When was the wanderer composed

It speaks to the importance of The Exeter Book and the texts it contains that so many summaries of manuscript scholarship on the document have already been done. It is now generally accepted that the manuscript was written in the late 10th-century, with scholars such as Conner and Flower arguing the particulars as between CE and CE respectively and Gameson placing it within the gap of those two theories at some point in the s or s CE 94, 90, In any case, the terminus post quem for The Exeter Book is ca.

The script is relatively plain and undecorated, with large margins surrounding words written in black ink. The Exeter Book contains religious and secular poems, placed side by side with riddles written in double entendres that will make you blush.

In the Wanderer what does the speaker dream of? The hall-men- the place were stories were told and would reminisce, the dealing of treasure, the days of his youth, and when his lord bade welcome to wassail and feast. Who is the wanderer and what happened to him? The Wanderer is a man who cannot avoid going to sea, because this life is his fate. The Wanderer goes on to recall the hardships he has faced in his life, like watching his kinsmen be tortured and even slaughtered.

He identifies with all lonely wanderers. The poem « The Wanderer » exhibits a melancholy tone that characterizes much Anglo-Saxon poetry. The Wanderer is freezing cold, remembering the grand halls where he rejoiced, the treasure he was given, and the graciousness of his lord. All of these joys have now disappeared. He claims that any man who stops receiving the wisdom of his lord will be filled with a similar sadness. Even when he sleeps, this lord-less man dreams of happier days when he could lay his hands and head upon his lord's knees.

When he awakens, the lonely man will be forced to face his friendless reality, surrounded by the dark waves, frost, and snow. The rich happiness of a man's dreams make his solitude even more miserable. He will imagine the faces of his kinsmen and greet them joyfully with song, but alas, the memories are transient. A seaman's spirit goes through these bouts of agony every time he finds himself alone, which makes his overall sorrow more acute.

The Wanderer then goes on to contemplate how lords are frequently forced out of their halls and away from their kingdoms. He questions why he feels so unhappy when comparatively, the tribulations lords face are usually much more severe.

He then realizes that the world is constantly fluctuating and a man's life experiences, good and bad, are ultimately what make him wise. The Wanderer lists the lessons that he has learned; that a wise man must not be hasty in speech, rash or fickle in battle, and he must not be nervous, greedy, or boastful.

A wise man must not boast until he is free of doubt. A wise man must accept that riches fade, buildings fall, lords die, and their followers die or disperse. The Wanderer offers a few examples of the latter, citing men who died in battle, men who drowned, one man who who was carried off by a bird, and another who was killed by a wolf.

The Wanderer now expands his ruminations towards the supernatural. He says that the Creator of Men has made the world unpredictable, and that hardships can happen to anyone at any time. Things can go from bad to good in a moment. The Wanderer hypothesizes that the Creator of Men, who created human civilization and conflict, is also wise.

Even He has memories of battles, remembering one certain horse or man. He, like the Wanderer, also must lament the loss of treasure, festivities, and glorious leaders. The Wanderer contemplates the way that all these things disappear in time, leaving behind nothing but darkness. The Wanderer's former kingdom rots behind a wall covered in the carcasses of serpents. There is no longer any music, or powerful weaponry. The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.

It counts lines of alliterative verse. As is often the case in Anglo-Saxon verse, the composer and compiler are anonymous, and within the manuscript the poem is untitled. The metre of the poem is of four-stress lines, divided between the second and third stresses by a caesura.