By Claire Davies (Fall 2022)
The Old English poem Judith is an adaptation of the Book of Judith, located in the Old Testament of Catholic Bibles as well as the Septuagint. Judith’s author is unknown; however, the poem is found in the same manuscript as Beowulf, so the two texts’ anonymous authors may be the same. Judith is believed to be written around 1000, during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. With strong themes of heroism, bravery, determination, and faith, it is reasonable to believe that Judith was written as a model and source of motivation and inspiration for Anglo-Saxons during a time of war and division. Either implicitly or explicitly, literature tends to reflect the current world around its author. While Judith’s plot comes largely from a pre-existing text, the author altered its contents to emphasize specific elements to better engage with and relate to its audience.
The poem opens with a short, incomplete passage that introduces the reader to Judith’s devoted faith in God and unwavering trust in His care. Judith is a courageous young woman from Bethulia, a Jewish city under attack by the Assyrians. Judith then names an Assyrian king, Holofernes, and explains that he is hosting a grand feast attended by all his knights. As the night went on, Holofernes and the knights ate, laughed, and drank copious amounts of wine, something the king was known to do. After the feast had come to a drunken close, Holofernes ordered his knights to bring Judith to him. Four days before Holofernes’ grand dinner, Judith ventured to meet and charm the king. Her beauty captivated Holofernes, and he wished to see her again and hoped to seduce her. As instructed, the knights promptly brought Judith to Holofernes’ chambers, where Holofernes quickly collapsed into his bed and fell drunkenly asleep.
Seeing an opportunity to rid her city of the leader of their torment, Judith retrieves Holofernes’ sword and begins to pray. She asks God for mercy, protection, success, and forgiveness for the beheading she plans to carry out. Immediately after her prayer, Judith stands over the king’s bed, grabs the sleeping Holofernes by his hair, and slices through half of his neck, not quite killing him. Judith’s second cut was more intense than the first, detaching Holofernes’ head entirely from his body. The poem describes Holofernes as soulless and explains that his spirit now resides in hell, where it will suffer for eternity.
Judith placed Holofernes’ decapitated head into a sack her servant had retrieved for her. The two women then set off, sack in hand, to triumphantly return to Bethulia. When they arrived at the gates to the city, Judith called for some of the city’s soldiers to meet her and allow her through quickly. Still outside of the gates, Judith informed the guards and warriors that God was merciful and that they were to be victorious over the Assyrians who had long oppressed them and their city. Judith’s announcement was heard from within the city, and all citizens of Bethulia were ecstatic at the news of her return. In great numbers, they welcomed her home. Promptly, Judith asked her servant to retrieve Holofernes’ head from the sack and display it to the city. She then addresses all people of Bethulia with a comforting and motivating speech.
Explaining that she, through God’s grace, killed the man that most conspired against them, Judith commanded all of Bethulia’s warriors to prepare for battle against the Assyrians. She explains that without their king, the Assyrians would be lost and stand no chance against the brave, faithful, and empowered people of Bethulia, who were ready for revenge. Wasting no time, the soldiers readied for battle and advanced quickly to the Assyrians’ fortress. The poem then illustrates an image of a wolf and raven watching with pleasure, knowing they will soon be able to devour the deceased soldiers. Unafraid, Bethulia’s soldiers began to kill the Assyrians. The Assyrians frantically spread the news of the attack and awoke the knights who had fallen asleep guarding Holoferne’s chamber. Imagining that Judith and Holofernes would still be asleep together in bed, the soldiers were terrified to dare to wake their king with the news. Finally, after much hesitation, one soldier entered Holofernes’ bedroom only to find Holofernes dead. The soldier is overcome with grief and terror and announces the death to his peers. He explains that they, too, are doomed to die at the hands of the Hebrew army.
After their victory, the people of Bethulia celebrated and awarded Judith for her bravery with the sword, helmet, and armor of Holofernes. She was also showered in jewelry, gems, trinkets, and heirlooms. Judith concludes with Judith thanking God for all He granted to her and Bethulia. The poem explains that because of Judith’s unwavering belief in God, she and her city were met with God’s grace and granted victory. Judith always believed they would be victorious as she had prayed many times for their success and trusted God and His power.
