Juliana

work by Cynewulf

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Last updated

June 29, 2026

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Juliana is a 731-line Old English poem attributed to the 9th-century author Cynewulf. The poem is preserved in the Exeter Book and is based on a Latin prose life of Saint Juliana.1

The narrative recounts the story of Saint Juliana, a maiden who refused the advances of a Roman prefect named Eleusius due to her Christian faith. Consequently, she endured numerous tortures. While the poem is not considered highly original, it incorporates vivid imagery from everyday Old English life and the Germanic epic tradition to describe events, and Cynewulf applied principles of Latin rhetoric to ensure clarity and narrative progression.1

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Cynewulf
…also called Christ II) and Juliana are in the Exeter Book. An epilogue to each poem, asking for prayers for the author, contains runic characters representing the letters c, y, n, (e), w, u, l, f, which are thought to spell his name. A rhymed passage in the Elene shows…
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…also called Christ II) and Juliana are in the Exeter Book. An epilogue to each poem, asking for prayers for the author, contains runic characters representing the letters c, y, n, (e), w, u, l, f, which are thought to spell his name. A rhymed passage in the Elene shows…
Read More