguis, heu , quam crudeli morte peremptus obit! 25 Egregii pecoris custos praeclarior ipse ulli nee parilis nee similisque fuit , cornibus et rigidis excelluit alma potestas omnes cornigeros candidulosque greges; vellere qui niveo niveisque micabat ocellis, frontis et in pugna victor inormis erato 30 Hunc Aries caeli casto dilexit amore consortem regni hunc voluitque sui. H unc Lucina potens niveo pro tegmine darum sidus in excelsis ponere velIe 10cis; 35 namque ferunt Lunam lanarum vellus amasse; Pan, deus Arcadiae, vellere lusit earn. When high and mighty God created the animals of the world, those which the sea, the land, and the heavens contain, at that time he multiplied the mutton ­beasts with multiple honors and made them the leaders among the bleaters. The kind­spirited creator clothed them with a fleecy covering and dressed them in a well­padded robe ­ made of their bodies ­ and armed their inward­bending brows with curving horns, so that they might wage proud wars against other horn­bearers. In their twin nostrils he spread proud might; he made them multiple in their multiple pantings. But a gentle simplicity is also innate in their sacred horns, and neither magic charms nor poisons harm these pious creatures. For this reason, I confess, my predilection for them has in creased, my love of their robe and of their well­fed midriffs has increased. I swear by these fmgers, that in this I never lie: that I crave them, treasure them, always love them; and not even the river Lethe will wipe away this holy love. What my mouth is now announcing, my mind asserts with full awareness. My trifling verses praise them and greet them; and I say nothing false, as you know, 0 kind­spirited father. For your merciful nature has seen fit to distribute black sheep to me, since I am a black sheep; but it has also given me snow­white ones . One of these sheep was shapelier and plumper than the rest: 0, woe is me, by what a cruel death did he die stricken! He was the guardian of the outstanding flock , nobler than all the others, peerless, matchless. His gentle ­hearted strength, residing in those stiff horns, surpassed all other horn­bearing beasts and all the bright white flocks. He gleamed with his snow­white fleece and with his snow­white eyes; and he was an enormous and energetic victor in fights of the forehead. Aries, the constellation of the ram, loved him with a pure love and wished to make him co­regent of his realm; Lucina, the powerful goddess oflight, wished to place him on high as a bright constellation, on account of his white covering; and they report that Luna, the goddess of the moon, loved the wool of fleeces, and that Pan, the god of Arcadia, deceived her with a fleece. 13 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 14 Hunc meus arsit amor, nam nec mihi cornea fibra, quis nisi stultus enim, qui nec amaret eum? Et, quae nulla negat, vestri clementia dives, mox donare decus hoc mihi disposuit; sed Fortuna, bonis semper contraria rebus, Tityron eripuit tum mihi, heu, misero. Quidam latro fuit nequam de gente Goliae, Aethiopum similis Cacus et arte malus . Terribilis forma vultu piceusque maligno asper erat factis asper et eloquiis. Te, pie multo, tulit manibus traxitque nefandis per multos tribulos, heu nefas, 0 miserum. Tu multum fueras mitis mu]tumque serenus, infelix multo, multa per arva volans. Vis rabiosa canum furem conspexit euntem, ferri cornigerum magnanimumque ducem. Mox animosa cohors saltus dedit ipsa salacesingen s fit strepitus, fit sonus atque fragororibus et rapidis furem furtumque requirit, frondea silva latrat, personat omne nemus. Q uid moror in verbis? Mitis, heu, multo tenetur; ur fugit in tenebris, ocior ille nothis. Multo relictus erat salus multumque pugnabat, cornibus il1e minax vulnera multa dedit. Obstipuere canes victi multone bicorni atque leoninam rentur adesse feram. Omnes