St. Erkenwald Poem Analysis

St. Erkenwald is an anonymously written poem dated back to the fourteenth century. The poem illustrates the bishop, St. Erkenwald, and his encounter with a corpse of a judge who has not yet entered Heaven. The essence of religion, faith, and rituals are very prominent in this poem. Its presence is undeniable in the formation of the central idea behind the text: the significance of religion and rituals. This poem was used to threaten others into conforming to Christianity in order to achieve a better life. St. Erkenwald argues that living an honest and moral life is solely not enough to ascend into Heaven, which strengthens the message behind following Christianity. Additionally, this proves the ineffectiveness of rituals that are not for the sake of Christianity and the perdition of those who do not follow God.

The assertions and consequences depicted by the author prove the significance of being a Christian during this time. The corpse of the judge shares viable information with St. Erkenwald as well as the reader. First, we hear details about his life and profession. Through his story, we learn that he was a judge who “followed the law, … gave punishments often ... never for meanness, nor wealth, nor anger, nor fear, never for mastery, nor property, nor for any other man's will” (St. Erkenwald 229-233). Regardless of the situation, there was never any anger or bias behind his rulings. This confirms that he lived an honest and moral life that deserves no punishment. In addition to this, the corpse stated, “No one could make me turn from the right in my judgments since I followed the faith that I felt in my heart. Even if my father had been killed, I would carry no bias” (St. Erkenwald 240-241), which shows how much people valued his decisions because he would rule in correspondence to the law. Finally, “all the crowd cried over [his] death” (St. Erkenwald 246) because of the honor he possessed for ruling so justly. All these pieces of evidence come together to prove what a good life he lived. What the corpse described of his life highlights the areas where he could not be punished. St. Erkenwald even says to him, “He that rewards each man that has rightfully served might forgive some evil and give you a bit of His Grace” (St. Erkenwald 274-275). At this point in the text, the true secret is yet to be revealed, what St. Erkenwald is saying here is that since he lived an honest and just life, his evils would be forgiven and he should not be in this situation. Knowing what his true evil was, the corpse made it known that he was a pagan and was in this position due to his faithlessness. Since the corpse was not a follower of Christianity during his lifetime, he was imprisoned in his tomb to rot. This consequence exemplifies the main point of the poem that even though he lived a morally correct life, he could not ascend to Heaven.

By making the point that the corpse was granted eternal punishment, the author is addressing his audience and threatening them to convert to Christianity. In other words, this poem can be seen as a way to frighten people into believing in Christ. Religion and faith were two important factors of people’s lives and to not live by either was seen as taboo. Although the corpse was loved by many during his time, he was “one of the unhappiest men who traveled the earth…[he] was never a king, nor Caesar, nor even a knight, [he] was instead a man who administered the laws this land followed” (St. Erkenwald 197-199). When reading this quote from the poem, the idea of him being unhappy stood out. Due to his failure to conform to religion or faith, the judge lived a despondent existence. This was used to further emphasize the necessity for God in one’s life. Living with God makes an individual happy and able to obtain great things. Illustrating the corpse in this way was clearly a nod to how people will be punished after death if they are not faithful to Christianity. Additionally, because he was not religious, the judge was unable to be granted eternal life in Heaven, rather eternal punishment. He describes his afterlife as  “dwelling in the dark death” (St. Erkenwald 293), which encapsulates the motivation of the author pushing people to believe in Christianity. This phrase paints a picture of him just sitting there, not being able to change or move on, which is terrifying. Furthermore, the author includes this statement made by the corpse: “My soul sits there in sorrow and sickness all cold, dimly in that dark death where the day never dawns, hungry in the hell hole, desiring the meal in which other men have for a long time delighted” (St. Erkenwald 304-307). By adding this, the author is able to threaten and scare the audience more. Having this very sorrowful, depressing, and dreadful description to what his afterlife looks like, people may be frightened to conform. It is hard to say that one would ever want this constant state of living, being isolated, and having a constant desire to move on and indulge in the everlasting feast of God.

The power of God and the significance of religious rituals are seen in the poem, St. Erkenwald. The text has led the audience to see the horrific afterlife of a corpse who has failed to be a follower of Christianity. In order to exemplify this religion and the power it, as well as God, has, the author includes a very significant moment in the end. The corpse is in a rather vulnerable state when describing all of these events. St. Erkenwald sees his pain and calls out to God saying: “O Lord, give this man life. With God’s grace, just for so long that I might get water and cast it upon this fair corpse and cry these words of baptism, ‘in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the gracious Holy Ghost’ and not one moment longer! Then, if he dropped down dead again, it wouldn’t matter at all” (St. Erkenwald 314-319). Instantaneously, a tear dropped from St. Erkenwald’s face, baptizing him in the faith of Christianity. God’s power and will are truly elucidated during this intense moment of the poem. God saw the extent of which the corpse was suffering and through his power, made St. Erkenwald cry. It was a miracle of God for this to occur. When this happened, the corpse cried out, ​​“The first tear that touched me took away all my pain. Right now at that supper my soul is seated and free, for, with the words and the water that washes us of our pain, you have lit up a lamp in the lowly abyss that sent to my spirit a bright burst of mirth and sent me into the supper where the righteous all dine” (St. Erkenwald 330-335). Just a simple tear by the miracle of God was able to allow the corpse to ascend to Heaven. This again supports the claim that this poem depicts the significance of Christianity and religious rituals. The corpse was blessed in the faith and is now able to live eternally with God. Including this piece of the text, highlights the importance of religion in order to get to Heaven. Ultimately, it shows how powerful God is and persuades those to conform to Christianity. Even though he was not a follower of God when he was alive, he lived a moral and honest life, allowing him to be baptized and go into Heaven.

The ability for the corpse to ascend to Heaven by God’s will proves the significance of Christianity. Also, the assertions made for the necessity to be a religious follower and an attempt to frighten the audience, St. Erkenwald demonstrates the importance of religion, faith, and religious rituals.