|
|
|
|
|
|
The Heliand
|
|
The Heliand is an epic
poem written in continental Old Saxon, sometime in the first half of the 9th century.
Heliand means ‘Saviour’, literally ‘healer’. The poem is sometimes referred
to as a ‘Saxon Gospel’ because it tells the Gospel story within the context
of Saxon culture and syncretizes many elements of the pre-Christian religion
with that of the official narrative. Together with other early Christian
Saxon literature, it forms the basis of an interesting ‘Saxon Christianity’
that reflects the culture and values of a Christianised
Saxon people. There are two manuscripts,
and four fragments, from which modern translations have been made, but
unfortunately neither are complete. It takes up about 6,000 lines. I do not claim to have
translated this myself and have mainly drawn from two existing sources; those
by G Ronald Murphy and Tonya K Dewey. However, this is my interpretation of
the Gospel and so it differs in many ways from both. I have also on several
occasions sought to translate specific words in my own way. My aim is to have
made it more readable to the average reader as the translations I have seen
have tended to be rather literal, academic and sometimes dry. I hope the use
of ‘thees’ and ‘thous’ in
speech gives it a bit of an oldy worldly charm.
Above all, I hope that it will help people to restore a traditional Saxon
Christian ethos and culture we can call our own. I do not seek any
financial reward from this work which has taken me a good ten years on and
off and am happy for it to be shared with like-minded friends. As I say, my
aim is to spread the good news of the Saxon Gospel! |
1 God’s Good News Is Written Down Many there were whose hearts
moved them to begin telling the word of God, the secret runes1, famous feats that
mighty Christ achieved amongst men in words and deeds. (1 - 5) Many of the wise, the children of
men, wished to praise Christ’s teachings, the holy Word of God. And with
their own hands write a bright shining book, telling how they, the sons of
heroes, should carry out His commands. From amongst all of these, were
four who had the power of God, help from heaven, the Holy Spirit, strength
from Christ. They alone were chosen to write down the Good News, God’s
speech, to write in a book the commands of God, the holy heavenly
word. No one else amongst the heroic sons of men were to
attempt this, since these four had been chosen by the power of God. Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John were their names. They were dear to God, worthy of
the work. The all-wielding Ruler had placed the Holy Spirit into their
heroic hearts, with wise words, a deep understanding and courageous thoughts,
so that they could lift up with holy voices to chant God’s spell.2 These words
have no equal anywhere in this world! Nothing can ever glorify the
Ruler, our dear Chieftain more! Nor better fell every evil creature or
work of wickedness, or better withstand the hatred and enmity of the
enemies. For the one who taught them God’s speech, had a strong heart,
merciful and good; the noble, almighty creator himself. (5 - 31) And so, with their own fingers, these
four were to write it down. To set down, sing and proclaim what they had seen
and heard of Christ's great strength. Tell of all the many wonderful things,
in words and deeds that the mighty Chieftain Himself proclaimed, taught and
accomplished amongst men. And also of all the things the Ruler spoke from the
beginning, when He, by His own power, first made the world and formed the
whole universe with one word. The heavens and the earth and all that
they hold, both alive and not alive, everything was firmly held in place by
God's sacred words. He then determined which of the tribes would rule
the widest of lands and at what times the ages of the world would come to an
end. One age still stood before the sons of men; five were past. The
sacred sixth age would come through God's power, the Holy Spirit, and
Christ's birth. He is the best of Healers, come to this middle world to
be a help to many, to give human beings an advantage over the hatred of the
enemy and their hidden snares. (32 – 53) At that time the Lord God granted
to the Romans the greatest of kingdoms. He strengthened the heart of
their army so that they conquered all nations. Those helmed
warriors of Rome’s high stronghold had won an empire. Their military
governors sat in every land and they had authority over the people of every
race. Herod of Judea was chosen to be king over the Judean people.
Caesar, ruling the empire from Rome, placed him there, amongst the warriors,
even though Herod did not belong by clan or tribe to the noble born tribe
of Israel. He did not come from their kinsmen. It was only thanks to
Caesar in Rome, who ruled the empire, that the descendants of
Israel, those hero-warriors renowned for their toughness, had to obey
him. They were Herod’s very unwavering friends; as long as he held
power, for as long as he had authority over the people of Judea. (53 – 72) There was a venerable man, wise
and experienced and with a courageous heart. He was of the people of Levi’s
kin, Jacob’s son, of good family. His name was Zachary. He was a blessed
and happy man, who loved to serve God and acted according to his
will. His wife did likewise. She was an elderly woman. But no heir
had been granted to them in their youth. They lived without fault, praising
God and were obedient to the King of Heaven. They honoured the Lord and never
desired to do any evil amongst mankind. Yet, they also lived in sorrow
because they did not have an heir of their own, for they were childless. (72 – 87) There, in the temple3 in Jerusalem, as was
oft his turn, Zackary fulfilled God's bright and clear command to celebrate
the holy worship of the Ruler, the divine service of God, the King of Heaven.
He was very happy and carried it out with a devout mind. (87 – 93) 1 Runes are the sacred symbols of the Germanic world, symbolic
representations of the mysteries of creation. Reference to them here is
suggesting that the Gospels also contain deep, hidden mystery and secret
knowledge set out as a form of magic spell. The word Gospel itself can be
seen as a play on words meaning both ‘Good News’ and God’s ‘Spell’ (or
magic). Our forebears were almost certainly aware that the true meaning of
the Gospel stories was deeper than the surface stories. 2 Again we see the Gospel being referred to as God’s spell or
magic words. 3 The actual word used is uuiha (Weoh) which properly translates
as ‘holy place’, shrine or sanctuary. 2 Zackary Sees The Chieftain’s Angel In The Sanctuary Then the time came, which had
been foretold in words by wise men, that Zackary was to attend at the Holy
Place of God. Many of the Jewish people were gathered there in Jerusalem to
ask the Lord for his grace that the ruling God, the King of Heaven, might
deliver them from evil. The people stood around the holy house as the noble
man went inside. The remaining crowd, the Hebrew people, waited outside,
around the altar, until the venerable man had finished doing the will of God.
(94 – 106) Inside, the old man carried the
incense through the Sanctuary and went around the altar with his censer,
worshipping the Mighty One. He was performing his duty wisely, the divine
service, with a clear mind (the way one should gladly follow one’s lord),
when a fear came over him. Then, he saw an angel of God inside the holy
house. The angel spoke to him in words and told the venerable man not to be
fearful. “Thy deeds are pleasing to the Ruler,” he said, “as is thy word. Thy
service to Him finds favour, that thou hast such faith in His power alone. I
am His angel; Gabriel I am called. I stand forever before God, always in the
presence of the All-Ruler, except when He wishes to send me off on His
errand. Now He has sent me on this journey and told me to let thee know that
a child will be born to thee and thine aged wife. He will be wise in words in
this world and will never in his lifetime drink strong fruit-wine. Thus have
the workings of Wyrd, the Time Measurer4 and the might of God marked him
out. God also commanded me to tell thee that thy child will be a
warrior-companion of the King of Heaven. He said that thee and thy wife
should care for him well, raise him with troth5 and that He would
grant him many honours in God’s kingdom. God said that this good man is to
have the name John and He commanded that thou call the child by that name
when he comes. He said that the child would become a warrior-companion of
Christ, His own Son, in this world, and that both of them would be coming here
very soon”. (106 – 138) Zackary then spoke and conversed
with this same angel of the Lord and he began to wonder about these words and
deeds. “How can this happen,” he said, “at our age? It is all too late for us
to bring about what thou art saying. For we both already had twenty winters
in this world before this woman came to me. We have now been together,
sharing bed and board, for seventy years since the day I took her to be my
wife. If we were not able to accomplish this in our youth, if we were not able
to produce our own heir, raised under our own roof, how are we to do it now
that we are old? Old age has taken away our vigour so that we are both
weakened in sight, our faces have gone slack, our loins are lax, our flesh is
loose, our skin is poor, our desire is gone. Our bodies are dried out, our
appearances have changed and so have our minds and strength. So many days
have we been in this world. And so I wonder how it is that thou art saying
with thy words could happen.” (139 – 158) 4 Wyrd is the Germanic concept of fate, that which ‘has been’,
‘is’ and should be’, as an outcome of past and present actions. it was such
an important concept to our pre Christian ancestors that it transferred into
early Germanic Christian literature. The ‘Time Measurer’ is a reference to ‘Metod’, an aspect of Woden (Odin). We each have an
allotted time set by Wyrd. 5 Troth (honour and loyalty to one’s Lord) was a fundamental
virtue of the Germanic warrior culture. John was to become a ‘GesiŢ’ or ‘warrior-companion of Christ. 3 The Birth Of John The Baptist Then the King of Heaven’s messenger was pained that Zackary
doubted his message and did not want
to believe that God could restore him to the youth he once had, should he so
wish. So the angel set upon him as a punishment that he would not be able to
say a single word, not even move his mouth, “until a son is born to thee,
until thy elderly wife bears thee an earl, a newborn baby of good kinstock, shining in this world. At that moment thou wilt
speak again, thou shalt regain control over thy voice, and thou shalt be dumb
no longer”. And so it came to pass, then and there. What the angel of the
All-Ruler said in the temple came true: the old man lost his speech, although
he kept a clear mind in his head. (159
– 174) Outside the Temple, the people
had been waiting all day long and everyone was wondering why the revered and
good man was taking so long to perform his service. No other thane had ever
taken so long to perform the worship service with his hands. Then the good
man came out of the sanctuary. The earls crowded in closer, they were very
curious to hear what he would say to them and what truth he would reveal to
them. But he was not able to utter a single spoken word to the warriors of
his retinue, he was only able to let the people know with his right hand that
they should follow the commandments of our Ruler. The people understood that
he had truly seen something of God, but that he could not say anything about
it, make known the truth. (174 – 190) And so it was. He had performed
the worship of our Ruler when it was his turn as was marked by men. (190 – 192) Soon afterwards the power of
God, His mighty strength, was felt: the wife Elizabeth, a woman in her old
age, became pregnant. Soon the husband, that godly man, would have an heir,
an infant boy born in the stronghold. (192
– 196) The woman awaited the workings
of Wyrd. Winter rushed by and the year turned. John came into the light of
his folk. His body was beautiful. His skin was fair, as were his hair and his
fingernails. His cheeks shone! Many of their friends and wise-men who
travelled there, were amazed at what had happened. They wondered how two such
old people could bear a child, unless it was a command of God Himself. They
recognised immediately that there was no other way for such a happy event to
occur. Then, a man of many years, gifted with wisdom and wise words, spoke
and asked with great interest what the boy’s name would be in this world.
“Methinks he is better than we are, both in the manner of his birth and in
his appearance. For this reason, I believe that God Himself has sent him
directly to us from heaven.” Soon afterwards, the mother of the child spoke,
the one who had borne the child as a baby in her womb. “A solemn order came
here last year from God,” she said, “a solemn order that by God’s word he was
to be called John. I would not dare to even think about changing this in the
slightest, even if I could”. Then an arrogant relative, who was from her clan
territory, spoke up. “No nobleman ever born into our folk has had that name
before,” he said. “Let us choose a more suitable name for him, one he might
like”. (196 – 224) Then the older man spoke, the
one who had just given a great deal of wise counsel. “I never advise any
warrior to start altering the Word of God. Just go and ask the father, a wise
gentleman sitting over there in his mead-hall. Even though he cannot speak a
single word, he can give us a message by writing the name in letters.” At
that, he approached Zackary and put a beech-wood stave6 on his lap asking him earnestly to carve in
wisely crafted words what this holy child was to be called. Zackary took the
book into his hands and gladly turned his thoughts to God. He wisely carved
the name ‘John’ and immediately regained the power of speech. He spoke with
intelligence and wisdom. The affliction had left him, the harsh punishment
which holy God, the All-Mighty, had inflicted upon him, so that he would
never in his heart forget Him, should He ever again send one of His servants
back to him. (225 – 242) 6 Zackery is depicted as carving Runes onto a
beech-wood stave in the traditional Germanic manner. 4 The Annunciation It was not long afterwards that it was all completed just
as All-Mighty God had so often promised to mankind, that He would send His heavenly
child, His own Son, to this world to free all the clans of folk here from
evil. His messenger Gabriel, the angel of the All-Ruler, then came to
Galilee. There he sought out a respected and lovely young woman, a girl who
had reached her maidenhood and ruled the fates. Her name was Mary and she was
a virgin. And she, a daughter of David, was betrothed to Joseph, a nobleman.
She was a virtuous woman, a precious bride. There in Nazareth the angel of
God spoke to her face to face, calling her by her name and saying to her from
God, “Good health be with thee, Mary. For thou art dear to the Lord, precious
to the Ruler for thy wisdom, O woman filled with grace. Thou art to be
blessed more than any other woman. Do not have a weak heart or fear in thy
soul. I have not come here to harm or trick thee. Thou art to be the mother
of our Chieftain here amongst mankind. Thou shalt bear a child, the Son of
the high King of Heaven. His name amongst the peoples will be Healer. And of
the wide kingdom over which he will rule as a great leader, there shalt be no
end”. (243
– 269) Then the maiden, the most beautiful and radiant of women,
replied to the angel of God. “How can this happen,” she said, “that I will
bear a child? I have never known a man in all my life.” The angel of the
All-Ruler had his answer ready for the woman. “The Holy Spirit will come to
thee from the meadows of heaven, through the power of God. From Him, a child
will be given to thee in this world. The All-Ruler’s power will bathe thee in
light from the most high King of Heaven. Never amongst human beings will
there ever be as beautiful or so great a birth as this one, when it comes, by
the power of God, to this wide world!” After this, the woman’s heart and mind
were drawn completely into accordance with God’s will. “I stand here ready,”
she said, “to perform any service He may wish of me. I am the maid-servant of
mankind’s God. Be it done unto me according to thy words, whatever my Lord
wills. My mind is in no doubt, neither in word nor in deed.” (269 – 288) And so I have heard it said that the maiden gladly received
the message of God, with good faith and loyalty and with a pure heart. The
Holy Spirit became the baby in her womb. And she understood in her heart and
her breast what had happened. She told whoever she wanted to hear that the
power of the All-Ruler, coming in holiness from heaven, had made her
pregnant. (288 – 295) However, Joseph was troubled in his heart and mind, since
he had already paid a dowry for the maiden, this virtuous woman, this lady of
the nobility, to be his bride. He could see that she had a child in her body
and could not believe that she had guarded herself well. He did not yet know
about the Ruler’s happy message. He no longer wanted her to be his bride, his
wife within his hall, and he began to think how he could let her go in such a
way that she would not get hurt or suffer hardship. He also did not want all
this made known to the crowd. He was afraid that the sons of men might take
her life. That was the custom of those people, the Hebrews, back then,
according to the old law. If ever a woman lived or slept with anyone
unlawfully, she always had to pay the price for it with her life. There was
no woman so good that she could remain alive for long amongst those people or
who could last for long amongst the crowd. (295 – 312) And so Joseph, that wise and good man, began to think of
ways to let the girl go secretly. Then it was not long before the messenger
of the King of Heaven, the Chieftain’s angel, came to him there in a dream
and commanded him to keep her and love her in his heart. “Do not be angry
with Mary, thy young lady, she is a proper wife. Do not think too harshly of
her. Thou art to keep her safe, thou art to protect her well in this world.
Continue with the betrothal which thou made, and foster loving friendship
between thee. Do not let her be loathsome to thee because there is a baby in
her body. That child in her womb comes from the meadows of heaven by the
order of God, the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus Christ, God’s own boy, the Ruler’s
Son. Keep her well, in a holy way. Do not let thy mind doubt or thy heart be
disturbed.” Joseph’s mind was changed with these words. He took the maiden to
be his wife and gave her his love. He acknowledged the power of God and the
order of the Ruler. He had a great desire to keep her in a holy way and he
took care of her amongst his warrior-companions. (312 – 334) And she carried, all for the glory of God, the Holy Spirit,
that Divine Man, until the workings of Wyrd told her powerfully that she
should bring forth the light of men and the best of all who have ever been
born. (334
– 338) 5 The Birth Of Christ Then there came a decree from
Rome, an order from the powerful Octavian, to all the people across his wide
realm. Caesar’s message was sent to every king enthroned in his homeland and
to all his army commanders governing the people of any territory. It said
that all foreigners should return to their homeland upon receipt of the
message. They were to return to their kinfolk and the strongholds of their
homeland. (339 – 348) The order was sent out over the
whole world. People gathered at all the towns. The messengers who had come
from Caesar were book-wise men who could read and write and they carefully
wrote everyone’s name down in a report, both names and nationality, so that
no one could escape paying the tax which each earl had on his head. (348 – 356) The good Joseph went with his
household, just as Mighty God, the Ruler, willed it. He made his way to his
shining home, the fortress at Bethlehem. This was the homeland of both of
them; the hero Joseph and the holy maiden, Mary the good. This was the place,
where in olden days, the throne of the great and noble King David stood for
as long as he reigned, an earl of the Hebrews, holding the high seat. Joseph
and Mary were both kin of his household, they were of good family linage, of
David’s own clan. (356 – 367) I have heard it told that the
bright workings of Wyrd and the power of God told Mary that on this journey a
son would be granted to her, born in Bethlehem, the strongest of children,
the most powerful of kings. The Great One would come, mighty, into the light
of men, as it had been foretold by visions and signs in this world many days
before. (367 – 374) And it all came to pass, just as
wise men had foretold it; that the Protector of People would come in a humble
way, by His own power, to dwell in the kingdom of earth. His mother, that
most beautiful woman, took him and wrapped him in clothes and precious
jewels. Then, with her two hands, she laid Him gently, the little man, that
child, in a fodder manger, even though he had the power of God and was the
Chieftain of all men. There, the mother sat in front of Him and remained
awake, watching over the holy Child and holding Him. And there was no doubt
in the mind or in the heart of the holy maid. (374 – 386) Then what had happened became
known to many over the wide world. The guards heard it, the horse-guards7 out there, men on
duty, watching over the horses, beasts in the field. They saw the darkness
parted in two in the sky and the light of God come shining through the clouds
and surround the guards out in the fields. They became fearful in their
hearts. Then they saw the mighty angel
of God coming towards them. He spoke to them and told them that they should
not fear any harm from the light. “I am going to tell thee”, he said,
“something very wonderful, something very deeply desired. I shall make known
great power. The Christ is now born, on this very night, God’s holy Child,
the good Chieftain, in David’s city. What joy for all men! Thou shalt find
Him, the mightiest Child, in Bethlehem. Take this as a sign that I speak
truthful words. He is there, lying in a manger in swaddling clothes, even
though He is king over all the earth and the heavens and over the sons of all
peoples, the Ruler of the world.” And as he spoke these words, an enormous
host, the shining people of God, came down to the angel from the meadows of
heaven, saying many words of praise for the Lord of Mankind. They then began
to sing a holy song as they wended their way through the clouds towards the
meadows of heaven. (386 – 415) The guards heard how the power of
the angels praised the All-Mighty God with words. “Glory be”, they sang, “to
the Lord Most High Himself, in the highest reaches of heaven, and peace on
earth to the children of men, folk of good will, for those who recognise God
with pure hearts.” (415 – 422) The guardsmen understood that
something great had been told to them – a happy message! So they took
themselves to Bethlehem that night; they wanted very much to see Christ
himself. (422 – 426) 7 The traditional Christmas story of shepherds watching over
their flocks is transformed into a military scenario of Horse Guards (the
King’s personal Guard) performing sentry duty. It may be that shepherds were
considered to be too lowly in the social order to guard over the new born
King. 6 The Baby Is Brought To The Sanctuary The angel of God had truly shown
them, with bright, shining signs, that they should go to Him, God’s child.
They soon found Him, the Chieftain of Clans, the Lord of Peoples. And so they
praised God, the Ruler, with their words and made it known widely all over
the shining city how they had been shown there in the fields a brilliant,
holy vision from the meadows of heaven. The woman, the holy maid, kept all of
this that she heard the men speak of in her mind and in her heart. (428 – 437) Then the mother, the loveliest of
fair women, raised him with love; the Chieftain of men, the holy heavenly
Child. (438 – 440) Many of the earls, heroes and
very wise men, spoke with the maiden of God on the eighth day. They said that
the Child should have the name ‘Healer’ just as the angel of God, Gabriel,
had said in true words when he, as God’s messenger, gave this command to the
woman when she had first conceived the Child, glorious to this world. She
very much wanted to keep Him in this holy way, she was very keen to take care
of Him. The year slipped further by, until God’s Child of Peace was forty
days and forty nights old. Then, there was a duty which parents were obliged
to perform. They had to bring Him to Jerusalem and present Him to the Ruler
at the Temple. That was their custom then, the tradition of the people, which
no Hebrew woman could avoid. The first time a woman gave birth to a son, she
always had to present him there at God’s Temple. And so Joseph and Mary,
those two good people, left Bethlehem with the baby, the holy Christ, and
went to find the house of God in Jerusalem. There they were to worship the
Ruler at the Temple according to the ways of the Jewish people. (440 – 463) There at the Temple they found a
good man, old and of noble birth, who had lived there many winters and
summers of his life, where he performed the divine praises with a pure heart.
