"John the Baptist’s Prayer" or "The Descent into Hell" from the Exeter Book: Text, Translation and Critical Study

The Old English poem known popularly as the Descent into Hell, found on folios 119v to 121v of the Exeter Book, has to date received little critical attention, perhaps owing to various contextual problems and lacunae on theleaves that contain it.
This first full-length study offers a full account of the poem, together with an edition of the text and facing translation. It aims to resolve some of the poem's vexing issues and provides a varietyof possible interpretations of the poem. The in-depth literary analysis seeks to enrich modern scholarly perceptions of the poem, suggest a more appropriate title, and contribute to continued scholarly discussion and analysis of the Exeter Book and its compilation. It provides a guide towards understanding the poem's main theme, presents the text in light of its position in ecclesiastical history, and sheds fresh light into its place and significance within the corpus of Old English poetry.

M.R. Rambaran-Olm received her PhD from the University of Glasgow.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Paleography, Codicology and Language
The descensus motif
Literary Analysis
Selected Comparative Studies and Analogous Literature
Afterword
Apparatus: Text and Translation
Commentary
Appendix 1: The Doctrine of the descensus according to Post-Apostolic and Medieval Commentators from the First Century to the end of the Eleventh Century AD
Appendix 2: Scriptural References
Appendix 3: Other Sources and Analogues
Appendix 4: Transcription and Images of folio 120r
Glossary
Bibliography