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Milton and Old English

Hong Shen

I have to admit at the very beginning that my topic today, "Milton and Old English," is a

highly controversial and, to some extent, an obsolete one. It is controversial, because after

debating for nearly three centuries, scholars fail to reach any definitive conclusions. It is obsolete

in the sense that so much has already been ritten or said on this sub!ect that noadays nobody

seems to care, or dare, to reopen the case again. If you loo into the M#$ bibliography, you are

not liely to find anything ritten upon this sub!ect since the %&'()s. *et +uestions still remain. So

long as people read aradise #ost and the Old English -enesis, they ill continue to hear echoes

beteen the lines of these to literary ors, and the +uestion of a possible connection ill still

be brought up from time to time. It is a far more positive attitude for us to face and try to solve this

longoverdue problem.

/he controversy can be traced bac as early as the beginning of the %0th century. In a letter

dated $ugust 1(, %2(', 3ishop 4icholson, the former Oxford Saxonist, rote to Humphrey

5anley, the first bibliographer of 3eoulf and other Old English poems 6Item 2 in the handouts78

I hope your translator ill oblige us ith the reasons of his opinion, if he still continues in it,

that a good part of Milton)s aradise as borroed from 9aedmon)s. I can hardly thin these

to poets under the direction of the same spirit8 and I never could find, I thin his

introduction to our English history rather evinces the contrary, that Oliver)s secretary as so

great a master of the Saxon language, as to be able to mae 9aedmon)s paraphrase his on.%

/he above +uotation touches upon the to ma!or issues of the controversy8 Milton)s noledge of

Old English, and his noledge of Old English -enesis, hich as first published as one of the

9aedmonian poems by the :utch scholar, ;rancis <unius, in %'==.

Sharon /urner +uoted 4icholson)s letter in %0>(1 to support his earlier argument that Milton

might have modeled his aradise #ost on the Old English -enesis. He believes that Milton and

<unius ere ac+uainted, and that <unius as liely to have explained a large part of the poem to

Milton and thus made a deep impression on the poet)s mind.

/o years later, hoever, /urner)s friend Issac :israeli published a lengthy article in

$menities of #iterature 6%0>17, disputing /urner)s viepoints. $ccording to :israeli, ;rancis

<unius as too stingy and selfcentered to either lend the precious 9aedmonian manuscript or

spend a lot of time to translate or explain the Old English poems to Milton. $nd he dismissed the

notion about Milton)s noledge of Old English as absurd8 "5e have every reason to believe that

Milton did not read Saxon. $t that day, ho did?"@

:avid Masson, Milton)s biographer, also noticed some striing coincidences beteen the

notions and phrases in Satan)s solilo+uy in the 9aedmonian poems and those of Satan)s in Milton)s

1Auoted by Sharon /urner, History of the $ngloSaxons. @rd ed., vol. III, %0>(, p.%0'.

2

Sharon /urner, History of the $ngloSaxons. @rd ed. Bol. @. aris8 3audry)s European #ibrary, %0>(, p.%0'.

3 Issac :israeli. $menities of #iterature. Bol. I. 9ambridge8 Civerside ress, %0'>, p.=0.



aradise #ost, but he doubted Milton)s noledge of this Old English -enesis, for by the time it

as published in %'==, Milton had been totally blind for three years, and

... there is some difficulty in understanding ho he could have found a reader fit to spell

out to him the small +uarto of %(' pages, containing the fragments, printed as they ere in

the old $ngloSaxon characters, running on painfully in prose fashion ithout metrical

brea, and ithout comment or translation of any ind.>

$ year after Masson)s #ife as published, C.. 5uelcer, a -erman scholar, rote an article in

$nglia 6IB, %00%7 concerning the same +uestion. He compared the text of Milton)s /he History of

3ritain ith 5heeloc)s version of the $ngloSaxon 9hronicle, and dre the conclusion that

Milton)s noledge of Old English had been most rudimentary. 3ecause an elementary mistae in

the #atin translation had been faithfully reproduced by Milton, and the poetical account of the

battle of 3runanburg= had been dismissed as "+uite outside the scope of being understood."

/herefore there as little possibility for Milton to have read the Old English -enesis, even if he

could have found someone to read it out for him.

:espite this damaging piece of evidence, the argument in favor of Milton)s noledge of the

<unius Manuscripts still prevailed during the early 1(th century. 5e can list a string of ellnon

scholars and critics ho did not hesitate to support this argument8 3en!amin /horpe, 5illiam

9onybear, Henry Morley, Hippolyte /aine, S.H.5. -urteen, Cobert 5atson, etc. Stephanie von

-a!se even devoted a monograph on that sub!ect. In Milton und 9aedmon', she first set out to

prove that Milton and <unius ere indeed close ac+uaintances by +uoting a letter from <unius)

nephe Issac Bossius to his friend 4icholas Heinsius 6Item 0 in the handouts7. /hen she lists all

the parallel passages from the <unius Manuscript and aradise #ost in an effort to sho that this

close resemblance is by no means a coincidence.

4evertheless, many people still remain unconvinced about this alleged relationship beteen

Milton and the Old English poem. Studies on Milton)s History of 3ritain cast further +uestions on

the poet)s noledge of Old English. Harry -licsman pointed out several places in the boo

here Milton had blindly repeated the mistaes in 5heeloc)s #atin translation of the Saxon

9hronicle, ithout checing the original Old English text.2 ;rench ;ogle, editor of Milton)s

History of 3ritain for the *ale edition of Milton)s prose ors, made similar remars in his notes0

<.5. #ever, hoever, made a tactful explanation to the above problems by tacitly evading the

4 :avid Masson, /he #ife of <ohn Milton. Bol BI. Cptd. -loucester, M$8eter Smith, %&'=, p.==2, note.

5 . /he poem is contained in the annals for &@2, describing the battle fought beteen the armies of 5essex and

Mercia led by $thelstan 6grandson of Ding $lfred7 against an alliance of 4orsemen, 3ritons from Strathclyde, and

Scots.

6 Stephanie von -a!se. Milton und 9aedmon 65iener 3eitrage ur Englischen hilologie, Bol. @=7. 5ien und

#eipig8 5ilhelm 3raumuller, %&%%.