Judith is considered a fragment poem as its beginning is missing from the manuscript which houses the text. Because it is unknown how much of the poem is missing, Judith could be nearly complete or only a portion of a much larger piece. Like much of Old English poetry, Judith is written in alliterative verse. Alliterative verse relies heavily on alliteration as a fundamental aspect of the text. Throughout the poem, Judith uses alliteration to call attention to important adjectives, typically ones describing vital characters in the story. Phrases such as “loathed leader” (Judith, line 51) and “rich ruler” (Judith, line 46) guide the reader to a specific view of Holofernes, one that believes he is a monstrous enemy. In addition to the poem’s alliteration, Judith follows the metering pattern of a half-line followed by a caesura and then another half-line, typical in Old English poetry. The Old English alliterative verse genre strongly focuses on heroism, which grounds Judith’s story and lesson. Because texts of the genre usually focus upon heroism, the author’s choice to adhere very closely to the rules of Old English literature assists them in their goal of motivating and inspiring their audience through strong themes of bravery, represented both in the text itself and in the genre in which it appears.
Alongside containing strong themes of heroism, Judith explores gender in a way that redefines what heroes look like in Old English literature and pushes the boundary for what women are capable of doing and being. The socially constructed gender binary and its rules largely govern how a society functions and the ways its members exist and behave within its systems. How one is expected to appear and behave as well as their role and place in society, is significantly influenced by gender. Gender rules force individuals into a box, limit how they are allowed to define and express themselves, and restrict many from being treated justly and with respect. Gender rules are taught and policed beginning at a very young age in schools, families, workplaces, courthouses, medical practices, and media, among countless other locations. They are, therefore, deeply engrained into each individual. Studying patterns in the ways that gender plays a role in literature gives us a better understanding of how gender affects our perception of others and their assigned role in society. Usually written by men, Old English literature diminishes female characters’ importance or excludes women completely. Judith, however, features a strong, independent female protagonist. Judith strays away from the traditions of Old English literature by breaking gender norms through the descriptors used for men and women, the physicality and actions of the characters, and the redefining of what qualifies a true leader.
Throughout Judith, the adjectives used to describe Judith differ significantly from those used for Holofernes. Furthermore, the descriptions of Judith and Holofernes do not match the typical descriptions of men and women in Old English literature. Women in Old English texts are frequently portrayed as helpless damsels in distress who need a strong, brave man to save them. Judith is described as almost the complete opposite, and Holofernes does not receive the expected complimentary praise in the descriptions of his character despite being a man. Within the first 110 lines of the poem, Holofernes is referred to as a “hateful lord” (Judith, line 22), “hellish demon” (Judith, line 29), “cruel gold-king” (Judith, line 31), “rich ruler” (Judith, line 46), “loathed leader” (Judith, line 51), “evil enemy” (Judith, line 64), and “wicked one” (Judith, line 106). Such descriptions of a prominent male leader are not common in Old English texts. Virtue, strength, and courage are words often associated with male characters, aligning with the gender rule that states that men are strong and brave while women are weak and vulnerable. Holofernes is not described as the typical male hero in Judith; he is characterized as greedy, mean, and monstrous.
Judith, on the other hand, is illustrated as much more admirable. Judith is the “wisest of women” (Judith, line 57), a “mighty hand-maiden” (Judith, line 77), “bold in [her] daring” (Judith, line 136), “keen-witted” (Judith, line 150), “clever” (Judith, line 343), and a “triumphant lady” (Judith, line 111), who is awarded for her bravery. When describing Judith, the poem’s author does not adhere to the usual characterization of female characters, which includes solely mentioning their beauty or calling them weak, fragile, and afraid. Instead, Judith is assigned descriptors that are more often associated with men. While Judith is still referred to as beautiful, it is not her defining feature. Judith is intelligent, powerful, brave, and in control of her life. The descriptions of Judith show the reader that women can be strong mentally and physically. Judith’s use of negative adjectives for men and admirable ones for women goes against gender rules and what is traditionally seen in Old English literature.
Another way Judith breaks gender roles and strays from traditions of Old English literature is through the characters’ demeanor and physical actions. In many medieval texts, women are simply the prize for a virtuous knight who bravely completes a quest. In this sense, women are viewed as the property of men who need to be provided for by their husbands. In Old English literature, men hold all of the power in relationships and society, and women hold none. Such is not the case in Judith. Before severing Holofernes’ head, Judith is standing next to the bed on which Holofernes is sleeping. By doing so, Judith is physically towering over Holofernes, displaying her dominance and control. Unlike many female characters in the Old English genre, Judith refuses to obey gender rules and be submissive to the mistreatment caused by a man, no matter his status or how much power he holds. The physicality of Holofernes and Judith differs from many medieval texts in which men are physically and metaphorically above women and in control of them, not the other way around, as seen in Judith’s beheading scene.
