The Scourging Scent in Andreas

For a second example of the Old English theme I turn outside Beowulf to another long narrative poem, the apocryphal story of St. Andrew among the Mermedonians. Scholars have long recognized similarities of diction and narrative structure in these two narratives, and prevailing opinion ascribes these similarities to their shared roots in the Anglo-Saxon poetic tradition rather than having recourse to the once current literary explanation of common authorship.^[25] In extending the analysis beyond Beowulf we shall be seeking to test the concept of the theme developed in this chapter on a text in the "religious" tradition of Anglo-Saxon poetry, and therefore very likely an oral-derived rather than a primary oral text, one perhaps further removed from the native Germanic oral tradition than the less patently Christian Beowulf .

In the process we must also consider Albert Lord's judgment (1975, 23) on the Old English Christian poems and their relationship to oral composition: "If the religious poems were truly oral traditional songs, I would expect to find a higher degree of verbal correspondence among the various instances of a theme within a given poem, after making due allowance for adjustment to the specific position in the poem which it occupies." In light of what we have so far learned about the Old English theme, can we demand verbal correspondence (implicitly of the ancient Greek or Serbo-Croatian sort) as a sine qua non in this oral-derived hagiography? While there is little doubt that poems like Andreas are "transitional" or "mixed," in Lord's terms,^[26] I would urge two preliminary caveats: first, it is impossible to determine such transitional character on the basis of criteria shown to be inapplicable to Old English poetry, and second, we cannot assume without testing that even such supposedly mixed poems will not preserve the basic thematic structure we find in Beowulf , that is, the tradition-dependent thematic structure of Old English verse.

In one sense Andreas provides an ideal opportunity for such a test, since in addition to being composed in the traditional idiom it derives in some fashion from an original and surviving Greek text, the .^[27] Although critics have

[25] Compare Sarrazin 1897 with Peters 1951 and Crowne 1960.

[26] See his further remarks on "transitional texts" in Lord 1986c.

[27] Brooks (in the standard edition of the Old English poem: 1961, xv-xviii) and Schaar ([1949] 1967, 12-24, esp. 20) concur that the closest source is the Greek Praxeis ; see their accounts for descriptions of other texts of the same story. Quotations of the Praxeis are taken from Bonnet 1898.

sought to explain the divergences between the Greek version of the story and the Old English poem by invoking a lost Latin intermediary, this explanation cannot account for the larger, institutionalized (and recurrent) variations between the two. That is, while the poem's mention of Bishop Platan and Andrew's departure (both examples cited by Brooks [1961, xv]) may be the result of the poet's consultation or knowledge of other versions of the legend, the Old English poet's demonstrably traditional embroidery on the bare fabric of the Greek narrative must be understood as the contribution not of a lost manuscript but of the poetic wordhoard. As long as we stipulate, then, that divergences between the Greek and Old English texts must be institutionalized and recurrent in order to merit interpretation as traditional structures, the way is open to test Andreas for thematic patterns by superimposing the details of its story against the usually close source, the Praxeis .

For this purpose I have chosen a narrative pattern that recurs in both the Greek and the Old English texts, although, as we shall see, the actual mode of recurrency is quite different.^[28] This is the three-day scourging of St. Andrew by the Mermedonians, in both versions a thrice-repeated incident that causes the holy man much suffering as he is dragged about the city until his body is broken and bloody. The cannibalistic heathen, urged on by Satan, are attempting to break his spirit and his faith in God, but the ever-worsening punishment and torture seem only to strengthen Andrew. He survives each scourging and in the end defeats his enemies; after the third incident, God looses a torrent of water on the Mermedonians in answer to Andrew's prayer. Thus, what begins as a threat to the saint's life and faith ends in an affirmation of God's power and of human perseverance through earthly travail.

What is more, each day is a microcosm of the three-day torture of Andrew. In both versions the Scourging process begins with the onset of day and continues until sunset, at which time the still faithful saint is returned to his cell for a night of mental anguish. Whether he is assailed at night by his own doubts or by the direct attack of Satan and seven demons, the diurnal cycle marks the stages in his constant trial, which goes on for three days in basically the same fashion until the divinely retributive flood ends the scourging cycle.

Against this consistency underlying the three successive scenes in the Greek Praxeis we may profitably juxtapose the equivalent passages from the Anglo-Saxon Andreas , and the result is enlightening: in addition to the consistency attributable to the source, the Old English text reveals further, complementary recurrency of its own—a recurrency that may confidently be labeled "traditional" because it closely resembles the structure of the Old English theme

[28] The material to be analyzed is found between lines 1219 and 1462a in the Old English poem and in Chapters 25-28 of the Greek prose. See further Table 22.

as discussed above. Above and beyond the patterning that derives from the Praxeis , then, we observe a narrative patterning typical of thematic structure in Anglo-Saxon verse.

