The Star of Bethlehem in the Hêliand

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In his reelaboration of the Gospels, the author of the Hêliand dedicates several verses to the star of Bethlehem; its description as a ‘bright sign’ and ‘God’s token’ more frequently than a ‘star’ reflects the hesitation of the Fathers of the Church in defining it a miracle or a natural phenomenon. However, none of the sources traditionally associated with the poem can be identified as a reliable model for the author. In this article, I will try to demonstrate that the poet’s lexical choices related to the description of the star and the narrative construction of the whole episode find correspondences with the interpretation provided in the De mirabilibus Sacrae Scripturae, an early ninth-century treatise whose earliest witness was originated in the Carolingian context and thus could have been used as a source for this episode.

KEYWORDS: Hêliand – Old Saxon – Carolingian exegesis – De mirabilibus Sacrae Scripturae – Karlsruhe manuscript