Daniel (Old English poem)

Daniel
Author(s)	anonymous
Language	Old English
State of existence	two poems, A and B; possibly unfinished
Manuscript(s)	Junius manuscript
Genre	poetry
Verse form	alliterative
Length	764 lines
Subject	based on the Book of Daniel
Personages	Daniel, Three Youths, Nebuchadnezzar II

Daniel is an anonymous Old English poem based loosely on the Biblical Book of Daniel, found in the Junius Manuscript. The author and the date of Daniel are unknown. Critics have argued that Caedmon is the author of the poem, but this theory has been since disproved. Daniel, as it is preserved, is 764 lines long. There have been numerous arguments that there was originally more to this poem than survives today. The majority of scholars, however, dismiss these arguments with the evidence that the text finishes at the bottom of a page, and that there is a simple point, which translators assume indicates the end of a complete sentence. Daniel contains a plethora of lines which Old English scholars refer to as “hypermetric” or long.

Contents

The Old English Daniel is based only loosely on the Biblical Book of Daniel from which it draws its inspiration. Daniel ignores the majority of the apocalyptic and prophetic writing found towards the end of the Biblical source, and focuses instead on the first five chapters of the narrative. The primary focus of the Old English author was that of The Three Youths, Daniel and their encounters with the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (OE Nabuchodnossor).

Many scholars divide Daniel into two parts, Daniel A and Daniel B. Daniel A is a retelling of the beginning of the Book of Daniel. Daniel B is read by some scholars to be a version of the Old English poem Azarias in the Exeter Book, which is almost identical in lines 1-71, but less similar in the lines following. Although Daniel B comes later in the poem, it is read as a prayer for deliverance although deliverance is already granted in the first half of the poem (Daniel A). This fact has led many Old English scholars to view Daniel B as an interpolation. There are many other factors supporting this claim, including differences in vocabulary and metrical usage. Yet another piece of evidence that Daniel B seems to be an addition to the original poem lies in the general content of early Old English Christian poetry. Daniel B seems to emphasize the allegorical meaning of the Book of Daniel, which is drastically different from the majority of Old English Christian Poetry written around the approximated date of Daniel.

Concordance

Book of Daniel (Vulgate)	Old English Daniel	Comments	Old English Azarias	Narrative contents
1:1—3:24	lines 1—278	Daniel A		Introduction; Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's first dream; the Three Youths cast into the Fiery Furnace.
3:25—3:50	lines 279—361	Daniel B	lines 1-71	Song of Azarias; introduction to the Song of the Three Children.
3:52—3:90	lines 362—408	Daniel B	lines 72-161a	The Song of the Three Children.
3:81—Chapter 5	lines 409—764	Daniel A		The Three Youths survive; Nebuchadnezzar's second dream; his exile and return; prophecy of end of Babylonian reign and Belshazzar's death.

Differences between the Old English Daniel and Biblical Daniel

Some scholars insist that the Daniel poet was much more interested in the literal interpretation of the Book of Daniel, but others illustrate the author's intention to write allegorically. In the Biblical Book, King Nebuchadnezzar wishes to educate Daniel, but the dramatized OE Daniel has Nebuchodnossor trying to acquire Daniel's wisdom. This change sets the character of Daniel in a way more consistent with the Old English hero. Another stark contrast is the inclusion of the author's version of the Azarias and the introduction to the Biblical Book called Song of Songs. These differences and many others are thought to indicate that the unknown author of Daniel was not simply paraphrasing the Biblical book, but was in fact original in his composition.

Critical assessment

The abrupt ending of the poem seems to denote that the work was unfinished. This assumption is based on the idea that Daniel is a mere translation of the Bible. However, the poem’s focus diverges from that of the Bible in an attempt to state a more distinctive message about pride. The poem achieves this by being less concerned about conveying details of the dreams and Daniel’s prophecies. As the role of Daniel diminishes, the message of pride and humility can be more prevalent and in turn causes Nebuchadnezzar’s role to be increasingly important.^[1] The author creates a new perspective by using Nebuchadnezzar. The focus then shifts from Daniel’s prophetic gift to consequences of pride.^[1] There is also, then, a stronger link between pride and God’s judgment of pride. This is because Daniel takes on the sole role of being the giver of God’s warnings.^[2] Had the author then added Daniel in the Lion’s den, there would have been a shift of focus on Daniel. As a result, Daniel would overshadow the warnings of pride. Also, the accounts that are given in Daniel all have a message about pride and arrogance. In conclusion, Daniel is not just a poetic form of the Biblical book, but rather part of the same story with a different perspective.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Harbes.
2. ^ Remely.

Bibliography

Editions and translations

• Krapp, G. (ed.). The Junius Manuscript. The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Record 1. New York, 1931. 111-32.
• Bradley, S.A.J. (tr.). Anglo-Saxon Poetry. London; David Campbell, 1995. 66-86.

Secondary literature

• Anderson, E.R. "Style and Theme in the Old English Daniel." English Studies 68 (1987): 1-23. Reprinted in: The Poems of MS Junius, ed. R.M. Liuzza. New York & London: Routledge, 2002. 229-60.
• Bosse, Roberta Bux and Jennifer Lee Wyatt. "Hrothgar and Nebuchadnezzar. Conversion in Old English Verse." PPL. 257-71.
• Bugge, John. "Virginity and prophecy in the Old English Daniel." English Studies 87.2 (April 2006): 127-47.
• Caie, Graham D. "The Old English Daniel: A Warning Against Pride." English Studies 59 (1978): 1-9.
• George, J.-A. "Hwalas ðec herigað: Creation, Closure and the Hapax Legomena of the OE Daniel." In A Festschrift in Honour of Prof. Jane Roberts' 65th Birthday, eds. Christian Kay and Louise Sylvester. Rodopi, 2000.
• George, J.-A. "Daniel 416-29: An 'Identity Crisis' Resolved?'" Medium Ævum 60.1 (1991): 73-6.
• George, J.-A. "Repentance and Retribution: The Use of the Book of Daniel in Old and Middle English Texts." The John Rylands Library Bulletin 77.3 (1995): 177-92.
• Harbus, Antonina. "Nebuchadnezzar's dreams in the Old English Daniel." English Studies 75.6 (Nov. 1994): 489-508. Available from EBSCO (30 Sep. 2008).
• Remley, Paul G. Old English Biblical Verse: Studies in Genesis, Exodus, and Daniel. Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England 16. Cambridge and New York: CUP, 1996.
• Remley, Paul G. "Daniel, the Three Youths Fragment and the Transmission of Old English Verse." Anglo-Saxon England 31 (2002): 81-140.
• Sharma, Manish. "Nebuchadnezzar and the Defiance of Measure in the Old English Daniel." English Studies 86.2 (April 2005): 103-26.

• Encyclopedic entries in:
  • Medieval England: An Encyclopedia, eds. Paul E. Szarmach, M. Teresa Tavormina, Joel T. Rosenthal. New York: Garland Pub., 1998.
  • The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Michael Lapidge. Oxford, 1991.
  • Dictionary of the Middle Ages, ed. Joseph R. Strayer.