, an Old English narrative poem dealing with the death of the English saint Guthlac (c. 674-714), follows on immediately in the Exeter Book after

, another poem about the same saint, which is accepted to be the work of a different poet. In its present state

is a poem of 560 lines but the text is incomplete, with material missing at the end due to the loss of a whole gathering from the manuscript at this point. The source of

is the Latin

written by Felix of Crowland in the first half of the eighth century. The Old English poet focuses particularly on chapter 50 of the

, freely adapting the inherited material. Felix’s chapter 50 gives a detailed account of the last days of Guthlac and of his death and events immediately…

1105 words

Citation: Magennis, Hugh. "Guthlac B". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 June 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16910, accessed 24 November 2024.]