He had within him the Holy Spirit, a holy heart. He was called Simeon. The
Ruler’s power had shown him a long time ago that he would not leave this
light, make the journey from this world, until his wish to see the holy
Christ Himself, the holy King of Heaven, was granted. And so his heart was
very happy within him, when he saw the Child of God come into the Temple. He
gave thanks to the Ruler, the All-Mighty God, that he had seen Him with his
own eyes. (463 – 476) The old man approached them and
gladly took Him in his arms. He fully recognised the beacons and signs and
also the Child God, the holy King of Heaven. “Now Lord”, he said, “I will
gladly ask Thee, since I am now very old, that Thou allowest
Thy devoted servant go away from here, to travel under Thy peaceful
protection to where my forefathers, brave warriors, went when they left this
world. My wish is fulfilled on this most precious day, now that I have seen
my Chieftain, my gracious Lord, just as it was promised to me long ago. Thou
art a powerful light to all the nations who have not yet recognised the
All-Ruler’s might, and Thy coming, my Lord Chieftain, brings glory and honour
to the sons of Israel, Thine own clan, Thine own dear people”. (477 – 492) The old man spoke wisely at the
Temple with the good woman and foretold what her Son would become over this
Middle Earth. How he would be the downfall of some of the children of men and
for others a comfort and joy to those who follow His teachings, but a scourge
for those who do not want to hear the teachings of Christ. “Thou shalt have
sorrow in the future”, he said, “thou shalt suffer pain in thy heart when the
children of heroes torture Him with weapons. This will be thy great
challenge: to bear sorrow”. The young girl understood the wise man’s words
completely. (492 – 503) Then an old woman came walking
into the sanctuary, Anna was her name, Phanuel’s
daughter. She had served her Chieftain well in gratitude, she was a mature
woman. She retained her maidenhood, until she, a noble girl, was married to
an earl. For seven winters she and her bridegroom ruled his lands together.8 (503 – 510) I have heard it told that then
sorrow came to her, that the mighty power of the Measurer separated them, the
cruel workings of Wyrd. After that, she was a widow at the Temple of peace
for eighty-four winters of her lifetime. She never left the Temple, but
served God, her Chieftain well, day and night. (510 – 516) She came walking towards them at
the same moment and immediately recognised God’s Holy Child. She let the
heroes know, the warriors at the Temple, the great and welcome news. She said
that the salvation of the Rescuer, help from Heaven’s King, had come to them.
“Now the Holy Christ, the Ruler Himself, has come to this Temple, to redeem
the people, the poor people who, for so long now, have been waiting in this
middle world, for such a long time. Let mankind rejoice over this!” Many of
the people at the Temple were overjoyed as they heard the great and welcome
news being said about God. (516 – 528) The woman had then performed the
sacred rite there, the worship at the altar, just as it was commanded in
their law and in the books of the bright shining city. The holy family,
Joseph and Mary, then set off for home from Jerusalem. They always had the
King of Heaven, the Son of the Chieftain, the Protector of Multitudes as
their companion. And so it was that the news did not spread any further in
this world than He wished. That was the King of Heaven’s intentions. (528 – 537) 8 Women ruling lands was common in Germanic culture, although
alien to the Middle East. 7 Three Wise Men From The East Follow A Star Although the holy men recognised
Christ, it had not yet become known at the king’s court to those men who were
not disposed towards Him. The truth about Him was therefore kept hidden from
them by words and deeds until men of the East, very wise men, three strong
thanes, came to the people, walking the long road over the land to get there.
They were following a bright-shining beacon, and sought the Child of God with
pure hearts. They wanted to kneel to Him, to become His followers. God’s
Workings of Wyrd were leading them on. (537 – 547) They found Herod there, the
powerful man sitting in his hall, the slithery-tongued king, angrily speaking
with his men. He was always fond of murder. The wise men spoke to him
properly and politely in his palace, as befitted a king. Straight-away, he
asked them what business brought these warriors out on a journey far from
home. “Are ye bringing wound-gold as a gift for someone? Why are ye
travelling like this, walking on foot? I do not even know where ye come from,
earls of another people! I can see that ye are of noble birth, clansmen of
good family. Never before have such messengers come here from other peoples
since I have ruled this noble and wide kingdom. Ye are to tell me truthfully
in front of these people of our country why ye have come to this land.” (548 – 542) Then the men from the East
answered him, those word-wise warriors. “We can easily tell thee the truth of
our business and say to thee openly why we have journeyed here from the East
to your country. Long ago there were noble men, well-spoken men, who with
truthful words, promised us so much good, help from the King of Heaven. At
that time, a long time ago, there was a wise man, venerable and
knowledgeable, our ancestor from there in the East9. Since then, there
has never been any man who spoke as wisely. He was able to interpret God’s
speech10, because the Lord of mankind had granted him the
ability to hear in this world the Ruler’s words from on high. This gave him
great wisdom and foresight”. (543 – 576) “When the time came for him to
depart, fare-forth from this earth and the company of kinsmen, to leave the
joy of this world and seek another light, he called his followers, his heirs,
to come closer to him. He then told them truthfully in soothsaying,
everything that has since come to pass, everything that has happened in this
world. He said that a wise king, great and mighty, was to come here to the
middle world. He would be of the noblest blood. He said that he would be the
Child of God and that he would rule this world forever, both the earth and
the heavens, for days without end. He said that on the same day on which His
mother gave birth to Him, the Blessed One, a bright star would shine in the
east, a star such as we have never seen before between the earth and the
heavens, nor anywhere else. Neither such a child nor such a beacon! He
ordered that three men of the people should prayerfully prepare immediately
and that we should follow it as it went before us, westwards over this
world”. (576 – 597) “Now this has all happened, come
to pass by the power of God. The King is born, bold and strong. We saw His
beacon shining brightly amongst the stars of heaven and so I know that the
holy Chieftain, the Lord All-Mighty, placed it there Himself. Each morning,
we saw the bright star shining and we followed it, all the time pursuing the
beacon over roads and through forests. The greatest of our desires was to be
able to see Him, the Lord of this Kingdom. Tell us into which clan He has
been born”. (597 – 606) On hearing this, Herod’s heart
pained him within his chest, his mind began to reel, his spirit was worried.
For he had heard it said that there was to be an overlord, a more powerful
king of good kin and good standing amongst warriors, who would rule over him.
(607 – 611) So he commanded all the good men
to gather together in Jerusalem. All of the wisest in speech and most learned
of book-craft in their breasts. With words, he carefully asked them, that
evil-minded man, the king of those people, where Christ, the greatest Man of
Peace, was to be born in this earthly realm. Then the people spoke to him, in
truthful reply, saying that they knew He was to be born in Bethlehem. “It has
been recorded thus in our books, wisely written by soothsayers, very wise and
learned men. They foretold long ago, by the power of God, that the beloved
Protector of the Land would come into this light from Bethlehem. This Mighty
Counsellor will rule the Jewish people and will distribute His gifts
generously11 throughout the middle world to many peoples”. (611 – 629) 9 ‘Our ancestor in the east’ is an allusion to the origin of the Aryan
people from the East, probably around the Caucasus mountains and to their
north, spreading eastwards and south-wards into Persia and North India and
westwards into Europe, bring with them a common knowledge and religion. It is
suggesting that our pre-Christian ancestors had access to God’s word and that
the story of the wise men is symbolic of that religion being restored and
fulfilled in Christ. 10 A further allusion to this ancestor being able to interpret
God’s word, implying again divine revelation in the pre-Christian Germanic
religion. 11 Germanic kings, unlike Middle Eastern rulers, were expected to
be generous gift-givers.
8 The Three Wise Men Present Their Gifts To God’s Child I have heard it told that soon
after this, the cruel-hearted king repeated the words of his soothsayers to
the foreign heroes, who were earls in their homeland and had travelled from
afar. He asked them when, on the eastern roads, they had first seen the
King’s star coming, the sign shining down brightly from heaven. They did not
wish to hide anything from him and so they told him the truth. He then
instructed them to go on with their journey and to make a full report of the
news about the coming of the Child. Then King Herod himself, the lord of the
Jews, commanded the wise men very sternly, that, before they left the West,
they should let him know where he could find the Child himself. He said that
he wanted to go there with his warrior-companions to adore the Child. But, he
was hoping, with the edge of the sword, to become the Child’s murderer. (630 – 644) However, the ruling God’s
thoughts were against these things. He, the Child, had more to accomplish in
this world. His light must shine longer, making known the power of God.12 (645 – 648) The wise men were ready to
continue their journey, following the bright sign, shining amongst the
clouds. They were eager about their mission! They wanted to see the Child of
God Himself. There were just the three of them, there were no other
warrior-companions. These wise men were learned in many things, the ones
bearing gifts. (648 – 654) Then, under the cloudy sky, they
studied the heavens above with wisdom, how the bright stars moved. They
recognised the shimmering sign of God, which had been created by Christ for
His world. They walked on after it, following it faithfully, helped by the
power of God. The star shone brightly over the house where the holy Child had
chosen to live, where the woman, the maiden, was taking proper care of him.
Then the hearts of the thanes became happy within their breasts as they
understood from the beacon-light that they had found God’s Peace-Child, the
holy King of Heaven. Then, they walked inside the house with their gifts,
those road-weary warriors from the east, and immediately recognised the
Christ, the Ruler. The foreign warriors fell on their knees in front of the
good child and greeted Him in the royal manner. They carried the gifts to
Him: gold and incense as a sign of divinity, and myrrh as well. The men stood
there ready, respectful in the presence of their Lord, and soon received him,
the Child, in a fitting manner in their hands. (655 – 677) Then the wise men departed,
road-weary, to the guest-hall. There, as they were sleeping, during the
night, God’s angel showed them, in a dream, what the Chieftain Himself, the
Ruler, wanted. It seemed to them that a man was telling them in words that
they, the earls, should leave the place by another way when they went back
home, and that they should not go back to that loathsome man Herod again,
that angry, violent king. (677 - 685) Then morning came, shining to
this world and the wise men began to tell one another of their dreams13. They recognised the Ruler’s word, for they had great wisdom in their
hearts. They asked the All-Ruler, the high King of Heaven, that they might go
forth in His grace and carry out His will. They said that they had changed
their minds and their hearts that morning – for every morning! (686 - 693) Then the men, earls from the
east, set out on their journey, just as the angel of God had instructed them.
They took another road, following God’s directions. The messengers from the
east, road-weary men, would never tell the Jewish king a thing about the
Child’s birth, but wended their way home in accordance with their will. (693 - 699) 12 Christ is demonstrating his superiority over the workings of
Wyrd (fate). 13 dreams were a common means of prophecy in Germanic culture. 9 Herod Orders His Warriors To Behead All Two Year Old
Boys Around Bethlehem Soon after this, the angel of the
ruling God came to speak to Joseph. The Chieftain’s messenger told him in a
dream, whilst he was sleeping in the night, that the cruel-hearted king would
come looking for God’s Son in order to kill Him. “Thou art to lead Him away
from here to Egypt and live amongst those people with God’s Son and with the
good maiden. Thou shalt dwell amongst them until word comes to thee from thy
Lord that thou may leadest the holy Child, thine
Chieftain, back into this land”. Joseph sprang up from the dream in his
guest-hall and immediately understood God’s command. The noble warrior,
together with the virgin, began the journey away from there, seeking another
people across the wide mountains. He was determined to get God’s Son away
from His enemies. (700 - 715) Not long after this, Herod the
king, sitting on the throne of his realm, was told that the wise men had
returned from the west to their homeland in the east, taking a different
route. He realised that they did not want to report to him again in his
throne room. At this, his mind became troubled; his mood worried. He said
that those men, those heroes, did this to insult him. As he sat there with so
much pain and rage in his breast, he said that he had another idea, a better
plan. “I know His age, the number of His winters, and therefore I can see to
it that he never ever grows old on this earth, here in this realm”. (715 - 727) Then Herod sent a strict command
throughout his kingdom, ordering his warriors, as king of the people, that by
the strength of their hands they were to behead all the boys around
Bethlehem, as many as had been born there and who had reached two years of age.
The king’s warriors carried out this terrible crime. So many men-children
died there in their childhood, innocent of any sin. Never before or since has
there been a more tragic departure for young men-children, a more miserable
death. The women were crying, many mothers saw their infants slaughtered. But
they were not able to help them. Even if she held her own boy, sweet and
small, tightly in her arms, the child still had to give up its life, in front
of his mother. The criminals who carried out this outrageous crime saw
nothing evil, nothing wrong, in what they were doing. With the weapon’s edge,
they did an enormous work of evil, cutting down many a man in his infancy.
The mothers wept over the violent deaths of their young children. Sorrow was
in Bethlehem, the loudest of lamentations. Even if their hearts had been cut
in two with a sword, nothing more painful could ever happen to them in this
world, the many women, the brides of Bethlehem. They saw their children in
front of them, men in their childhood, violently killed, lying in blood in
their laps. (727 - 751) The murderers killed the
innocents and didn’t care at all about the evil they were doing for they
wanted to kill mighty Christ Himself! But Mighty God had saved Him from their
hatred. Joseph and his men had led Him away from there by night into Egypt,
to the green meadows by the best earth, where a river flows northwards to the
sea, the fairest of streams, the mighty Nile. (751 - 760) There God’s Peace-Child dwelt in
grace until Wyrd removed Herod the king, so that he left the children of
heroes, the mad revelry of human beings. His heir was then to have power over
the region. His name was Archelaus, army commander
of the helmet-wearers. He was to rule the crowds around Jerusalem, the Judean
peoples. (760 - 767) Then word came to Egypt, to that
honourable man Joseph. God’s angel, the Chieftain’s messenger, spoke to him
and told him to take the boy back home to His country. “Herod the king”, he
said, “has left this light. He was always trying to kill the Child, to trap
Him. Now thou canst lead Him back in peace to thy kin-folk now that the king
is no longer alive, that arrogant madman of an earl!” Joseph fully complied
with this sign from God. They prepared themselves immediately, the thane and
the girl; they both wanted to leave quickly with their Son. They were
accomplishing bright-shining Wyrd, the will of God, even as He had told them
before with His words. (767 - 779) 10 Mary And Joseph Find The Holy Child At The Sanctuary Then Joseph and Mary returned to Galilee, the holy
household of the King of Heaven were in Fort Nazareth. The saving Christ grew
up there amongst the people and was filled with wisdom, God’s favour was with
Him. He was well liked by His mother’s kin. He, the Incarnate, was not like
other men in His goodness. (780 – 787) When He was twelve years old, the time had come for the
Jewish people to worship their God in Jerusalem14,
to carry out His commands. Inside the sanctuary in Jerusalem, the Jews had
assembled, a great crowd of men. Mary herself was there in attendance and had
her Son with her, God’s own Child. (787 – 794) The earls performed the worship service there as commanded
in their law, in accordance with their country’s customs. The people then
departed, the men going wherever they liked. The mighty Son of God stayed at
the shrine, without His mother knowing anything about it. She thought He had
left with the men, travelling with her friends. She found out the next day,
that woman of noble lineage, blessed girl, that He was not amongst their
companions. Mary then became deeply troubled; worry seized her heart. When
she could not find the holy child amongst the people, God’s young maiden
began to mourn. (794 – 806) They decided to return to Jerusalem to look for their Son.
They found Him sitting there inside the sanctuary, where wise and intelligent
men read and learnt in God’s law of how to praise the One who made the world
in human words. There He was, sitting in the midst of them, the mighty child
of God, the All-Ruling Christ, and they did not recognise Him at all. And
they were supposed guarding the shrine!
(806
– 813) He was asking them questions with great interest and in
wise words. They were all amazed that a young man, a child, could say such
words with His mouth. The mother found Him there sitting in their company.
She greeted her son, a wise man amongst the people, and spoke to him in these
words, “How could Thou give Thy mother such worry, dearest one, that I, a
poor sorrowful woman, would have to go asking for Thee amongst these people?”
Then the Son replied to her in wise words. “What? Thou knowest
very well,” He said, “where I belong and where I by rights would want to be,
where My mighty Father is the Ruler!” (814 – 828) The people, the men at the sanctuary, did not understand
why he spoke words like that with His mouth. Mary retained it all. She hid in
her heart whatever she heard her Son say in wise words. (828 – 832) Joseph and Mary then decided to leave Jerusalem. They had
the Son of the Chieftain in their retinue. He was the best of Sons, the best
of those who have ever been born as a baby from a mother!” They loved Him
with a clear mind; and God’s own Son was very humbly obedient to His kinsmen
and parents. (832 – 839) He did not want to reveal His mighty strength to mankind so
soon in his childhood, nor let them know that He had such power and authority
in this world. Therefore, He decided to wait for thirty years amongst the
people, as was proper, before He would give them any indications or let His
companions know that He was Himself the Chieftain of the human race here in
the middle world. (840 – 846) The holy Son of God thus stilled His voice and His wisdom
and the knowledge that was beyond all, as well as His incredible mind, so
that no one could discern from His speech nor from His words, that He had
such wisdom, that the thane had such thoughts. Instead of that, He, very
properly, awaited a clearer sign. But the time had not yet come that He was
to tell the whole middle world about Himself, when He was to teach the people
how they were to have faith, how to carry out the will of God. (847 – 855) Many people in the country knew, however, that he had come
to the light, but they were not sure that they recognised Him until He
himself decided to tell them. (855 – 858) 14
The reference to ‘their’ God distinguishes the God of the Jews to the God of
Jesus and the Christians, a God the people of the conversion era believed
they and their ancestors had always acknowledged. 11 John Announces Christ’s Coming To Middengeard John had grown up in a wilderness. There were no other
people there, apart from him a solitary thane, serving the All-Ruling God. He
removed himself from the crowd of people, the community of men. There in the
wilderness, a mighty word came to him from heaven, the divine voice of God,
and told him that he was to announce Christ’s coming and powerful strength
throughout the middle world. He was to say truthfully in words that the
heaven-kingdom, the greatest of delights, had come to those heroes’ sons, to
people, to the soil of that country. John was very willing to tell of such
fortunate blessings. (859 – 872) And so he took himself, walking to where the Jordan’s water
flowed freely. There, every day he instructed the crowd, the people of that
country, that they could make up for their many faults, their own sins, by
fasting. “Be clean,” he said. “Heaven’s kingdom, the most delightful of
dwellings, is approaching the sons of men. Now, in thine hearts regret thy
sins, the loathsome things ye hast done in this light. Listen to my teaching
and change thy ways according to my words. I will gladly baptise ye in water,
so that by the work of my hands thou canst be washed clean of evil, but I do
not have the power to take away thine sinful deeds.” (873 – 886) “But the Mighty-One has come to this light, to human
beings, and is standing in thy midst, though ye do not want to see Him. He
will baptise you, in the name of thy Lord, in the Holy Spirit. He is Lord
over everything. He is able to free any human being from his evil-minded
sins, everyone who has the wish to be happy in this world, that he is willing
to carry out whatever orders the Child of God gives them. (886 – 895) “I have come to this world on a mission for Him, to prepare
the way and to teach these people how to hold to their faith with clear heads15 so that they need not descend into Hel’s realm, to the
heat of that infernal place. (895 – 899) “Men will rejoice over this for many an hour. Whosoever
gladly forsakes evil deeds, the commands of the loathsome one, whosoever is
clearly loyal to the All-Mighty God up above, will stand in the good favour
of the King of Heaven!” (899 – 903) Many earls, when they heard this teaching, truly thought
that he was himself the ruling Christ since he spoke so much wisdom in
truthful words. This became widely known to everyone throughout the promised
land as warriors talked in their homes. (903 – 909) Then Jewish people arrived from Jerusalem looking for him,
messengers from their cities asking if he was God’s Child, “the One who
honest people said long ago would come into this world.” John answered them
and spoke boldly, “I am not”, he said, “God’s Child, true Ruler Christ, but I
am here to prepare the way for Him, who is my Lord.” (909 – 917) The heroes, earls on a mission, messengers from the city,
asked, “If thou art not God’s Son, are thou art perhaps Elijah who lived
amongst these people in days gone by? He is supposed to come back again to
this middle world. Tell us, who art thou! Art thou one of those wise
soothsayers who were once here? What shall we say to the people truthfully
about thee? Never before has another man like thee come to this middle world
with such great deeds. Why art thou performing baptisms amongst the people if
thou art not one of the prophets?” (917 – 929) John the Good had a clever answer ready. “I come before the
Lord, my dear Chieftain. I am to prepare this land and its people according
to His will. From His Word within me, I have a strong voice, even though many
people here in this wilderness will not understand it.” (929 – 935) “I am not in any way like my Chieftain. He is so powerful
in His deeds, so great and mighty. It will be known to many after this age
that I am not worthy of this, that even though I am His personal servant, I
am not worthy to untie the straps of the shoes of so powerful a Chieftain! He
is so superior to me. There is not a single messenger in this world who is
equal to Him, not now nor will there ever be. Hold on to this people, your
faith. Your hearts will be happy when you forsake the power of hel and the
company of the loathsome ones and seek for yourselves God’s light, the home
up above, the eternal realm, the high meadows of heaven! Do not let thy minds
doubt!” (835
– 948) 15
The use of the phrase ‘with clear heads’ suggests that the author is telling
people that they are to have a ‘clear-minded’ grasp of the Christian faith,
which means that they should not compromise their older Germanic beliefs and
culture. 12 Christ The Chieftain Is Baptised In The Jordan And so the young man spoke, proclaiming God’s teachings to
the people. Many of the sons of Israel were gathered there at Bethany. The
king’s warriors came there to John and people restored their faith through
his words. (949 – 953) He baptised them every day and rebuked them for their
misdeeds, the will of the evil ones, and praised the Word of God, his Lord,
to them. “The kingdom of heaven”, he said, “is at hand for any man who thinks
of God, and who openly wants to believe in the Healer and carry out His
teaching”. (954 – 959) It was not long before God’s own child, the dear
Chieftain’s son, came to him from Galilee, seeking baptism. The Ruler’s child
was now fully grown and had thirty winters amongst the people in this world.
