Crist is the title given to a group of Anglo-Saxon religious poems by the medieval poet Cynewulf, divided into Crist I, II, III (or A, B, C), and dealing with Christ's Advent, Ascension, and Last Judgment respectively. A total of 1664 lines are preserved. Together with Beowulf it is one of the primary examples of Anglo-Saxon literature.

Influence on other writers

J.R.R. Tolkien was deeply influenced by the following couplet from Crist:

"Eálá Earendel engla beorhtast
Ofer middangeard monnum sended."

Translated,

"Hail Earendel brightest of angels,
over Middle Earth sent to men."

("Middangeard" was an ancient expression for the everyday world between Heaven above and Hell below.) These lines were one of the inspirations for J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and his character Eärendil. ^[1]

References

1. ^ Doughan, David. "JRR Tolkien Biography." The Tolkien Society. 2002. 28 Dec. 2006 <http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/biography.html>

External links

• The Old English poem
• A Modern English translation (PDF), by Charles W. Kennedy. From "In Parentheses".

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