The Husband’s Message

Old English literature

Also known as: “The Lover’s Message”

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Article History

The Husband’s Message, Old English lyric preserved in the Exeter Book, one of the few surviving love lyrics from the Anglo-Saxon period. It is remarkable for its ingenious form and for its emotive power. The speaker is a wooden staff on which a message from an exiled husband to his wife has been carved in runic letters. The staff tells how it grew as a sapling beside the sea, never dreaming it would have the power of speech, until a man carved a secret message on it. The husband’s message tells of how he was forced to flee because of a feud but now has wealth and power in a new land and longs for his wife. It implores her to set sail and join him.

This article was most recently revised and updated by J.E. Luebering.