Now it was His wish to come to the River Jordan where John was lovingly
baptising many people all day long. (959 – 967) The moment he saw his Chieftain there, his dear Lord, his
heart was filled with joy, for this was what he wanted. John, that very good
man, then spoke to Christ in these words, “Thou hast come to me for baptism,
my Lord Chieftain, greatest man of the people. I should come to Thee, since
Thou art the most powerful king of all!” Christ Himself, the Ruler, told him
not to speak any more words like these. “Thou knowest
that it is proper for us,” He said, “to fulfil all laws whatsoever from this
point forward, according to God’s will.”
(967
– 977) John stood there every day, baptising the mass of people in
the water with his own hands, including ruling Christ, the High King of
heaven, in the best of baths. And he bowed to Him on strong knees in prayer. (977 – 982) Fair Christ rose radiant out of the water, the Peace-Child
of God, beloved Guardian of the people. As He stepped onto the land, the
doors of heaven opened up and the Holy Spirit came down from the All-Ruler on
High to Christ. It was like a mighty bird, a magnificent dove, and it sat
upon our Chieftain’s shoulder16, staying with
the Ruler’s Child. (982 – 989) Then there came a voice from heaven, loud from the skies
above, and greeted the Healer Himself, Christ, the Best of all Kings. It said
that God Himself had chosen Christ from His kingdom, and that He was the most
beloved to Him of all children. (989 – 993) John saw and heard all of this as was God’s will. Soon
afterwards, he declared to all that they had a mighty Lord right there. “This
is,” he said, “the King of Heaven’s Son, the All-Ruler. I want to be a
witness to this in the world because the Word of God, the Chieftain’s voice,
told me, when He commanded me to baptise people in the water, that wherever I
saw the Holy Spirit descend with power to this middle world from the meadows
of heaven onto one man, that man will be Christ, the dear Chieftain’s Son. He
will baptise people in the Holy Spirit and heal the evil deeds of many men.” (994 – 1007) “He has the power of God to forgive the sins and
transgressions of any person. This is Christ himself, God’s own Child, the
best of men, deliverer from the enemy. This should make thy hearts joyful in
this world, that it has been granted to thee in thy lifetime to see the
country’s Guardian Himself”. (1007 – 1014) “Now, may many souls go into God’s light, free of sin,
those who want to live loyally with their friends and to believe firmly in
the Ruling Christ. That will be a great reward to any man who does these
things gladly.” (1014 – 1019) 16
There is a subtle change from the original Gospels in which the dove ‘hovers’
over Christ rather than ‘sits’ on his shoulder. This is a clear allusion to
Woden and the two ravens, mind and memory, that sit on his shoulders In
Germanic mythology. 13 The Saviour Resists The Devil I have heard it told that John then praised the teachings
of Christ, his Lord, to all people, telling them that they could win the
greatest of good things, blessed eternal life, the kingdom of heaven. Then,
after the baptism, the good chieftain, the Ruler’s Son, went into the
wilderness. The Lord of Earls was there in the wilderness for a long time. He
did not have any people, warriors, companions with Him. This was as he wished
it to be. (1020 – 1029) He wanted to let powerful wights test Him17, including the devil who is always spurring men to sin and
malicious deeds. He understood Satan’s mind and angry ill-will. How in the
beginning he seduced the first earth people through sin, how he misled the
couple, Adam and Eve, with lies, into disloyalty18
so that the souls of the children of men would go to Hel after their faring
forth. (1030
– 1039) Mighty God the Ruler wanted to change this. He wanted to
grant these people the high heaven-kingdom and for this reason sent them a
holy messenger, His Son. This pained Satan a great deal in his mind. He did
not want the people to have access to the heaven-kingdom. He wanted to tempt
the mighty Son of the Chieftain with the same things he had deceived Adam in
days long ago. God had, as a result, become hostile to Adam. Satan had
deceived him with sin and now he wanted to do the same thing to the healing
Christ. (1039
– 1049) But the Ruler’s Child held firm in His heart and stiffened
His mind against the evil deceiver. He intended to win the heaven-kingdom for
people. (1049
– 1052) The Guardian of the land, the Lord of men, fasted for forty
nights, eating no meat. For a long time, the evil creatures, including the
hate-filled Nidhog fiend19,
did not dare to approach Him, nor speak to Him face-to-face! Satan thought He
was simply Mighty God, the holy
Guardian of Heaven, without anything of human nature. But when, through His
human nature, He felt hunger and began to want food after forty days, then
the enemy came closer. Then, thinking now for sure that He was just a man,
the murky causer of harm, the spear-enemy greeted Him in words. (1052 – 1064) “If Thou art God’s Son,” he said, “Why dost Thou not
command these stones to become bread? If Thou hast the power, best of all
those born, heal thine hunger!” Then the holy Christ responded. He said, “the
children of men cannot live on bread alone, but they shall live on the
teaching of God in this world and they shall do the works proclaimed aloud by
the holy tongue, by the Voice of God. This is the life of men, to do whatever
is commanded by the Ruler’s Word.” (1064 – 1074) Then the evil enemy came closer and began to try another
way of tempting his Lord. The Peace-Child endured the will of the evil one,
and granted him power, so that he could test His mighty strength. He allowed
the people-harmer to lead Him to Jerusalem, to the shrine of God, up above
everything, on the highest of all houses. The devil said to Him mockingly in
a mighty voice, “If Thou art God’s Son,” he said, “jump down to the ground!
It was written long ago in books, that the All-Mighty Father has commanded
His angels that they are to be Thy guards in every way and to hold Thee in their
hands. Thou shalt not be allowed to even hit Thy foot against a rock, or a
hard stone!” (1075 – 1091) Then the holy Christ, the best of children, spoke in reply.
“It is also written in books,” He said, “that thou shalt not tempt thine Lord
and Master. This does thee no credit.” (1091 – 1094) Christ then let the people-injurer take Him on a third
journey up onto a high mountain. There the leader of evil let Him look over
all the human-folk of the world, all the joyful possessions of the realm of
this world and all that this earth holds of happiness and beauty. The enemy
then spoke to Him and said that he would grant Him all of this splendour, the
high princely kingdoms, “if Thou wouldst bow down before me, fall at my feet,
have me as lord and pray at my lap. Then I will let Thee enjoy all these
possessions which I have shown Thee.” (1095 – 1105) Now the holy Christ did not want to listen any longer to
this loathsome word, and so He drove him away from His grace. He brushed Satan
away. Soon after, the best of Children spoke. He said that one should pray to
the All-Mighty God on High and devoutly serve Him alone. For many noble
thanes, heroes by His grace, “there is the help for every man.” Then the evil
crime-doer, Satan the enemy, left that place in a very bad mood and returned
to the valleys of Hel. (1106 – 1115) A great host of the All-Ruler’s angels then came down from
above to Christ, those who were forever after to serve and follow Him. And so
this is how one should serve the Lord, the King of Heaven, with humility in
accordance with His grace. (1115 – 1120) 17
The temptation of Christ is portrayed as a Germanic style ‘trial by ordeal’
and the devil’s accompanists as evil Wights of Germanic mythology. 18
The act of disobedience to God’s command not to eat the fruit of the tree of
knowledge is portrayed as an act of disloyalty, a grave sin in Germanic
culture. 19
The author also presents Nidhog, the evil
dragon/serpent of Germanic mythology as tempting Christ. We may presume that Nidhogg is also the serpent who beguiled Adam and
Eve. 14 Christ, The Mighty Chieftain, Chooses His First Warriors The happy Child of God remained for a long time in the deep
forest until the time came when He felt ready to make known His great
strength to people. He then left the protection of the woods20, the shelter of the wilderness, and sought once again the
company of earls, the great crowds of people and the joy of men. (1121 – 1126) He went to the shoreline of the Jordan. There John found
Him, God’s Peace-Child, his Lord, the Holy King of Heaven. When John saw Him
walking along there, he said to his followers, the heroes, “This is the Lamb
of God, the great Chieftain, the Strongest of Kings, who will take away evil
sin, the crimes of mankind, from this wide world!” (1127 – 1134) Christ, God’s own Child, then set off for the Galilee,
journeying to His friends, to the place where He was born and honourably
raised. There He, the most powerful of kings, told His kin-folk in words how
they should repent of their own sins. He told them that they should make
themselves regret their many harmful deeds and chop down all the evil they
had done. “Now it has come to pass what the ancients said long ago when they
promised ye heaven’s kingdom as thine help. It has come to ye through the
power of the Redeemer. Ye can enjoy it from now on. Anyone who is willing to
serve God and act according to His wishes!” Many of the people were delighted
at this; the teachings of Christ were so sweet to the word-wise warriors. (1134 – 1148) It was there He began to gather men to be His companions,
good men to be His word-wise warriors. He walked along the shore of an area
of water where the Jordan had created a sea on the border of the Galilee.
There He found the brothers, Andrew and Peter, sitting by the stream where
they worked hard setting out their nets21
on the wide waters as they fished in the current. It was there, on the
sea-shore, that the Peace-Child of God Himself spoke to them and told them to
follow Him. (1148 – 1158) He told them that He would give them so much of God’s
kingdom. “Just as ye catch fish here in the Jordan river, ye shall haul in
the sons of men hand over hand, so that many people can be led to the
heaven-kingdom by thy teaching.” Both of the brothers became very happy over
this, they recognised God’s Son. They left all they had there, by the water,
the sea shore. They wanted so much to join up with God’s Son, to be His
warriors and to receive the blessed reward. This is what all good people do
who want to win the Lord’s favour and carry out His will. (1158 – 1172) As they came up further along the seashore, they came
across an old man and his two sons, James and John, young men, sitting by the
sea. The father and his sons were sitting alone on the sands, hard at work
with both hands repairing and reweaving the nets that they had torn the
previous night in the sea. (1172 – 1179) God’s blessed Child told both of these young men to come
with Him on the journey. James and John, very young men, both came along.
Christ’s words were so important to them in this world that there on the
shore they left their elderly father alone by the flowing water and all their
possessions, nets, and nailed ships22.
They chose the Redeemer Christ, the holy One, to be their Lord. They wanted
to win His favour. This is how all thanes feel, all warriors in this world. (1179 – 1189) Then the Ruler’s Son continued his journey with the four.
Christ chose the fifth at a market place, one of the king’s servants, an
intelligent man. His name was Matthew and was in the service of the nobility.
His duty was to collect in his hands taxes and tolls for his Lord. He was a
man of great loyalty and noble appearance. He abandoned the gold and silver,
many gifts and precious jewels, and became the Chieftain’s man. A thane of
the king chose Christ for his Lord, a more generous jewel-giver than his
former chieftain in this world had ever been! Matthew chose the happier thing
for himself, the longer-lasting gain. (1189 – 1202) It became known then to all the people, from town to town,
that the Child of God was assembling companions23
and that He spoke many words of wisdom, demonstrated many bright truths and
worked many signs in this world. It was clear from His words as well as His
deeds, that He was the Chieftain, the heavenly Lord, who came to this
middle-world, to this light as a gift for the sons of men. (1202 – 1211) 20
Christ’s temptation is set in the deep forest rather than the desert of the
Middle East. Saxons would and still do understand the context of being alone
in the woods in a way they do not understand the desert. 21
Saxons set out or staked their nets in the water rather than cast off as they
did in the Middle East. 22
Norse and Saxon ships were well built with overlapping wooden planks nailed
together to make them light and fast. 23
‘Assembling companions’ gives a sense of a Chieftain assembling an army. 15 The Mighty Chieftain Calls The Twelve To Be His Men He often showed His power in that land, performing many
wondrous deeds. He healed the lame and the blind with His hands and cured
many people of the worst diseases and sicknesses, long-term suffering, which
the enemy had inflicted on the sons of men. The people came every day to the
place where Our Lord was with His warriors, so that there was a great crowd
of people there from many clans, though they did not all come for the same
reason, nor did they all want the same thing.24 (1211 – 1222) Some were looking for the Ruler’s Son. Many of the poorer
people needed food and sought donations of meat and drink from the people in
the crowd there, since there were many good thanes who gladly gave their alms
to those in need. (1222 – 1227) Some of them were of the Jewish clan, crafty people25. They had come there to spy on Our Lord’s deeds and words.
They had a sneaky attitude of mind and ill-will. They wanted to make the
Ruling Christ loathsome to the people so that they would not listen to His
teaching or act according to His will. (1227 – 1233) Others were wise men, worthy before God, learned men chosen
by the people. They came to the teaching of Christ in order to hear His holy
Word, to learn and obey it. They had firmly grasped their faith in Him with
devout minds. They became His thanes so that after their last days, He would
lead them up to the greatest thing for a human being. God’s kingdom. (1233 – 1241) He gladly received so many men and promised them His
protection for a very long time, as He well could do! There was a large crowd
of people assembled there around the famous Christ. He saw them coming
together from every region and from all the wide roads, warriors from
powerful peoples. The story of His fame had spread afar to many people! (1241 – 1248) Then the Mighty One, the Most Powerful of Children, took
Himself up onto a high mountain and sat there alone. There, He chose for
Himself twelve good, loyal men to be the followers whom He, the Chieftain,
wanted to have around Him every day in His personal warrior-company from this
day forward. He called them by name and told them to approach Him. Firstly
Andrew and Peter, the two brothers and with them both James and John, they
were precious to God. He was well disposed towards them as they were by birth
the sons of one man. God’s Son chose them, good men to be His followers, many
men, truly outstanding. Matthew and Thomas, the two Judases and the other
James who was His own cousin. They were born of two sisters and came from the
same clan, Christ and James were close kinsmen. (1248 – 1266)
Christ the Redeemer had brought the number up to nine loyal
men. He then told a tenth, who was called Simon, to go join the companions.
He also told Bartholomew and Philip who was with him, loyal men, to leave the
other people and to come up onto the mountain. Then the twelve walked
together, fighting men headed for a secret council26,
to the place where the wise Ruler sat, the Protector of many people, who
wanted to help all of mankind against the evil of Hel, the inferno. He wanted
to help anyone who would follow the blessed teachings which He intended to
explain to the people there with His great knowledge and understanding. (1266 – 1278) 24
The author is alluding to some of the poor having dishonest intentions as
they were more interested in begging from the crowds than listening to the
words of Christ. We see here a reflection of the Saxon notion of the
deserving and undeserving poor. 25
This is probably an allusion to Pharisees rather than to all Jewish people.
there does seem to be a distinction throughout the Gospel to those ‘Good’
Jews, or rather Judaens, who follow Christ and
those who do not. 26
The word Runu (Rune) is used here for ‘secret’
implying that the Council will reveal secret, hidden, knowledge embedded in
the Runes. 16 The Commandments On The Mountain Then the warrior-companions, chosen from amongst the
people, gathered around Christ, the Ruler and Redeemer. Wise men stood around
God’s Son, eager to hear His words. They remained silent, wondering what the
Folk Chieftain, the Ruler Himself, would want to say out of love for these
people. (1279 – 1286) Then the Land’s Herdsman, God’s own Son, sat down in front
of the men. He wanted to teach them great wisdom with His words, how to
praise God in this world-kingdom. The holy Chieftain sat there in silence and
looked at them for a long time with tender feelings for them in His mind and
generosity toward them in His heart. Then He unlocked His mouth and the
Ruler’s Son instructed them in words about many amazing things. Christ spoke
in wise and truthful words, soothsaying27,
to the men who He had picked to come to hear Him, those most precious to God,
all of mankind. (1286 – 1299) He said that those men in this middle world were blessed
who were poor in their hearts through humility, “to them is granted the
eternal kingdom in all holiness, eternal life in the meadows of heaven.” (1300 – 1304) He said that meek-mouthed gentle-men are also blessed,
“they will possess the great earth, this same realm.” (1304 – 1306) He said that those who regretted their evil deeds were
blessed, “in return, they can expect the very consolation they desire in
their master’s kingdom.” (1306 – 1308) Also blessed are those who wanted to do good things here,
those fighting men who wanted to judge fairly. In return, they will be filled
to satisfaction in the Chieftain’s kingdom for their wise actions; they will
attain good things. Nor will any people want to deceive them with secrets
when they are seated there at the feast!”(1308 – 1312) Also blessed are those who have kind and generous hearts
within a hero’s chest. The powerful, holy Chieftain will Himself be kind and
generous to them. (1312 – 1314) And also blessed are the many people who have purified
their hearts28. They will see
Heaven’s Ruler in His kingdom.” (1314 – 1316) He said that those are blessed “who live peacefully amongst
the people and do not want to start fights or court cases by their own
actions.29 They will be
called the Chieftain’s sons for He will be merciful to them. They will long
enjoy His kingdom.” (1316 – 1320) He said that those fighting men were blessed who wanted
justice and, because of that, suffer more powerful men’s hatred and verbal
abuse. To them is granted afterwards God’s meadow and spiritual life for all
eternity. And for them, the end of joyful bliss will never come!” (1320 – 1325) And so the Ruling Christ taught the earls in front of Him
the eight blessings. With them, anyone will always reach God’s kingdom, if he
wants to. If not, he will have to do without possessions and happiness for
endless days, from the moment he gives up this world, the fate of this life
on earth and goes to the other light. For better or for worse, depending on
how he treated people here in this world, just as Christ the All-Ruler said
it there with His words, the most powerful of kings, God’s own Son, to His
followers. (1325 – 1333) “Ye shall also be blessed,” He said to them, “the people of
this country will make accusations against ye and say repulsive things to ye.
They will make fun of ye and arrange to hurt ye greatly in this world. They
will punish ye and cover ye with verbal abuse and hostility, deny thy
teaching and do great wickedness and harm to ye because of thy Lord. But let
thy minds always enjoy life, since in God’s kingdom thine reward is standing
ready for ye. Every good thing, in full abundance, is given to ye as payment,
since beforehand ye suffered hardship and punishment here in this world. (1333 – 1347) “But something worse will be given to those others, a
grimmer thing, to those who had possessions here and were very well-to-do in
the world. They spent their joys here, took pleasure in abundance. In return,
they will have less after their departure. They will weep
over their misery, those who had been joyful, who lived according to their
every desire, the ones who did not want to forsake a single thing, no immoral
idea or dirty deed which their emotions spurred them on to. When their
reward, evil hardship, comes to them, their hearts will be pained. Those who
so much followed the will of this world will become deeply sorry in mind and
in heart. (1347 – 1359) “Now, ye are to rebuke them for such evil deeds and stop
them with words as I will now teach ye, My companions, in true words, in
soothsaying. From now on ye shall be the salt of the earth, to heal the
deadly deeds of sinful men, so that they can turn to better things, and cease
from doing the enemy’s work, the devil’s deeds, and seek God’s heavenly
kingdom. (1359 – 1366) “Thus, ye are to change many of the people towards My will
through thy teaching. If, however, any of ye turns away from this and
abandons the teaching which he is supposed to be doing, then he is like the
salt which people scatter all over the beach. The sons of men will kick it
with their feet when they are on the sand. It is worthless. So it will also
be with the man who is to tell God’s word to human beings. If he lets his
mind doubt, so that he does not wish with a pure heart to draw people towards
the kingdom of heaven with his speech, nor to recite God’s news, but instead
turns away from the word, the Ruler will become angry at him and so also will
the sons of men! He will be despised by all the peoples of the world, by
everyone, if his teaching is empty.” (1367 – 1380) 27
The author presents the Beatitudes as soothsaying, or fortune telling, which
is Christianised into a form of prophecy. 28
A subtle distinction from the Gospels which refer to those who have pure
hearts. We see here a Germanic call to action, people are called to purify
their hearts. 29
A sensitive issue for an audience of warriors! However, we see here an early
allusion to ‘just war’. The Christian ideal is for peace and we are called to
not go around picking fights for the sake of it. But the author is not saying
that those who refuse to fight under any circumstances are blessed. They
would be seen as cowards. 17 The Commandments On The Mountain And so He spoke wisely and told of God’s news. The Guardian
of the land taught His people with a pure heart. Heroes stood around God’s
son, warriors intent on His words. They pondered on what He said in silence
and listened to the Chieftain of the People speak the law of God to the
children of men. He promised them the heaven-kingdom and said to them, “I
also tell ye, My companions, in truthful words, that from now on ye shall be
the light of this world, shining peacefully upon men, bright and beautiful.
Thy great works cannot be hidden, nor the intent with which ye proclaim them,
any more than a great city on a mountain, a high steep-sided hill, can be
hidden. Neither can thy words and deeds be concealed from human beings in
this middle world. Do as I teach ye: let thy great light shine on the people,
on the children of men, so that they understand thy feelings, thy works and
thy will. And so praise the ruling God, the heavenly Father, with a clear
mind in this light, because he gave ye such teaching. (1381 – 1404) “Nor should anyone who has the light hide it from people,
keeping it concealed, but rather he should set it up high in the house so
that all who are inside, the heroes in the hall, can see it. Likewise, ye shall
not hide thy Holy Word from the people of this country, concealing it from
mankind’s heroes, but instead ye shall spread God’s word high and wide
throughout the countryside, so that everyone born will understand it and live
it. Just as in the olden days when earls held the old law, very wise men
spoke in words, so now I say to ye, just as it was commanded in the old law,
that each and every man should serve God all the more. (1405 – 1419) “Do not think for a moment that I have come to this world
to destroy the old law, to chop it down among the people and to throw down
the word of the prophets. They were truthful men, clear in their commands.
