The details of the life of Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf (flourished 8th or 9th century) are shrouded in mystery. What is known is that he was one of the earliest religious poets and wrote beautiful verses steeped in Christian belief.

Old English poetry can be identified in one of two styles: the Heroic, which is based in pre-Christian Germanic myth; and the Christian, which paraphrases biblical narrative in verse. Although very little of the Old English poetry survives, what does exist is considered by authorities to be of high literary quality. Christian poetry began to appear around the 7th century, with Caedmon and the subsequent school of Caedmon style. Cynewulf is recognized as the second Anglo-Saxon poet to write Old English Christian verse.

A Sketchy History

Cynewulf flourished around the mid-8th or early 9th century around the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria or Mercia. There are two schools of...