econtra latrabant ore canino, ille sed egregius fulserat ore pio. "Quis furor in vestris consurgit cordibus?" inquit, "Gnoscite me famulum praesulis Hartgarii. Non sum latro malus, non sum furunculus ille, sed sum multo pius , dux gregis eximius. Si vos oblectet hostem superare tyrannum, proximus ecce fugit fur, teneamus eum. Sin autem rabies vestri raucusque latratus in me tranquillum bella cruenta ciet, per caput hoc iuro, per cornua perque superbam hanc frontem: vobis praemia digna feram." For him my love burned (since the cockles of my heart are not as hard as horn); for who but a fool would not love him? And then your mildness, which is rich and which denies nothing, saw fit to give this ornament to me; but Fortuna, a goddess always opposed to good things, soon snatched Tityros from me, wretched, 0 woe is me! There was a wicked bandit, one of Goliath's tribe, dark like the Ethiops and a Cacus in his trickiness . Frightful in his appearance and pitch-black in his malicious demeanor, he was crude in his actions, crude in his language. This scoundrel took you, 0 pious mutton, and dragged you with his unspeakable hands through many thickets; alas, what an unspeakable act against you, 0 wretched ram! 0 unfortunate mutton, you were much meek and much serene as you fluttered through multiple fields. The raging pack of dogs caught sight of the robber as he was going, the horned and great-spirited lamb-leader as he was being carried. Soon the spirited squadron cut capers; the sound of crashing and smashing grew grand. As the pack of dogs with fast -moving mouths seeks out the thief and the object of theft, the frond-filled wood barks and every grove resounds. Why am I holding back my words? Alas, the mildmannered mutton is caught, while the robber - faster than the winds - runs in the shadows. The mutton was left alone and fought much; threatening with his horns, he inflicted multiple wounds. The hounds , vanquished by a two-horned mutton, were shocked and figured that a lion was present. All were barking at him with their currish mouths, but he - not sheepish in the least - shone with his pious mouth. "What madness is arising in your hearts?" he said . "Recognize me as the servant of Bishop Hartgar. I'm not the wicked robber , not that sneak-thief; instead, I am a pious mutton, the illustrious leader of a flock . If you happen to have a hankering to overcome a despotic enemy, then look: the robber is nearby, fleeing. Let's grab him! But if, on the contrary, your rage and hoarse barking should incite you to gory wars against peaceful little me , then I swear by this head, by these horns, and by this proud forehead that I will give you the rewards you deserve. " 15 ." .......- 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 16 His dictis, subito permulsit corda ferarum; pax fieri coepit binaque pars resilet. Unu s sed fuerat veluti latrator Anubes, cui canis inferni Cerberus ater avus, gutture qui triplici cervos agitare fugaces informesque ursos arte sole bat avi. Is cum conspiceret rabidum genus esse quietum, dentibus infremuit hirtaque colla tumet. 'En vos," inquit, "ovis ficto sub nomine pacis ceu vulpes ludit subdola verba sonans. Hic fur est nequam furis comes atque malignus; idcirco bini frondea tecta petunt. Causa mali tanti, testor, hic solus habetur , qui pacem verbis fronte facitque minas." Tunc os falsidici vibratis cornibus ingens multo ferit dentes fregerat atque duos, insuper et frontem contrivit fronte caninam et victor fieret, proelia ni fugeret; nam praeceps volitat quasi victor hoste relicto, cursitat incautus simpliciterque fugit. Incidit in tribulos posthac sentesque malignos; aspris inhaesit, heu, pius ille locis. Tum mox a tergo maledictus Cerberus instat, ore cruentato vulnera saeva dedit. Labitur exanimis multo, miserabile visu, . . lrrorans vepres sangulne purpureo. Fleverunt