Anonymous, Genesis A

Richard Marsden (University of Nottingham)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.01: English Writing and Culture: Old English, 500-1066.
Vol. editors: Richard William Dance (University of Cambridge), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 800 - c. 1000

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

Genesis A is a poem in the ‘Junius manuscript' of Old English poetry (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Junius 11), named after the Dutch scholar Francis Junius who studied it and published its contents in the seventeenth century. Compiled in the second half of the tenth or the early eleventh century, and illustrated with many line drawings, the manuscript contains three poems based on Old Testament narratives — Genesis, Exodus and Daniel — and a fourth, Christ and Satan, which complements the others with ideas from the New Testament. Together, these poems explore some of the major themes of Christian history, including above all sin and redemption. Genesis, the longest of the poems with its 2936 s…

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1070 words

Citation: Marsden, Richard. "Genesis A". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 June 2003 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13221, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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