Deor

E503407

Deor is an Old English elegiac poem in which a scop reflects on personal misfortune and the transience of suffering by recalling legendary hardships that eventually passed.

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Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Old English poem
elegy
literary work
approximateCenturyOfComposition 10th century or earlier
centralIdea no suffering is permanent
consolatoryStrategy exempla of past hardships that ended
culturalContext Germanic heroic legend
currentLocationOfManuscript Exeter Cathedral Library NERFINISHED
dateOfComposition early medieval period
focus comparison of legendary and personal suffering
function meditation on change and resilience
genre elegiac poetry
language Old English NERFINISHED
literaryCategory Old English elegies
literaryTradition Anglo-Saxon literature
manuscript Exeter Book NERFINISHED
manuscriptShelfmark Exeter Book (MS 3501) NERFINISHED
mentionsLegend Beadohild NERFINISHED
Eormanric NERFINISHED
Geat NERFINISHED
Theodoric NERFINISHED
Weland NERFINISHED
meter Old English alliterative verse
motif ubi sunt motif
narrativeVoice first-person
originalScript Insular minuscule
placeOfOrigin Anglo-Saxon England NERFINISHED
plotElement speaker replaced by a rival poet
preservation single manuscript source
refrain Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg
refrainMeaning That passed over; so may this
relatedWorkGroup Exeter Book elegies NERFINISHED
scholarlyInterest consolation literature
poetics of exile and patronage
setting Germanic legendary past
speaker scop
speakerRole displaced court poet
structure alternating narrative episodes and refrain
textualForm short lyric-epic hybrid
theme consolation
exile
fate
impermanence of worldly conditions
loss of patronage
personal misfortune
transience of suffering

Referenced by (2)

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