Heaven and earth standing firm now will crumble before even a small part of
their words, in which they gave true commands to the people here, goes
unaccomplished in this world. I did not come to this world to fell the word
of the prophets, but to fulfil them; to increase them and to make them new
again for the children of men, for the good of this people. (1420 – 1431) “It was written before in the old law, ye hast often heard
word wise men say it, that whosoever in this world steals another’s old age
from him, robs him of his life, the sons of men shall put such a person to
death. But I want to add to this, to take it further, and say that whosoever
is so angry in his heart with somebody that they want to kill them, even
though they are kin, belonging to the blessed people of God, the same clan
and family, then that person is already guilty of murder. He is condemned to
lose his life-spirit, receiving the very same sentence as the other man who
by the strength of his hand robbed another early of his head. (1431 – 1446) “It is also written in the law in true words, as ye all
know, that one should love his neighbour fully in his heart30, be kind to his relatives, be good to his clansmen, be
generous in his giving, be loving to each of his friends, and shall hate his
enemies, resisting them in battle, and with a strong mind shall defend
himself against their wrath. (1446 – 1453) “Now I say to ye truthfully, more fully before this folk,
that ye are to love your enemies in your hearts, just as ye love your family,
in God’s name. Do good for them, extend friendly loyalty to them with a pure
heart. Offer love for their hatred. This is long-lasting advice for every
man, this is how a person’s feelings against his enemy should be directed.
Then, ye shall have thine reward, the
gift that ye can be called the Heaven-King’s sons, His happy children. Ye
cannot have anything better than that in this world. (1453 – 1463) “I also say to ye in all truth, to everyone born, that ye
cannot offer anything of thine own to God’s house, to be worthy of His
acceptance, with an angry heart or for as long as thou art thinking anything
hostile or vicious against another. Ye are to reconcile thyself with thine
adversary beforehand, reach an agreement, then afterwards ye may donate thy
treasure at God’s altar. Then they are worthy of the King of Heaven. Ye should
serve God more according to His grace, following His will, more than other
men do, if ye want to own the eternal kingdom and see everlasting life. (1463 – 1475) “It is also commanded in the old law that one earl must not
seduce another man’s woman, his wife, into immorality. But, I say to ye in
all truth that a man’s eyes can quickly lead him astray, into evil behaviour,
if he lets his emotions entice him on so that he begins to yearn for someone
who can never go with him. At that point, he has already committed a sin
himself, on his own, and shackled the penalty of Hel into his heart. If,
then, a man’s eye or his right hand, or any other member of his body, wants
to lead him off onto the path of evil, then it is better for any earl, any of
the sons of men, that he remove it from his body and throw it away. It is
better to come up to heaven without it than, with all his members intact, a
man wend his way, healthy, to the inferno, into the pits of Hel. (1475 – 1491) “Human weakness means that no one should follow a close
friend if the friend entices him into crimes, to sin. It does not matter how
closely he is related to him by clan, nor how powerful their family ties are.
If the friend is urging him to murder, pushing him to commit crime it is
better for him that he cast the friend far away from himself, avoids this
relative, and not have any love for him, so that he will be able to go up to
the high kingdom of heaven by himself, rather than that they both go together
to the extensive tortures and hideous hardship of Hel’s oppression. (1492 – 1501) 30
The word used here in the text is ‘mode’ (mood) which is the sum total of all
our characteristics or ‘inner self’. Love, rather than hate, should therefore
be the guiding principal of our whole being. However, we need to be careful
not to misunderstand ‘love’ for not bothering about anything than does or
might harm us. Acting in the interests of our folk is an act of love.
Furthermore, the original Saxon concept of ‘leof’
(love) is more about ‘respect’ than ‘lovey-dovey’ agape type love. And
respect cuts both ways. 18 The Commandments On The Mountain “It is also written in the law, in truthful words, as ye
all know, that everyone should avoid false oaths and not commit perjury as it
is a great sin and leads people onto an evil path. But I tell ye that no one
should swear any kind of oath at all, neither by high heaven, since that is
the Lord’s throne, nor by earth beneath it, since that is the Lord’s bright
footstool. Neither should anyone swear
any oath by his own head, since he cannot turn a hair of it black or white
unless God in His power decided to make it so. And so Earls, ye must avoid
making too many oaths. Anyone who swears often, always gets worse, since he
cannot control himself. (1502 – 1516) “I will now tell you in truthful words, that ye are never
to swear any stronger, greater, oaths by men than the ones that I command ye here. If a man is on trial, let
him tell the truth; say ‘yes’, if it is so, admit what is true; say ‘no’, if
it is not so. Let that be enough for
him. Whatever a man does beyond this to hide falsehood in their words will do
no good for the folk, since no earl will ever believe the word of another.31 (1517 – 1527) “And I also say to you truthfully, as it was commanded in
the old law, that whoever takes the eye of another man, separating it, or any
other limb, from his body, he shall immediately pay for it with the same limb
of his own. But now what I teach ye is that ye must not avenge evil deeds in this
way, but that ye should humbly tolerate all evil and wrongdoings, whatsoever
people may do to ye in this world. Let every earl do good and profitable
things for the other man, just as he wishes that the sons of men do good for
him in return. Then God will be generous with him and with every person who
desires to behave in this way. (1527 – 1539) “Honour the poor! Share thy possessions with needy folk! Do
not be concerned whether ye are given any thanks or repayment in this
transitory world. Instead, think of thy gifts as tribute to thy beloved Lord,
so that God, the Mighty Protector should praise ye for them; for whatever ye
doeth, doeth out of His love. If, on the other hand, ye would give thy bright
shining coins to good men, hoping to make more profit in return, then why
would ye expect any reward from God as repayment in this world for what is
only transitory wealth? (1540 – 1548)
“If ye would get similar things back in return in both word
and deed, then why would our ruler owe ye anything for giving in such a way?
Give thy possessions to the poor who can never pay ye back in this world, and
strive towards thy Ruler’s kingdom. When ye give thine alms to the poor man
with thine own hands, do not do it loudly! Do it for the man gladly and
humbly and for God’s appreciation. Then ye shall receive wealth in return,
the beautiful payment in the place where ye will long enjoy its bountiful
profits! (1549
– 1559) “Whatever ye give away in secret and with good intentions
is valued by Our Chieftain. Do not boast too much about thine giving for the
sake of vanity or fame. No one should do that, for then it will not be worth
any return. It is before the eyes of God that ye should receive the reward
for good works. (1559 – 1564) “I also command ye that when ye kneel in prayer and ask the
Lord for help, so that He might deliver ye from evil things, from the crimes
and sins that ye hath wrongfully done here, do not do it in front of other
people! Do not tell it to everybody so that they will praise ye for it and
hold thine action in high esteem. Otherwise, thy prayer to thine Chieftain
gets lost for the sake of the vanity of fame. If ye wouldst pray to the Lord
and modestly ask His help, something ye really need, so that thy
Victory-Chieftain will take away thy sins, then do it secretly. Thy holy
Chieftain in heaven already knows it Himself, since there is nothing in words
and deeds that is hidden from Him. He then lets it all happen just the way ye
ask Him when ye kneel in prayer with a pure heart.” (1565 – 1580) Heroes stood around God’s Son, eager in their hearts,
intent on His words. They thought and kept silent. They needed to think about
the many wondrous things that the holy Child had told them for the first time
in words. Then one of the twelve, one of the more intelligent men, spoke in
reply to God’s Son. (1580 – 1587) 31
In the Saxon warrior culture, an earl simply had to swear an oath in court
that he was innocent of the crime he was charged with and he would be deemed
innocent! The author is interpreting the Gospel passage against any oath
taking into a Saxon culture in which he is pointing out the obvious truth
that is oaths are misused, they will lose their credibility. 19 The Commandments On The Mountain “Our good Lord,” he said, “we need Thy gracious help in
order to carry out Thy will and we also need Thine own words, Best of all
Children, to teach us, Thy followers, how to pray, just as John, the good
Baptist, teaches his people with words each day how they are to speak to the
ruling God. Do this for thine own followers; teach us the secret runes.32 The powerful One, the son of the Chieftain, had a good
word ready right after that in reply. “When men want to speak to the ruling
God,” he said, “to address the most powerful of all kings, then say what I
teach thee: Father of us, the children of men, Thou who art in the high heavenly kingdom, Blessed be thy name in every word. May Thy mighty kingdom come. May Thy will be done over all this world On earth as it is up there In the high heavenly kingdom. Give us Council33
each day, good Chieftain, Thy holy help, and pardon us, Protector of
Heaven, From our many sins, just as we do to others. Do not let evil wights lead us astray To do their will, as we deserve, But help us fight against all evil deeds. (1588 – 1612) This is how men should pray in their words when they bow in
prayer to ask the ruling God to pardon the evil of mankind. If ye are willing
to pardon the violent crimes and sins that others do against ye, then the
ruling God, the all-mighty Father, will forgive thine own enormous deeds of
evil and sin. But if thine emotions get too strong for ye so that ye are not
willing to forgive other earls, other men, their wrongdoing, then God the
Ruler will also not forgive ye thine own grim actions. Ye shall receive His
payment, the extremely loathsome reward that lasts a long, long time, for all
the injustice that ye do to others here in this light, since ye did not
reconcile with thy fellow men over a problem before ye departed on the
journey from this world. (1613 – 1628) “I will also tell ye in truth how ye are to carry out My
teaching. When ye wish to fast to diminish thy bad behaviour, do not let the
multitude know ye are doing it. Avoid doing it in front of other men. God,
the mighty Ruler, knows thine intention, even if other people, the children
of men, do not praise ye. Thine holy Father in the heaven-kingdom will grant
ye thy reward in the heaven-kingdom because ye served Him with humility and
holiness amongst the people. Noble warriors, do not wish to acquire wealth
unjustly, but work for God for a higher reward. That is a greater thing than
living in riches and worldly possessions here on earth. (1628 – 1641) “If ye follow My words, then do not collect a great
treasure of silver and gold here in this middle world, a treasure-hoard,
because it turns to rust, thieves steal it, worms ruin it, the clothes get
torn, golden wealth disintegrates. Do thy good works, collect a greater hoard
in heaven; one made of much brighter coins, one which not a single enemy can
take even the smallest bit away from ye! Thy wealth stands ready for ye in
heaven. Whatever good ye heroes heap up by the gifts of thine hands, thine
hoard! Keep thy minds firmly set on this because the emotions and thoughts of
each and every human being, heart and mind, are where his hoard, his
treasure, lies collected. (1641 – 1655) “Nor is anyone ever so blessed that he is able to do both
of these things in this wide world; both live richly on this earth, enjoying
every worldly delight, and at the same time serve God with gratitude. Rather
he will always abandon one or the other of these two things; either the
delights of the body or eternal life. (1655 – 1661) “Therefore, do not worry about thy clothing. Instead keep
thy thoughts firmly on God. Do not be concerned about what ye are to eat or
drink tomorrow, or what clothes ye warriors are going to wear. The ruling God
knows what those who serve Him well here need, those who follow their Lord’s
wishes. Ye can truly understand this from these birds here in this world.
They travel about clad in feathers. They cannot earn a single coin, yet God,
the chieftain, gives them help every day against hunger. Ye men can also
consider this in the case of thy clothes. Think about how the plants that are
here out in the field are beautifully adorned, blooming brightly. Even
Solomon the king, guardian of hill-forts, who had attained an enormous
treasure, the largest jewel-hoard in one man’s possession, with the choicest
of goods and all clothing, even though he held power over all this country,
he was never able to get clothing for his body equal to what the plants
standing here in the field are wearing so beautifully; the lilies with their
lovely flower. They were clothed by the Ruler of the land from the meadows of
heaven. (1662 – 1682) “Yet, He cares more for this clan of heroes. He loves
people much more, the human beings whom the Ruler created on this land in
accordance with His desires. Therefore there is no need for ye to be worried
about thy wardrobe. God will supply everything, help from the meadows of heaven,
if ye are willing to gain His favour through service. Always be concerned
first about God’s kingdom and then act in accordance with His good works.
Strive for more important things. The rich and powerful Chieftain will give
ye every good thing if ye will follow Him in the way I am saying to ye here
in true words.” (1682 – 1690) 32
Another reference to the Word of God (this time the Lord’s Prayer) as secret
Runes and God’s ‘Spell’. The entire Gospel is seen as a revelation of God’s
Spell or secret Runes. 33
The petition is for wise Council rather than ‘daily bread’ follows the
Vulgate version of the prayer. This would have been more acceptable to the
warrior’s sense of being able to provide food and sustenance for his family,
but being comfortable with seeking advice and support from his Lord. 20 The Commandments On The Mountain “Ye shall never commit any sort of injustice or evil on any
man, for that judgement will be returned to whoever speaks unjustly of
another and it will be he who is filled with sorrow. Never let any of thy
men, when offering tribute or payment here in the middle world, deceitfully
give another man an unjust measure. For every earl will be dealt with as he
deals with others, however much he might want to hide his sins. (1691 – 1701) “I will also tell ye, how ye should guard against the
greatest of evils, the greatest amount of wickedness: that ye should not
rebuke a man, thy brother, because ye see a tiny straw in his eye, when ye
are not willing acknowledge the huge beam, the hard and heavy tree, that ye
hath in thine own eye. Consider first, how to remove the beam from thine own
eye, then the light will shine before ye, thine eyes will be opened. And then
ye may be able to cure thy friend’s eye.
(1701
– 1711) “Likewise, everyone here in this world should concentrate
more on the wrong things that they do themselves than watching other people’s
crimes and sins where they have done worse. If a person wants to do a good
deed, they should first free themselves from sin, separate themselves from
evil deeds. After that, they can be a help to heroes with their teaching,
once they know themselves to be pure in heart and safe from sin. (1711 – 1720) “Nor should ye put thy pearls before
pigs or scatter thy treasure. For they will crush the holy medal around thy
neck34, trample it
into ground and defile it in the dirt for they know nothing about cleanliness
or beautiful jewels. There are many people like that here. They do not want to
hear thy holy word or follow God’s teaching. They know nothing about
goodness, but prefer empty words and useless things over the God of men. They
are not worthy to hear thy holy word, if they will not think about it in
their minds, learn from it and carry it out. Tell them nothing of thy
teaching so that ye waste not God’s speech and spells on people who are not
willing to believe the words of truth. (1720 – 1734) “As ye fare through this land, be on thy guard against
these people, so that their deceitful teachings do not seduce ye with false
words or deeds. They will come to ye in robes with the finest of jewels, but
they have deceitful hearts. May ye recognise them, as ye see them coming.
They will speak wise words, but their deeds are of no use, worthless are the
thoughts of those thanes! For ye know that wine-berries do not grow on
thorns, nor the finest fruits. Neither will heroes ever pick figs from a
thorn briar. Understand this too, that a bad tree standing on the earth never
gives good fruit and neither did God ever ordain it that the good tree should
ever bear bitter fruit for the children of men. Each and every tree brings to
this world the kind of fruit that comes from its roots, either sweet or
bitter. (1734
– 1750) “Likewise, people reveal their deepest thoughts and
feelings, speaking with their mouths the feelings and thoughts in their
hearts. They cannot hide it. From an evil man, will come poor counsel,
bitterly negative speech, just as he holds in his chest chained around his
heart. His thoughts and his will always make themselves known in his words
and his deeds follow on from this. (1750 – 1758) “But from the good man comes an intelligent and wisely
thought-out answer, just as he always speaks in his words. Out of this man’s
mouth comes forth the treasure he holds in his heart. This is where the holy
teaching comes from, beautiful words, and his deeds will accordingly be good
for the people and will be appreciated by many thanes. This is just as the
Ruler Himself, God All-Mighty, the Lord of heaven, grants to good men.
Without His help, they could not accomplish any good works at all in words or
deeds in this middle world. It is for this reason that all of the children of
men should believe in His power alone.”
(1759
– 1770) 34
This may be a reference to the Thor’s hammers worn by pre-Christian Saxons
and an appeal to the audience not to throw away the symbol of the faith of
their ancestors but rather to adapt it to the new faith. 21 The Commandments On The Mountain “I will also show ye how, in this light, there are two
paths on which all the peoples of the earth, the children of men, travel. One
of them is a broad and wide highway. Many people take this path, much of
mankind, because their mood, the world-lust of warriors, urge them onto it.
But this road leads them onto the wrong side, where they become corrupt
heroes in Hel, where it is hot and dark, terrifying inside. This journey is
easy for the sons of men, though it brings them no good. Then there is the
other road in this world, much narrower, not much travelled, few people take
it. The sons of men do not like to walk it, even though it takes earls to
God’s kingdom, to eternal life. (1771 – 1785) “So take the narrow one. Even though it is not so easy for
human beings to travel on, yet it will be to the advantage of whoever walks
it to the end. That person will get his prize, the very long-lasting reward
and life everlasting, eternal bliss. Ye should always ask the Chieftain, the
Ruler, that ye will take this path from the start and keep going on it all
the way to God’s kingdom. He is always ready to give to those who really ask
Him, to the sons of men whenever they ask. Seek thy Father above in the
eternal kingdom. Ye can find Him there, to thine advantage. (1786 – 1797)
“Announce thine arrival at thy Chieftain’s doors! They will
open for thee, heaven’s gates shall be unlocked, so that ye can walk into the
holy light, into God’s kingdom, and see eternal life! (1797 – 1801) “I will also tell ye, in front of this crowd, a true story
so that whoever wants to keep My teachings in his heart, and to think about
them in his mind, and carry them out in this land, is acting as wise men do,
who have knowledge and wisdom. He chooses firm ground to build his home and
works walls on rock where neither wind, nor wave, nor water’s stream can do any
harm to it. There it will stand for him, against all storms, on the rock
above, because it was built on solid foundations that support it from below,
defying the winds, so that the house does not have to yield. (1801 – 1814) “On the other hand, not everyone wants to hear My message,
nor follow any of it, but rather behaving like an unwise earl, men of no
understanding, who want to build a home on sand, by the water’s edge, where
the west wind, the waves in the sea, and the ocean breakers beat it to pieces.
Sand and pebbles are not able to help the house resist the wind and so it
will be thrown down there and fall apart in the water, for it was not built
on firmer earth. And so each earl will fare in accordance to how he responds
to what I say and holds My commands holy.” (1815 – 1826) Then many of the great crowd began to sense wonder in their
minds. They heard the wonderful teachings of mighty God. They were not used
to hearing such things said in the past in their land, neither in words nor
in deeds. Wise men, though, understood that He taught in this way, the
people’s Chieftain, in truthful words, because He had power, unlike all those
who in former times had been chosen from amongst the people and clans to be
teachers. They did not have the words of Christ, nor were they equal to Him
as He spoke in front of the crowd, up on the mountain, commanding. (1826 – 1837) 22 The Commandments On The Mountain He then gave them two instructions; to always speak with
His words how one should get to the kingdom of heaven, the great wide land.
He also gave them power so that they could heal the lame and the blind, those
with harsh illnesses, people on their sick-beds. (1838 – 1842)
He also commanded them Himself, that they were not to
accept payment from any person for this; no precious jewels. “Remember,” He said, “where thy craft, thy
knowledge and wisdom comes from and the power that was given to ye by the father
of all men. Therefore, ye have no need to buy it with any money, nor to pay
for it with jewels. So, be generous when ye help human beings. Teach the sons
of men long-lasting truth, something good that lasts. Criticise acts of
wickedness, severe sinfulness. Do not let silver or gold, the fair money
treasure, become of such worth to you that it comes to control ye. It cannot
do ye any good at all, nor bring ye any happiness. (1843 – 1855) “Neither should ye earls own more clothes than ye wear at
times when ye have to go out in public. Ye should never spend a long time
worrying about your meat, or about your food, since the people should feed
their teachers. Indeed, what ye sayeth to the people is worth support, worth
a loving repayment. The worker is worth being well fed. The man who is going
to care for so many souls and get so many spirits on the road to God’s meadow
is worth his food. It is a greater thing to care for many souls and to care
about how to bring them to the heavenly kingdom than to provide the bodies of
the sons of men with food. For this reason people should dearly hold those in
honour who show them the road to heaven’s kingdom, who hold off the evil,
harm-inflicting enemy, and who rebuke acts of wickedness, severe sins. (1855 – 1873) “I will now send ye off into this country like a lamb
amongst wolves, that is how ye will travel in the midst of thine enemy,
amongst many peoples, amongst different people. Keep thy feelings opposed to
them, stay intelligently face-to-face with them, just like the yellow snake,
the coloured serpent35, when it
becomes aware of its hated enemy, so that no one of the world-people can
sneak up on ye during the journey. Ye should take care that human beings are
not able to twist the thoughts of thine heart or thine will. Be as truly
against this, against their deceptive deeds, as one would be against enemies. (1873 – 1883) “Then ye should also be like a dove in thy deeds. Have a
simple, straightforward mind towards every earl, be generous spirited, so that
no one comes to be deceived because of thy deeds, tricked because of thy
sins. (1884 – 1888) “Now ye shall fare on the journey, on a mission. There ye
will suffer many hardships among the people and many and diverse needs when
ye teach the people in My name. For that ye will receive bad treatment and
punishment before the kings of the world. Often ye will stand in shackles in
front of rulers because of My true Word, and ye will endure both ridicule and
insulting language. But do not let thy minds doubt because of that, nor let
thy spirit waver. (1888 – 1896) “There is no need for ye to worry at all in thy mind, when
they order ye to come before the noble lords in the guest hall. Speak to them
face-to-face in good words spoken wisely. Strength will come to ye, help from
heaven, and the Holy Spirit will speak mightily from thy mouth. Therefore do
not be afraid of human beings’ hatred, do not fear their hostility. Even
though they have power over thy life-spirit, in that they could take away the
body’s life by striking with the sword, they cannot do anything at all with
the soul. Fear the ruling God, revere your father, enjoy doing His bidding,
for he has power both over people’s life and over their body, as well as over
the living soul itself. If ye should lose thy life-spirit on this journey
because of these teachings, ye will be able to find it again before the light
of God, because thy Father, holy God, will hold it for ye in the kingdom of
heaven.” (1896 – 1914) 35
The serpent in this context refer to the mythological dragon who guards
treasure. 23 The End Of The Commandments On The Mountain “Not everyone who calls Me Protector will come to heaven.