The Scourging theme in Andreas can be described as a definite series of actions, only some of which are found in the Greek source. These actions or motifs are:

A. The enemy arrives with a large troop
B. They lead the prisoner from his cell and drag him about the city
C. The prisoner's wounds are described
D. They lead the prisoner back to his cell
E. The prisoner confronts night and mental torture

The fact that these five motifs recur in each of the three Scourging scenes, regardless of what the Greek text has at the same point, indicates that this sequence had an independent existence as a narrative unit,^[29] one that could be adapted to context, to be sure, but also one that had a certain integrity as a traditional unit. Although, as already mentioned, it is only prudent to view Andreas as an oral-derived work necessarily further removed from primary oral tradition than Beowulf , with it we can begin to understand the power and longevity of oral-formulaic themes.^[30]

One example of the Scourging theme's independence is the modification it forces in the story at the very beginning of the three-day trial. In chapter 25 of the Praxeis , following God's exhortation of a few lines earlier, Andrew rises up and boldly reveals himself to the heathen multitudes: in effect, he ends their search for him by giving himself up.^[31] This brave act leads directly to the first day of torture, as a diabolically inspired cannibal suggests fastening a rope around Andrew's neck and dragging him through the streets. In the Old English poem God also instills Andrew with courage and counsels him not to hide (1208-18), but no mention is made of the saint actually delivering himself up to his enemies. Instead, what immediately follows God's encouraging and comforting speech is precisely motif A, the onset of the Scourging theme. In place of surrender to the enemy the Old English poet summons a (contextually quite inappropriately) large troop to seize the less-than-threatening saint:

[29] Gr. Lord 1960, 69-98. It may have been that the Scourging theme was used only in this one oral-derived text and had no wider currency in the tradition; nonetheless, the structure of the recurrent scene marks it as traditional. Whether a given unit was a functioning oral traditional element, as in the case of the Serbo-Croatian epic, or the result of the traditional method of composition in a transitional text, patterned recurrency of this sort argues its traditional nature and suggests certain avenues for interpretation.

[30] Cf. Ong 1965; Renoir, esp. 1964, 1976b, 1986, 1988.

There is, of course, no equivalent in the Greek; the deployment of the narrative sequence—a traditional deployment of an oral-formulaic unit in this oral-derived text—supervenes fidelity to source.

In fact, as we move on to the second and third instances of this sequence, we find no equivalent for motif A ("The enemy arrives with a large troop") at any point in the Praxeis . Occurrences #2 and #3 begin with the equivalent of (or source for) motif B, "They lead the prisoner from his cell and drag him about the city":^[33]

Occurrence #2		Occurrence #3
	(Praxeis , chap. 26)		(Praxeis , chap. 28)
Occurrence #2
And in the morning they carried him
out again and, having fastened a rope
around his neck, they dragged him about.

This amounts to further evidence that the Old English scourging theme has a life of its own, even if only within Andreas , and that at times this independent structure supersedes the narrative devil of the source. Here are the Old English passages in question, thee which constitute motif A in the theme and which have no equivalent in the Praxeis :

[32] On the traditional character of bolgenmode ("enraged in spirit"), which names the customary battle-rage that precedes the actual fight, see the analysis of Grendel's approach in chapter 6.

With the exception of a few words like weorud ("troop") that we would expect to find in such a description, these three occurrences of motif A do not reveal much in the way of verbal correspondence. In fact, as but a cursory glance at the Greek versions of motif B shows, even the certainly written and untraditional prose of the Praxeis reveals more word-for-word and phrase-for-phrase correspondence than do these three equivalent passages from Andreas . Thus, while the narrative pattern is without doubt thematic—consistently departing from the source to invoke a traditional motif—this section of the Scourging theme reveals no real verbal consistency .

Before examining certain of the other motifs in this theme in order to determine whether adherence to narrative pattern and lack of verbal consistency prove characteristic of the Scourging scene as a whole, it may be well to provide an overview of the motif-by-motif relationship between the Greek and Old English texts over all three occurrences of the scene. Table 22 makes the correspondence appear more regular than it actually is. In general, the Greek source is much more telegraphic, much less descriptive; furthermore, it couches each motif in about the same language in each occurrence. But its agreement with the Old English text is often no more than nominal, with mere suggestions in the Praxeis giving way to more fully developed motifs in Andreas . In addition, as the line numbers indicate, the Old English poet can

interrupt his narrative pattern to insert details apparently of his own creation, as he does during the first scourging scene with a non-narrative excursus ostensibly meant to mark Andrew as a type of Christ (1250b-52). Nonetheless, the Old English poem typically shows a greater regularity of narrative pattern than does the Praxeis , although verbal correspondence among successive scourgings remains as a rule much higher in the source.