7 Harry -licsman. "/he Sources of Milton)s History of 3ritain," Studies by Members of the :epartment of

English 6Fniversity of 5isconsin Studies in #anguage and #iterature7. Madison8 Fniversity of 5isconsin, %&1(.

8 ;rench ;ogle, ed. 9omplete rose 5ors of <ohn Milton. Bol. B, art I 6History of 3ritain7. 4e Haven8 *ale

Fniversity ress, %&2%.



issue of Milton)s noledge of Old English. $fter maing a careful examination of the

correspondence beteen Issac Bossius and 4icholas Heinsius, as ell as Masson)s materials in the

#ife, he asserted that since Milton and <unius had been close ac+uaintance in #ondon during the

first half of %'=%, and since they shared a common interest in the 9aedmonian poems, the poet

therefore must have non the content of <unius)s ne discovery, very probably from <unius)s

on mouth. #ever further pointed out that one possible conse+uence of this specific noledge

had been Milton)s drastic change of his ma!or or from a fiveact tragedy of $dams Fnparadised

into a fullscale religious epic, aradise #ost. 9omparing the drafts of the proposed drama ith the

present poem, it is not difficult to see their difference in spirit and style. /he enlarged parts stand

unmistaably close to the Old English -enesis 3.&

Here the argument seems to have entered a blind alley8 for lac of physical evidence, #ever)s

vie can easily be dismissed as baseless speculation. 3.<. /immer, for instance, called #ever)s

theory "mere assumption"%( in his introduction to the Old English -enesis. He considered that the

parallels in detail beteen aradise #ost and the Old English -enesis are not striing enough to

prove the influence of 9aedmon on MiltonG and Milton)s poor noledge of Old English

eliminated any chance for him to no the content of the 9aedmonian poems. /his harsh vie

seems to have dominated the current critical opinion on that particular sub!ect. rofessor 9arl

3erhout has summed up the situation in his posting for the thread of "Milton and Old English" on

$nsaxnet, the internet Old English forum, on $ugust %0, %&&>8

5e can be reasonably certain that Milton and <unius ere in touch ith each other in

the mid%'>(s, but there is no evidence that they ere in touch during the very brief

period 6perhaps only a fe months in %'=%7 that <unius had the manuscript in his

clutches in England. One can only speculateand then speculate again on hat they

taled about.

He claims that " Milton despised Old English. Or at least he despised the very little that he ne

of it."%% In the concluding remars for the same thread 6$ugust @(, %&&>7, rofessor 3erhouse

again rote8

4ohere in all the volumes that Milton left us is there a single peep about the usefulness of

Old English, and nohere is there any indication that he ne the language or care to no it.

Fnless someone come up ith a relevant Milton text that hasn)t been booted around countless

times already, the matter cannot usefully be carried any further.

5hile I generally agree that the speculation about the relationship beteen Milton and <unius

is not fruitful, I definitely am not convinced by the argument that Milton, ho spent a lifetime in

search of the $ngloSaxon past, did not care to no or even "despised" Old English. Since the

term "Old English" as not coined until the %&th century, e cannot expect to find it "in all the

9 <.5. #ever. "aradise #ost and the $ngloSaxon /radition," /he Cevie of English Studies. Bol. 1@, %&>2,

pp.&&%('.

10

3.<. /immer, ed. /he #ater -enesis. Oxford8 /he Scrivener ress, %&>0, p.'=.

11 9arl 3erhouse)s posting to the $nsaxnet :iscussion ;orum on $ugust %>, %&&>.



volumes that Milton left us." *et from the +uotations in Item > of our handouts, e see that Milton

regarded the $ngloSaxon language indiscriminately as "English" or his "native tongue." /here

are abundant allusions and comments in Milton)s prose and poetic ors to sho that the poet

cared for the origin of his native language.

One English outburst amid his college #atin orations expresses Milton)s deep affection

toards the gift of his mother tongue 6Item % in the handouts78

Hail native language, that by sines ea

:idst move my first endeavouring tongue to spea,

$nd mad)st imperfect ords ith childish trips,

Half unpronounc)d slide through my infant lips,

:riving dumb silence from the portal door,

5here he had mutely sat to years before8

...

I pray thee then deny me not thy aid

;or this same small neglect that I have made8

3ut haste thee straight to do me once a leasure,

$nd from thy ardrobe bring thy chiefest treasure ...

6$t a Bacation Exercise %%07

Milton)s petition to his "native language" is not an empty statement. Since his childhood,

Milton had been reading avidly and had become familiar ith a great deal of English literature,

from 9haucer, #angland to Spenser and Shaespeare. 3ut that did not prevent his aspiration for

taing more treasures from the "ardrobe" of his native language. His single ambition in his youth

as to rite a national epic, ith a historical setting before the 4orman 9on+uest, and more

importantly, in English..

$s it happened, there as a tradition at St aul)s School before and during Milton)s time that

placed special emphasis on the reading of English boos. Cichard Mulcaster, head master of St.

aul)s School beteen %=&' and %'(0, as one of the foremost Cenaissance English humanists

ho advocated the national significance of the English language and literature, and as certainly

the best non schoolmaster in all 3ritain at his time. $lexander -ill, Mulcaster)s immediate

successor, as also a fervent advocator of the native tongue, and as much interested in the

current study of Old English. In #ognomia $nglica 6%'%&7, a #atin study of the English language,

he cited several lines of $elfric)s letter to Sigeferth in the original Old English, and provided ith

interlinear translation hich, in H.;. ;letcher)s opinion, as from -ill)s on hand.%1 -ill)s

admiration for the older forms of English assumed an extreme manner, for he criticied 9haucer

harshly for his adoption of too many ;rench and #atin ords.

