Judith

Question 1

what is the term for the start of the poem not having a beginning (head)

Answer 1

acephalous

Question 2

what is the impact of Judith missing its beginning

Answer 2

‘… doubted gifts’
does this refer to Judith/is the source of the gifts divine or secular?
leads to EDITORIAL ISSUES

Marsden renders it secular - Judith doubting the gifts of Holofernes

Hamer renders it divine (‘And did not doubt His gifts in this wide world. She found there ready help from the great Prince.)

Question 3

what is the thematic binary

Answer 3

narrow thematic conflict of binary as a Christian reading of a Hebrew text

demonic Holofernes against the divine Judith

Question 4

gold fly net

Answer 4

symbolic of Holofernes mistrust of his men
he can see out but they cannot see in

almost like a parallel demonic version of God as God can see us but we cannot always understand him

perversion of the lord-retainer relationship that is supposed to be defined by trust - not mutuality and friendship here

glittering snare where he is caught in his own sin

screen between J and H - helps her retain chastity by distancing herself from him

Question 5

what is the significance of the line ‘intended to defile the illustrious woman with filth and win sin’ and what does it link to

Answer 5

exaggerates his evilness by showing he intended evil in contrast to the source text where he is duped (tricked) by Judith

links to ‘he had endured to his unpleasant end on earth, such as he had previously striven after’

pursuing his own end by these activities - stoic uncontrollable passions - uncomfortable

Question 6

quote about vengeance

Answer 6

Vengeance
(though deviation from the source material)

‘Avenge now mighty Lord, avenge what sits so bitterly in my heart, searingly in my breast’

Question 7

Holofernes head rolling on floor

Answer 7

important distinction between material and divine death - important cultural distinction for the spirit to leave the body

Question 8

what is the section we didn’t translate about (lines 112-235)

Answer 8

his spirit in hell coiled with serpents (like in Deor)
hell like in Gen B and for Grendel’s Mother

‘its spirit passed and there brought low was bound in pain forever, circled by serpents, fixed in bonds of torment, held hard as captive in burning hell’

‘he need not hope, wrapped round with darkness, that he may escape thence’

Question 9

joy to the slaughter greedy birds

Answer 9

standard symbol of warfare in Germanic poetry

Question 10

what is the aim of the ending of Judith

Answer 10

we are told to follow the example of Judith, it carries a religious note as if she is a biblical figure

if you have faith in God you will be rewarded and good will prevail over evil

‘Of all this Judith declared glory to the lord of hosts who had given esteem to her. Certainly at the end she did not doubt the reward that she had long desired.

Question 11

how does Judith conform or diverge to the standard pattern of heroic literature

Answer 11

conventional lord-retainer relationship with her and god

strength of mind
physical strength

vengeance

archetypal images of heroic poetry like mead-hall setting - warriors drinking wine with leader

traditional descriptive compounds/epithets e.g. gold friend of men

Question 12

how does Judith subvert the standard pattern of heroic literature

Answer 12

GENDER ROLES:
has to strike him twice - retains her femininity in that sense
subverts gender roles p women meant to whet (sharpen) the blade not wield it
women can become manly when performing such a manly act but Judith doesn’t

MOTIVATIONS:
she doesn’t do it out of a duty to vengeance like societal rules allow but does it out of self-defense of her life and dignity/virginity
however - hagiography (saint lives) only lit where virginity really matters
women should be in control of sexual desires but not be all and end all but for Judith it really matters
Judith penetrates a man who was expected to sexually penetrate her

Question 13

what is the difference in importance of virginity in the OE version compared with its biblical source

Answer 13

virginity emphasized in poem but in biblical source text she is a widow (married)

the poem purifies the biblical image of Judith to make her virginity overt and to make her saint like

Question 14

why is virginity emphasized in the OE version of Judith compared to the Old Testament

Answer 14

she can’t really have a relationship with God if there isn’t this focus
can’t make Judith Christian, but poet pushes it in direction of Christian saint
perfection = virginity in medieval Christianity and Mid Ages

Judith is being lined up with the later Christian virgin martyrs - cross fertilization of genres as heroic epic style is blended with hagiography

Question 15

what is the difference between the strength of Judith and Beowulf

Answer 15

Judith has to pray for strength but B doesn’t he relies on his own physical strength
but before he fights the dragon he puts himself into a religious mental space

Question 16

difference of the act for men and women

Answer 16

gender as performative
women less expected to show off strength like men

usually its wrong to kill someone while they sleep but Judith did it in self-defense and as a woman she was not expected to go the whole hog and act like a man in combat while Holofernes was awake
admirable that she goes at least some way to behaving like a man

Question 17

what style does Judith use

Answer 17

heroic verse style

Question 18

what impact did the source have on the OE version

Answer 18

Old Testament has a clear impact on AS imagination because of its rich narrative and dramatic episodes which fit well with Germanic tradition

Question 19

what is the purpose of Judith

Answer 19

demonstrate Gods special and protected relationship with the Israelites as his chosen people and demonstrate the unusual ways in which his power can work

Ælfric in c.10th treat story of Judith as a powerful example as a precedent for war against a Heathen invader

universal lesson about good and evil and emphasis on Chastity despite Judith’s unwomanly action

only in final scenes do we get transformation of Judith becoming more independently heroic
ends with heroic imagery like banners, shields and helmets

Question 20

significance of the mead-hall

Answer 20

halls usually have social order and here it is perverted from within unlike in B where it is destroyed from the outside threat of monsters like Grendel

emblematic that Judith is kept from the drunken hall scene - distance from sin and dishonor unlike the biblical source
OE poet makes Holofernes so much worse by having his lust there without her physical presence

Question 21

what does Holofernes do to Judith

Answer 21

have her laden with ornaments and bracelets like a trophy

Question 22

Ivan Herbison

Answer 22

The Judith of the Old English poem is shown to represent an uneasy compromise
between a woman hero who acts like a man and a heroine who plays one of
the traditional female religious roles. Judith’s essential femininity thus subverts the
conventional categories of male hero, while her role as protagonist challenges the
traditionally subordinate function of women in heroic poetry.

By depicting Judith as a moral and religious
figure, and by emphasizing her status as a woman and as a servant of the Lord, the poet
rejects a heroic frame of reference for his protagonist.