When she that heard, who men there ordered,
The man's behavior, she quickly commanded710
That him from confinement and out of his dungeon,
From the narrow abode, they shóuld release.
They hastily thát did soon perform
And him with honor then led they up
From out of the prison as them the queen bade.715
Stepped they then to the place, the firm-in-mind,
Upon the hill on which the Lord
Before was hanged, heaven-kingdom's Ward,
God's child, on the cross, and yet knew he not well,
Weakened by hunger, where the holy rood720
Through cunning of foe [34] enclosed in earth,721-2
Long firm in its bed concealed from men,
Remained in its grave. Now raised he his voice,
Unmindful [35] of might, and in Hebrew he spake:725
"Saviour Lord, thou hast power of rule,
And thou didst create through the might of thy glory
Heaven and earth and the boisterous sea,
The ocean's wide bosom, all creatures alike,
And thou didst measure with thine own hands730
All the globe of the earth and the heaven above,
And thou thyself sittest, Wielder of victories,
Above the noblest order of angels,
That fly through the air encircled with light,
Great might of glory. There mankind may not735
From the paths of earth ascend on high
In bodily form with thát bright host,
Heralds of glory. These wroughtest thou,
And for thíne own service thém didst thou set,
Holy and heavenly. Of these in the choir740
In joy eternal six are named,
Who are surrounded with six wings apiece,
[With them are] adorned, [and] fair they shine.
Of these are four who ever in flight
The service of glory attend upon745
Before the face of the Judge eternal,
Continually sing in glory the praise,
With clearest voices, of the King of heaven,
Most beauteous of songs, and say these words
With voices pure (their name Cherubím):750
'Holy is the holy God of archangels,
Ruler of hosts. Full of his glory
Are heaven and earth and all the high powers
With glory distinguished,' There are two among these,
Victor-race in heaven, who Seraphím755
By name are called. They sháll Paradise
And the tree of life with flaming sword
Holy maintain. The hard-edged trembles,
The etched brand wavers, and changes its form,
Firm in their grips. Thát, [36] O Lord God,760
Ever thou wieldest, and thou the sinful,
Guilt-working foes out of the heavens,
The foolish, didst cast. The accursèd host then
Under dwellings of darkness was forced to fall
To perdition of hell. There now in the welling765
Endure they death-pain in the dragon's embrace,
Enclosed in darkness. [Thee] he resisted,
Thy princely rule; therefore in misery,
Full [37] of all foulness, he guilty shall suffer,
Slavery endure. There may he not770
Thy word reject: he is fast in torments,
The author of sin, in misery bound.
If thy will it be, Ruler of angels,
That he may reign who was on the rood,
And who through Mary upon the mid-earth775
Incarnate became in form of a child,
Prince of the angels (if hé had not been
Thy Son free from sin, never so many
True wonders in world would hé have wrought
In number of days. Thou wouldst not from death780
So gloriously him, Ruler of nations,
Have awaked 'fore the hosts, if hé in glory
Through the bright [maid] were not thy Son),—
Now, Father of angels, send forth thy sign.
As thou didst hear the holy man,785
Moses, in prayer, when thou, God of might,
Didst show to the earl at the noble time
Under the hill-slope the bones of Joseph,
So, Ruler of hosts, if it be thy will,
Through that bright form I'll pray to thee790
That to me the gold-hoard, Maker of spirits,
Thou wilt reveal, that has been from men
[So] long concealed. Let, Author of life,
Now from this plain a winsome smoke
'Neath heaven's expanse mount up on high795
Playing in the air. I'll the better believe,
And I'll the more firmly stablish my mind,
Undoubting trust, upon the hanged Christ,
That hé be in truth the Saviour of souls,
Eternal, Almighty, Israel's King,800
Forever may have glory in heaven,
Rule without end the dwellings eternal."
[X.]
Then out of that place a vapor arose
Like smoke 'neath the heavens. Thére was rejoiced
The mind of the man. With both his hands,805
Happy and láw-clever, upward he clapped.
Judas exclaimed, clever in thought:
"Now I in truth myself have known
In my hardened heart that thou art the Saviour
Of [this] mid-earth. To thee, God of might,810
Sitting in glory, be thanks without end,
That to me so sad and so full of sin
Thou revealed'st in glory the secrets of fate.