/here is some controversy as to hether -ill used his treatise as a textboo in his school or

12 . H.;. ;letcher, /he Intellectual :evelopment of <ohn Milton, , 1961, p.185. -ill printed $elfric)s letter in

Coman type, not in the socalled Saxon letter introduced by <ohn :ay, the printer. /he Saxon letter had already been

used in $ /estimonie of $nti+uitie 6%='27. 3ecause -ill)s translation of these lines differ slightly from thetranslation in the /estimonie, ;letcher considered it to be -ill)s on translation, and he further speculated -ill)s

interest in the study of Old English ith this and other scraps of evidence.



not.%@ Milton, too, has made no mention of either the elder -ill or St. aul)s School, although they

ere neighbors in St. 3otolph)s parish in %'>% and %'>1%>. 3ut one thing is clear8 Milton attended

the school 6c. %'1(1=7 hile $lexander -ill as still its head master. Our poet as trained by

-ill)s peculiar method of parallel translation hile laid great emphasis on English. One can be

reasonably sure that -ill)s attitude toards the native tongue might have affected Milton)s decision

in favor of English in his poetic creation, as recorded in Milton)s Bacation Exercise, "Mansus,"

and /he Ceason of 9hurch -overnment.%=

One specific influence on Milton is -ill)s system of English spelling, as it is demonstrated in

the #ogonomia $nglica. -ill as very particular about the purity of English ords. In the

"raefatio ad #ectorum" 6"reface to the Ceader"7, he made this impassioned call to preserve the

SaxonEnglish tongue of 3ritain8

J O ye Englishmen, on you, I say, I call, in hose veins that blood flos, retain, retain

hat yet remains of our native speech, and hatever vestiges of our forefathers are yet to

be seen, on these plant your footsteps.K%'

Milton certainly tried to follo the teachings of his school master. 3esides his English speech in

the $cademic Exercise 6"Hail native language ..."7, Milton professed again in the preface to "/he

Second 3oo" of /he Ceason of 9hurch -overnment 6%'>17 that he had taen painstaing efforts

toards that direction 6Item 1 in the handouts78

... I applied myself ... to fix all the industry and art I could unite to the adorning of my

native tongueG not to mae verbal curiosities the end, that ere a toilsome vanity, but to be

an interpreter and relater of the best and sagest things among mine on citiens throughout

this island in the mother dialect. /hat hat the greatest and choicest its of $thens, Come,

or modern Italy, and those Hebre of old did for their country, I, in my proportion, ith this

over and above of being a 9hristian, might do for mineG ... 6Hughes ''07

$lthough he regarded it "a toilsome vanity" "to mae verbal curiosity the end," Milton did dra as

much as he could from the native literary tradition. In this respect he has been much

misunderstood. His English as often accused of being too #atinate %2, and critics found many

13 . H.;. ;letcher inclined to believe that -ill used his boo as a textboo, but :.#. 9lar and others disagreed.

14 5illiam Ciley arer. Milton8 $ 3iography. Bol.II, Oxford8 9larendon ress, %&'0, p.00>, n.'=.

15 . In Bacation Exercise 6%'107, Milton states his ambition to employ English in "some grave sub!ect" comparable

to the Iliad and Odysses. In "Mansus," he announces the legendary history of 3ritain as the theme of his future

national epic. In /he Ceason of 9hurch -overnment, he again maintains that a great epic should be ritten in the

language of one)s on country.

16 $lexander -ill, #ogonomia $nglica. Ed. Otto #. <irice. Strassburg8 Darl <. /rubner, %&(@, p.%(8 "O vos

$nglosL vos 6in+ua7 appello +uibas sanguis ille patrius palpitat in venisG retainete, retinete +uae adhuc supersunt

reli+uiae sermonis natiuiG +uae mariorum vestigia apparent illis insistite." /he English translation as made by

H.;. ;letcher.

17 . $n early commentator on the #atinity of Milton)s style in aradise #ost as the %0thcentury critic, <onathan

Cichardson. In his biography of the poet, he pointed out8"Milton)s language is English, but )tis Milton)s EnglishG )tis



features of -ree, Hebre, and Italian as ell. 9onsidering the huge amount of study Milton had

devoted in these languages, it is only natural that his English riting should contain so many

foreign elements. 3ut Milton is first of all an English poet "Ioannis Miltoni $ngli" 6"<ohn

Milton the Englishman"7, the overhelming ma!ority of his vocabulary and poetic devices are still

English and not of other languages. In "Some 4otes on the 4ative Elements in the :iction of

aradise #ost,"%0 <.C. 3ro piced out many ords and usages from Milton)s epic that are

specially English in origin. Helen :arbishire also noticed that $lexander -ill)s spelling system

bears much resemblance to Milton)s in the manuscript of aradise #ost.%& /o illustrate ho much

Milton is indebted for the simplicity of his verse to his Saxon predecessors, <ames Ingram, the

third Calinson rofessor of $ngloSaxons at Oxford, translated the first %= lines of Milton)s epic

into Old English8 surprisingly, only ten loanords need to be replaced, hile the syntax remains

virtually untouched.1( 6Item %% in the handouts7

/he only existing evidence of Milton)s direct involvement in the study of Old English is the

curious Old English spelling of the ord "nest" in his annotated copy of -ildas)s :e exido et

9on+uestu 3ritanniae 6Item @ in the handouts7, yet his interest in $ngloSaxon studies as

evidently deeprooted. In preparing for his proposed national epic and /he History of 3ritain,

Milton eagerly sought out hatever materials he could find relating to the history of the $nglo

Saxons, and fre+uently +uoted from 3ede, $ngloSaxon 9hronicle, and those anti+uaries as

5illiam 9amden, <ohn Selden, 5illiam #ambarde, and Henry Spelman. In the tractate, "Of

Education" 6%'>>7, he did not forget to mention "the Saxon and common las of England, and the

statutes,"1% 6Item ' in the handouts7 along ith other classical ors necessary for an allround

education. /his again implies his intimate noledge of the publications of arer, #ambarde, and

Spelman.

Milton)s annotated copy of -ildas is still ept in Houghton #ibrary. $s <. Milton ;rench

pointed out, Milton imitated "the $ngloSaxon charaters then in vogue." /his is yet another

example of Milton)s interest to no Old English. /he peculiar shapes of "s" and "t" in the ord

"nest" are faithfully copied from the first $ngloSaxon fount cut by <ohn :ay, the foremost

Eliabethan printer in %='= or %=''. Matthe arer ordered and paid for the fount in order to

#atin, )tis -ree EnglishG not only the 5ords, the hraseology, the /ransposition, but the $ncient idiom is seen in

$ll he 5rites, So that a #earned ;oreigner ill thin Milton the Easiest to be understood of $ll the English 5riters"

6:arbishire, p.@%@7. /his comment has since been much exaggerated. /he first sentence of .#. 6"Of man)s first

disobedience, and the fruit N Of that forbidden tree ..."7 is often +uoted as a classical example of the #atinate syntax.

