Genesis Myth in Beowulf and Old English Biblical Poetry [Hardcover]

Genesis Myth in Beowulf and Old English Biblical Poetry explores the adaptation of antediluvian Genesis and related myth in the Old Testament poems Genesis A and Genesis B, as well as in Beowulf, a secular heroic narrative.

The book explores how the Genesis poems resort to the Christian exegetical tradition and draw on secular social norms to deliver their biblically derived and related narratives in a manner relevant to their Christian Anglo-Saxon audiences. In this book it is suggested that these elements work in unison, and that the two Genesis poems function coherently in the context of the Junius 11 manuscript. Moreover, the book explores recourse to Genesis-derived myth in Beowulf, and points to important similarities between this text and the Genesis poems. It is therefore shown that while Beowulf differs from the Genesis poems in several respects, it belongs in a corpus where religious verse enjoys prominence.

Genesis Myth in Beowulf and Old English Biblical Poetry explores the adaptation of antediluvian Genesis and related myth in Genesis A, Genesis B, and Beowulf,?exploring the manner whereby the texts adapt biblical myth with reference to the Christian exegetical tradition and Anglo-Saxon secular social values.

Joseph St. John completed his doctoral degree at the University of Malta in 2023. The focus of his research was the adaptation of Genesis themes in Old English poetry, specifically Genesis A, Genesis B, and Beowulf. He also published an article titled The Meaning Behind Beowulfs Beheading of Grendels Corpse, on Leeds Medieval Studies, in 2021; a note titled The Character Helle in De ResurrectilC,