Now, Son of God, to thee will I pray,
Will-giver of peoples, now I know that thou art815
Declared and born of all kings the Glory,
That thou no longer be of my sins,
Those which I committed by no means seldom,
O Maker, mindful. Let mé, God of might,
Amid the number of thine own kingdom820
With the army of saints my dwelling have
In that bright city, where is my brother
Honored in glory, for that faith with thee
He, Stephen, kept, though with handfuls of stones
He was pelted to death. War's meed he has,825
Fame without end. There are in books
The wonders he wrought, in writings, made known."
Then gan he glad for the tree of glory,
Constant in zeal, delve in the earth
Beneath the turf, so thát at twenty830
Feet by measure he found far concealed,
Down in the depths hidden in the earth
'Neath cover of darkness,—there found he three
Of roods together within the sad house
Buried in sand, as in days of old835
The host of the wicked covered with earth,
The folk of the Jews. 'Gainst the child of God
Hatred they raised, although they should not,
If the lore they'd not heard of the father of lies.
Then wás his mind greatly rejoiced,840
His heart was strengthened by that holy tree,
His spirit inspired, when the beacon he saw
Holy 'neath earth. With his hands he clasped
The cross [38] of glory, and it raised 'mid the crowd
From its grave in the earth. The guests on foot,845
The æthelings, went on into the city.
They set there in sight three victor-trees
The firm-minded earls 'fore Helena's feet, [39]
Courageous in heart. The queen rejoiced
In the depth of her soul, and then gan ask850
On which of those trees the Son of the Ruler,
Joy-giver of heroes, hangèd had been.
"Lo! thát we have heard through holy books
By tokens declared, that two with-him
[Also] suffered, and himself was the third855
On the tree of the rood. All heaven was dark
On that terrible day. Say, if thou canst,
On which of these three the Prince of the angels
Suffered [his doom], the Shepherd of glory."
Her Judas might not (he knew not full well)860
Plainly inform of the victor-wood,
On which one the Saviour uplifted had been,
Victor-son of God, ere he bade them set
Within the middle of that great city
The trees with clamor, and there await865
Till to him declared the Almighty King
The wonder 'fore the folk of that tree of glory.
The victor-famed sat, their song they raised,
The wise in rede, 'round the three roods
Until the ninth hour; new joy they had870
With wonder found. Then came there a crowd,
No little folk, and a man deceased
They brought on a bier with heap of men
In neighborhood [nigh] (ninth hour it was),
A lifeless youth. Then Judas was there875
In thought of his heart greatly rejoiced.
He bade then set the soul-less [youth],
Deprived of life the corpse on the earth,
The lifeless one, and up he raised,
Declarer of truth, two of the crosses,880
The wise, in his arms o'er that fated house,
Plunged deep in thought. It was dead as before,
Corpse fast on its bier: the limbs were cold,
Clad in distress. Then wás the third
Holy upraised. The body awaited885
Until over it the Ætheling's [cross],
His rood, was upraised, Heaven-king's tree,
True token of victory. Soon he arose
Ready in spirit, both together
Body and soul. There praise was uplifted890
Fair 'mid the folk. The Father they honored,
And also the true Son of the Ruler
They praised in words. Be glory and thanks
To Him without end from all His creatures.
[XI.]
Then wás to the people in the depth of their souls895
Impressed on their minds, as ever shall be,
The wonder that wrought the Lord of hosts
For saving of souls of the race of men,
The Teacher of life. There the sinner-through-lies
Then stied in the air, the flying fiend.900
Gan then exclaim the devil of hell,
The terrible monster, mindful of evils:
"Lo! whát man is this, who now again
With ancient strife my service will ruin,
Increase the old hate, [and] plunder my goods?905
This contest's increasing. The souls cannot,
Workers of sin, longer within
My power remain, now a stranger is come,
Whom I ere reckoned fast in his sins,
Me has he robbed of every right,910
Of precious possessions. That's nót a fair course.
To me many harms the Saviour has done,
Contests oppressive, he who in Nazareth
Was reared as a child. As soon as he grew
From childhood's years, he to hím ever turned915
Mine own possessions. I may not now
In any right thrive. His kingdom is broad
Over the mid-earth. My might is lessened
Under the heavens. The rood I need not
Joyfully praise. Lo! me the Saviour920
In that narrow home again has confined
Sadly for sorrow. Through Judas before
Joyful I was, and now am I humbled,
Deprived of goods, through Judas again,
Despised and friendless. Still can I find925
Through evil deeds return hereafter [40]
From the homes of the damned. 'Gainst thee will I rouse
Another king [41] who will persecute thee,
And he will reject thine own instruction,
And sinful manners of mine will he follow,930
And thee will he send then into the blackest
And into the worst terrors of torments,
That with sorrow beset thou'lt firmly renounce
The hangèd King whom ere thou obeyed'st."