4evertheless, these socalled "#atinism" is perfect natural in Old English poetry, here e can easily find examples

of such long and involved verse paragraphs, e.g. the Old English poems "5anderer" 6%21&G @2>>7 and "Seafarer"60%&G @@>@7. ;./. rince)s /he Italian Element in Milton)s Berse 6Oxford, %&=>7 isolates many of the Italian

features of Milton)s English, e.g. the device of ad!ective noun and ad!ective, as in "sad tas and hard" 6.#., B

='>7. $gain, this transposition of epithets is a typical $ngloSaxon phenomenon, e.g. " t hi n fre r sa cl ne gold,

ne sa read ne gesaon"G 3ruce Mitchell labels this separation of ad!ectives governing the same noun as "the

splitting of heavy groups" 6$ -uide to Old English, p.'27.

18 4otes Aueries, 4o. %&', %&=%, pp.>1>10.

19 . Helen :arbishire, /he Manuscript of Milton)s aradise #ost. %&@%, p.xxxiii ff.

20 <ames Ingram, $n Inaugural #ecture on the Ftility of $ngloSaxon #iterature. Oxford8 /he Fniversity ress,

%&(2, pp.>2>0.

21 . M.*. Hughes, ed. <ohn Milton8 9omplete oems and Ma!or rose, %&0=, p.'@'.



print an Easter homily by $elfric, the %(thcentury abbot of Eynsham, compiled by his #atin

secretary, <ohn <oscelyn. Other boos printed ith this $ngloSaxon fount include 5illiam

#ambarde)s $rchaionomia 6%='07, a compendium of $ngloSaxon las 6there is a copy in

Harvard #a School #ibrary7G <ohn 9aius)s treatise on the anti+uity of 9ambridge Fniversity 6:e

anti+uitate 9antabrigiensis $cademiae libri duo, %='07G <ohn ;oxes)s $cts and Monuments 6or the

3oo of Martyrs, %='&7, Henry Spelman)s 9oncilia, decreta, leges, constitiones 6%'@&7and $sser)s

#ife of Ding $lfred 6$elfredi regis res gestae 6%=2>7, all of hich contain Old English texts and

all of hich ere consulted and +uoted by Milton in the riting of his History of 3ritain.

It as a remarable feat for Milton to finish in his blindness and old age /he History of

3ritain, hich is exclusively devoted to period of the $ngloSaxons. It should also be pointed out

that this reliable and comprehensive account of early English history as the first of its ind ever

ritten in English. Early iters on that sub!ect, such as -ildas, 3ede, 4ennins and the medieval

chroniclers had only provided the ra materials for this history. Other anti+uaries and historians,

lie 5illiam 9amden, ;rancis 3acon, <ohn Hayard, <ohn Speed, and Caphael Holinshed, had

failed to produce the continuous narrative that as needed for a proper $ngloSaxon history. /hey

ere too preoccupied ith either minute details or particular characters to achieve an overvie of

of larger patterns that ould reveal the meaning of English history. Milton assimilated the

scholarship of his contemporary anti+uaries and Saxonists, and accomplished this difficult tas

singlehandedly.

$ccording to ;rench ;ogle, editor of /he History of 3ritain for the *ale edition, there ere

three boos hich Milton used extensively and relied heavily upon as his main sources. /he most

important one is $braham 5heeloc)s edition of 3ede)s 9hurch History 6%'>@7 hich also

containes the first edition of $ngloSaxon 9hronicle, both the Old English text and its #atin

translation, supplemented by 5illiam #ambarde)s $rchaionomia in a %'>> printing. /he other to

boos are the first volume of Henry Spelman)s 9oncilia 6%'@&7 and <ames Fssher)s :e remordiis

6or 3ritanniarum Ecclesiarum $nti+uitates, %'@&7, the former containing Old English materials

and both dealing exclusively ith the $ngloSaxon period.11 /he fre+uent usage of these boos

confirms the argument that Milton)s exposure to Old English as extensive.

/he to +uotations from 3oo B of /he History of 3ritain 6Item %(7 are indeed very

problematic8 On the one hand, they do clearly sho that Milton had difficulties in reading some

passages in the $ngloSaxon 9hronicle, but that is +uite normal, for even experts lie $braham

5heeloc and 5illiam 4icholson ould have the same problems. On the other hand, these to

+uotations provide textual evidence that Milton did try to or from the Old English text, contrary

to the claims of several critics that Milton never seemed to cast his eyes on the Old English text

hen reading 5heeloc)s boo.1@ Moreover, in the first +uotation, Milton)s frustration seems to

dell on the ambiguity of the narrative, rather than the language problem. $s ;ogle points out in

his note, later scholars ith expert noledge of Old English, ere also puled by the same

passages.1> In the second +uotation, Milton actually tells us that up to this point, the Old English

text has been "sober and succint," a positive indication that he could at least read some simpler

229omplete rose 5ors of Milton, Bol. B, art I 6/he History of 3ritain7. 4e Haven8 *ale Fniversity ress,

%&2%, pp. xxxvixxxvii.

23

<ames 5. Earl, for instance, claims in a posting to the $nsaxnet on $ugust 1@, %&&>8"He JMiltonK used5heloc)s 3ede ... I see no evidence at all that he ever turned his eyesmuch less his earto the OE side of the

page."



Old English texts. $nother telve long years ould have to pass before the publication of

aradise #ost,1= hy must e dismiss the possibility that Milton might have improved his

noledge of Old English during this period?

$fter becoming #atin Secretary of the 9ommonealth -overnment, especially after the

publication of ro opula $nglicano :efensio in ;ebruary %'=%, Milton en!oyed the international

reputation of a learned scholar, and he as at that time a celebrity in #odon)s scholarly circle

here those Saxonists and $nti+uaries fre+uented. Masson noted the extraordinary eagerness of

scholarly foreigners visiting #ondon in order to meet Milton, or to be introduced to him, in the

year of %'=%.1' $mong the numerous visitors as one -erman named 9hristopher $rnold,

afterards rofessor of History at 4uremberg, ho recorded such an intervie in a personal letter

dated #ondon, 2 $ugust %'=%.12 Here are some excerpts from the letter8

In #ondon I en!oy a familiar ac+uaintance ith the great Selden, ho, admitting me readily

into his on ellfurnished library, taes me also sometimes to certain gardens on the

/hames, here there are rare -ree and Coman inscriptions, stones, marbles8 the reading of

hich is actually lie vieing -reece and Italy at once ithin the bounds of -reat 3ritain.

