Anonymous, Judith

Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error
Judith

is an Old English narrative poem that adapts into the medium of Germanic heroic verse the Old Testament story (apocryphal in Protestant tradition) of the Bethulian widow Judith, who saves her people by daringly going to the camp of the besieging Assyrian army, accompanied only by a maid-servant, and there succeeds in killing the Assyrian leader Holofernes. Judith uses her seductive powers to get Holofernes drunk and then beheads him in his tent before making her escape back to the city of Bethulia. The discovery that their leader is dead causes confusion among the Assyrians, who retreat in disorderly flight. The biblical book ends with Judith’s hymn of praise to the Lord and with celebration among the people for their victory and deliverance.

The Old English poem survives

1498 words

Citation: Magennis, Hugh. "Judith". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 September 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=22976, accessed 19 March 2024.]

22976 Judith 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.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.