Andreas: The Legend of St. Andrew
Andreas: The Legend of St. Andrew
Translated from the Old English by Robert Kilburn Root 1899.
Book Excerpt
ong dialogue of Andrew and the Lord
at sea, moves steadily towards the end with considerable variety of
action. If the characterization is crude, the descriptions are vivid,
the speeches are often vigorous, and the treatment of nature is
throughout charming. It seems to me eminently suited by its subject
and manner to stand as an example of the Old English religious epic,
an example of a form of literature with which every serious student of
our English poetry should be familiar. For English literature does not
begin with Chaucer. He who would understand it well must know it also
in its purer English form before the coming of the Normans.
[Sidenote: The Argument.]
It only remains to give a brief synopsis of the poem. It has fallen to the lot of Matthew to preach the Gospel to the cannibal Mermedonians; they seize him and his company, binding him and casting him into prison, where he is to remain until his turn comes to be eaten (1-58). He prays to God for help, and the Lord sends Andrew to
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