;rom the 9ottonian library, of hich he has charge, he has several times let me have a sight

of important $ngloSaxon manuscriptsG and he spontaneously offered me letters of

recommendation to the Oxford #ibrarian, <ohn Couse, a man of the truest politeness. I have

besides formed a peculiar intimate ac+uaintance ith the $rchbishop of $rmagh, <ames

Fssher, rimate of all Ireland ... <ohn :urie has become my closest companion near

5estminster, a man, as you no, ho is affability itself, and ho is appointed eeper of

hat as formerly the Ding)s #ibrary in St. <ames)s alace ... I have very fre+uent

conversation ith him about the state of the ne Cepublic. /he strenuous :efender of the

same, Milton, entered readily into tal8 his style is pure and his riting most terse8 Of the old

English /heologians and their commentaries on the 3oos of Holy Scripture, the erudition

of hich I can attest, he seemed to me altogether to entertain a too harsh, if not an un!ust,

opinion ... ;rancis <unius,10 the relative of -erhard <ohn Bossius, and a most cultured man, is

24 9omplete rose 5ors of <ohn Milton, Bol. B, art I 6/he History of 3ritain7. 4e Haven8 *ale Fniversity

ress, %&2%, p. 10&, n. 2%.

25 Milton began the riting of /he History of 3ritain during the period from %'>= to %'>2. 3y March %'>&, hen

he as called to #atin Secretaryship, he had already finished the first four boos. /here as an approximately '

year brea, in hich he as too fully occupied ith public business and personal problems to or on the pro!ect.$ccording to Edard hillips, Milton resumed his or on /he History of 3ritain in %'==. /he first edition of

aradise #ost as published in %''2.

26 . :avid Masson, /he #ife of <ohn Milton, IB, %&'=, p.@=(.

27 . 9f. 5.C. arer, Milton8 $ 3iography, I, @0&. arer tells us that the letter as sent to $rnold)s friend, :r.

-eorge Cichter, Bice9hancellor of the Fniversity of $ltorf. He puts the date as %' <uly %'=%.

28 . ;rancis <unius 6%=0&%'227, philologist and anti+uity, as born at Heidelberg in %=0&. He studied philology

under -.<. Bossius, ho in %'(2 had married his sister, Eliabeth. In %'1%, <unius came to England, here he

entered the house of /homas Hoard, earl of $rundel, the celebrated collector, as librarian, and tutor to his son.

Since then, <unius devoted himself to the study of Old English and paid many visits to the 3odleian #ibrary atOxford. His principal publications include ":e ictura Beterum libri tres" 6%'@2, "/he rinting of the $ncients"7,

9amden 6%'==7, and Auatuor :.4. <esu 9hristi Evangeliorum 6%''=7. He returned to 4etherlands in %'=%, but in



no preparing for the press a -rammar of the $nglosaxon tongue and an $nglosaxon

:ictionary, and has told me all about his doings in the indest manner ...1&

;rom this letter, e can get a general picture of the scholarly circle in #ondon around %'=%. Most

significantly, it provides the valuable information about Milton)s ac+uaintance ith other scholars,

especially ;rancis <unius. /his ac+uaintance as confirmed by the correspondence beteen

<unius)s nephe and his friend Heinsius.

/he significance of Milton)s ac+uaintance ith <unius lies in the fact that the :utch scholar

discovered in %'=% the Old English manuscripts of -enesis, Exodus, :aniel, 9hrist and Satan,

hich ere instantly acclaimed as the 9aedmonian poems. /hey ere found in the library of

$rchbishop Fssher ,@( ho subse+uently gave the manuscripts 6thenceforth non as the <unius

MS7 to <unius as a gift. <unius printed the manuscripts under the title of 9aedmon in $msterdam

in %'==. Of these poems, -enesis@% bears a striing resemblance to Milton)s great epic, aradise

#ost. Hence the tantaliing +uestion hether Milton had been ac+uainted ith this Old English

religious epic.

I had the privilege of reading the facsimile edition of the <unius MS, /he 9aedmon

Manuscript of $ngloSaxon 3iblical oetry 6Oxford %&127 in the 3odleian #ibrary. 5hat

impressed me most as the fifteen artistically dran illuminations in the manuscript. Most of

these draings match Milton)s description in aradise #ost8 the fall of the rebel angels as

represented on page three of the original manuscript, ith the illumination divided into four

different parts. #ucifer appears in the first part as the $rchangel on the steps leading to an ornate

palace, holding a scepter in his left handG hile other angels pay homage to him, four of them

standing belo him hold crons in their hands in a symbolic gesture of #ucifer)s ambition. $ little

belo, 9hrist is seen banishing the rebel angels, ith three spears in hand. :on at the bottom,

Satan has fallen into the !a of Hell, hich as significantly represented as #eviathan in a lae of

fire "In $damantine 9hains and penal ;ire" 6.#. I >07G his angelic army, on the other hand,

tumble don after him from heaven,

Hurl)d headlong flaming from th) Ethereal Sy

5ith hideous ruin and combustion don

/o bottomless perdition ... 6. #. >=>27

%'2> he came to England again and in October %'2' retired to Oxford. <unius left all his $ngloSaxon manuscripts

and valuable philological collections to the 3odleian #ibrary. E.4. $dams regarded him as "the greatest Old Englishscholar in the seventeenth century" 6Old English Scholarship in England, %&2(, p.2(7.

29 . 9ited by :avid Masson in /he #ife of <ohn Milton, IB, %&'=, pp.@=(=%.

30 . See 9hristopher $rnold)s introduction of $rchbishop Fssher. /he $rchbishop as a ellnon anti+uary in

the seventeenth century, and he ept a large collection of Old English manuscripts. Fssher has ritten extensively

on the ecclesiastical history of England. Milton as heavily indebted to Fssher)s :e rimordiis 6:ublin, %'@&7

hen he as riting 3oos II and III of /he Hostory of 3ritain.