Nymphae, sonuerunt omnia silvae balantumque greges ingemuere nefas. Multonem niveum tu, candida Luna bicornis, luxisti merito nes Ariesque polio Iustus quid meruit, simplex sine fraude maligna? Munera nec Bachi non siceramque bibit; non hunc ebrietas deflexit tramite recti, non epulae regum nec procerumque dapes. Illi pastus erat sollemnicus herba per agros ac dulcem potum limphida Mosa dabat. Non ostri vestes rubei cupiebat avarus, sed contentus erat pellicia tunica; Having made this statement, he managed suddenly to soothe the hearts of the beasts; a peace began to dawn and the two sides leapt back. But there was one dog that was just like the barking god Anubes, which had as grandfather the dark­spirited hellhound known as Cerberus, and which was in the habit of hunting fleet stags and hideous bears in the manner of its grandfather: with a threefold throat. This creature, when it saw that the savage pack was growing quiet, snarled with its teeth and puffed out its shaggy necks . "Look at yourselves," it said , "A sheep, under the falsely assumed name of peace, is speaking sly words and tricking you, just as a fox would do. Here is a wicked bandit and a malicious henchman of a bandit; for that reason the two of them are heading for a leafy shelter. He alone is to be held responsible for so great a wrong, I declare; for he makes peace with his words, but threats with his brow . At this, the gigantic mutton struck with brandished horns at the mouth of the lying beast; he broke two of its teeth and, in addition, he pounded with his brow its doggish brow. The ram would have been the victor, if only he had not fled the battle; for, as if a victor, he rushes away headlong, leaving his enemy behind. He runs about heedlessly and, without guile, flees . Afterward he blundered into thickets and wicked thorn-bushes; alas, the pious ram became stuck in those rough places . T hen next the cursed C erberus pressed him from behind, dealt him savage wounds with its bloodied mouth. The mutton falls lifeless to the ground, a sight sad to behold, and bedews the briar-bushes with his purple blood. The nymphs wept, all the creatures of the wood burst into sound, and the flocks of bleating beasts groaned over the crime. Quite rightly you, Luna, who are two-horned and white yourself, mourned, while you , 0 Aries of the heavens above, wept. What did he deserve , he who was just, honest, and devoid of fraud? He drank neither wine nor any other fermented drink. Drunkenness did not lead him astray from the path of propriety, nor did the banquets of kings, nor did the feasts of noblemen . To him, ceremonial food meant the grass in the fields; and the clear-flowing Meuse provided him with a sweet drink. Not a greedy being, he had no desire for clothes of purple material; 17 .......- 115 120 125 130 nonque superbus equo lustrabat amoena virecra, sed propriis pedibus rite migrabat iter. Non mendosus erat nee inania verba locutus, baa seu bee mystica verba dabat. Agnus ut altithronus pro peccatoribus acrem gustavit mortem filius ipse dei, carpens mortis iter canibus laceratus iniquis pro latrone malo sic, pie multo, peris. Q uomodo pro Isaac aries sacer hostia factus , sic tu pro misero victima grata manes. o pietas domini clemens ac larga potestas, qui non vult homines morte perire mala! Dextra superna dei latronem salvat iniquum oJim quae cuidam mox cruce praestat opem. Grates fer domino, nequam male perfide latro; dic cum psalmista talia verba miser: "Dextera me domini tunc exaltavit Olympi, vivam, non moriar facta deique canam. Me castigavit castigans alma potestas, tradidit hauL morti me rapuitque neci ." Epitaphion Tu, bone multo, vale, nivei gregis indite ductor! • Heu , quia nee vivum te meus hortus habet; 135 forsan, amice, tibi fieret calidumque lavacrum , non alia causa iure sed hospitii . Ipse ministrassem devoto pectore limphas cornigero