There are many who want every single day to bow to the Lord and ask Him for
help, but who are thinking of other things, of doing deeds of wickedness.
Their words do them no good. The people who will come to the light of heaven
and go to God’s kingdom, are the ones who are glad to carry out the works and
the will of the all-ruling Father. There is no need for them to call on God
for help in many words, since God knows the feelings and thoughts, the words
and the will, of every man, and He pays everyone with his works reward. (1915 – 1926) “When ye travel on a journey, ye should be concerned about
how ye will complete the mission. When ye journey through the countryside,
all across the world, wherever the roads take ye, the broad road to the
fortress, always look right away for the best men in the population. Let them
know what is on thy mind, then be willing to live at the house with them and
reward them well. Pay them back with goodness, consecrate them in words to
God Himself and promise them sure peace, the holy help of Heaven’s King. (1927 – 1939) “Then, if they do not do thy work and follow thy teaching,
leave those people quickly, travel on, away from those folk. Return that
peace to thine own journey and let them continue in their sin and wickedness.
Look for another fortress, another large group of men, and do not let any of
the dust cling to thy feet from a place where they do not want to receive
thee. Shake it off thy shoes, so that those people will be shamed, and it
will become public knowledge how worthless their accomplishments are. (1940 – 1949) “I say to ye in all truth: when this world comes to an end
and the glorious day comes upon mankind, on that day the Fortress of Sodom,
which because of its sins was burned to its foundations by the force of the
flame, will have more peace and a more generous Protector than those men who
will not act on thy words and cast ye out.
(1950
– 1956) “Whosoever does receive ye with a pure heart, a generous
spirit, has done My will and has received ruling God, thy Father, the
Chieftain of Mankind. The Ruler Himself knows and rewards the will of each
person, whatever good he does, even if, for the love of God, they willingly
just give a drink of water from a cold spring to heal the thirst of a needy
man. (1957 – 1967) “These words will come true. It will not be long before a
man shall receive his reward, payment before the eyes of God, in many forms,
for whatever he has done because of love of Me. Whosoever denies Me to the
sons of men, of the heroes within this crowd, I will do the same Myself to
him in heaven. Up there, in front of the all-ruling Father and in front of
all His angel forces, in front of the great multitude! Whosoever of the sons
of men in this world does not avoid the words, but instead says ‘yes’ in
front of the crowd, that he is My follower, I will recognise him in return
before the eyes of God, in front of the Father of all mankind, when the great
throng of mankind all walk to judgement before the powerful One, the
All-Ruler. Then I will rightly be the gracious Protector of whoever hears My
words and does the things that I have commanded up here on this mountain.” (1967 – 1983) The Ruler’s Son had truly taught the people how to praise
God. He then let the people depart from that place. They went in every
direction, crowds of humanity, journeying homeward. They had heard holy
teaching, the word of the Heaven-King Himself. Whosoever of the many members
of the human race throughout the middle world is wiser in word and deed when
He speaks, is one who heard the spell spoken on the mountain by the most
powerful of those born. (1984- 1993) 24 The Marriage Feast At Cana Three nights after this, the Lord of the people took
Himself off to the Galilee, where He, God’s Son, had been invited to a
wedding. There, a bride was to be given away, a beautiful maiden. Mary, the
holy maiden, the Mighty One’s mother, was there with her son. The Protector
of People, God’s own Child, went with his followers to the high house were
the crowd of Jewish people were drinking in the mead-hall. He was there at
the wedding too and it was there that He made known that He had God’s
strength, the Holy Spirit, help from the Father in heaven, the wisdom of the
Ruler. (1994 – 2005) The warriors were merry, the people were enjoying themselves,
the men were feeling good. The servants went around pouring from pitchers,
they had clear wine in goblets and jars. The joy of earls in the drinking
hall was a beautiful sight and the men on the benches had reached a very high
level of bliss. They were really happy! Then the wine ran out on them; the
people had no more apple wine. There was not the smallest drop left in the
house that the servants could take to the crowd. The vats were empty; the
liquor was gone. (2005 – 2016) Now it was not very long before the loveliest lady,
Christ’s mother, found out about this. She went and spoke with her Child,
with her Son himself, and told him in words that the hosts did not have any
more wine for the guests at the wedding. Then she asked the holy Christ earnestly
to arrange some help for the people, for the sake of their happiness. The
mighty Son of God had His answer ready and said to His mother, “What is it to
me and thee,” He said, “what happens to these people’s liquor, to these
warriors’ wine? Why art thou talking so much like this, woman, and command me
in front of all these people? My time
has not yet come.” (2016 – 2028)
The holy maiden, however, trusted well in her mind that,
even after these words, the Ruler’s Son, the best of healers, would help.
Then the most beautiful of women told the servants, those pouring and those
in charge of the wine barrels, all the ones who were serving the crowd, that
they were not to repeat any of the words or actions that the holy Christ
would tell them to do for the people. (2028 – 2036) Six stone vats were standing there empty. God’s mighty
Child gave His orders very quietly so that people would not know for sure how
he spoken with His words36. He told those
who were pouring to fill the vats there with pure water and then He made the
sign of the cross over it with His fingers. With His own hands, He worked it
into wine! Then He ordered it poured into a drinking vessel, drawn off with a
pitcher and, speaking to a servant, He told him to give it to the most
important person at the wedding, to put it right into the hands of the one
who had the most authority over these people after the host. (2036 – 2048) As soon as he drank the wine, the man could not contain
himself from speaking, in front of the crowd, to the bridegroom. He said that it was always the best apple
wine that every earl serves first at his wedding, “the men’s minds wake up
with the wine, so that they start feeling ever more merry. Drunk, they
rejoice! Then, after that happens, one can serve the cheaper apple wine: that
is the custom of these people. (2048 – 2055) “But thou, as host, hast made thine arrangements for the
crowd in a most amazing way! Thou hast commanded thy servants to bring the
worst wine to these folks and to serve it first at thy wedding. Now thy
guests are full, the whole wedding party is drunk. They are very merry. Now
thou hast ordered the loveliest of all apple wines brought out that I have
ever seen lifted anywhere in this world. This is what thou shouldst have given to the guests earlier today. At that
time, every one of us would have received it with gratitude!” (2055 – 2066) After these words, and after they had drunk the wine, many
a thane became aware that the holy Christ had worked a sign there inside the
house. They had more trust in His protection after that, more confidence that
he had the power and authority of God in this world. It became widely known
to the Jews throughout Galilee how the Chieftain’s Son right there in their
country, had changed water into wine. That was the first of the wonders which
He performed there in Galilee for the Jewish people as signs. (2066 – 2076) There is no one who can tell, no one who can say for
certain, what the wonders were that were done afterwards amongst the people
as Christ the Ruler taught the Jewish people in God’s name all day long. He
promised them the kingdom of heaven and He protected them against Hel’s
oppression with words. He told them to look for God’s attention and eternal
life. That is where there is the light of souls, God’s comings and goings,
daylight, the glory of God! There, many a guest lives most happily. They are
the ones who kept obedience to the Heaven-King’s command well in mind. (2076 – 2087) 36
There is an emphasis on Germanic cultural notions of spells being ‘said’ with
words. This belief has given rise to the concept of the Gospel and indeed the
Eucharist itself being a being a powerful divine spell. 25 Jesus Heals A Centurion’s Servant When He left the wedding, Christ, the most powerful of
kings, decided to go to the great fortress at Capharnaum with his followers
of good men, his happy warrior-company, assembled in front of him. They
wanted to hear his sweet and holy word.
(2088
– 2093) A Centurion, a good man, then approached him and earnestly
asked the holy One for help. He said that he had long had a frail cripple
amongst the members of his household, a sick person in his house. “Not a
single man is able to heal him with his hands. Now he needs Thy help, my good
Lord.” Then the Peace-Child of God spoke to him, replying immediately and
saying that He would come and would rescue the child from this affliction. At
that the man came closer to him, leaving the crowd behind, to exchange words
with the mighty one. “I am not worthy, my good Lord”, he said, that Thou shouldst come to my house or enter into my hall. For I am
a very sinful man in both what I say and what I do. I believe that Thou hast
power, that Thou canst work his cure from here, my Lord Ruler. If Thou sayest with Thy words, then his sickness will disappear
immediately and his body will become whole and restored, if Thou givest him Thy help. I am an officer. I have attained
sufficient property and prosperity for myself. Though I am under the command
of a noble king, I have a troop of earls, loyal fighting-men of the army, who
are so obedient to me that they do not fail to anything, in either words or
deeds, that I order them to do in this land. They march off, they carry out
my orders and they come back loyally to their lord and master. Even though I
have extensive property and plenty of people, fight-minded warriors, at my
residence, I do not dare to ask Thee, God’s Holy Son, to walk to my house, to
go into my home, because I am so sinful. I know my wrong-doings.” (2093 – 2124) Then Christ the Ruler replied to him, the man spoke to his
followers and said that He had not found anyone amongst the Jews, the
descendants of Israel, like this man. No one in this country who believed
more clearly in God and in heaven.
“Now I want Thee to listen to what I am going to tell Thee here in
true words. There are many tribes of people, from the east and the west, who
are to become the holy people of God, in the kingdom of heaven. There they
can rest in the lap of Abraham, of Isaac himself, and of Jacob too, those
good men, and will enjoy property and happiness; a life of pleasure. A good
life in God’s light! (2124 – 2138) Then many of the Jews, the sons of this kingdom, will be
robbed, deprived of these glories and will lie in dark valleys at the
farthest ends of the infernal regions. There Thou wilst hear those heroes
lamenting, biting their teeth in their anger. There awaits them the grim,
greedy fire, the hard hellish torture, hot and dark, black eternal night. The
reward for sins, for wrathful wrongdoing, paid to whoever did not have the
desire to save himself before he gave up this light before he fared forth on
his way from this world. (2138 – 2149) “Now thou mayest may go on thy
way, if thou wilst and return to thy house. At home, thou wilst find the
young man healthy. In good spirits! The boy is cured just as thou asked of me.
It all happened because thou hast faith firmly fixed in thy mind.” The
officer then said his thanks to the Heaven-King, to the all-ruling God, in
front of the people for helping him with such a problem. What he wanted had
been happily granted to him. (2149 – 2157) He then set out from there on the journey and willingly
went to where he had his property, his house and his lands. He found the boy,
a man in childhood, healthy. Christ’s words were fulfilled! He had such power
to perform signs, that no one on this earth can tell or count all the famous
deeds he did by his own strength in this middle world, all the wonders he
worked, because everything, heaven and earth, is under his command. (2158 – 2166) 26 Christ Raises A Widow’s Son From The Dead Then the holy Christ decided to keep on travelling. Every
day the All-Mighty good Chieftain did loving things for his people. With
words he taught them God’s will. He always had many followers with him,
warrior-companions, the people of God, a powerful force of men from many
clans, a holy army. His work was good, he was generous to human beings.37 (2167 – 2175) At that time, God’s Son, the Healer, was coming with his
noisy crowd to the high fortress at Naim. There his
name was to become famous amongst mankind.38
Christ the Healer strode purposefully toward it until He, the best of all
healers, was close to it. At that moment they saw people bringing out a
corpse, a lifeless body. They were carrying it out the fort’s gate on a
stretcher. It was a very young man. The mother was walking behind the corpse,
her heart was grief-stricken, she was beating herself with her hands,
lamenting and crying over her child’s death, the poor woman. It was her only
child. She was a widow, she had no more joy except for this one son. He was
all that was left to her of happiness and delight, until Wyrd took him from
her, the great Measurer’s doings. A crowd of the fort people followed as they
brought the young man on the stretcher to his grave. (2175 – 2192) The Son of God was filled with compassion and spoke to the
mother. He told the widow to stop crying, to stop lamenting over the child.
“Thou shalt see power here, the work of the Ruler, a favour will be granted
to thee here, consolation, in front of these people. There is no need for
thee to mourn over the life-spirit of thy boy.” Then He walked up to the
stretcher, and the Chieftain’s Son touched him with holy hands and spoke to
the hero39, telling the
young man to get up, to rise up from his resting place. The young fighter sat
up on the stretcher. His spirit had come back into his chest by God’s power
and the man began to talk to his relatives. Then Christ the Healer gave the
young man into the hands of his mother.
Her heart was consoled. The woman was full of happiness that such a
favour was granted to her. She fell at Christ’s feet and praised the people’s
Chieftain before the crowd, because He had protected a life-spirit so dear to
her against the workings of the Measurer.40
She understood that he was the mighty
Chieftain, the Holy One who ruled heaven and that He could help many, all the
earth’s peoples. (2192 – 2212) Then, many noticed the wonder that had happened amongst the
people. They said that the Ruler himself had come in power to make many wise
and that He had sent a great wizard41
to them in the kingdom of the world, one who had done such a great deed for
them here. (2212 – 2215) Many an earl was seized on the spot by terror. The people
became frightened when they saw the boy’s own life-spirit looking at the
light of day, the life spirit which death had already taken from him when he
died on his sickbed. He was healthy once again; the young child came to back
life. (2216 – 2220)
This became known everywhere amongst the descendants of
Israel. By the time evening came, there were assembled at the place all the
sick people, people with crippled hands and legs, every single sick person
living in the area was being brought there. They were coming to Christ,
coming to the place where He with his great power was helping them and
healing them and then letting them go on their way wherever they wished –
healed. (2220 – 2227) Therefore, one should praise his work and appreciate his
deeds, for this reason. He is the Chieftain himself, the mighty Protector of
mankind, of any persons who believe in his words and in his works! (2227 – 2230) 37
Christ is depicted as a Germanic Chieftain travelling through his lands and
handing out gifts to his people. 38
Fame is an honoured Germanic goal and here there is a sense that Christ was
fated to be famous. 39
In the Heliand, Christ touches the boy rather than the stretcher as in the
Gospels. Whereas touching the dead was taboo in Hebrew culture, it gives a
greater sense of intimacy and the power of Christ’s ‘magic’ in the Germanic
version. 40
As in the Zachary story, the author acknowledges the power of fate (the
measurer) in determining life-span, but shows that Christ is more powerful. 41
the word ‘uuarsago’ literally means ‘soothsayer’,
‘wizard’ or fortune-teller. They were the ancient equivalents of Prophet’s
and were held in very high regard in Germanic culture as a ‘wise person’ and
‘wonder-worker’. In many ways, they would seem to be the Germanic equivalent
of a Druid or at least some of the Druid orders. 27 Christ Commands The Wind And The Sea Then a crowd of so many people came to honour Christ, for
His mighty protection, that God’s Son wanted to visit the sea, a flood’s
stream on the border of Galilee, with His companions. He told the others to
travel on ahead and decided to get into a boat with a few of the companions
to get some sleep. The rescuing Christ was worn out with His journeys. The
weather-wise warriors hoisted up the sail and, keeping the wind aft, they ran
before it over the ocean swells, until the Ruler and His crew came to the middle.
Then the weather began to increase in strength, the storm wind rose, the
waves grew, thickening darkness rushed in, the sea began to move, the wind
battled the water! The men were worried, the ocean was so angry, not one of
the men thought he had much longer to live. It was then they woke up the
country’s Guardian with their words and told Him about the strength of the
storm and asked the saving Christ graciously to protect them from the water.
“Otherwise we are going to be drowned here in the terrible sea!” (2231 – 2250) Then He arose, the good Son of God, and spoke to His
companions. He told them not to be afraid that the storm was closing in on
them. “Why are ye so afraid? He said, “ye are still not sure in your minds,
thy faith is still too little. It will not be long before the waves will be
calmer and the weather nice!” Then He spoke to the wind, and also to the sea
itself, and quietly commanded them both to behave more calmly. They carried
out the command, the Ruler’s word. The storm winds died down and the sea
became calm. Then the people who were with Him began to wonder and some said
it with their own words, what kind of a more powerful human being He might
be, that both the wind and the waves obeyed His word of command. (2250 – 2264) The Son of God had saved them from peril. The boat glided
onwards, the high-horned ship.42 The heroes
made land. They gave praise to God, glorifying His great strength. (2264 – 2268)
Many people came to God’s Son. He gladly received anyone who
came there with a pure heart looking for help. He taught them their faith and
He healed their bodies with His hands. It did not matter how badly hurt by
sickness the person was. Even if Satan’s deceitful followers had a man in
their hands with all their hostile strength and had so twisted his mind and
wits that he went about like a raging maniac amongst the people, the healing
Christ always gave him back his life-spirit. If the man came to His hands,
Christ drove the devils away with the Chieftain’s power,43 by words of truth, and gave him back his wits.
He made the man whole again, against the hate-filled ones, gave him peace
again against the enemy and then let him go on his way to whatever land he
loved the most. (2268 – 2283) 42
A ‘high-horned’ boat is a description of a typical Saxon or Viking vessel and
adds to the sense of these events taking place in the North Sea rather than
the Middle East. 43
The ‘devils’ here, or the ‘evil little creatures’ described elsewhere are ‘deorc elfs.’ 28 Mighty Christ Heals The Cripple Lowered Through The Roof The more the Chieftain’s Son did good works every day with
His followers, the more the Jews refused to believe in His mighty power! Nor
did they believe He was the All-Mighty Ruler of everything, land and country.
They are still receiving their reward for that, held to account, because they
fought against the Son of the Chieftain Himself. (2284 – 2290)
Then the holy Healer turned back to Galilee with His
warrior-company. God’s own Son journeyed to His kinsmen, to the place where
He had been raised and where he grew up as a child in the midst of His folk.
An army of people gathered around Him, there were many happy thanes amongst
the warrior-company. Some earls were carrying a sick man in their arms. They
wanted to bring him before Christ’s eyes, before God’s Son. The man needed
healing, needed the heaven’s Ruler, the Protector of Mankind, to restore him.
His limbs had been crippled for so many days that he did not have any power at
all over his body. (2284 – 2302) Yet, there were so many people there, that they were not
able to bring him before God’s Son. They could not force their way through
the crowd to tell Him about such a needy sick person. The healing Christ went
inside into a hall. A mob formed around Him in there, a great crowd of
people. Then the men who had long been carrying the weak crippled man,
bearing both him and his bed, began to talk about how they could get him in
front of the Son of God, through the people inside so that the ruling Christ
would Himself catch sight of the man. Then those warriors walked up to the
place, they lifted the sick man up with their hands and climbed up on top of
the house. They cut open the hall from above and let him down with ropes into
the shrine where the powerful One was, the strongest of kings. (2302 – 2315) When He saw the man coming down through the rafters of the
house, Christ understood that these men, in their hearts and with their
feelings, had a powerful faith in Him. He then spoke before the crowd and
said that He would free the sick man from his torment of sin. (2315 – 2320) Then the people spoke back at Him, hard hearted Jews who
were spying on the words of God’s Son. They said that this could not be done,
the forgiving of sins, except by God alone, the Ruler of this world. The
Ruler of the world had His answer ready. “I am doing this,” he said, “for
this man who lies here so sick and in terrible pain in this hall, to show
that I have the power to forgive sins as well as to heal people. I do not
even need to touch him.44 (2320 – 2329) The Chieftain then spoke to the sick man who was lying
there lame and, in front of the people, told him to stand up, completely healed.
Then he told him to put his bed clothes over his shoulders and carry them on
his back. He carried out the command immediately, in front of the
warrior-companions, and walked out of there restored, leaving the house
healthy. (2330 – 2335) A great number of the heathen men, warriors, were amazed.
They said that the Ruler Himself, All-Mighty God, had given Christ greater
power, strength and knowledge than any of the sons of men. The Jewish people,
however, did not want to recognise that he was God, nor to believe His
teaching. They fought Him in a dirty way and waged war on His words. Thus
they loaded weariness onto themselves, a miserable reward, one that still
will last for a long time, for they did not want to hear the teachings that
Christ, the King of Heaven, was making known everywhere over this world. (2335 – 2346)
He let them see His works and deeds every single day. He
let them hear His holy word which He spoke to help human beings and showed
them so many mighty signs in order that they would be able to trust His
teaching more and believe in it. He freed so many bodies from evil illness
and healed them. He gave the life-spirit back to the dying, the hero who was
ready to fare forth into Hel, was restored from death by the mighty power of
Christ the Healer and allowed to continue enjoying happiness in this world. (2346 – 2356) 44
This shows the importance of touching to Germanic magic, but also the
strength of Christ’s power that he did not have to do this. 29 The Story Of The Earl Who Sowed Good Seed And so He healed the lame and crippled. He restored the
sight of the blind and let them see the eternally beautiful bright light of
day. He released from sin, the grim deeds of mankind. The Jews, however,
loathsome people, did not ever get better in their faith in the holy Christ,
but they kept hardened hearts towards Him. They resisted Him and did not want
to understand that the enemy fiends had ensnared them into doing their will
with their traditions. (2357 – 2365) Yet the Chieftain’s Son did not give up because of this.
Rather, He said in words how the Jews could come to heaven’s kingdom, taught
across the countryside, and turned so many of these people to Him with these
words, that a great crowd followed Him.
(2365
– 2370) The Son of God said much to them in stories, which they
could not readily understand, grasp in their hearts, until the holy Christ
would explain it by His own power to the crowd of earls in open words, and
tell them what He meant. (2370 – 2375) Once, an enormous crowd of people thronged around Him. They
felt a great need to hear the Heaven-King’s words of solid truth. He was
standing on the shore by the water and, with such a large crowd, a whole clan
of thanes, He did not want to teach them up on the land. So the good One, His
followers with Him, moved closer to the water and got into the boat. He told
them to push it away from the land so that all these people would not crowd
in on Him. (2375 – 2385) Many a thane stood there by the water where Christ the
Ruler spoke and taught all those people. “My warriors! I would like to tell
ye how an earl began to sow good wheat grain on the ground with his hands.
