J udith

Abstract

The Old English Judith , which survives in a single and fragmentary manuscript (London, BL, Cotton Vitellius A.xv, folios 202 r –9 v ), offers readers one of the most complex, dynamic, and controversial heroines in Anglo‐Saxon literature. Composed in the alliterative verse form characterizing all Old English poetry, Judith relates the story of a Hebrew woman who ultimately conquers an Assyrian army, by first decapitating the drunken general Holofernes and then leading her fellow Bethulians to their victorious battle. Though based loosely on chapters xii–xvi of the Book of Judith , the poem is best appreciated on its own terms as a richly energetic text produced in dialogue with multiple religious and cultural traditions.