capiti calcibus atque tuis. Te, fateor, cupii, viduam matremque cupisco fratres atque tuos semper amabo. Vale! 18 rather, he was content with a tunic made of a hide. He did not range proudly on horseback through the delightful glades, but instead he traveled in the ordinary fashion ­ on his own feet. He was nor a liar and he did not speak idle words; he emitted only the mystical words baa or bee. Just as the lamb who sits enthroned on high ­ the Son of God ­ tasted biting death for the sake of sinners, in the same way you, 0 pious mutton, taking the route of death, ripped apart by the unfair dogs, perish for the sake of a wicked bandit. Just as the holy ram became a sacrifice in Isaac's stead, so you remain a welcome victim in the place 01' a wretch . 0 how merciful is the piety and broad the power of the lord, who does not wish men to pass away in a bad death! The celestial right hand of God, which once promised to bring help soon to a certain man on a cross, now saves the shameful robber. Give thanks to the Lord, o worthless, wicked, and faithless robber; speak, you wretch, with the man on a cross, now saves the shameful robber. Give thanks to the Lord, o worthless, wicked, and faithless robber; speak, you wretch, with the Psalmist such words as the following: "The right hand of the Lord of Olympus then raised me on high; I will live, not die, and I will sing the deeds of God. The kind­hearted power, reproving, reproved me; bUl it did not hand me over to death and it snatched me away from the slaughter." The Epitaph You, 0 good mutton, farewell, 0 renowned leader of the snowwhite flock; alas , that my garden does not still contain you alive. Perhaps, o friend, a warm bath would be made for you, for no other reason than the rights of hospitality. With devou t heart, I myself would administer the water to your horned head and to your heels. I must confess: I have yearned for you, I long at this very moment for your widow and mother, and I will always love your brothers. Farewell! 19 ｾ＠ SOURCES AND PARALLELS Duchting, Ss. SD 1968). The words "alma potestas" are often used to end hexameter lines: see Schumann, LH­L 1.64­65, and line 13 1 of the De quodam verbece. 28 P rudenti us , Cathemerinon 3.156­67: "q uae feritas modo non trepidat / terri ta de grcge cand idulo?" (T). 31 O n the common place line­e nding "diJexit amore," see Schumann , LH­L 2.83 ­84 . 33 Ovid twice uses the ep ithet potens of Lucina (Metamorphoses 5. 303 ­304 and 9.3 15). It should be noted tha t Sedulius presents Lucina as the goddess of light (lux rather than as th e goddess of childbirth. 35 ­36 Vcrgil, Georgics 1. 397 : "Ianae . . vellera" and Georgics 3.39 1­92: "munere sic niveo la nae, si credere d ign um est, / Pan deus Arcadiae captam te, Luna, fefel1i t" Rein hard Duchting, Sedulius Scottus. Seine Dichtungen (M unich, Duchting, "Vom Ham mel" = Reinh ard D uchting , "Vom Hammel, den ein Hund gerissen, " in Das Tier in der Dichtung, ed ited by Ute Schwab (Heidelberg, 1970), pp . 114­ 27 . Schaller 7 D ieter Schaller, review in Archiv fur deutsches Altertum, 72 (1 960), 71. Schu mann, LH­L = Otto Schumann , Lateinzsches Hexameter­Lexikon. Dichterisches Fonnelgut von En nz us bis zum Archipoeta, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Hilfsmittcl , 4, 1­6 (M unich, 1979­ 1983). The nu mbers refer to volume and page. (T ). T L udwig Traube, in the notes to his edition in Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, 3 .204­07 . 37 Persius, Satura 1. 47: "neque enim mihi cornea fib ra est" (Diichting, 137, who gives credi t to Diimmler). The expression "conditor orbis" is very common at the end of hexameter lines: see Schu m ann , LH­L 1.4 18 ­41 9. Ss. SD, p. 51 Ve rgil, Aeneid 4.1 32: "odora can um vis" (T ). Ovid , Ex Po nto 1. 10.9: "quod mare , quod teHus, adpone quod educat aer" ; Juvencus, Praefatio 3 (Diicht ing, Ss. SD, p . 