the old english poem judith describes the beheading of assyrian general holofernes by israelite judith of bethulia. it is found in the same manuscript as the heroic poem beowulf, the nowell codex (london, british library, cotton ms vitellius a. xv), dated ca. 975-1025. the old english poem is one of many retellings of the holofernesâjudith tale as it was found in the book of judith, still present in the catholic and orthodox christian bibles. most notably, Ãlfric of eynsham, late 10th-century anglo-saxon abbot and writer, composed a homily (in prose) of the tale. ==history and incompleteness== judith was first discovered as an appendage to the nowell codex. though it is certain that the poem is a derivative of the book of judith, still present in the roman catholic bible, its authorship and year of origin remain a mystery. the poem is incomplete: the version in the manuscript is 348 lines long, divided in three sections marked with the numbers x, xi, and xii. the numbers correspond to the 10th verse of chapter twelve, the 11th verse of chapter thirteen, and the 12th verse of chapter fourteen. only the last three out of twelve cantos have been preserved. what remains of the poem opens in the middle of a banquet. had the first nine cantos been preserved, it is often thought that judith would be considered one of the most laudable old english works (cook, pg. lxxvi-lxxvii). what is certain about the origin of the poem is that it stems from the book of judith. after the reformation, the book of judith was removed from the protestant bible. however, it is still present in the roman catholic and eastern orthodox bibles. many discrepancies exist between the poem and book, most notably in regards to the portrayal of holofernes and the exaggeration of judithâs righteousness in the poem (marsden, pg. 147). ==plot, structure and themes== similar to beowulf, judith conveys a moral tale of heroic triumph over monstrous beings. both moral and political, the poem tells of a brave womanâs efforts to save and protect her people. judith is depicted as an exemplar woman, grounded by ideal morale, probity, courage, and religious conviction. judith's character is rendered blameless and virtuous, and her beauty is praised persistently throughout the poem. in line 109, judith is referred to as an ides ellenrof, which translates as brave woman. the author also gives her the entitlement of a 'halige meowle' (line 56), which translates as holy woman, a 'snoteran idese' (line 55), which translates as wise woman, whilst her appearance is described as 'aelfscinu' (line 13), which translates as 'elf-shining'. although judith commits murder in the poem, she is constantly doused with a saintly light. holofernes adopts the archetypal monstrous image, further
Judith_in_art Old_English_poems