31 . /he Old English -enesis actually consists of to poems, both of hich are fragments. #ines %1@>, 0=11&@=

are non as -enesis $ 6c.2((7G lines 1@=0=% ere interpolated into the manuscript form the socalled -enesis 3,

hich as a %(thcentury translation of a &thcentury Old Saxon poem. /he -erman professor Edard Siever differentiated these to parts in :er Heliand und die $ngelsachsische -enesis 6%02=7, in vie of certain

characteristics of vocabulary, meter, and style. It has been hailed as a triumph of Old English scholarship.



/he image of rebel angels falling "headlong" into the !a of #eviathan recurs on page sixteen of

the manuscript. $nother striing detail of resemblance is represented in the illumination on page

nine of the original manuscript. Here e see a ladder reaching don from heaven to paradise, the

door of heaven is opened, shoing St. Michael ithin as chief of good angels, and the angelic host

on the right and left.@1 /his is exactly hat Milton)s Satan has seen on his ay to aradise8

... far distant he descries

$scending by degree magnificent

Fp to the all of Heaven a Structure high,

$t top hereof, but far more rich appera)d

/he or as of a Dingly alace -ate

5ith ;rontispiece of :iamond and -old

ImbellishtG ...

/he Stairs ere such as hereon <acob sa

$ngels ascending and descending, bands

Of -uardians bright ...

/he Stairs ere then let don, hether to dare

/he fiend be easy ascent, or aggravate

His sad exclusion from the doors of 3liss. 6.#. III =(%1=7

$lthough the "stairay reaching from earth to heaven" is a familiar biblical allusion, it occurs

rather late in the se+uence of the -enesis stories in Old /estament. Milton folloed the Old

English -enesis 3 in anticipating this episode this very act is suggestive of #ever)s assertion

that Milton must have non the content of <unius)s ne discovery. Bery probably, <unius had

shon the manuscript to Milton before he left for Holland. $fter all, the discovery of the

9aedmonian poems as a big event in the %2thcentury Old English scholarship, since it as the

"first purely literary interest in Old English," and as achieved by "the greatest of Old English

scholars."@@ Even if Milton ne nothing about Old English, these illuminations ith brief #atin

descriptions and, more important, ith <unius)s explanation, ould have left a graphic picture in

the deep layer of Milton)s mind.

$ll of the abovementioned arguments are based on the assumption that ;rancis <unius and

his 9aedmonian Manuscripts are the only sources from hich Milton could learn anything about

the Old English -enesis. 3ut that is apparently not the case.

Sir Israel -ollanc, the editor of the <unius Manuscripts facsimile edition, pointed out in

%&12 that there as a transcript copy of the <unius Manuscript made by 5illiam Somner, ept in

the library of 9anterbury 9athedral. $t the head of the manuscript, there ere to #atin notes in

Somner)s handriting 6Item & in the handouts78 /he first note tells us that the transcript as made

from a manuscript deposited in :)Ees) library, ith the title "-enesis in English" or "-enesis in

the Saxon language." /he second note indicates that the manuscript later ent to $rchbishop

32 . /he biblical allusion here is <acob)s dream at 3ethel, !ust after he had cheated Esau out of his father)s

blessing8"He dreamt that he sa a stairay reaching from earth to heaven, ith angels going up and coming don

on it" 6-enesis, 1(8 %17

33 . E.4. $dams, Old English Scholarship in England from %=''%0((, $rchon 3oos, %&2(, p.2(.



Fssher)s hand.@> /he to conflicting notes led -ollanc to speculate that either Fssher, having

secured the manuscript, lent it to :)Ees, and :)Ees did not tell Somner the fact that the

manuscript as a loan from the archbishopG or the manuscript originally belonged to :)ees, and

by some arrangement passed from :)es to Fssher before :)Ees) death in %'=(.

3.< /immer, in his introduction to the <unius Manuscripts, further revealed in %&>0 that the

:utch scholar <ohannes de #aet 6%=01%'>&7, Symondes :)Ees, and 5illiam Somner all +uoted

from this Old English poems liberally in their unpublished or published $ngloSaxon dictionaries.

#aet is non to have stayed for a short period of time beteen <anuary % and <anuary &, %'@2 at

the home of his brotherinla, Sir Edard oell, Master of Ce+uests, ho lived in :ean)s yard,

5estminster. :)Ees obviously had the manuscript in his on library. $nd Somner, in the preface

to :ictionarium Saxonico#atino$nglicum 6%'=&7, acnoledged both $rchbishop Fssher and

;rancis <unius for their generous helps in lending him the 9aedmonian and other manuscripts,

including 3ede)s Historia Ecclesiastica.@=

So besides ;rancis <unius, the :utch scholar ith the manuscript of the 9aedmonian poems

in his hand, e have at least three other people, #aet, :)Ees and Somner, ho ne the

existence of this manuscripts, and ho ere capable of reading the Old English poems. 4ot to

mention the former oner of the manuscript, $rchbishop Fssher and their Saxonist mutual friends

lie <ohn Selden and 5illiam :ugdale. /aing these factors into consideration, Milton had a

pretty good chance to learn the content of the 9aedmonian poems from one of his friends in the

scholarly circle during the period beteen mid%'>()s and late %'=()s.

Moreover, as 3ishop 4icholas implied in his letter to 5anley in %2(', there might have been

some unsatisfactory or inaccurate #atin translations of the Old English -enesis existing in

Milton)s life time. In the same letter e also learn that most of the 9aedmonian poems had already

been translated in piecemeal into #atin by ;rancis <unius himself in the +uotations of his $nglo

Saxon dictionary,@' as is the case ith the dictionaries of #aet, :)Ees, and Somner.

I am not prepared to solve all these mysteries in this paper, but I do ant to argue here that

Old English literature has exerted significant influence on Milton, either directly or indirectly,

through socalled literary tradition. In a famous critical essay, "/radition and the Individual

/alent", /.S. Eliot placed great emphasis on the ubi+uitous significance of literary tradition8

4o poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his

appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists. *ou cannot

value him aloneG you must set him, for contrast and comparison, among the dead. .@2

/his is especially true of Milton, a learned scholar hose imagination derived mainly from his

reading.

34Sir Israel -ollanc. /he 9aedmon Manuscript of $ngloSaxon 3iblical oetry. Oxford8 Oxford Fniversity

ress, %&12, pp. xivxv. /he English translations of the to notes are mine.