To him then the cunning Judas replied,935
The battle-brave man (in him Holy Spirit
Was firmly implanted, fire-hot his love,
His wit was welling with warrior's craft),
And this word he spake with wisdom filled:
"Thou need not so strongly, mindful of sins,940
Sorrow renew, and strife uprear,
Sin-maker of murder, for thee mighty King
In the depths beneath will thrust thee down,
Worker of sin, to miseries' bottom
Deprived of glory, who many of the dead945
With his word awaked. Know thou the readier,
That thou with folly didst once renounce
Brightest of lights and love of the Lord,
The fairest joy, and in bath of fire,
Surrounded with torments, didst afterwards dwell,950
Consumed with flame, and there ever shalt,
Hostile in mind, punishment suffer,
Misery endless." Helena heard
How the fiend and the friend contests aroused,
The blest and the base, on both their sides,955
The sinner and the saint. Her mind was the gladder
For that she heard the hellish foe
[The fiend] overcome, the worker of sins,
And then she wondered at the wit of the man,
How hé so truthful in so little time960
And so untaught ever became
With wisdom inspired. [Then] thanked she God,
The King of glory, that her wish was fulfilled
Through the Son of God of each of the two,
Bóth for the sight of the victor-tree,965
Ánd of the faith that [42] so bright she perceived,
The glorious gift in the breast of the man.
[XII.]
Thén was made known among that folk,
Throughout that nation widely proclaimed,
The great morning-news for a grievance to many970
Of those who God's law wished to conceal,
Announced in the towns far as waters embrace,
In each of the cities, that the rood of Christ
Once buried in earth had been discovered,
Brightest of beacons, which since or before975
Holy 'neath heavens had been upheaved;
And it was to the Jews the greatest of sorrows,
Unhappy men, most hateful of fates,
That they 'fore the world were unable to change it,
The joy of the Christians. Then bade the queen980
'Mong the host of earls heralds to hasten,
Quickly to journey; they should of the Romans
O'er the high sea the lord seek out,
Ánd to that warrior the best of tidings
Say, to himself, that the victor-sign985
Through Creator's favor had been recovered,
Found in the earth, which ages before
Had been concealed for sorrow to saints,
To Christian folk. Then was to the king
Through the glorious words his spirit gladdened,990
His heart rejoicing. Then was of inquirers
'Neath golden garments no lack in the cities
Come from afar. To him greatest of comforts
It became in the world at the wished-for tidings,—
His heart delighted,—which army-leaders995
Over the east-ways, messengers, brought him,
How happy a journey over the swan-road
The men with the queen successfully made
To the land of the Greeks. The Cæsar bade them
With greatest haste again prepare1000
Themselves for the way. The men delayed not
As soon as they had the answer heard,
The words of the ætheling. Bade he Helena hail,
The war-famed greet, if they the sea-voyage
And happy journey were able to make,1005
Brave-minded men, to the holy city.
Bade also to her the messengers say
Constantínus, that she a church
On the mountain-slope for gain of both
Should there erect, a temple of God,1010
On Calvarý, for joy to Christ,
For help to men, where the holy rood
Had béen discovered, greatest of trees,
Of those that earth-dwellers ever heard named
Upon the earth. So she effected,1015
After dear kinsmen brought from the west
Over the ocean many loved tidings.
Then bade the queen those skilled in crafts
To seek out apart, the best of all,
Those who most cunningly knew how to work1020
In joinings of stones, on the open plain
God's temple to build. As the Warden of spirits
Her counselled from heaven, she bade the rood
With gold adorn and gems of all kinds,
With the most splendid of precious stones1025
To set with skill, and in silver chest
To enclose with locks. There that tree of life,
Best of victor-trees, has since remained
In nature eternal. [43] There 'twill be ever ready
A help to the sick 'gainst every ill,1030
Distress and sorrow. There soon will they
Through that holy creation assistance obtain,
A gift divine. Also Judas received
After fixed time the bath of baptism,
And cleansed became, trustful in Christ,1035
Dear to the Life-warden. His faith became
Firm in his heart, when the Spirit of comfort
Made his abode in the breast of the man,
To repentance him urged. The better he chose,
The joy of glory, and the worse he refused,1040
The service of idols, and error rejected,
Unlawful belief. To him King [44] eternal,
The Creator, was mild, God, Ruler of might.