Some of it fell on top of hard rock. It had no earth in which it could grow
and take root and be supported and sprout. So the wheat that was lying there
on the rock was lost. Some of it fell on land, on noble soil, and right away
began to grow happily and take root, thriving happily. That land was so
fertile!” (2385 – 2398) “Some of it fell on a road, hard-packed from many feet, the
tread of horses’ hooves and the footsteps of heroes. It had some soil there and
so the wheat grain sprouted and began to grow on the roadway. But then the
constant coming and going of travellers destroyed it, the birds pecked and
ate it, so that none of what fell on the roadway survived to be of use to the
owner. Then some of it fell where there were many thorn bushes. There was
soil there and so it came up, sprouted and took hold. But weeds grew there in
abundance and prevented its growth. The forest’s cover had overwhelmed it
from the start and it could not grow to be fruitful since the thorn-bushes
had crowded it out.” (2398 – 2412) Christ’s companions sat there, the word wise warriors were
silent. They were deep in thought about the words with which God’s Son told
them such a wise spell. Then one of the earls knelt before Him and asked the
gracious with great reverence, “Thou hast power, holy Chieftain,” he said,
“in heaven and on earth, above and below. Thou art the All-Ruler of human
spirits and we are Thy followers, devoted to Thee in our hearts. Good Lord,
if it be Thy will, let us hear the meaning of Thy words here, so that we can
teach them to the Christian folk. We know that true meaning follows from Thy
words and we have a great need in this land to understand Thy words and
works, since it all comes from such wisdom!” (2413 – 2430) 30 The Explanation Of The Story Then the best of men replied to him with this answer. “I did
not intend in any way”, He said, “to keep my deeds concealed, neither the
words nor the works. Ye shall know it all, my followers, for the Ruler of
this world has granted to ye that in thy hearts, ye are to know the secret
mystery, the runes of heaven. Other people are to be taught the commands of
God in stories.” (2431 – 2439) “I will certainly tell ye here and now what I meant, so
that ye understand my teaching better throughout this land. The seed of which
I spoke is the Word itself, the holy teaching of the Heaven-King, as one
should spread it over the middle realm, all across this world. People are
different in their attitude of mind. Some have feelings so hard-hearted and
mean-spirited that such a person can never act according to thy words or would
want to carry out my teachings. So, all my teaching is lost there. God’s
message and your human words are lost on the evil man, just as I was saying
to ye before. The wheat on top of the stone died. For when it sprouted, it
found no place to take root. It is all lost; the speech of noble men and the
message of God, everything that has been taught in words to the evil man.
What is worse, to the displeasure of God and to the delight of the evil ones,
the man has chosen to journey amongst the enemy towards the embrace of fire.
From that moment onwards, the thoughts of his breast will add heat to the
flames!” (2439 – 2461) “Never teach my law any the less because of this. If there
are many earls like that one on this earth, there is also the other human being,
the man who is young and intelligent, good-hearted, wise in his words and who
understands thy spells. He thinks about them in his heart and he listens
there very intently and then steps closer. In his heart he accepts God’s
bidding, he learns it and does it. His faith being so good, he reflects on
how he could convert the other man, the wicked one, into feeling pure loyalty
to the King of Heaven.” (2462 – 2473) God’s command, the loving faith, then spreads out widely in
this man’s heart, just as the wheat does as it sprouts in the ground where it
has good soil and where fate favours it with good weather, rain and sun. This
is what God’s teaching does day and night in the good person. As the devil
walks far away from him, the evil little creatures, God’s protective care
comes powerfully nearer and nearer, night and day, until the teaching brings
about two things in the man. The teaching that comes out of his mouth becomes
a blessing to the sons of men and he himself becomes God’s. And so by his
attitude of mind, he has exchanged this earthly moment for a part of the
kingdom of heaven, the greatest possession. He is travelling to the realm of
God’s power, free of bad deeds.” (2474 – 2489) “Loyalty is such a good thing for every man. No
treasure-hoard of gold can be compared to such faith! Keep on being kind and
generous teachers of mankind!” (2489 – 2492) “Warriors are so different in their attitudes of mind. Some
resist violently, they have ill-will and a wavering heart. They are full of
deceit and wicked deeds. Then, one of them begins to think as he is standing
there amongst the people, listening carefully to God’s teaching, that he
would willingly like to follow it from now on. God’s teaching immediately
attaches itself to his mind, until the moment when once again wealth and
someone else’s treasure come into his hands. The evil little creatures lead
him off as he gets caught up in his desire for possessions. His belief burns
out. It did him little good to have ever had it in his heart, if he was not
willing to hold on to it.” (2492 – 2505) “That is like the grain that began to sprout alongside the
road, growing in the soil. It was killed by people coming and going, exactly
what the serious sin in that man’s mind does to God’s teaching if one does not
nurture it. Otherwise, sin will throw the man down to the bottom of the
infernal regions, to hot Hel, where he will be of no further service to the
King of Heaven, but the enemies will punish him mercilessly.” (2506 – 2513) “Keep teaching always with words in this land! I know the
hearts of these people, their different natures and attitudes, the different
ways…. Some people’s whole mind and concern is on how they can hold onto
their hoard rather than how they can accomplish the will of the King of Heaven.
Because of this, God’s holy will cannot grow there, even though it may attach
itself and send out roots. Wealth crowds it out. It is the same as the weeds
and the thorn-bushes that entangle the wheat and prevent it from growing.
That is what wealth does to a human being. It puts his heart in chains so
that the man cannot think and pay attention to the thing he needs most; how
he can work it out during the time he is in this world that he will possess
the kingdom of heaven for eternity thereafter, thanks to his Lord, with
wealth so endless that no man in this world could ever comprehend it.” (2513 – 2530) “No thane here can think so clearly in his mind, nor can
the heart of man grasp or really know, what good things the ruling God has prepared,
everything that stands ready for each human being who loves Him here. For
each person who takes such care of his soul that he will be able to sail to
God’s light.” (2530 – 2537) 31 The story of the wheat and the weeds And so he taught them in words. There was a great crowd of
people standing around God’s Son. They listened to Him as He told them
stories about the way things are in this world. He told them about a nobleman
who sowed pure wheat in his field with his hands; he was hoping to get a
beautiful crop, a fair harvest. Then his enemy went out with an evil heart
and sowed rye-grass, the worst of all weeds, all over it. They both grew, the
wheat and the weeds. Then, his fields-men came back to the house and told
their lord, thanes speaking to their sovereign, in straight-forward words,
“How is this? Thou sowest nothing but wheat, good
lord, and wheat alone, on thy field, but now each earl can see nothing more
than weeds growing there! How could this have happened?” (2538 – 2552) Then the noble man replied directly to the earls, the lord
to his vassals. He said that he could well understand it. An enemy had sowed
the field after him with vicious weeds, “So that I would not enjoy the bounty
of the harvest and not have a successful crop.” Then the lord’s friends spoke
to him, his followers replied and said that they were willing to go into the
field in full strength and remove the weeds from there, pulling them up with
their hands. Their lord spoke again to them, “I do not want you to weed it,”
he said, “because you cannot avoid or prevent yourselves, though you do not
intend it, from trampling down a great deal of the sprouting wheat under your
feet as you walk. From this moment on, let both of them continue to grow
until harvest comes and the grain is ripe in the field, ready in the soil.
Then we will all go to it, pulling the weeds up with our hands. We will
separate out the pure wheat, gather it together and put it in my hall. We
will keep it there so that no one can do anything to it. Then we will take
the weeds, tie them in bundles and throw them onto the bitter fire, and let
the hot flames of the ever-hungry fire haul them away.” (2553 – 2574)
Many earls stood there, the thanes were silent, wondering
what the famous, mighty Christ could mean, wondering what the most powerful
Son wanted to signify with these images. They therefore asked the good
Chieftain to unlock the holy teaching for them so that from now on the people
would be able to understand it. Their Lord spoke to them again, the famous,
mighty Christ. “That is the Son of Man,” He said, “I Myself am the one who is
sowing and these holy human beings who hear Me well and do My will are the
pure wheat grains. This world is the field, mankind’s wide farmland. Satan
himself is the one who sows such wicked teaching afterwards. He has ruined so
many of these people that they do evil, they behave according to his will.
Even so, they are to continue to grow here, those humans who are damned, just
as the good do, until the forces of Muspel45,
the End of the World, come upon mankind. At that time every single field in
this kingdom will be ripe and the sons of men will follow their decreed
fate.”46 (2574 – 2594) “Then the earth will crumble, that will be the largest of
all harvests! And the bright-shining Chieftain above will come with His angel
forces and all the people who ever saw this light will come together and they
will at that time receive their reward, a bad one or a good one. God’s
angels, the holy guardians of heaven, will then go and separate out the clean
men and gather them together, and put them into the infinitely beautiful,
high light of heaven. And the others, they will put down in the bottom of
Hel’s realm, throwing the evil doers to the surging fire. There they shall
suffer great pain, bound by bitter flames. The others will see the riches of
the heavenly kingdom where they will shine like bright suns! This is the
reward men receive for their good deeds.” (2594 – 2607)
“Whosoever has wisdom and a thoughtful heart, any earl who
can hear with his ears, let him care, in his deepest thoughts within him,
about how he will answer to God the Powerful on that famous day for all the
words and works which he did in this world. That is the most terrifying of
all things, the most frightening to the sons of men, that they will have to
speak with their Lord, men with their good Chieftain. At that moment every
single human being would gladly be free of wrong-doing, of all grim crimes.
Every one of the human race should worry about this beforehand, before he
gives up this light, if he wishes to have eternal honour, the high heavenly
kingdom and the gracious kindness of God.”
2607 – 2620) 45
Muspell is the primal land of fire, realm of the fire Giants who will start
the Ragnarok. At the end of the Ragnarok,
Middengeard will be destroyed by fire and the
natural elements will rule again signalling the birth of a new age. 46
the fate of the ‘Regangiscapu’ or ruling ones is a
reference to the Ragnarok which can be translated
as the fate of the Ruling ones. 32 The grim-hearted Jews of Galilee try to throw Christ off a cliff I have heard it told that the Chieftain’s Son, Himself, the
best of all sons, described in stories how everything in the world-kingdom of
men was similar to the heaven-kingdom. He said that often little things can
become lighter, raised up very high as in the kingdom of heaven. It is always
greater than anyone in this world believes it can be. There is also work that
is like the kingdom of heaven. When a man throws his net into the ocean,
fishing in the sea, he catches both good and bad fish. He tows them up onto
the beach, landing the catch and only then sorts them out, picking the good
ones and putting them on the sand, and letting the others go back to the
bottom, back to the wide waves. This is what God the Ruler will do with the
sons of man on the renowned day. He will bring all the earth-people together.
He will pick out the pure for the kingdom of heaven and let the damned go to
the bottom of the fire of Hel. There is no warrior-hero amongst men who knows
the equal of the pain which earth-people receive there in the inferno. There
is no equivalent reward that a man can find to the riches and happiness which
the Ruler distributes, which God Himself grants to every human being who
behaved himself here in such a way as to be able to make the journey to the
heaven-kingdom, to the long-lasting light.” (2621 – 2646) So, he taught them wisely. People came from all over
Galilee to see God’s Son. They did so out of wonder over where such words
could be coming to Him from, spoken so wisely, so that He could always
soothsay God’s spell and say it with such power. “He belongs to the kin from
here,” they said, “by family relationship. His mother is here with us, a
woman from these people. All of us here know Him, we know His kin and His
clan. He grew up here amongst these people. Where could this wisdom of His
have come from and such greater power than other people here have?” (2647 – 2657) Those people did not approve of Him. They said foolish
things to Him, they looked down on Him, the holy One. They did not want to
listen to His message. Nor did He want to teach them in stories, brilliant
signs, because of their unbelief. He knew their doubting minds, their
bad-will. He knew that there were no other people amongst the Jews as grimly
hostile and hard-hearted as the ones from Galilee. Holy Christ was born
there, the Son of God, but despite that they did not want to devoutly receive
His message. Instead those people, the warriors, began to plot amongst
themselves how they could inflict the greatest pain on the powerful Christ.
They called their fighting-men together, their warriors. They wanted to
accuse Him of sins and evil intentions. His word was of no use to them, nor
His brilliant spells and so they began to discuss amongst themselves how they
could throw such a mighty man off a cliff, over a mountain wall. They wanted
to take the life of the Son of God. (2658 – 2676) He came out happily together with the people. He had no fear
in His mind. He knew that not the slightest harm or injury could be done to
Him in His Godliness by human beings, by the Jewish people, before His time
had come.47 Together with
the people, He climbed up the rocky hill until he came to the place where
they intended to throw Him down over the wall, to fell
him to the earth, so that He would
lose His life-spirit and his aging would come to an end. (2676 – 2685) But there, up on the mountain, the hearts of those earls,
the bitter thoughts of the Jews were softened, so that not one of them had
such a grim, hostile spirit or evil will. None of them could recognise the
Ruler’s Son. Not one of them knew Him, or could tell which of the people
there was Him. He could stand amongst their warriors and walk through the
centre of their crowd, moving through their people.48 He gave Himself this peace, the Protector, against the
crowd, and set off from there going, through the midst of the folk of fiends.
He went where he wanted to, the Ruler’s Son, the strongest of kings, to a
wilderness. He had the power to choose where in the land He would most like
to be, where in this world He would like to stay. (2685 – 2698) 47
The author has added a reason why Christ was not afraid, this being that
nothing can happen before Wyrd (fate) decrees it. 48
Christ is depicted as a Germanic Wizard, able to use magic to make himself
unrecognisable. 33 John the Baptist is beheaded John, God’s servant, was at that time travelling on another
road with his followers. He taught the people long-lasting counsel, telling
them to do good and to abandon evil, treachery and murder. Many good people
were fond of him. (2698 – 2703) He went to see the king of the Jews, the commander of the
army, at his house. The king had been named Herod after his parents and was a
bad tempered man. He was living with the woman who had been his brother’s
bride and possession until his brother went to another place, exchanging
worlds. Then the king took the woman to be his queen. She had had children
born to her by his brother. (2703 – 2709) John the Good then began to speak out against the bride. He
said that it was against the will of God the Ruler to do this, to take one’s
brother’s bride to bed and treat her as a wife. “If you are willing to listen
to me and believe my teaching, then you should no longer keep her as your own
and should abandon her in your heart!” Never have that kind of love for someone,
do not bring such serious sins upon yourself!” (2709 – 2717) At these words, the woman began to worry. She was afraid
that John would move the king with his speeches and wise words to abandon
her. She began secretly to plot many harmful things in runes49 against John and told her fighting-men, her earls, to
arrest the innocent man and to lock him up in prison in irons, chained hand
and foot. They were afraid to take away his life-spirit because of the
people, all of whom were friendly to him, knowing that he was so good and
dear to God. The people considered him a soothsayer – as well they might! (2717 – 2727) Then, in the course of the year, the time came, as tallied
by wise men of the people, when the Jewish king had been born, had come into
the light. It was the custom of the people that this birthday should be
celebrated by every earl together with the Jewish people. A huge crowd of men
were assembled there in the guest-hall. The army leaders were there in the
house where their lord was on his royal throne. Many Jews came to the
guest-hall, they were in a merry mood with joy in their hearts. They saw
their ring-giver there in his happiness!50 (2728 – 2739) Clear wine was being carried to the drinking hall in
pitchers; the servants who were pouring were hurrying back and forth with
golden goblets. There was a loud, merry noise in the hall, the warrior-heroes
were drinking! This made the land’s herdsman, the happy king, wonder what
more he could do for the people’s enjoyment. He then ordered his brother’s
child, a high spirited young girl, to come out to where he was sitting on his
bench, tipsy from the wine, and he spoke to the woman. He greeted her in
front of the men, and asked her insistently if she would begin some
entertainment for the guests, something fair there in the drinking hall. “Let
these people see how thou hast learned to bring many people on the benches to
a state of bliss! If thou grantest my request and
do what I ask in front of these warriors, I will truthfully promise thee here,
in the open in front of these people, and I will keep my word, that I will
give thee, here in front of my ring-receiving friends, whatever thou askest of me! Even if thou askest
for half of this realm, my kingdom, I will still do it and in such a way that
not a single fighting-man will be able to change it with his words. It will
be done.” (2739 – 2759) That so inclined the maid’s spirit and mind toward her lord
that, within the house, she began an entertainment in the guest-hall of the
type customary among the people of that country. The maiden played vigorously
throughout the house. Many hearts were filled with pleasure! When the girl
had earned the thanks of the king and of all of the earls, the good men who
were in the house, she wanted to have her reward, right there in front of the
crowd. She went to talk to her mother and asked her full of curiosity what
she should ask of the guardian of the stronghold. Her mother advised the girl
in accordance with her own desires and told her that she should ask for
nothing else in front of the men, but that she be given John’s head, there
inside the hall, separated from its body.
(2760
– 2776) It was painful to all the people, painful to their hearts,
as it was to the king, when they heard the maiden saying this. He could not
make what he had said into a lie, he could not bend his words. Therefore, he
told his men-at-arms to leave the guest-hall and take the life of the man of
God. It was not long before they brought the head of this great man to the
hall, and there gave it to the young girl, the maiden, in front of the crowd.
She took it out to her mother. (2776 – 2784) That was the last day of the wisest of all men who had ever
come to this world, of whom any queen has borne, any woman amongst earls.
Making the way, alone, for the one born of the virgin, the maiden who never
knew a man-warrior in her lifetime, but by the ruling God from the meadows of
heaven by the Holy Spirit. No one, not a single man, was ever to equal him,
neither before nor after. (2785 – 2793) Earls hurried around John, his many followers, blessed
warrior-companions, and they buried him, his precious body, in sand. They
knew that he had to go on a blissful journey to the light of God, with his
Lord, in the heavenly home above. (2793 – 2799) 49
There is a sense here that she was plotting evil magic. 50
The king is portrayed in the Germanic tradition of a ring giver. 34 Feeding The Five
Thousand Then the warriors, John’s followers, left that place,
sadness in their hearts, holiness in their life-spirits. Their lord’s death
was their greatest sorrow. They set off to find the Ruler’s Son, the powerful
Christ, in the wild country, to let Him know of the good man’s departure and
how the Jew’s king had cut off the head of the greatest of human beings by
the edge of the sword. The Chieftain’s Son did not want to say anything hurtful,
He knew that John’s soul was being kept in holy protection against the
haters, and in peace against his enemies.
(2799
– 2810) The fame of the best of teachers spread over the
countryside in the wilderness. People gathered; clansmen journeyed to Him.
There was great desire amongst them to know about His wise words. In the same
way, He too, the Chieftain’s Son, had a great desire to lead a gathering of
warriors like that to God’s light, to bring them to happiness. (2810 – 2817) All day long, the Ruler taught many people from far and
wide until, in the evening, the sun sank to its resting place. Then his
twelve warriors went to God’s Child and told their good Lord of the hardship
in which the earls lived thereabout, saying that the people living in this
barren land needed his help. “They cannot begin to do anything here because
these heroes are oppressed by hunger. Now, good Lord, let them go to find
places to stay. There are many well populated fortresses nearby. There the
people will find food for sale in the villages.” Then the ruling Christ, the
people’s Chieftain spoke in reply and said that it was not necessary “that
they leave My dear teachings because of lack of food. Give these people
enough to eat so that ye have them willing to stay here”. (2817 – 2831) Philip, a venerable man, had his answer ready. He said
there were so many people there in the crowd that “even if we had food here
ready to give them, the greatest amount of food that we could buy with the
sum of two hundred silver pieces, it would still be doubtful whether everyone
would get something, so little would there be for all these people!” The
Protector of the Country then spoke; the Chieftain of human beings asked them
with great interest what they had there by way of meat and food. Then Andrew
spoke, answering in his words, in front of the earls, and said to the
All-Ruler Himself that in their warrior-company they only had “five loaves of
barley bread for our travels and two fishes. What can that do for this many?” (2831 – 2846) The mighty Christ spoke to him, the good Son of God, and
ordered that the crowd be divided up and separated and that the multitude of
earls should sit down on the ground, the enormous throng, on the green grass.
Then the best of those born spoke to His followers and told them to go and
bring out the bread and the fish. The people waited quietly; the enormous
company of warriors sat. At the same time the Chieftain of mankind, the holy
King of heaven, hallowed the food by His own power, broke it with His hands,
gave it out to His followers, and told them to bring it to the people and
divide it amongst them. They obeyed their Chieftain’s order and each one of
them gladly carried his gift, the holy help, to the crowd. It grew between
their hands51, there was
food for every single person! The great crowd came alive with joy, the people
who had come together there from far and wide had happily eaten their fill! (2846 – 2863) Then Christ the Ruler told His followers to go and make sure
that none of the leftovers were lost. He ordered them to collect them once
the crowd of mankind had eaten their fill. There was so much food, the bread
of life, left over that they collected twelve full baskets. That was a great
sign, a great act of God’s power, since the number of people gathered there,
not counting women and children, was five thousand! (2863 – 2872) All those people understood in their hearts that they had a
mighty Lord. They praised the Heaven-King. They said that never would a wiser
wizard52 ever come to
this light who would have more power with God here in the middle world or a
more sincere mind. Everyone was saying that he was worthy of all the wealth,
that He should possess the kingdom of the earth, the broad earth’s
world-throne! “After all, he has such wisdom, such great power with God”. (2872 – 2882) The men all thought it would be good to lift Him to the
highest ruling position, to choose Him to be king. That was something not at
all worthy of Christ, since he had wrought the kingdom of this world, earth
and heaven up above, into being by His own power. And He had afterwards saved
the earth and its population, though some people, evil enemies, did not
believe this, so that everything is already under His rule. The power of the
kingdoms and of the empire, the assembly of all mankind! Because of this, the
holy Chieftain did not want to be raised to any lordship by the speech of
human beings nor to the name of King of the World. Neither did he want to
struggle in words with those people and so he moved on to where he wanted to
go, up into the mountains. The Son of God fled the over-heated, proud talk,
and told His followers to sail across a sea, telling them where they were to
go to meet Him. (2882 – 2898) 51
This is portrayed as an act of magic. 52
the portrayal of these events as magic is strengthened by Jesus being
referred to as a wizard. 35 The Mighty Child of God Walks On Water The people then left for places all over the country, the
great crowd dispersed, since their Lord, the most powerful person, the Ruler,
had decided to go up into the mountains.