14 1); Lucretius 1.278: "quae mare, quae terras, q uae den iqu e nu bila ponti. " For similar constructions, see Schumann , LH­L 3.288. 54 Ve rgil, Aeneid 1. 725: "fit sl repitus" and 9 .752: "fit sonus" (T) ; but note that "fit fragor ," "fit son irus ," and fit son us" had already become stock expression s in Silver Latin : see Schuman n , LH­L 2.288 . 5 On "condi tor a lmus" as a line­ending , see Schumann, LH­L 1.41 7­418. 56 Vc rgil, Aenezd 8.3 05: "consonat om ne nemus" (T ). 9 Vergil, Georgics 4. 300: "gem inae nares" (T ); Aeneid j 1.539: "viresq ue superbas" (Diichting, Ss. SD, p . 141). 57 14 The line­opening "Crescit arnor" is attested in J uvencus, 14. 139, and in later poets: see Schumann, LH­L 1.495. Ovid, Ars amatoria 2.5 35 : "quid moror in parvis?" (T); but note that the rhetorical q ues tion "quid moro r ?" was already by the time of Scdulius a com monplace: see Sch uman n, LH­L 4.435­36. 58 Vergil, Aeneid 8 .223: "fugit ilicet ocior euro" (T) (in the story of Hercules and C acus !); Aeneid 12. 733: "fugit ocior euro" (Diichting, Ss. SD, p . 140). 60 Ovid, Amores 1.2. 44: "tunc quoqu e praetcriens vulnera mul ta dabis" (D iichting, Ss. SD, pp . 140­41). 65 Ve rgil, Aeneid 5.6 70: "qui s furor . 68 Ovid, Ars amatoria 1. 326: "dux gregis" (T) ; Vergil , Aeneid 1.378: "sum pius Aeneas" (Sch aller , p . 71 ). 72 Ald helm , A enigma 65 .8: "crudeli a bella ciebunt" (D uch ting, Ss. SD, p. 138) . 74 On "p raemia digna," see Schuma nn , LH­L, 4 .322­23. 2 18 The expression "conscia mens" appears as a line­opening in Ovid , Fasti 4 .3 11. 20 Compare with Sedulius Scot tu s, Cannina 2.6. 13 ­14, in Poetae Latini Aevi Carotini 3. 17 1: "Te cupit, alme pater, te deDet Dum ine Mosa / Absentem que vocans te cupit, al me pate r." 24 Compare wi th Vergil, Aeneid 6.163: "indigna morte percmptu m" (see Schumann, LH­L 3.430­431 ), and Aeneid 10.386: "Dum fu rit, incautu m crudcli morte sodalis" (see Schum an n , LH­L 1.508 ). 25 Vergil, Ecloga 5.44: "formosi pecoris custos, formosior ipse" (T). 20 .inquit" (Ducht in g, Ss. SD, p. 141). 21 ....... 75 77 79 The line­opening "His dictis" was stock: see Schumann, LH­L 2.502 ­503 . Sedulius was probably not alluding specifically to Alcuin, Versus de patribus regibus et sanclis Eubon'censis ecclesiae, line 1614, in Peter Godman, ed . Alcuin. The Bishops, Kings, and Saints of York, Oxford Medieval Texts (Oxford 1982), p . 130: "His dictis subito nitidus disparuit hospcs ." Vergi l, Aeneid 8 .698: "Iatrator Anubis" (T); Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.690; Prudentius, Con tra oralionem Symmachi 2.532 (Duchting, Ss. SD, p. 138: see also Schumann, LH­L 3 . 170). Vergil , Georgics 3. 539 : "cervique fugaces" and Ovid , Metamorphoses 3.356 : "agitantem ... cervos" (T); but it is more likely that the line is modeled upon Aldhelm, Aen(gma 65 .7: "nee volo cum canibus turmas agjtare fugaces" (Duchting, Ss. SD, p. 138). 80 Vergil, Georgics 3.247 : "informes ursi" (T). 82 For the opening words "Dentibus infremuit," see Corippus, Iohannidos sell. De belLis Lihycis libri VIII, 2.222 and 6 .631, ed . by J . Diggle an d F .R.D. Goodyear (Cambridge, England 1970), pp. 35 and 138. For the dosing words "colla tumet," see Schumann, LH­L 1. 377. 86 8 89 102 Vergil, Georgics 1.272 : "balantumque gregem" (T). 103 Horace, Carmen saeculare 35­36: "siderum regina bicornis, audi/ Luna, puellas"; Auson ius, Cupido cruciatus 42 (cd . by Schenkl, p. 123: Duchting, Ss. SD, p . 14 1) . 105 Juvencus, EvangelioTum tiber 2.1 12: "sine fraude maJigni" (T); but note that the phrase was already by the time of Sedulius a commonplace : see Schumann, LH­L 2.348 ­49. 106 Ovid, Ars amatoria 1. 565: "munera Bachi"; for later appearances of the cliche, see Schumann, LH­L 3 .454­55. The line seems to be a classicizing adaptation of Luke 1.1 5 "et vinum et sicera non bibet," when the angel Gabriel informs Zacharias that h is son, John the Baptist, will be a holy man : see D uch ting, Ss. SD, p. 14 1. 