The act of the beheading itself breaks gender rules and traditions of the genre. Society teaches women to be submissive to men and quiet and peaceful in everything they do. Because literature strongly reflects societal norms, it is unsurprising that most Old English texts feature women who do not play a prominent role in the plot and are primarily overlooked as passive side characters. Judith not only has a female protagonist and hero but a female protagonist that is actively participating in violence. The poem describes how Judith kills Holofernes and explains, “The wicked one she slew, / The curly-locked maiden with her keen-edged sword, / Smote the hateful-hearted one till she half cut through / Severing his neck, so that swooning he lay / Drunken and death-wounded. Not dead was he yet / Nor lifeless entirely: the triumphant lady / More earnestly smote the second time / The heathen hound, so that his head was thrown / Forth on the floor” (Judith, lines 106-114). The beheading scene is a prominent example of Judith executing physical power and violence, something many do not believe women are capable of possessing. Judith purposefully only cuts through half of Holofernes’ neck on the first strike, inflicting the most pain and suffering possible. Judith’s actions are brutal, violent, gory, and certainly not submissive or “lady-like.” Furthermore, Judith presents herself femininely, proving that masculinity is not necessary for strength or violence. Judith’s main character being a physically powerful and violent woman breaks gender rules and norms of Old English literature by displaying a feminine woman capable of actions usually associated with men.
Leadership within Judith also pushes the boundaries of gender expectations within medieval texts. A leader in many pieces of Old English literature would be a wealthy, high-status man in a position of power, such as a king. While Holofernes would qualify as a leader by such a definition, he is not one. The poem’s author clarifies that cruel, loathed, wicked, and evil people are not true leaders. It takes more than being a man in a position of power to be a leader. The poem’s protagonist, Judith, is not a man or in an official position of power and status, but she is a leader. A significant difference between the two characters regarding leadership is how they engage with their peers. After Holofernes’ feast had commenced, the poem describes how “The ignoble one ordered / The blessed maiden, burdened with jewels / Freighted with rings, to be fetched in all haste / To his hated bedside” (Judith, lines 36-37). Holofernes uses his power to demand things from his knights, such as that they bring Judith to him. There is little respect shown to them by their king; they are simply a means through which Holofernes gets what he desires.
Judith, on the other hand, addresses her peers much differently. When explaining to the city of Bethulia that she has killed Holofernes and that they are to prepare to attack the Assyrians, she does so in an empowering way. Judith says to them, “Now I give commands / To you citizens bold, you soldiers brave-hearted, / Protectors of the people, to prepare one and all / Forthwith for the fight” (Judith, lines 191-194). Judith concludes with, “Your foes are all / Doomed to the death, and dearly-won glory / Shall be yours in battle, as the blessed Creator / This mighty Master, through me has made known” (Judith, lines 200-203). Although Judith and Holofernes both use the word “command,” she accompanies it with comforting words and compliments. Judith tells her peers that they are brave and bold and should be confident in themselves and God. Judith motivates her peers and does not view herself as above any of them but as one with them. Judith is a woman speaking to a crowd of men and women who are listening to and trusting her because she treats them with respect. She empowers them to be leaders themselves, unlike Holofernes, whose men completely give up and shut down when there is no one to tell them what to do. Judith shows the reader that a leader does not just make demands but collaborates and moves with kindness and compassion. Not only does the poem illustrate what authentic leadership looks like, it proves that women can be proactive leaders, a concept not explored within many Old English texts as it breaks gender rules which claim women must keep to themselves and are weak and in need of saving.
Although composed hundreds of years ago, Judith and its display of gender is a source of inspiration not only for people at the time of the poem’s conception but also those in the present society. It is likely that Judith, during the period it was written, worked to demonstrate to its readers the importance of strength, bravery, determination, community, and persistence in all people during war and conflict. Reading Judith today, however, forces one to confront how one’s perception of gender affects who one believes is capable of such qualities and actions. Judith breaks gender rules through her qualities, physical strength, actions, and leadership. The poem encourages its modern reader to view gender differently and understand that all people are capable of and allowed to be strong, brave, and wise. Judith’s breaking of gender roles can also serve to empower current women and help them understand that, despite what society tells them, they can be who they want to be, be in control of their own life and decisions, and make an impact on the world around them.
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