The Husband's Message

E503408

The Husband's Message is an Old English lyric poem in which an exiled husband sends a wooden staff bearing runic symbols to summon his wife to join him across the sea.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
The Husband’s Message 3
The Husband's Message canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Old English poem
exile poem
lyric poem
addresseeRole wife
approximateDateOfComposition 10th century
approximateDateOfManuscript late 10th century
contains runic passage
countryOfOrigin England
form monologue
genre elegiac poetry
lyric poetry
invitesAction wife should cross the sea to join her husband
language Old English
literaryCategory Exeter Book elegy
linked to: Exeter Book
literaryDevice prosopopoeia
literaryPeriod Old English literature
literarySignificance important example of Old English love and exile poetry
manuscriptRepository Exeter Cathedral Library
manuscriptShelfmark MS 3501
mediumOfMessage wooden staff
meter Old English alliterative meter
motif messenger
runic inscription
wooden staff
narrativeVoice first person
originalScript Insular minuscule
plotSummary An exiled husband sends a wooden staff bearing runic symbols to summon his wife to join him across the sea.
primaryManuscript Exeter Book
protagonistRole exiled husband
relatedWork The Wife's Lament
linked to: The Wife’s Lament
scholarlyDebate The identity of the speaker is debated.
The relationship between this poem and The Wife's Lament is debated.
linked to: The Wife’s Lament
scholarlyField Old English studies
setting exile in a foreign land
sea voyage
studiedIn medieval English literature courses
theme exile
journey over the sea
loyalty
marital fidelity
reunion
separation of lovers
usesRunes true
writtenInVerseForm alliterative verse

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Anglo-Saxon literature notableWork The Husband's Message
Exeter Book content The Husband’s Message
linked to: The Husband's Message
Codex Exoniensis contains The Husband's Message
MS 3501 contains The Husband’s Message
linked to: The Husband's Message
Wulf and Eadwacer relatedWork The Husband’s Message
linked to: The Husband's Message