[XIII.]
Then hé was baptized who often before
The ready light [had long rejected, Gn.],1045
Inspired was his soul for that better life,
To glory turned. Fate surely ordained
That so full of faith and so dear to God
In realm of the world he should become,
[So] pleasing to Christ. That known became,1050
After that Helena bade them Eusebius,
Bishop of Rome, into council with her
To bring for help, the very wise [man]
By means of men, [45] to the holy city,
That he might ordain to the sacred office1055
Judas for the folk in Jerúsalém,
To be their bishop within the city,
Through gift of the Spirit for the temple of God
Chosen with wisdom, and him Cyriácus
Through counsel of wit she afterwards named1060
A second time. The name was changed
Of the man in the city henceforth for the better,
For the law of the Saviour. Then still Helena's
Mind was disturbed at the wondrous fate,
Very much for the nails, those which the Saviour's1065
Feet had pierced through and likewise his hands,
With which on the rood the Ruler of Heaven,
Lord mighty, was fastened. Of these gan ask
The Christians' queen, Cyriacus prayed
That still for her, by the might of his spirit,1070
For the wondrous fate the will he'ld fulfil,
Reveal by his gifts, and shé addressed
This word to the bishop, boldly she spake:
"Thou, earls' defence, the noble tree
Of heavens' King me rightly didst show,1075
On which was hanged by heathen hands
The Helper of spirits, own Son of God,
Saviour of men. Still of the nails
In thought of my mind curiosity troubles me.
I would thou should'st find those which yet in the earth1080
Deeply buried remain concealed,
Hidden in darkness. My heart ever sorrows,
Sad it complains and never will rest,
Ere for mé He fulfil, Almighty Father,
Ruler of hosts, mine own desire,1085
Saviour of men, by sight [46] of the nails,
The Holy from height. Now quickly do thou
With all humility, most excellent man,
Direct thy prayer to the heavens bright,
To the Ruler of glory, pray Strength of warriors,1090
That to thee may reveal the Almighty King
The hord 'neath the earth, that hidden still,
Concealed from men, in secret abides."
Then gan the holy one strengthen his heart,
Inspired in his breast the bishop of the folk,1095
Glad-minded, went with a crowd of men
Those praising God, and earnestly then
Cyriacús on Calvarý
Inclined his face, his secret concealed not,
With might of his spirit called upon God1100
With all humility, prayed Warden of angels
To open to him the unknown fate
In his new distress, where he the nails
Upon the plain Best need expect.
Then caused he the token, where they were looking,1105
The Father, hope's Spirit, in form of fire
Upwards to rise, where they most noble
By means of men [47] had once been hidden
With secret cunning, the nails in the earth.
Then suddenly came brighter than sun1110
The playing flame. The people saw
To the giver of their will [48] the wonder made known,
When there out of darkness, like stars of heaven
Or gems of gold, upon the bottom
The nails from the narrow bed shining beneath1115
Brilliantly glittered. The people rejoiced,
The glad-minded host, spake glory to God
With one accord all, though ere they were
By the devil's deceit long in error,
Estranged from Christ. Thus did they speak:1120
"Ourselves now we see the token of victory,
True wonder of God, that before we opposed
With lying words. Now is come into light,
Is revealed, fate's course. May glory for this
Have in the highest heaven-kingdom's God!"1125
Then hé was rejoiced who turned to repentance
Through the Son of God, the people's bishop,
A second time. He took the nails,
Disturbed with fear, ánd to the venerable
Queen did he bring them. Cyriacus had1130
It all fulfilled as the noble one bade him,
The woman's will. There was sound of weeping,
Hot head-welling was poured o'er her cheeks,
By no means for sorrow. The tears were falling
O'er the plaiting of wires. [49] With glory fulfilled1135
Was the wish of the queen. She knelt on her knees
With bright belief; she honored the gift,
Rejoicing with joy, which wás to her brought
For help in her sorrows. Then thanked she God,
The Lord of victories, that the truth she had learnt1140
At that present time, that oft was announced
So long before from creation of the world
For comfort to the people. Shé was inspired
With the gift of wisdom, and his dwelling held
Holy Spirit of heaven, guarded her breast,1145
Her noble heart. So her the Almighty
Victor-son of God after protected.