The Saxon Savior: The Germanic Transformation of the Gospel in the Ninth-Century Heliand

By G. Ronald Murphy and G. Ronald Murphy S.J.

Book Overview

This study is an interpretation and appreciation of the art of he Heliand, the 9th century Saxon epic poem in which the Christian Gospel of the four evangelist is translated in Germanic terms. Murphy examines in detail the ingenious and sensitive poetic analogies through which familiar texts--the Nativity, the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer, the Passion and Resurrection--are transformed into Germanic settings and concepts. The first book in English on The Heliand, this study offers a new socio-political explanation of the possible motives of the unknown author in undertaking this enormous and brilliantly realized poetic task.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195097203
• ISBN13: 9780195097207
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A Different Sort of Gospel Message

Christianity has not been as uniform and unchanging as many American evangelicals want to believe. People have notions of "primitive" Christianity before the transformation of the Church under the Roman Emperor Constantine, and protestants of all demoninations are well aware that their religion underwent drastic changes in the era of the so-called Reformation. These days, many are also aware of the Gnostic alternative that competed with orthodox Christianity for centuries. Likewise, most American Christians have a vague awareness that Coptic, Armenian, Greek, and Russian Orthodoxy all maintain uncomfortably different doctrines. But, unless I'm terribly mistaken, rather few devout fundamentalists are aware of the scope of alternatives in the history of Christianity, of the widespread and long-lasting "heresies" like Arianism, Donatism, the Albigensians, or the Bogomils. Then there are more recent alternatives, some of them quite drastic in their differences: Shakers, Quakers, the Kingdom of Matthias, the Latter Day Saints, the followers of Hauge in Scandinavia, the Swedenborgians, the disciples of Reverend Moon, not to mention syncretic variants combining Judeo-Christian material with indigenous religious ideas in almost every country where missionaries have be active. Christianity is not a constant. The earliest translation of the Gospel stories into a northern European language was made by a Goth named Ulfilas; the Goths were strenuous adherents to the Arian heresy. Then, in approximately 835, an anonymous East Saxon "scop", or bard, synthesized the four Gospel narratives into a single text, large portions of which have survived. Given the name "Heliand" (Savior) by later scholars, this gospel narrates the life of Jesus in the alliterative epic style familiar from Beowolf, written at least 100 years later. In the Heliand, Jesus is portrayed as a warrior chieftain, and his disciples as warrior thanes. Much of the imagery used to depict Jesus comes directly from the images of Odin, who also sacrificed himself to himself to achieve "wisdom", or magical power. But Jesus is more powerful than Odin, as portrayed by the anonymous Saxon, because while Odin will perish in Ragnarok (the End of Time), Jesus will survive. Throughout the Heliand, not only the scenery and social structure of the New Testament but also the moral standards and expectations of Christianity are carefully modified to appeal to the Germanic tribesmen. Such accomodations were ultimately effective in conversion, particularly when backed up by the logistically superior military of Charlemagne. Father Murphy's examination of the Heliand extends far beyond the usual linguistic history and attention to etymologies. Instead he offers a thorough account of the probable provenance of the text, of its authenticity, and of its unique theological departures from Latin Christianity. Father Murphy is also the author of a readable translation of the Heliand, which is available in paperback. It

Christ as a Saxon

The Heliand is a 9th century retelling of the major events in the life of Christ in Old Saxon/Germanic alliterative verse, by an anonymous poet widely considered a master of the genre. G. Ronald Murphy examines how the poet masterfully transformed the details of the Gospel to appeal to a mostly pagan Saxon audience who had but recently come under the heel of the Christian Franks and endured forcible conversion. The poet did this by manipulating small details to conform to a world that Saxons knew. The shepherds tending their flocks who saw the star signifying Christ's birth, for example, are made to be Saxon peasants tending the horse herd in the forest meadows. The entire landscape of the poem is changed from the dry climes of Judea to the dark forests and stormy North Sea shores of Lower Germany. The poet changed the story in more profound ways, as well: Christ and his disciples more closely resemble a warlord and his band of thanes than the religious teacher with which most readers will be familiar. The Day of Judgement is made to seem suggestive of Ragnarok, the epic twilight of the Northern gods. Christ, by a careful selection of words and phrases, is made into a character reminiscent of Woden: brooding master of wisdom, which he earned through his suffering and sacrifice, indeed a "Lord of the Runes," to use Murphy's phrase. According to Murphy, however, the poet was careful to make Christ superior to Woden, in that Woden himself was subject to fate, while Christ directs it. While there are some direct quotations from the Old Saxon text to illustrate certain points, as well as from Latin and Old High German in order to make certain comparisons, they are all translated, and no special background in linguistics is required to enjoy this book. It is scholarly in scope, but written unpretentiously, and should appeal to anyone interested in Germanic philology, pre-Christian Germanic belief, or early Christianity. Throughout Murphy's discussion of his thesis with regard to the Heliand, he displays a warmth and appreciation for the anonymous poet and what he succeeded in accomplishing in his composition, as well as for the bitter and defeated Saxon audience for whom the work was intended.

Necessary Commentary

If you have an interest in the Heliand, you will want this book which is a commentary on that work. In fact, I would suggest reading this first.