107 The words "tramite recto" were used to conclude many hexameter lines: sec Schumann, LH­L 5.463­464 . 112 Gen. 3:21 : "fecit quoque Dominus Deus Adam et uxori eius tunicas pellicias et indu it eos" (Duchting, "Vom Hammel," p . 125) . 113 Vergil, Aeneid 6.638: "amoena virecta" (T); but note that this phrase was also a commonplace : see Schumann, LH­L 1.80 . Vergil. Aeneid 6.93: "causa mali tanti" (T), and Aeneid 11.480, and Pruden tius, Psychomachia 607 (of Avaritia). For later examples, see Schumann, LH­L 1. 303 . 115 Vcrgil, Aeneid 10 .639 " ... dat inania verba." Vergil, Aeneid 7.483 : "cornibus ingens" (T) . 116 For parall els to the line­ending, see Schumann, LH­L 5.551 ­552. 117 The phrase "gustavit mortem" derives from the Bible: see Job 6.6, Matthew 16.28, Mark 8 .39, Luke 9.27, John 8 .52, and especially Hebrews 2.9 ("videmus lesum propter passionem mortis gloria et honore coronatum, ut gratia Dei pro omnibus gustaret mortem"). Alcuin twice used "fil ius ipse dei" at the close oflines: see Alcuin, Carmino, 60. 12 and 69.52, in PLAC 1, ed. Dummler, pp. 274 and 289. 119 On the phrase "monis iter," see Sch umann, LH­L 3.442. 12 1 Gen . 22. 123 On the line­ending "larga potestas" in the writings of Sedulius Scottus and other poets, see Schumann, LH­L 3, 165. 98 Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.104: "ore cruentato tenues laniavit amictus" (T) (of the lioness that bloodies the cloak left on the ground by Thisbe, in the story of Pyramus and T hisbe). 99 Vergil, Aeneid 11.818: "labitur exsanguis" (T) . On the cl iche "miserabile visu ," see Schumann, LH­L 3.373. 22 Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.689 : "nymphae quoq ue flere videntur" (T). Vergil , Georgics 4.6 1­62 : "frondea semper/ tec ta petu nt" (T); Vcnantius Fortunatus, Carmen 6.6.4 (Duchting, Ss. ｾＧｄ Ｎ＠ Ｌ＠ p. 141 ); see also Schumann , LH­L, 2.357 . 95 ­100 Genesis 22 .13 : "levavit Abraham oculos viditque post tergum arietem inter vepres hercn tem cornibus/ quem adsumens obtulit holocaustum pro Illio" (Duchting, "Vom Hammel," p. 124). 100 101 Vergil, Aeneid 8.645: "rorabant sanguine vepres" (T) . On "sanguine purpureo," see Schumann, LH­L 5.43­44. 23 124 Ezek. 33: 11: "nolo mortem impii sed ut revertatur impius a via sua et viva t" (Duchting, Ss. SD, p. 141). 125 ­26 Luke 23:3 9­ 43. 129­32 Ps . 11 7:16 (T ). OLD ENGLISH EXODUS AND THE SEA OF CONTRADICTION J. R. Hall T he river is within us, the sea is all about us. ­ T. S. Eliot , The Four Quartets The Red Sea in the Old English Exodus is the Israelites' ally. It not only drowns the pursuing Egyptians but also affords the Israelites a harbor of refuge. After Moses parts the sea, its waters form a wealj(£sten (283a: fortress), and he exhorts his people not to delay in seeking the sea's safety: pert ge of feonda nu se Agend reade streamas Syndon pa foreweallas wrertlicu wergfaru, Ofest is selost f£eome weoroen up ar£erde in randegebeorh. f£egre gestepte, 00 wolcna hrof. 1 (293b­98) H aste is best that you may escape the enemy's power, now that the Lord has lifted up red streams in a protecting shield. The bulwarks are beautifully raised to the heavens' roof, a wondrous sea­passage. T he precise imagery with which the poet here depicts the sea has no scriptural source. But since the biblical story does describe the water as making a wall on either side (Exod. 14:22, 29), the poet's portrayal of the sea as a place of safety for Israel is consistent with the original episode. What is surprising, however, is the poet's later remark that the Israelites risked their lives amid the water (570­73) ­ a passage without biblical parallel that contradicts the poet's earlier portrait of the sea as Israel's protector . 24 Mediaevalia VoL 9 , 1983