(2899
– 2902) There on the sea shore, Christ’s warriors, the twelve whom
He Himself had chosen, gathered in loyalty. They had no doubt whether they
would sail over the sea in God’s service. They let the high-horned ship53 cut through the swift current, the bright waves and the
clear water. The light of day departed, the sun went to its rest. Night
wrapped the seafarers in fog. The earls bravely kept sailing on over the
waters. The fourth hour of the night had come, Christ the Helper was guarding
the wave-riders and the wind began to blow powerfully. A great storm arose,
the waves of the sea roared against the bow stem! The men fought to steer the
boat into the wind, their hearts full of panic, their filled with worry. The
sea-farers began to think that they would never make land because of the
violent weather. (2902 – 2919) Then they saw the Ruler Christ Himself walking on the sea,
walking on foot. He did not sink into the seawater because His own power was
holding Him up. The men became fearful in their hearts and minds, they were
afraid that the great enemy might be doing this to deceive them. Then their
Chieftain spoke to them, the holy King of heaven, and told them that He was
their great and powerful Lord. “Now you should be steadfast and courageous,
do not be fearful, be brave! I am the Child of God, His own Son, and I will
defend you against this sea and protect you from the ocean waves.” (2919 – 2931) Then in reply, one of the men called over-board to Him. It was
that very worthy man, Peter the good. He did not want to suffer pain, to feel
the water’s power. “If Thou art the Ruler,” he said, “as I think Thee be,
good Lord, then tell me to walk to Thee across this seaway, dry across deep
water, if Thou art my Chieftain, Protector of people.” (2931 – 2937) Then mighty Christ told him to come over to Him. Peter was
ready immediately; he stepped down from the bow stem and strode off, walking
toward his Lord. The water held the man up by the power of God until in his
mind he began to feel the fear of deep water as he watched the waves being
driven by the wind. The waves wound around him, the high seas surrounded him.
Just at that moment he began to doubt. The water underneath him became soft
and he sank inside a wave, he sank into the streaming sea! Very soon after
that, he quickly called out, asking earnestly that Christ rescue him, since
he, His thane, was in distress and danger.
(2937
– 2950) The Chieftain of people caught him with His outstretched
arms and asked him immediately why he doubted. “Listen – thou canst be
confident and know for a fact that the power of the water in the sea, the
strong sea-stream, was not able to prevent you from walking as long as thou hadst faith in Me firmly in your heart! Now I am going to
help thee, rescue thee from this peril.” Then the holy, All-mighty One took
him by the hand and all at once clear water became solid under his feet, and
they went together on foot, both of them, walking, until they climbed on
board the boat from the sea. And then by the bow stem, the Best of those who
have ever been born sat down. At that moment, the broad waters and waves
became calm and the sailors arrived at the shore. Together they made land,
coming through the water’s onslaught. They thanked the Ruler, they praised
their Chieftain in words and in deeds. They fell at His feet and spoke many
words of wisdom. They said that they knew very well that He was Himself the
Son of the Chieftain and that He had authority over the middle world and that
he was able to help every human being’s life-spirit, just as he had done for
them out on the sea against the onslaught of the water. (2950 – 2973) 53
The imagery is again that of a Saxon ship sailing in the North Sea. 36 Christ heals the daughter of a Canaanite woman Christ the Ruler then set out away from the sea, the Son of
the Chieftain, the only Child of God. People from all the tribes came to Him,
they came to meet Him. From far away, they had heard of His good works and
that he said so much in wise words. He had a great desire to help these
people so that they would always serve God gladly and that many of the clans
of mankind would be under obedience to heaven’s King. (2973 – 2982) Then he crossed over the Judean border and headed for the
fortress city of Sidon. He had His warrior-companions with Him, loyal
followers. There a woman of another folk approached Him. She was of noble
birth, of the Canaanite clan. She asked the mighty Chieftain, the Holy One,
that He give her His help. She said that she was worried about her daughter
as evil beheld her. She had been seized by a sickness. “Evil creatures have
confused her, her death is at hand, the evil ones have taken away her mind.
Now I beg Thee, my Lord Ruler, Son of David, that Thou freest her from this
sickness, mercifully ward off the evil wights from such a poor girl.” (2982 – 2993) Christ the Ruler did not answer her straight away. She went
after Him, following Him determinedly, until she came to His feet and spoke
to Him weeping. Christ’s followers asked their Lord to be kind and generous
in His attitude toward the woman. The Chieftain’s Son had His answer ready
and spoke to His warrior-companions. “I am to take care of Israel’s blood
clansmen first, so that they will lift their hearts to their Lord.54 They need help! These people are lost, they have abandoned
the Ruler’s word; the warriors have doubts; people are driven by evil thoughts;
nor do the earls of Israel want to listen to their Chieftain; warrior-heroes
do not believe in their Lord, even though it is from here that help is to
come for all the peoples!” (2993 – 3008) But the woman was persistent and kept asking Christ the
Ruler to be kind and generous towards her so that she would be able to
continue to enjoy her child and to have her well again. Then the Lord spoke
to her, the Great and Powerful. “No man has the right, no human being has the
right, in order to do a good deed to take the bread away from his children,
depriving them against their will, and let them suffer the horrible pangs of
hunger in order to feed his dogs with it.” “That is true, Ruler,” she said,
“what Thou art saying is true. But listen , often inside the hall, underneath
their lords’ tables, puppies go around well-fed from the scraps that fall
down from their lords’ board.”(3008 – 3022) At that, God’s Child of Peace heard what the woman wanted
and spoke to her. “Behold woman, that thou hast such a good will! Great is
thy faith in the strength of God, the Chieftain of peoples. Everything will
be done concerning your daughter’s life just as thou asked of Me.” (3022 – 3027) The girl was healed at once just as the Holy One promised
in words of unshakable truth. The woman rejoiced that she would be able to
continue to enjoy having her child. Christ the Healer had helped her, He had
freed the girl from the power of fiends, warded off the harm-doers. (3028 – 3033)
The Ruler continued His journey, the best of those born,
coming to another fortress city, one very densely settled by the Jewish clan,
southern people.55 I have heard
it told, that he spoke there to His warriors, the followers whom He in His greatness
had picked out, men who gladly stayed with Him because of His wise speech. “I
shall ask all of ye, my followers, with words. What does this great
population of Jewish people say about what manner of man I am?” His friends
happily answered Him, His followers. “The Jewish people, the earls, are not
of one mind. Some say that Thou art Elijah, the wise soothsayer who was here
long ago, a good man amongst these people. Some say that Thou art John, our
Chieftain’s dear messenger, who once immersed people in water. Every one of
them says in their words that Thou art one of those noble men, the
soothsayers, who have always taught these people here in words, and that thou
hast come again to this light to instruct this people”. (3033 – 3051) Then the Ruling Christ spoke again. “Who do ye say I am, my
followers, good men of the people?” Simon Peter, not shy, answered
immediately, one man speaking for all. He was a man of great courage and
careful thought. His commander was very fond of him. (3051 – 3056) 54
This is an extremely important passage because it starts from the premise
that Christ only came to save the people of Israel and not of all the peoples
of the world. He is challenged in his declaration that he came only for the
people of Israel and He helps the non Israelite
woman as a result. It is in this passage that Christ’s mission is shown as
being to all people, but importantly this does not mean that everyone must be
the same. He does not require the woman to become an Israelite. 55
The Jews are identified as being a different people to Jesus and his
followers. This is both a reference to the Jewish homeland of Judea which
lies to the south of Galilee, but also an association of the Jews with those
southern Europeans who had harshly imposed Christianity on the northern
Saxons. Conversely, the author is identifying Jesus and His followers as
‘northern people’ and associating them with his Saxon audience. 37 Peter is given the keys to heaven “Thou art the true Son of the Ruler, the living God, who
created this light, Christ, the Eternal King. All of us, Thy followers, want
to say that Thou art God Himself, the greatest of healers.” His Lord answered
him, “Thou art blessed, Simon Son of Jonah. Thou mayest
not understand this yet, holding it in thy heart. Nor could any tongue of man
have told thee this in words. No, the Ruler Himself, Father of all the sons
of men, did this for thee, so that thou speakest
boldly and deeply with thy Lord. Thou wilst receive a precious reward for
this. Thou hast clear faith in thy Lord! Thy strength of faith is like rock,
thou art as solid as hard stone. The sons of men will call thee Saint Peter
and I shall build my great hall on top of this rock, the holy house of God.
There, His family will happily gather. (3057 – 3071) “Hel’s gates will not withstand thy great strength. I give
thee the heaven-kingdom’s key’s, so that, after Me, thou wilst rule the
Christian people. The souls of all men will come to thee. Thou hast great
power. Whoever of the noble-born thou wilst bind here on earth will have two
things done to him. Heaven will be locked to him and Hel will be open, the
burning fire. Whoever thou wilst unbind, taking the manacles off his hands,
for him heaven stands unlocked. Eternal life in the greatest of worlds on
God’s green meadow. (3071 – 3082) “It is with this gift that I will reward thee for thy faith,
but I do not want thee yet to tell these people, the great crowd, that I am
mighty Christ, God’s own Son. The Jewish earls are yet to bind me, though
innocent, and torture me in Jerusalem by inflicting astonishing pain with the
weapon’s edges; with the spear-point to see to it that I age no more, with
its sharp edges to take away my life.56
From death, I will rise up to this light by our Chieftain’s power on the
third day.” (3082 – 3092) At this, the best of thanes, Simon Peter, became very
worried, his mind was disturbed. He spoke to his Lord in secret Runes. “Never
will God, the powerful Ruler, want Thee to ever suffer such great pain from
these people. Nor is there any need of it, holy Chieftain.” Then his Lord,
the great, powerful Christ, answered him. He was deeply fond of Peter. “Lo!
Now it is thee, best of thanes, who art against my will! Thou knowest the human ways of these peoples. Thou knowest the power of God which I am to carry out. I tell
thee in true words, that here stand many of my warrior-companions who will
not die, depart from here, before they see heaven’s light, God’s kingdom.” (3092 – 3107) Then, soon after this, He picked from amongst His
followers, Simon Peter, James, and John, the two men who were brothers. With
these warrior-companions He set off up a mountain, the happy Child of God and
the three thanes. The Chieftain of peoples, the Ruler of this world, wanted
to show them many wonders and signs so that they would trust better that He
was the Chieftain’s Son, the holy King of heaven. They climbed along the
mountain face over rock and slope until the warriors came to the place near
the clouds which Christ the Ruler, King most powerful, had chosen. The place
where he wanted, by His own power, to show His followers His divinity – a
bright-shining vision! (3107 – 3122) 56
This description of the passion would have been particularly poignant to the
Saxon warriors listening to the Gospel. It describes a method of torture
common in the Germanic world at this time, in which a captured warrior
Chieftain would be executed by having his ribs cut open with a weapon’s edge
and killed with a spear of lance. In this way, prisoners were ‘dedicated’ to
Woden as the spear was considered to be sacred to him. 38 On the mountaintop the Son of God gives off bright light and
changes His appearance As He knelt there in prayer, His appearance and clothes
changed. His cheeks became shining light, blazing like the bright sun. The
Son of God was shining! His body shone, radiating brilliant light from the
Ruler’s Son.57 His clothes
became as white as snow to look at. Then, after this, a wonderful thing was
seen there. Elijah and Moses came there to Christ to exchange words with the
Mighty One! There was a glorious conversation, good words amongst men, as
God’s Son willed to talk there with the famous men. It became so blissful up
on the mountain, the bright light was shining, there was a magnificent garden
there and the green meadow, it was like Paradise!58 (3122 – 3136) Peter, the sturdy-minded hero then spoke, addressed his
Lord and said to God’s Son, “This is a good place to live, Christ All-Ruler.
If Thou shouldst will it that a house be built for
Thee up here on the mountain, it should be grand, and another for Moses, and
a third for Elijah. This is the home of joy, the most beautiful thing anyone
could have!” (3136 – 3143) Just as he spoke these words, the air parted in two. Light
shone from the clouds, a glittering flash of light that bathed the good men
in brilliant, shining beauty. Then from the cloud came the holy voice of God;
and the voice said to the heroes that this was His Son, the One whom He loved
most of all the living. “I love Him very much in My heart. Ye should listen
to Him, follow Him gladly!” (3143 – 3151) Christ’s followers could withstand the brightness of the
cloud no longer, or the Word of God, His mighty power. They fell forward.
They did not think their life-spirits would live much longer. Then the Land’s
Guardian went over to them, the best of all healers, and touched them with
His hands and told them not to be afraid of Him. “None of these wonderful and
amazing things ye have seen here will hurt ye.” Then the men came back to
their senses, their courage was restored, confidence in their hearts. They
saw God’s Child standing there alone. That other light of heaven, though, was
hidden. (3151
– 3163) Then the holy Christ decided to go back down the mountain. After
this, He ordered His followers not to talk amongst the Jewish people about
what they had seen “until I myself rise up gloriously from death, arise from
My rest. After that, ye can go and tell of it, recount the story throughout
the middle world to many peoples, all over this wide world!” (3163 – 3170) 57
This description of Jesus as ‘shining light, blazing light the bright sun’
would have reminded the author’s heathen and newly converted audience of
Balder, who shone with the radiance of the sun. 58
The author presents a view of paradise which combines the biblical Garden of
Eden with the Germanic green meadows, known in Old English as Neorxnawang. 39 Christ pays the king’s head tax to an arrogant thane Christ the Ruler then strode back to the Galilee to visit
His relatives, the home of His clan. There He spoke of things in bright
signs. The Child of God did not conceal from His happy warrior-companions the
sorrowful tale, but rather told all His good followers openly how the Jewish
people would subject Him to terrible torture. This made the wise men greatly
concerned, their minds became troubled, sorrow wound around their hearts. They
heard their Lord, the Ruler’s Son, telling in words what He would willingly
suffer at the hands of those people. (3170 – 3183)
Then the ruling Christ, the man from Galilee, set out for
the Jewish fortress of Capharnaum. There, they found a king’s thane, arrogant
amongst the people. He said that he was the noble Caesar’s official
representative. He addressed Simon Peter and said that he had been
sent to collect from all men the head-tax, which everyone had to pay as
tribute to the imperial court.59 “No man has
hesitated even slightly to pay this tax immediately, with their choicest
jewels, except for your master alone, who has refused! My lord, the noble
Emperor Caesar, will not be pleased when he hears of this!” (3183 – 3195) At this, Simon Peter went off to tell his Lord. Ruling
Christ already knew what was on His mind, not a single word can be hidden
from Him! He knows everyone’s thoughts. He then ordered His famous thane,
Simon Peter, to cast a fish-hook into the sea. “The very first fish that thee
catcheth,” he said, “haul it out of the water and
open its mouth. From between its jaws thou shalt be able to remove golden
coins. With these, thou shalt pay the man who has come looking for us my,
taxes and thine, to his satisfaction.” (3195 – 3207) He did not have to say another word or give any further
orders. The good fisherman, Simon Peter, cast his hook into the waves of the
sea and, using both hands, hauled up a fish out of the water. He opened up
its mouth and from between the jaws took out golden coins. He did everything
just as the Son of God had instructed him.
(3207
– 3215) So it was shown there, through the Ruler’s great power, how
every man should willingly pay the debts and taxes due to his worldly lord, and
do so gladly! No one should hold back anything from him or think poorly of
him in his heart. Rather everyone should be kind and generous in his attitude
to his lord and serve him humbly. In doing this, a man can carry out the will
of God and also have respect of his worldly lord.60 (3215 – 3223) 59
The Gospel account of the ‘temple tax’ is changed to an Imperial tax paid to
the Roman Emperor which is something the Saxon audience would have better
understood. 60
This feature of respecting both Godliness and worldliness was to become an
ideal in Medieval Germanic Christianity, reflecting the desire to live in an
ideal Christendom. 40 The young man with the great treasure-hoard This is what the holy Christ taught His good followers. “If
any man doeth anything sinful against ye, then take that warrior aside, and
quietly advise him, put him right with words. If this is not sufficient for
him to take note of what ye are saying, then take some other good man with ye
and point out his grim works to him, scolding him with wise words. If after
this he still doeth not regret his sinful deeds, then tell other people, many
other people, about his wrong-doing. He will then more easily begin to regret
what he did, to rue it in his mind, when he hears about it from wise
warriors, many heroes who censure him in words for his evil deed. If,
however, he still refuses to repent and ignores all these people, then let
the man go, treat him like as ignorant 61,
let him be repulsive to ye in thy mind. Leave it to God, the lordly King of
Heaven, as the father of all the sons of men, that He might grant him help.” (3223 – 3241) Then Peter, best of all thanes, asked his Commander, “How
often, beloved Chieftain, should I forgive people who have done something
evil to me? Should I forgive him seven times for such sinful acts before I
take revenge against their evil?” The Land’s Guardian then answered him;
God’s Son speaking to the good thane. “I did not say anything about seven, as
thou sayest in words from thy mouth. But I will add
more onto it. Seven times seventy seven thou art to forgive someone’s wicked
sins! I want to teach thee this in words of solid truth. After all, I gave
thee the great power to be the highest of my family of so many people.
Therefore thou art to be kind and generous to people, be gracious to them!”62 (3241 – 3256) Then a young man who was there came up to the Teacher and asked
Jesus Christ: “Good Master,” he said, “what do I need to do to gain the
heaven-kingdom?” The young man had received great wealth and possessions and
owned many a jewel-hoard, yet he had a kind and generous heart in his breast.
God’s Child spoke to him. “What sayest thou of
‘good’? Not a single person is that, except the One who created the All; the
world and its joy! If thou wilst travel to the light of God, thou must obey
the holy teaching, what is commanded in the old law. Thou must not murder,
make false oaths, take to the adulterous bed, give lying testimony, cause
conflict or steel. Do not be too stubborn-minded, do not hate or be hostile,
do not commit armed robbery, avoid all envy. Be good to thy parents; thine
father and mother and be loving to thine friends, gracious to those near
thee. Then thou wilst enjoy the heavenly kingdom! If thou wilst possess it,
follow God’s teachings.” (3256 – 3277) The young man then answered, “I have done all of this thou teachest in wise words,” he said, “and I have left none
of it out from my childhood.” At that moment Christ began to look at him with
His eyes. “There is still one thing missing of thy good works. If thou hast
the desire of serving thy Lord all the way, thou shouldst
take thy treasure-hoard and thine wealthy possessions and sell all of it, all
of thine precious jewels and order it to be divided amongst the poor. After
that thou wilst will have a hoard in heaven! Then come, bring thyself to Me;
follow My footsteps and thou shalt have everlasting peace and joy.” (3277 – 3289) The words of Christ made this young man deeply sorrowful.
There was pain in his mind and uneasiness in his heart. He had attained many
jewels and possessions. He turned away and went from there. There was no lightness
in his heart; a heaviness in his breast.
(3290
– 3295) Christ the All-Ruler looked after him and at that moment
said to his followers that it was not easy for a man of wealth to come to
God’s realm. “It is easier to get a camel, even though it is immeasurably
large, to pass through the eye of a needle, even though that is extremely
narrow, than it is the soul of the wealthy man to get to heaven, a person
whose mind and a person whose will are completely turned to world-treasure,
and who does not think about the power of God.” (3295 – 3204) 61
The word used in the poem is ‘heathen’ which refers to people dwelling in the
heath or the back woods. It was used by the urban Christian elite to refer to
country folk who were not fully Christianised and were seen as backward and
uncivilised. 62
This reflects the Germanic concept of a king having power over his people,
but in return being expected to be kind and generous to them. 41 The rich man and the beggar Simon Peter, the highly respected man, answered Him and
asked the beloved Lord, “What will we receive as reward,” he said, “as good
repayment? To be Thy followers, we abandoned property and inheritance, our
farms and families and chose Thee to be Lord and followed in Thy footsteps.
What benefit will this bring us, what lasting reward?” The Lord of People
said to him, “When I come to sit,” he said, “in great power, on that glorious
day when I shalt judge all the earth’s people, thou shalt be sitting with thy
Chieftain, and thou shalt rule over the trials. Thou shalt determine the
judgements for all the noble folk of Israel in accordance with their deeds.
