‘The Wanderer’ is a long Old English poem in which the speaker details the life and struggles of a wanderer. In the first part of this piece, the speaker describes a wanderer, someone who lost everything that meant something to him. He’s lost his lord, his home, his kinsmen, and more.

fortune’s turn turns the world under sky. Here the cash was a loan. Your friends were a loan. Anyone at all, a loan.

The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book. It comprises 115 lines of alliterative verse. As is often the case with Anglo-Saxon verse, the composer and compiler are anonymous, and within the manuscript the poem is untitled.

So spoke the wanderer, earfeþa gemyndig, mindful of hardships, wraþra wælsleahta, of fierce slaughters: winemæga hryre: and the downfall of kinsmen:

Oct 2, 2023 · The Wanderer is an Anglo-Saxon poem that dates back to the 10th century and is found in the Exeter Book. The poem is one of the most significant pieces of literature in Old English, and it has been studied and analyzed by scholars for many years.

Apr 27, 2020 · The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved in only one of the four major surviving Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, The Exeter Book, and whilst its basic structure and elegiac tone are widely agreed upon, the exact nature of the speech and number of speakers within the poem remain topics of some debate (see note 1). More generally, as with all Old ...

Mar 11, 2018 · The Wanderer is an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poem, ostensibly written in a narrative form, surviving in the 10th Century Exeter Book. Reflecting upon the condition of the poet and his world,...

hold fast his treasure-hoard, whatever he may think. accustom me to joy. He who has come to know. a winter-bound spirit, not the wealth of earth. accustomed him to the feast—that joy has all faded. in earlier days enjoyed the gift-throne. longing for his loved one. Sorrow is renewed. familiar voices. Cares are renewed.

The Wanderer, a lone figure in the poem, mourns the passing of his lord and friends while thinking profoundly on memory, grief, and the harshness of life. The Wanderer travels through a world characterized by suffering and impermanence on a physical and spiritual journey.

This poem is one of the finest of the Old English poems that critics call ‘elegies’—laments for the loss of relationships and worldly goods. Most of the poem is in the voice of a man who, following the death of his lord (and also, it seems, of most or all of the lord’s warband), has been wandering the earth in search of another.