35 3.<. /immer. /he #ater -enesis. Oxford8 /he Scrivener ress, %&>0, pp.0%(.

36

Sharon /urner. History of the $ngloSaxons. @rd ed., vol.III, %0>(, p.&0'.

37 . Haard $dams ed. 9ritical /heory Since lato, Harcourt 3race <ovanovich, Inc., %&2%, p. 20>.



In the idest sense, tradition denotes any established patterns of thought, action, or behavior

hich is available for the riter to study and learn from. 3y the English literary tradition, e

actually mean the literary forms, motifs, devices, and various other conventions that are typical of

English poets riting in the native language before or during Milton)s time. /hese conventional

touches are numerous in Milton)s poetic creation.

/he complexity of literary influence can be illustrated by the internal evidence from a sample

of Milton)s great epic. In a striing scene in 3oo one of aradise #ost, Satan, nely aaen

form his stupor after the fall, is surveying the fearful scene of his defeated army floating on the

#ae of ;ire8

... on the 3each

Of that inflamed Sea, he stood and call)d

His #egions, $ngel ;orms, ho lay intrans)t

/hic as $utumnal #eaves that stro the 3roos

In Ballombrosa, here th) Etrurian shades

High overarch)t imbo)rG or scatter)d sedge

$float, hen ith fierce 5inds Orion armed

Hath vent the CedSea 9oast, hose aves o)erthre

3usiris and his Memphian 9hivalry,

5hile ith perfidious hatred they pursu)d

/he So!ourners of -oshen, ho beheld

;rom the safe shore thir floating 9arcasses

$nd broen 9hariot 5heels, so thic bestron

$b!ect and lost lay these, covering the ;lood,

Fnder amaement of thir hideous change. 6.#. I 1&&@%@7

/he horrible picture is made vivid by the biblical allusion of the haraoh)s army perishing in "the

CedSea" and other classical images such as "$ngel ;orms" lay "/hic as $utumnal #eaves," and

"ith fierce 5ind Orion armed"@0, etc., all these allusions and images helping to construct a

military context hich emphasies essentially the sorry plight of Satan)s fallen legions after the

decisive battle in heaventhe "floating 9arcasses," "broen 9hariot 5heels," and "9herub and

Seraph roling in the ;lood N 5ith scatter)d $rms and Ensigns" 6.#. I @1>1=7.

/hough plainly a biblical allusion, such vivid details are nohere to be seen in the Old

/estament@&, hereas a parallel description is found in the Old English poem Exodus, here the

poet)s graphic account of the same event reminds us of the Miltonic scene8

Candbyrig Pron rofene, Codor sipode

meredeaQa mPst, modige sulton,

cyningas on corQre, cyre siQrode

38. In Inferno, III %%1%>, :ante compared the numberless spirits in Hell as autumn leaves, and according to

9.M. 3ora 6;rom Birgil to Milton, 1>(>%7, Homer, Birgil and /asso all employed this image in their poems.

39

. 9f. Exodus8"/he ater returned and covered the chariots, the drivers, and all the Egyptian army that hadfolloed the Israelites into the sea8 not one of them as left" 6107G " ... the Israelites sa them lying dead on the

seashore" 6@(7.



sPs Pt ende. 5igbord scion

heah ofer hPleQum, MPgen Ps on cealme

fPste gefeterod, forQganges eg

searum PsPled, sand basnodon,

itodre fyrde, honre aQema stream,

sincalda sP, sealtum yQum

Pflastum geuna ece staQulas,

nacud nydboda, neosan come,

fah feQegast, se Qe feondum geneop. 6<unius %%8 Exodus >'>2'7

J/he shielding ramparts ere rent apart. /he mightiest deathdealing sea lashed the sy

bold men perished, ings in their pompthe sea)s recession finally failed. High above the

men the shield gleamedG the ocean rampart, the moody sirl of the sea,

toered aloft8 their might as trapped fast in death. Sands caused the samping of the

passage ahead, entangled ith accoutrements, and of the army)s route of attac hen

the sirling of the aters, the sea ever chill ith its salty aves, came from its

deviant ays seeing its onted state, its eternal foundationsa naed portended of

distress, a hostile vagrant thing, hich stranded the aggressors.K 6S.$.<. 3radley)s

translation7

It is not absolutely important hether Milton might have or have not read the <unius MS of the

poem>(, for anything traditional, once established, ill often be tried and is constantly returned to.

/he chilling scene of "floating carcasses" upon angry aves, ith shields gleaming over the dead

bodies duly recurred in #ayamon)s 3rut, another long English poem composed at the beginning of

the %@th century. In one of the most ellnon passages in this or, Ding $rthur imagines his

defeated enemy, 3aldulf 6not unlie Milton)s SatanL7, looing don at his arriors lying dead

upon the river $von8

4u he stant on hulle ond $vene bihaldeth,

Hu ligeth i than straeme stelene fisces

Mid seorde bigeorede. Heore sund is aemmedG

Heore scalen leoteth sulc goldfage sceldes,

/her fleoteth heore spiten sulc hit spaeren eoren.

69aligula MS8 3rut, %('@&>@7

J4o he stands on a hill and loos into the $von, seeing ho steel fishes lie in that stream,

girt ith sord. /heir simming is spoiledG their scales gleam lie goldplated shields, their fish

spines float there as if they ere spears.K>%

40 . <.5. #ever suggested in "aradise #ost and the $ngloSaxon /radition" 6CES, RRIII, %&>2, &2%('7 that

Milton might have learnt from <unius about his discovery of this manuscript hen they ere close ac+uaintances in

#ondon in %'=%. I shall return to this +uestion later in this chapter.

41 Auoted and translated by <.$. 3urro in Medieval 5riters and /heir 5or. Oxford8 /he Fniversity ress,

%&01.



/he poerful metaphor of the steel fishes in these remarable lines raise an echo to the gleaming

shields in the Old English Exodus and the "floating carcasses" in Milton)s aradise #ost.

