SOURCE: Lucas, Peter J. “Judith and the Woman Hero.” Yearbook of English Studies 22 (1992): 17-27.

In the following essay, Lucas maintains that the character of Judith in the Old English poem transcends interpretations of her as a seductress, virgin beauty, and figure of the church, claiming that she illustrates the theme of the power of faith that could not have been achieved in a male hero.

Who yaf Judith corage or hardynesse To sleen hym Olofernus in his tente, And to deliveren out of wrecchednesse The peple of God?(1) 

According to Christina of Markyate Judith, the chaste widow celebrated for her victory over the devil of lust, was a particular favourite of the Virgin Mary,² and the story has proved popular amongst religious artists.³ The role of Judith has been interpreted in at least three ways.

(a) She is a seductress whose use of her feminine charms is a...