In the edge of the ocean. Their armor shone
High over the hosts. Over the haughty ones poured
The stream in its strength. Destroyed were the troop
470 And fettered fast; they could find no escape.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Egyptians were
For that day's work deeply punished,
Because not any of the army ever came home;
Of that mighty multitude there remained not a one
510 Who could tell the tale of the traveling forth
Who could announce in the cities the sorrowful news
To the wives of the warriors of the woeful disaster.
But the sea-death swallowed the sinful men,
And their messengers too, in the midst of their power,
515 And destroyed their pride, for they strove against God.

299. Moses has just finished telling the children of Israel that he has
been able to make the sea part its waves so that they may walk across
unharmed.

307, 308. This passage is obscure in meaning.

310. The tribe of Judah lead the way. They are followed by the tribe of
Reuben (v. 331) and then by the tribe of Simeon (v. 340). This order
is perhaps taken from Numbers, chapter ii.

331. The Children of Israel are called "sailors" in the poem, but no
satisfactory explanation has been made of the usage.

335, 336. See Genesis 49:4.

354. This refers to God's promise to Abraham. See Genesis 15:18; 22:17.

2. CYNEWULF AND HIS SCHOOL

[Aside from Caedmon's Hymn, the only Old English poems whose author we
know are four bearing the name of Cynewulf, _Christ_, _Juliana_, _Elene_,
and _The Fates of the Apostles_. In these he signs his name by means of
runes inserted in the manuscript. These runes, which are at once letters
of the alphabet and words, are made to fit into the context. They are
[image: Anglo-Saxon runes: cen,yr,nyd,eoh,wynn,ur,lagu,feoh]

Several other poems have been ascribed to Cynewulf, especially _Andreas_,
_The Dream of the Rood_, _Guthlac_, _The Phoenix_, and _Judith_. Except
for internal evidence there is no proof of the authorship of these poems.
The Riddles were formerly thought to be by Cynewulf, but recent scholars
have, with one notable exception, abandoned that theory.

Many reconstructions of the life of Cynewulf have been undertaken. The
most reasonable theories seem to be that he was Cynewulf