As an example of this set of qualities, we may consider the Old English versions of motif B, whose Greek source was shown above to be almost absolutely consistent. Before examining the passages in question, however, there are two general observations to be made about their relationship to equivalents in the Praxeis . First, the Greek passages, though terse, are not obviously self-contained; while the fact that they open a chapter makes for a clear point of beginning, in the Praxeis motif B flows right into C: without a discernible break in narrative structure. Second, this same motif B ("They lead the prisoner from his cell and drag him about the city"), in taking virtually the same phraseological form each time, does not expand, contract, or divide. In short, it does not participate paratactically in a sequence of actions—as the Old English counterpart most surely does—but seems to be a detail with no particular identity of its own. In contrast, not only is the Andreas motif a self-contained, discrete member of a sequence, but as a structure with some individual identity it can expand, contract, and divide. But although the B motif exhibits this morphology—a morphology typical of Old English themes, unbound as they are by the phraseological constraints that shape thematic structure in ancient Greek and Serbo-Croatian—it nevertheless recurs consistently as a necessary part of the oral-formulaic pattern.

The occurrences of motif B from the Andreas poem are as shown in figure 11. As the parallel passages reveal, aside from the words heron ("they ordered") and lædan ("lead"), once again the narrative element does not take a consistent verbal form. There seems to be room for much variation in the actual diction of the element, just as with motif A. In addition, the poet can tack on an expatiation on the basic action, as he does in lines 1232-38 of the first occurrence; these verses further specify the action of dragging the prisoner through the streets of the city and have no equivalent either in the Praxeis or in the other two occurrences from Andreas . Just as with the Serbo-Croatian theme, apparently, a paratactic addition may be made to the fundamental action of a unit, much in the manner of what Lord terms "ornamentation." We should note that this expansion does not change the traditional structure here (as it did not in the Serbo-Croatian examples in chapter 8), since it simply reinforces and elaborates a traditional idea. In short, what we have in element B is another instance of this Old English theme's consistency of narrative pattern and virtual lack of verbal correspondence.

In lieu of exhaustive analysis of all motifs in the Scourging theme, I shall simply report general results for the remaining motifs (G, D, and E) and men-

tion one telling departure from thematic structure that further illustrates the poet's method. Motif C, "The prisoner's wounds are described," takes (like the unit just examined) a more elaborate form in the first occurrence than in either of the last two. In the second instance it splits into a ring that surrounds Andreas's prayer and the Devil's reply, non-thematic actions from the Greek source that the poet accommodates by enclosing them in a traditional envelope.^[34] This is not an unusual technique in Old English poetry, wherein the pressure toward absolute, one-to-one conformity between thematic idea and phraseological expression is not nearly so great as in Serbo-Groatian or ancient Greek epic. For all of its variations over the three occurrences, however, this section shows a surprising though not overwhelming amount of verbal correspondence. This quality, which by now we must see as uncustomary in Old English, probably results from the greater narrative focus of element C, the actual description of the body wounds suffered by the prisoner; since the action is less generic and more highly specialized, we may conclude that even on a purely semantic (that is, extra-traditional) basis, we could expect more repetition of morphs than in, for example, motif A or B.

Motifs D ("They lead the prisoner back to his cell") and E ("The prisoner confronts night and mental torture") return to the model of the first two substructures, regularly representing essential narrative ideas but having little or no verbal correspondence among instances.^[35] As such, they typify the Old English theme as a whole. But there seems to be one glaring problem; to the essential action of motif E in the first scourging scene (1253-55a)—

[p]a se halga wæs under heolstorscuwan,
eorl ellenheard, ondlangne niht
searopancum beseted.

Thus the holy one was under the shadow of darkness,
the courageous earl, all night long,
surrounded by cunning thoughts.

—is attached a rather long, apparently unrelated excursus (1255b-69a):

Snaw eorðan band              1255
wintergeworpum; weder coledon
heardum hægelscurum, swylce hrim ond forst,
hare hildstapan, hapless eðel
lucon, leoda gesetu. Land wæron freorig;
cealdum cylegicelum dang wæteres prym,              1260
ofer eastreamas is brycgade,
blæce brimrade. Bliðheort wunode
eorl unforcuð, elnes gemynding,

[34] On ring composition, see van Otterlo 1944a, 1944b, 1948; Whitman 1958; Lord 1986a. On the related issue of envelope parterre, see note 15 above.

[35] Note the enclosure of D within E in occurrences #2 and #3.

prist ond prohtheard, in preanedum
wintercealdan niht. No on gewitte blon,              1265
acol for py egesan, pæs pe he ær ongann,
pæt he a domlicost dryhten herede,
weorðade wordum, oððæt wuldres gim
heofontorht onhlad.

