Anonymous, Daniel

Philip A. Shaw (The University of Leicester)
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As it stands, the Old English

Daniel

is a poem of just over 760 lines (preserved in Oxford, Bodleian Library, Junius 11), paraphrasing the opening parts of the biblical book of Daniel. The poem opens with a brief section accounting for the Babylonian defeat of the Israelites in terms of the latter’s misbehaviour, before following the biblical account of the spoliation of the temple, Nebuchadnezzar’s education of young Israelites, including Ananias, Misael and Azarias, and the failure of the Babylonian wise-men to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream, which Daniel successfully interprets. The poem goes on to recount Nebuchadnezzar’s creation of an idol in the plain of Dura, which Ananias, Misael and Azarias then fail to worship, causing Nebuchadnezzar to have them cast into a…

1032 words

Citation: Shaw, Philip A.. "Daniel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 April 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24336, accessed 28 March 2024.]

24336 Daniel 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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