/he hale is another conventional image of Satan)s "devilish art". 5hen Milton first presents

Satan in this long poem, he depicts the :evil ith an image of #eviathan, ith its huge body lie

an island, enticing the eary seamen8

... or that seabeast

#eviathan, hich -od of all his ors

9reated hugest that sim th) ocean stream8

Him haply slumbering on the 4oray foam

/he pilot of some small nightfoundered siff,

:eeming some island, oft, as seamen tell,

5ith fixed anchor in his scaly rind

Moors by his side under the lea, hile night

Invests the sea, and ished morn delays... 6.#. I 1(((07>1

/his image of #eviathan is often misinterpreted by critics as representing Satan)s greatness, yet

both the image and the language here are directly parallel to the allegorical Old English poem ,

hysiologus, hich is meant to be a arning against the delusiveness of Satan and the danger of

trusting his false appearance of greatness. <.H. itman first pointed to Milton)s indebtedness to the

Old English hysiologus. $fter comparing the particular expressions in both poems, he concluded

that the "strong resemblance in handling and in poetic tone" mae a real probability that Milton

had seen the OE version.>@ 4evertheless, if Milton had no access to the Old English poem, the

poet could still model on /he 3estiary, a Middle English version of the hysiologus.

/he ambivalent martial image of Satan in aradise #ost has given rise to more

misunderstandings. 5ith his ma!estic appearance and enormous eapons, Satan poses as a

classical epic hero. It is often believed that the "uncon+uerable 5ill" 6I, %('7 of Satan and his

rebel angels has something to do ith the spirit of the uritan revolutionaries. In Milton and the

Martial Muse 6%&0(7, <.$. ;reeman still holds the notion that the military behavior of the rebel

angels is by all standards exemplary and it might ell be applied to Oliver 9romell and his 4e

Model $rmy.>> *et he is certainly rong to claim that Milton)s treatment of the rebel angels as

"arriors" is "innovative," and there as "no significant predecessor.">=

3y representing Satan and his folloers as pagan arriors, Milton has actually invoed a

uni+ue convention in earlier English literature. Spenser)s Sans brothers are all giants "armed to the

42. In 3oo Seven of .#., hen Caphael tells $dam about the creation of the orld, the description of the

hale is repeated8

...there #eviathan

Hugest of living creatures, on the deep

Stretched lie a promontory sleeps or sims,

$nd seems a moving land... 6BII >%1%=7

43 . <.H. itman, "Milton and the hysiologus," Modern #anguage 4otes, Bol. >(, %&1=.

44

<.$. ;reeman, Milton and the Martial Muse. rinceton, 4<8 rinceton Fniversity ress, %&0(, pp.1(01(&.

45 Ibid. pp.'&, '@.



point" ith mighty eaponsG #angland)s Satan is also represented as a "night"69, II, %(07, ho

!ousts against 9hrist in Hirusalem by the deputy of a pagan night named #onginus 69, RRII7G the

OE religious epic $ndreas repeatedly addresses the pagan folloers of the :evil as "heroes"

6haeleth, =(7, "arriors" 6duguth, %12(7, and "thanes" 6pegnas, >@7G and in the OE -enesis 3, the

poet describes Satan)s deputy preparing to set off for the temptation of man as if he is on a military

expedition8

$nhan hine a gyran godes andsaca,

fus on frPtun, 6hPfde fPcne hyge7,

hPle helm on heafod asett and one full heard geband,

spenn mid spangum ... 6-enesis 3, >>1>=7

J/hen -od)s enemy began to arm, to put on his ar gear. He had a ily heart. He placed on

his head the helmet of darness, fastened the bucles, and bound it firm.K

$ll of these satanic figures are fierce arriors and are physically strong, assuming a moc heroic

stance. 5ith this in perspective, it is not at all surprising that Satan should appear in aradise #ost

as a arrior figure.

In comparison, the martial sill of the good angels and saintly figures lie Milton)s St.

Michael and $bdiel, are at best e+ual to that of the demonic forces. /hey prevail over their enemy,

not so much relying upon their strength and eapons as upon their unavered faith to -od.

$ndreas, for instance, is hailed in the Old English poem as one of the "telve renoned

arriors... N #ord)s thanes" 61@7, but the "battlehardened arrior" is destined not to fight literally,

but to pray, to exercise his patience and suffer the cruel atrocity of the Mermedonians in a

dignified manner, !ust as the young arriors, <esus 9hrist, does in /he :ream of the Cood. 5ith

his mighty sord, -uthlac is no less a heroic figure, but e are clearly told that he, too, is

applying passive contemplation. 3eing a miles spiriti, -uthlac remains as "a arrior, fighting for

-od in his heart" 6sa sceal orette a in his mod N gode campian," @>>@>=7. /he heroic pattern

here is distinctively different from the one in either classical epic or medieval romance. It

embraces both the active and passive modes of fortitude, recogniing martial potency hile giving

primal emphasis to the patience of suffering and obedience to -od. /his provides a clue to the

heroic pattern in aradise #ost, hich is neither a celebration of physical strength nor a pompous

display of lethal arms.

/he moral of this "better fortitude" is reflected in $dam)s speech near the end of Milton)s

long epic8

Henceforth I learn, that to obey is best,

$nd love ith fear the only -od , to al

$s in his presence, ever to observe

His providence, and on him sole depend,

Merciful over all his ors, ith good

Still overcoming evil, and by small

$ccomplish great things, by things deem)d ea

Subverting orldly strong, and orldly ise



3y simply mee... 6.#., RII ='%'&7

:espite his destructive martial potency, Satan remains in essence impotent. It is -od)s poer

that is truly omnipotent. aradoxically,the moral reality behind Satan)s habitual display of might is

nothing but frailty. In the very act of rebelling against -od, Satan has actually dissociated his

strength from its proper source, thus reducing himself to eaness and infirmity. Caphael is

certainly right hen he points out8

;or strength from /ruth divided and from <ust,

Inlaudable, naught merits but dispraise

$nd ignominie, yet to glorie aspires

Bainglorious... 6.#. BI @0%0>7

Milton himself in aradise Cegained ridicules Satan)s "vain" ostentation of "fleshly arm, and

fragile arms" 6.C. III @027.

/hus, by comparing the heroic theme in aradise #ost ith the Old English religious poems,

e arrive at the conclusion that Satan)s ponderous shield and mighty spear are not symbols of his

heroism, but merely the "cumbersome #uggage of ar" hich presents an "argument of ... human

eaness rather than of strength" 6.C., III >(%(17.

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