Snow bound up the earth              1255
in winter-drifts; the weather grew cold
with hard hail-showers, likewise rime and frost,
gray warriors stalking, locked up men's homeland,
the people's dwellings. Lands were frozen;
water's power hardened into cold icicles,              1260
ice bridged over the ocean-streams,
a shining sea-road. Happy in heart dwelled
the blameless earl, mindful of valor,
bold and patient, in great affliction
through the winter-cold night. Never did he cease
        from reason,              1265
stricken by fear, from what he had formerly begun,
but he ever most gloriously praised his Lord,
honored Him with words, until glory's gem
appeared heaven-bright.

At first sight this second passage seems supernumerary, an unnecessary and perhaps illogical addition to the core action expected in motif E. And while there is a nominal equivalent in the Praxeis for E, it is merely the briefest of phrases (, or "and he was sorely distressed") and has absolutely nothing to do with what follows in 1255b-69. We are left to ask whether this second passage can be viewed as a paratactic expansion of the core action, even though it seems in its lyrical and exacting description of winter's locking up the seaways to go well beyond intensification or ornamentation of motif E. Simply put, what has the quite unexpected onset of winter to do with the prisoner's dark night of the soul? Are we then to see the excursus as a flaw, an unwarranted expatiation rather clumsily tacked on to a motif by virtue of prior association or some other cause? For even if the passage appears quite beautifully evocative in its own right, is it not a departure from the narrative business at hand?

The answer to these questions lies in understanding exactly what the passage represents, and here we penetrate to the innermost layer of the Andreas poet's compositional technique. For the "winter" and "sea" imagery that makes up this cluster of lines is associated in the poetic tradition with the theme of "Exile" first discovered and commented on by Stanley B. Greenfield (1953a,b, and esp. 1955). Although this brief passage, subordinate as it is to another theme, does not develop what Greenfield has identified as the four aspects that collectively typify the Exile pattern in Old English verse, all of the lyric

imagery used in the Andreas instance belongs to (and therefore summons up) the traditional idea of Exile. We need only recall elegies like the The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Wife's Lament , and more to hear the resonance of the thematic pattern: the isolated, solitary man or woman, deprived of all kinship and social ties, struggles weary-minded to overcome the mental and physical ravages of his or her earthly condition. There is no more powerful or ubiquitous traditional pattern in the Anglo-Saxon poetic corpus, and it comes very near the surface of things as the poet works traditionally to express the tribulations of Andrew's first night in a meaningful way.

That these powerful overtones associated with implicit reference to the theme of Exile are really part of the poetics of this passage can be proved in another way as well. Later on, during the second night of mental anguish, Satan's followers, having first fled Andrew's ready responses, plan to return with their leader to taunt him again. In urging Satan to the task, they say (1358a):

oðwitan him his  wræcsið
Let us mock his [Andrew's]  exile- journey

The use of the morph wræc- , "exile"^[36] —the key word in all instances of the Exile theme—shows how closely the poet identifies the much-persecuted Andreas with the Old English peregrinus figure; the attribution of associated qualities is reinforced when, in the midst of the third scourging, God confronts the holy man with these words (1431-33):

"Ne wep pone  wræcsið , wine leofesta,
his pe to frecne; ic pe friðe healde,
minre mundbyrde mægene besette."

"Do not bewail this  exile- journey, dearest friend,
it is not too fearsome for you; I shall keep you in safety,
in my protection I shall surround you with might."

Not only the use of the key morph wræc- , for which there is again no equivalent in the Praxeis , but also the following lines that, like The Seafarer or The Wanderer , promise or hint at a new, divine context for the lost earthly context, indicate how the Andreas poet conceives of his hero as an exile.^[37] In short, although

[36] From the verb wrecan , "to drive out."

[37] To these two occurrences of wræcsið at 1358a and 1431a we may add other dues that support the identification of the hero with the Exile figure. At 491-92 Andreas speaks of former journeys (that is, trials) using Exile imagery common to the The Wanderer and The Seafarer ; at 889a another instance of wræcsið helps to describe the sinners' journey away from the reward of heaven; at 1283b Andreas describes his tribulations as earfeðsiðas ; at 1351a a demon frustrated by his and his fellows' lack of success in seducing Andreas calls the holy man an anhaga (cf. Wdr 1a, e.g.); at 1380a and 1383a Andreas tells the devil that God could easily cause him everlasting wræc . Even Mattheus refers to himself, the suffering martyr, as an exile (eðelleasum ) at 74b.

the poet may seem to depart from the logical succession of the narrative and to tack on a lyric to a motif already functionally complete (and all this without any prompting from the source), in fact he only turns from one theme to another—from the Scourging pattern to the details associated conventionally with Exile, and back again. In relation both to compositional technique and to aesthetics, this is a consummately traditional shift of narrative structure.