TALE,” and “The WIFE OF BATH’S TALE.” Claims have
also been made for a link between Áns saga bogsveigis, a
fornaldarsögur Norøurlanda saga surviving from the
15th century and the Middle English ROBIN HOOD BAL-
LADS. While these are inconclusive, other investigations
have revealed possible connections between the stan-
zaic form and parts of PIERS PLOWMAN.
The lack of surviving information about the belief
system of pre-Christian England means that the Eddas
and the sagas will continue to be used as resources to
make up the defi ciency, but in some ways the work
that is being done to fi nd links between this material
and Middle English literature promises to open up
more fruitful avenues of inquiry.
FURTHER READING
Clover, Carol, and John Lindow, eds. Old Norse-Icelandic
Literature: A Critical Guide. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press and Medieval Academy of America, 2005.
Fjalldal, Magnús. Anglo-Saxon England in Icelandic Medieval
Texts. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005.
Hollander, Lee M., trans. The Poetic Edda. 2nd ed. Austin:
University of Texas Press, 1962.
Hreinsson, Viðar, gen. ed. The Complete Sagas of Icelanders.
5 vols. Reykjavík: Leifur Eiríksson, 1997.
Hughes, Shaun F. D., trans. “The Saga of Án bowbender.”
In Medieval Outlaws: Twelve Tales in Modern Translation,
edited by Thomas H. Ohlgren, 290–337. West Lafayette,
Ind.: Parlor Press, 2005.
McTurk, Rory. Chaucer and the Norse and Celtic Worlds. Bur-
lington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2005.
Taylor, Paul Beekman. Sharing Story: Medieval Norse-English
Literary Relationships. New York: AMS Press, 1998.
Shaun F. D. Hughes
“OLD WOMAN OF BEARE, THE” ANONY-
MOUS (800 C.E.) “The Old Woman of Beare” is unti-
tled and anonymous in the fi ve manuscripts in which
it survives. The length of the poem varies in the manu-
scripts with the longest being 35 STANZAs. In all ver-
sions, the stanzas are four lines long. The poet employs
the Celtic meter deibide, in which a stressed syllable
rhymes with an unstressed syllable. The poem is a
LAMENT and, perhaps, the best and certainly the most
famous of the early Irish lyrics that have survived.
In Irish, the titular character is Cailleach Bhéarra. No
doubt exists that Beare is a place name for a peninsula
in County Cork. Cailleach, however, may be translated
as “hag,” “old woman,” or, in a Christian setting, as
“nun.” In Irish and Scottish Gaelic mythology, Cail-
leach Bhéarra is a female divinity, goddess of the land
and of sovereignty, who has seen seven ages of youth
and old age. This role has some bearing on the poem,
but the character primarily functions as an ancient nun
who has endured endless cycles of youth and age. She
repeatedly mentions the ebb and fl ow of the tide. The
old woman also uses the name Bui; it could be her own
name or another place name.
Whatever the character’s name, she laments her lost
youth, her long-gone friends, and her former life. Like
the Wanderer in the Old English ELEGY, the narrator of
this lament becomes religious after having outlived
earthly friends and lovers. Thus, we can see the age-old
theme of transience. Unlike BOETHIUS, who turned to
philosophy, the nun has turned to religion to provide
her consolation. She contrasts her youth with its glo-
ries and passion with the suffering and hardships of
old age. She had relationships with kings and lords in
days gone by spent conversing and drinking in the
mead hall. Now she lives in a dark and lonely cell. Fine
clothes, high station, and good looks have been
replaced by a threadbare shift and gray hair. Her eyes
are failing her, if she is not blind already. The poem
repeatedly mentions her drinking ale, beer, and wine
in her youth; now she has a cup of whey. Thus, we see
her mingling the sacred with the profane. She recounts
her sins and regrets the loss of the circumstances that
had given rise to them.
Nevertheless, the narrator still has one thing remain-
ing to her—the Irish virtue of generosity. Here the
lament gains its true staying power over the ages. The
nun welcomes her new lord Christ to visit her. She
cannot offer Christ anything else but her body. In mak-
ing this offer, she weaves together aestheticism and
sensuality when, as a “Bride of Christ,” she invites
Christ to enter her bed chamber. And she readily
admits that she has not said “no” to any man before.
This sexual element fi ts in with Cailleach Bhéarra’s
mythological role of vegetative fertility. This offer pro-
vides a sly and subtle turn, the connotations of which
add life and dynamism to the poem. While the Old
Woman of the lament may be a nun, she is still a300 “OLD WOMAN OF BEARE, THE”