Andreas is an anonymous Old English poem of 1,722 lines, preserved solely in the Vercelli Book, a tenth-century anthology of religious prose and verse likely compiled in England before being transported to Italy. The poem recounts the story of Saint Andrew the Apostle, drawing on the apocryphal legend from The Acts of Andrew and Matthew in the City of the Anthropophagi (the Cannibals), a Greek work dating from around the 4th century. It is believed to be a translation or adaptation of a Latin intermediary derived from that Greek source.
Origins and Authorship
The author of Andreas is unknown. Because of its proximity in the Vercelli Book to The Fates of the Apostles—a poem signed by the poet Cynewulf—and due to similarities in religious subject matter, early editors attributed Andreas to Cynewulf. It is often grouped with twelve poems referred to as "the Cynewulf group." However, only four poems are definitively attributed to Cynewulf (those containing his name in runic symbols). Other scholars have proposed that Andreas may have been written by a disciple of Cynewulf, while still others argue for a different author based on stylistic differences. Some researchers have also noted parallels in style, language, and theme between Andreas and Beowulf.
Content
The poem tells the story of Saint Andrew rescuing Saint Matthew from a cannibalistic race called the Mermedonians. The first 500 lines describe Andrew's sea voyage to Mermedonia, during which Jesus and two angels accompany him disguised as a helmsman and two sailors. Andrew, unaware of their identities, preaches to the helmsman about the life of Christ. After Andrew and his men fall asleep, they are miraculously transported to the gates of Mermedonia, at which point Andrew recognizes his divine companions.
In the latter part of the poem, Andrew is made invisible by God, allowing him to free the imprisoned Mermedonians. He then reveals himself and is tortured for three days and nights. Upon his prayer for forgiveness, God frees and heals Andrew and punishes the Mermedonians. When they repent and convert to Christianity, they are restored, and Andrew establishes a church in the city before appointing a bishop and sailing onward.
Style and Significance
The poem blends Christian hagiography with the conventions of Germanic heroic poetry. Saint Andrew is depicted as an Old English warrior-hero, fighting against evil forces in a manner reminiscent of the Germanic comitatus tradition—the bond between a lord and his loyal retainers. The work has been described as "the closest to Beowulf in style and tone among the surviving Old English poems" (Cameron 1982). Its religious significance, emphasizing repentance, discipleship, and parallels between the sufferings of Christ and Saint Andrew, is thought to be the reason the text survived through monastic copying.
Prose Versions
A briefer prose version of the same story appears in the Blickling Homilies (homily no. 19). A different treatment of Saint Andrew's life, focusing on his martyrdom in Achaia, is found in the prose Life by Ælfric of Eynsham.