That is how thou shalt be honoured! Let me tell thee this in truth, whoever so acts in this world that he
leaves his beloved family seat because of love for me, he will receive a
repayment here of ten times tenfold if he does it with loyalty, with a clear
mind.63 And beyond
that, he will also have heaven’s light, eternal life lying open to him.” (3305 – 3325) After this, the best of all children began to speak in
stories. He said that once, a long time ago, there was a rich man amongst the
people. “He had gathered together a great deal of wealth and buried treasure and
was always wearing gold and good clothes with beautiful jewels. He had many
possessions on his estate. He sat down for a feast every day. He had a
wonderful life sitting there in bliss on his benches! Now there was also a
beggar there with a crippled body. He was called Lazarus. Every day he lay
there, outside the front door, where he knew the rich man was inside with his
guests enjoying a feast, seated in his hall. The poor man always waited
outside, begging. He was never allowed to come in, he was never able to
persuade anyone to bring out to him some of the bread that fell down from the
table from under their feet. It never did him any good to be there, nothing
good ever came to him from the important man whose house it was, except that
the man’s dogs went to him and licked his body wounds as he lay there hungry.
Not a bit of help ever came to him from the important rich man. (3325 – 3347) Then, I have heard it told, the ruling powers64 forcefully told the poor man of his end day, by a very
severe sickness, that he was to give up the joys of men. God’s angels
received his life-spirit and led him away so that they could place the poor
man’s soul on Abraham’s lap. There, from now on, he would always be happy. (3347 – 3354) Then the powers of fate came also to the rich man, his
fate-hour, when he left this light behind. Evil wights dragged his soul down
to black Hel. They pushed it into the inferno with glee and buried him in
their grim home. From there he could look up and see where Abraham was, living
in joy, and where Lazarus sat blissfully on his lap, receiving his shining
reward for all his poverty. The rich man, lying hot in Hel, called up to
Abraham from down there. “Father Abraham”, he said, “I desperately need you
to be kind and generous to me, gracious in this fire. Send Lazarus to me so
he can bring me some cold water in this inferno. I am burning alive, hot in
this Hel! I need your help now so that he might quench my thirst with his
little finger. My tongue has received its sure reward, a terrible punishment
for its evil advice, its evil speeches. I am now receiving my dues for all of
it!” (3354 – 3374) Then the ancestral father Abraham answered him. “Consider
in thy heart,” he said, “what wealth thou had in the world. All the joy, all
the happiness which was given to thee. Thou spent all thy joy on earth!
Lazarus suffered pain in that light, he endured evil and suffering in the
world. Therefore, he shall now possess wealth and live in luxury; whilst thou
shalt suffer the flames, the burning fire. No messenger for you can be sent
from here to Hel. The Holy God has made it firmly so with His outstretched
arms. No thane may travel there through the darkness which is so thick
between us.” (3375 – 3386) Then the earl spoke again to Abraham from hot Hel and asked
for help. He asked that Abraham send Lazarus to the world of men, “So that he
can tell my brothers there how I am burning and suffering pain here. There
are five of them among the people of our tribe. I am afraid that they may
also sin and be sent here to me for punishment in this greedy fire!” (3387 – 3395) Old-Father65 Abraham spoke
back to him and said that they always had people of God in the land. Moses’
commandments and the words of the many prophets. “If they listen to them,
they will never have to go into Hel, journey to that inferno, if they do what
is commanded by those who read the books for human instruction. If they are
unwilling to do this, they would also not listen to a man who rose right up
from death. For as long as they are in the world let them choose for
themselves in their hearts which of the two seems sweeter to attain, so that
afterwards they will have evil or good in return.” (3395 – 3408) 63
Christ is speaking as a Saxon King, demanding total loyalty, as in a ‘clear
mind’ in return for great gifts. 64
The ruling powers or fates are an allusion to the old religion and the power
of fate to determine the end of a man’s life. This is one of a number of
instances where the author of the poem juxtaposes the powers of fate from the
old religion with Christ. 65
‘Old-Father’ or ‘All-Father’ was a term given to Woden (Odin). 42 The story of the workers who came late to the vineyard The best person ever to have been born then taught the
people in clear words; the mighty Chieftain spoke to mankind with many bright
stories. He said that a good man began in the morning to gather men. “He was
the head of a household and promised the men a very generous reward as wages.
He said that he would give each one of them a silver coin. Many men assembled
in his vineyard and he assigned them work early in the morning. Some also
arrived later in the morning, some came to work at noon, some came at none,
which is the ninth hour of the long summer day. Some came even later at the
eleventh hour. Then evening arrived and the sun went to rest. (3409 – 3423)
“Then the Chieftain of earls commanded his officers that
each of the men should be paid his wages for the hard work. He instructed
them first to pay the people who had arrived last for work and, in his words,
ordered that the men who had arrived first, willing to work, should be given
all their money at the end. These men were quite convinced that more pay
would be given to them because of their hard work. But everyone was given the
same. (3423 – 3434) “This made those men who had arrived first angry and
hostile. “We came here in the morning,” they said, “and have endured a great
deal today, hard work in intense heat, the sun’s burning rays. Now thou art
giving us no more money than thou givest to the
others who were only here for a short while working for thee.” The head of
the house had his answer ready. He said that he had never promised them any
more pay than that for their work. “Listen,” he said, “I have the right to
give ye all equal pay in return for the value of thy work.” (3434 – 3444) Christ the Ruler, however, meant something more when He spoke
to these people in stories about the vineyard and how the earls came to work
there at different times. This is how the sons of men go from this world to
the great light, to God’s meadow. Some begin early in their childhood to get
themselves ready, they have the spirit of the chosen – good will! They avoid
the affairs of the world and do not pursue its delights. Their bodies cannot
lure them into immorality. They learn wisdom, God’s law and resist the grim
will of the evil ones. They continue to behave this way whilst they are in
this world, alive in this light, until the evening of their lifetimes comes
to them. Then they set off on the road that leads upwards, where all their
hard work will be rewarded, paid back with good in God’s kingdom. This is what
is meant by the earls who started working hard in the vineyard early in the
morning and who stayed at it until evening. (3444 – 3464) Then some came at mid-morning. They were late and had
wasted the morning hours of the workday. Many fools do this, frivolous
people. In their youth they enjoy chasing after many things. They learn
disrespectful, evil speech and many dirty words, until their childhood has
passed away. After their youth, God’s favour happily admonishes them in their
hearts and they turn for the better in words and works, and lead their lives
in this manner until their years come to an end. They will be rewarded in
God’s kingdom for all their good works.
(3464
– 3475) Some men abandon their wickedness, their grim sins, in midlife.
They turn to happier things and by God’s power begin to do good works. They
correct their malicious language and feel regret in their minds for their
bitter actions. Help comes to them from God so that they can keep their faith
as long as their lives last. With that faith they depart and receive their
pay, the good reward from God. There is no better gift! (3476 – 3483)
Some begin still later, when they have become more aged,
when their lifetimes are almost over. Then their evil deeds begin to be
hateful to them in this world as God’s teachings talk to them in their
hearts. They become kinder and more generous. They live the rest of their
lives in goodness and receive repayment, the high kingdom of heaven, when
they depart from here. They receive the same wages as the ones who came to
work in the vineyard at none, at the ninth hour of the day. (3484 – 3492) Some get to be so old that they will not repent their sins,
but add to them with every possible evil until their evening comes near and
their lifetimes and pleasures are spent. Then they begin to dread the
punishment, their sins make them anxious. They think of the grim things they
did for as long as they enjoyed youth. Nor are they able at this time to make
up with other good deeds for the evil things they did so cruelly and so they
beat their breasts every day with both hands and weep bitter tears. They cry
out to the holy Chieftain, the mighty one, to be kind and generous to them.
Nor does He let their mood of despair last for long, so merciful is He who
rules everything. He does not want a single earth-man denied his love! The
Ruler Himself gives them the holy kingdom of heaven and they receive His help
ever after. (3493 – 3504) All of mankind are to receive honour there, even though
they do not come at the same time. The powerful Chieftain wants to reward all
people, every single person, who embrace faith here. A single heaven-kingdom
is what He gives to all people, to all human beings, as their reward. (3505 – 3509) This is what the Mighty Christ meant, the best person born,
when He spoke in those stories of how workmen came at different times to the
vineyard and yet each one received full wages from his Lord. So also shall
the sons of men receive the same wages from God, the loveliest of rewards,
even though some of them came late! (3509 – 3515) 43 Christ foretells His torture and death and cures a blind men
outside Fort Jericho He then commanded His twelve good followers, those who were
the most loyal men on earth to Him, to come closer and He told them one more
time what hardships lay before Him. “There can be no doubt about it”. He said
that they should journey to Jerusalem, to the Jewish people. “There
everything will come to pass. It will happen amongst that people, just as
wise men foretold about Me long ago. There, amongst that powerful tribe,
warriors will sell me to their leaders. My hands will be tied. My
outstretched arms will be put in irons. I will have to endure very much
there. I will have to listen to many words of scorn and insult, mockery and
threat. They will torture Me terribly with the weapon’s edge and they will
take My life. I will rise up from death and come back to this light by the
Chieftain’s power, on the third day. (3516 – 3533) “I did not come to these people so that the sons of men
would have hard labour because of Me, that they should serve Me. I will not ask them for this now, nor beg
these people. Instead, I will be a benefit to them. I will humbly do service
for them and for all these people I will give My soul. With My life I will free
mankind, the many people who have been waiting for so long for My help.” Then
He travelled onward, the Chieftain’s Son had a firm mind and a happy heart.
He wanted to go to Jerusalem to teach the Jewish folk wisdom. He already knew
their ill-will, grim hatred and deep hostility. The crowd moved on towards
fort Jericho. God’s Son was there in the midst of the crowd. (3533 – 3548) Two men were sitting there by the roadside, both were
blind. They had great need for their health to be restored, to be healed by
Heaven’s ruler, for they had long been without light, they had suffered a
long time. The two men heard the crowd coming by and straight-away these men,
blinded by fate, asked curiously what great man was the leader of this group.
A warrior-hero answered them and said that Jesus Christ from Galilee, the
Best of all healers, was the leader and was travelling with His folk. Both of
the blind men were filled with joy when they learned that God’s Son was
amongst the crowd. They called out loudly with their words to the holy
Christ, they begged Him to come and help them. “Chieftain, David’s Son, be
kind and generous to us in Thy deeds, save us from this awful affliction,
just as Thou doest for so many amongst the human
clans! Thou art good to many people. Thou helpeth
and healeth!”
(3548
– 3566) Then the crowd of warriors attacked the two with words,
saying that they should not yell so loudly at the ruling Christ. The blind
men paid no attention to this and instead continued to call out more and more
loudly over the crowd. The Healer stood still. The Best person ever born
commanded them to be brought to Him, led through the crowd. He spoke to them
wisely and kindly in front of the people. “What help dost ye want from Me”,
He said. They asked the holy One if He would open their eyes for them to this
light so that they would be able to see the comings and goings of people, the
radiant sunshine and the bright, beautiful world. (3566 – 3578) The Ruler did so. He touched them with His hands and gave
them His help. The eyes of both blind men were opened by the power of God so
that they could see the earth and sky, light and people. They gave praise to
God and glory to our Chieftain for being able to enjoy the light of day! They
both set off with Him, following in His footsteps. The favour they asked for was
granted to them and the fame of the Ruler’s deed was made known widely, to
many men. (3578 – 3588) 44 The meaning of the curing of the blind men That was a mighty image that was presented there, where the
blind men, deprived of the light, were sitting by the roadside, suffering.
This is what that image means to the children of men, to all mankind. It
tells of how mighty God Himself in the beginning made the first couple, Adam
and Eve. He granted them access to the road leading upwards, the kingdom of
heaven. But then the hateful one, the enemy with his deceptions and evil deeds,
came to them. He tricked them with sin so that they forsook the eternally
beautiful light. They were driven into a less desirable place, this middle
world. Here, in darkness, they toiled in hard labour. They were sent into
exile and they had lost wealth and happiness. They forgot God’s kingdom and
were in service to the hateful sons of the enemies, who paid them for their
labour with fire in hot Hel. Their minds were blind in this middle world,
since they no longer recognised the mighty God, Heaven’s Lord, who shaped
them with His hands, wrought them according to His will. This world was then
so debased, forced into darkness and hard toil, into death’s deepest dales,
that they sat there by the Chieftain’s road, lamenting, begging for God’s
help. (3588
– 3612) However, this help could not come to them until the ruling
God, the mighty Chieftain, sent His own Son to this middle world to unlock
the light for the sons of men and to open up eternal life to them so that
they would be able to recognise the Mighty All-Ruler, God. (3613 – 3618)
I can also tell you, if you are willing to listen and
think, so that you may recognise the Healer’s power, how His coming was a
help to many here in this middle-earth. And how much He, the Lord Himself,
made known through His deeds and why the great fort in Judea, built with
strong walls, is called Jericho. It is named after the moon, after the bright
light which can never avoid the cycles of its time66,
every day waning or waxing. This is what human beings do in this world. The
old die, then the young who come after will wax older, until fate67 takes them too. (3619 – 3633) This is the meaning of what God’s Son said, as he left the
fort of Jericho, travelling onwards. He meant that the blindness of human
beings could never be healed so that they could see the bright, eternally
beautiful light until He Himself took on human nature here in this middle
earth, flesh and body. The sons of men became aware of this in this world,
those who had been tormented and were sitting in sin, deprived of sight,
enduring the darkness. They realised that the Healer had come to help them,
Christ, the best of all kings, had come from heaven’s realm! Then they could
recognise his footsteps straight away. Those men then called out so much to the
Mighty God that the Ruler felt warmth towards them. But then, the very heavy
sins which they themselves had committed held them back, blocked their
belief. Still, these sins could not bar them from what they wanted and so
they called out loudly to the ruling God until He healed them. Then they
could see everlasting life; eternal light, open to them. They could journey
on to the bright-shining home. (3634 – 3654) This is what the blind men, who were calling out loudly to
the Son of God in Jericho to heal them and grant them light in this life,
represent. Then, the great crowd of people who were travelling ahead and
behind them held them back with their words. They represent what wicked sins
do to men in this middle world. (3654 – 3660) Listen now to what the blind men did once they were healed
and could see the sun’s light! They set off together with their Chieftain.
They followed His footsteps and spoke many words of praise for the land’s
Warden! This, the sons of men still do all over this wide world, once the
ruling Christ has enlightened them with His teachings and granted them
eternal life, God’s kingdom, the high heavenly light and His help to reach
it. This He gives to good men, to anyone whose deeds show that he would like
to follow His way! (3661 – 3670) 66
The inevitable and continuous waning and waxing of the moon cyclic nature of
time illustrates the importance of the cyclic nature of time in the
pre-Christian tradition. Time and fate are related and the moon has no choice
but to go through the cycles of waning and waxing. 67
Again we see the link between fate and time, in this case our life cycles. 45 Christ enters Jerusalem and foretells its fate Then Christ the Saviour, the holy One, came close to
Jerusalem. Many people of good will gladly came out to meet Him and covered
the road to the fortress city with their clothes and plants; bright flowers
and tree branches from the beautiful palms. The crowd surrounded Him joyfully
and sang songs of praise. They thanked the Ruler that David’s wise Son had
Himself come there to the people. Then Christ the Good, the Ruler, looked at
Jerusalem. The best of men looked at the fortresses’ wall and at the
dwellings of the Jews, the high-horned halls, and at God’s house, the most
beautiful of all shrines. (3671 – 3687) At that moment, His heart welled up in His chest, the Holy
Child could not stop Himself from weeping. With sadness, He spoke many words of
sorrow. His heart was troubled. “Woe to thee, Jerusalem,” He said, “that thou
truly knowest not the workings of Wyrd which will
befall thee in the future.68 How thou shalt be surrounded by a powerful army and
besieged by cruel-minded men, the enemy forces. Thou wilst never again have
peace or protection amongst men. Against thee, they will bring spear points
and sword blades, the words of war.69
Thy people will be devoured by the flames of fire. They will destroy these
villages and bring these high walls to the ground. No rock will remain
standing, no stone on top of another. These settlements around Jerusalem will
become a wasteland of the Jewish people, because they do not recognise that
their future has come to them. They have doubting hearts and do not know that
the Ruler’s power is visiting them.” (3687 – 3705) The Lord of men then set off with the crowd for the
bright-shining fortress.70 As soon as
God’s Son went inside Jerusalem with the throng of people, he was walking
with His warrior-companions, the greatest of all songs began. Loud voices
began singing holy words as many people praised the country’s Warden, the
best child ever born. The fort was in uproar, its people became afraid and
began asking who it was who was coming there with the people, the mighty
crowd. Someone answered them and said that it was Jesus Christ from Galilee,
the rescuer from Fort Nazareth, the wise soothsayer, who was coming to help
the people. (3706 – 3718) Then the Jews, who were ever hostile to Him, hateful in their
hearts, were pained to see that the people were singing so many songs of
praise to Him, glorifying the Chieftain. In a furious mood they went to speak
with the ruling Christ. They asked Him to tell His warrior-companions to be
silent and not to let the people praise Him so much. “It is loathsome to
these people,” they said, “to these citizens.” The Son of God replied, “If ye
interfere with them,” He said, “preventing the sons of men from glorifying
the Ruler’s power, then the hard rocks and solid boulders will shout it out
before the people until His praise is spoken all across this world.” (3719 – 3733) He then went into the holy shrine, the house of God. There
he found many Jews, disrespectful men, gathered together. They had chosen
this site as their business place and were buying and selling all manner of
things. Money-lenders were sitting inside the shrine. Every day they had
their loan-money ready to give. This was completely repulsive to God’s Son.
He drove them out of there, away from the shrine. He said that it would be a
much better thing for the sons of Israel to come there to pray, “To ask for
help in My house, to ask that the victory Chieftain take away their sins
rather than to come here to a legal assembly71
of thieves, the perverted people who practice usury, plain injustice! Ye Jews
never show any respect for the House of God!” (3733 – 3748) And so the powerful Chieftain cleansed the shrine, the holy
house. There He was a help to many people who had heard of His great power
far away and had come travelling over long roads. Many weak and crippled
people were healed at the shrine, people whose legs and hands were crippled
and who were blind. God’s Son did that for the people who wished it, since
everything that concerns these people’s lives and lands is under His
authority. (3749 – 3757) 68
The old Germanic concept of Wyrd, the outcome of fate that follows a set of
actions. Christ is foreseeing the inevitable doom of Jerusalem brought about
by its iniquity. 69
The Old Saxon word used here is ‘orlog’ which is
closely related to Wyrd and is implying an inevitable doom through warfare. 70
There is no mention of a donkey which would have left a very different
impression on the Saxon audience than that of an allusion to Israelite
kingship in the original scriptures. 71
The Old Saxon word used is ‘Thingstedi’ which
conjures an image of a traditional Germanic assembly or Parliament defiled by
money lender practising usury. 46 Christ praises the poor woman’s small gift to the sanctuary He stood there in front of the sanctuary, Christ the Ruler,
the beloved Guardian of the country, and assessed the hearts and minds of the
people. He saw many people bringing jewels to that glorious house, making
donations of silken cloths and precious ornaments. Christ the Chieftain
watched all of this wisely. (3758 – 3764) Then a widow came by, a woman fated to poverty. She went to
the altar and put two bronze coins on the offertory plate. She was a simple
soul, and a kind heart. The ruling Christ then spoke to His followers and
said that she had brought a much greater gift than any other son of mankind.
“Whenever people of property bring presents here, many jewel-hoards, they keep
more of the wealth they have won at home. This woman did not do that. She
gave to this altar all the wealth she had and left nothing at home. Her gift
is therefore worth more to the Ruler because she gave it to this house of God
with such generosity. For this she will be repaid with the very long-lasting
reward – for having such faith!” (3764 – 3779) I heard it told that Christ the Ruler, Chieftain of
mankind, taught wisdom with words every day at the sanctuary. People stood
around, great crowds of Jews. They listened to the good and sweet words He
spoke. Some of the men in the crowd were very fortunate in that the words
started to take root in their hearts. They learned the lessons which the
country’s Guardian, the Chieftain’s Son, taught entirely in stories. (3780 – 3787)
To others the Ruler’s message, the teachings of Christ,
were abhorrent. Those who were highest in the leadership, the princes of
these people, were most opposed to these teachings. They thought up verbal
traps for Him. They even brought in an evil man, a thane of king Herod, to
help them. He stood there, brooding, amongst the crowd in order to listen to
what they were saying and see if he could capture Christ, the sinless one,
and put Him in irons. (3788 – 3798) Then he and his hard-hearted companions, evil enemies,
strode up to Christ to speak words with God’s Son. “Well now,” they said,
“Thou art a law-speaker.72 Thou teachest people much truth and it is unworthy of Thee to
hide anything from any of them. Indeed, Thou speakest
always that which is right and Thou leadest a
company of men along God’s road through Thy Words. No one amongst the people
can find anything to blame Thee. (3798 – 3806) “And so we ask Thee, Mighty Prince, what right does the
emperor of Rome have to tax the people of this clan and to determine every
year how much money we are to pay as a head-tax? Say what Thou thinkest of this. Is it right or not? Counsel Thy kinfolk
well. We need Thy guidance.” They wanted Him to answer that it was not right,
but He understood the deceipt in their hearts. “Why
are ye pretending to tell the truth,” He said, “and tempting Me so crudely?
It will do ye no good, ye deceivers, to try to trap Me through guile!” (3807 – 3819) He then commanded them to bring forth coins for
examination, “The ones ye must give as tribute.” The Jews took out a silver
piece. Many looked and saw how it was minted. In the middle of the front side
was the emperor’s image, which they well recognised! The picture of their
lord’s head. (3819 – 3825) The holy Christ then asked them who the image was of. They
said that it was the emperor of the world from Rome, “who has authority on
earth over this entire realm.” “Then I will tell thee Myself in all truth,”
He said, “that ye give him what is his. Give the world-lord his money and
give the ruling God what is His, which should be thy soul and spirit!” (3825 – 3833) The Jews’ intentions were ruined by what He said. The wicked trouble-makers could not win with deceitful word |