---
title: "Is the title of the Old English poem The Descent into Hell suitable?"
description: "Rambaran-Olm argues that early editors chose these titles because they misread the poem's central theme. 18 references."
authors: ["M. R. Rambaran-Olm"]
year: 2005
venue: "SELIM 13"
source: "https://reunido.uniovi.es/index.php/SELIM/article/view/13429"
doi: "10.17811/selim.13.2005.69-82"
licence: "CC BY-NC-ND (journal licence per DOAJ; SELIM)"
licence_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"
summary_licence: "Elamur Cosmic License"
canonical: "https://research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/olm-2019-title-old-english-poem-descent/"
---
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# Is the title of the Old English poem The Descent into Hell suitable?

**Authors:** M. R. Rambaran-Olm · **Year:** 2005 · **Venue:** [SELIM 13](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/venues/selim-journal-of-the-spanish-society-for-medieval-english-language-and/) ([SELIM Journal of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature 2005](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/venues/selim-journal-of-the-spanish-society-for-medieval-english-language-and/2005/)) · **Publisher:** [University of Oviedo](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/publishers/university-of-oviedo/) · **Licence:** [CC BY-NC-ND (journal licence per DOAJ; SELIM)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

**Links:** [Publisher's page](https://doi.org/10.17811/selim.13.2005.69-82) · [PDF](https://reunido.uniovi.es/index.php/SELIM/article/download/13429/12161) · [DOI 10.17811/selim.13.2005.69-82](https://doi.org/10.17811/selim.13.2005.69-82) · [OpenAlex](https://openalex.org/W6887900191)

**Citations:** 0 citations (OpenAlex, 2026-10-14)

## Summary
The paper asks whether the editorial title of an anonymous Exeter Book poem, now usually called *The Descent into Hell* and earlier *The Harrowing of Hell*, fits what the poem actually says. Rambaran-Olm argues that early editors chose these titles because they misread the poem's central theme. They treated the Gospel of Nicodemus as its main source and assumed the poet meant to retell Christ's descent. Drawing on John Fisher's view that titles guide interpretation, she holds that the current name steers readers toward a misreading. She compares the poem with the standard elements of Harrowing narratives listed by Bedingfield and finds that most are missing or compressed. The descent itself gets a single line, and the poem foregrounds baptism and a lasting Salvation message instead. Its position in the manuscript, between poems on prayer and personal Salvation, supports this reading. The author concludes that a new title, one that names the poem's core rather than its backdrop, would let the poem be valued for its own merits.

## Key points
- The poem occupies folios 119v–121v of the Exeter Book. It was first titled *The Harrowing of Hell*, then lightly renamed *The Descent into Hell*, and the author finds neither name adequate.
- Richard Trask (1971) had already proposed the title "Christ and John", reading the later speaker as John the Baptist, but he did not develop the argument.
- Compared with Bedingfield's (2002) list of typical Harrowing elements, the poem has no speech by devils, no personified Hell, and no Satan–Hell dialogue. Only the half-line *under bealuclommum* (l. 65b) explicitly describes the grimness of Hell.
- The poem sits between *Resignation* and *Alms-giving*, and Liuzza (1990) argues the Exeter Book's ordering reflects deliberate thematic links.
- The source text gives the issue as Selim 13 (2005–2006), while the citation header says 2019. Several proposed titles appear in a section omitted from the provided extract.

## Interesting ideas
- An inherited label, such as an editor's title, can quietly bias interpretation, so it is worth testing whether a reading still holds once the label is removed.
- A genre can be checked against a checklist of its canonical narrative elements, and the missing elements are themselves evidence about what the text is really doing.
- How much textual space an event receives (here, one line for the climactic descent) indicates whether it is the theme or just the setting.
- The author separates a text's setting or backdrop from its main emphasis and argues that a good title names the emphasis.
- A text's neighbours in a compilation can disambiguate its theme, because the compiler likely grouped works by topic.

## For Mova

How these ideas could serve Mova, our small open language model — its files, stages and tests:

- **I1** (learn): Add negative-control evaluations that strip document titles or metadata and check whether frame and theme outputs change, which flags readings driven by the label rather than the text.
- **I2** (world): Encode story schemas, such as rescue or trickster tales, as expected event slots and report which slots a text leaves unfilled, giving an explainable signal of where it departs from the genre.
- **I3** (answer): When answering "what is this text mainly about" questions on fables, weight events by their share of clauses and elaboration, not only by their dramatic importance.
- **I4** (back): During generation of titles or summaries from the meaning graph, prefer the most elaborated frames over scene-setting locations or circumstances.
- **I5** (answer): When a fable or passage comes from a collection, use the themes of adjacent items as a weak prior for theme questions, while keeping that evidence visible in the explanation.

*Our summary of the paper, in our own words — not its text. The work belongs to its authors; read it at the links above.*

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## Cite

Cite as: M. R. Rambaran-Olm. 2005. Is the title of the Old English poem The Descent into Hell suitable?. SELIM 13.

The paper itself, not this page. BibTeX from the library's record of the work.

```bibtex
@inproceedings{rambaranolm2005is,
  title = {{Is the title of the Old English poem The Descent into Hell suitable?}},
  author = {M. R. Rambaran-Olm},
  booktitle = {SELIM 13},
  year = {2005},
  doi = {10.17811/selim.13.2005.69-82},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17811/selim.13.2005.69-82}
}
```

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## References

18 references, 0 of them with a card of ours. ↗ leads to the work, «find» searches for one we have no id for yet.

1. Adams, Hazard 1987: Titles, Titling, and Entitlement To. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 46.1: 7-21. [↗](https://doi.org/10.1111/1540_6245.jaac46.1.0007)
2. Bedingfield, M. Bradford 2002: The Dramatic Liturgy of Anglo-Saxon England. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Bedingfield%2C+M%2E+Bradford+2002%3A+The+Dramatic+Liturgy+of+Anglo%2DSaxon+England%2E+Woodbridge%3A+The+Boydell+Press%2E)
3. Cross, J. E. ed. 1996: Evangelium Nichodemi. Two Old English Apocrypha and Their Manuscript Source. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 220-224. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Cross%2C+J%2E+E%2E+ed%2E+1996%3A+Evangelium+Nichodemi%2E+Two+Old+English+Apocrypha+and+Their+Manuscript+Source%2E+Cambridge%3A+Cambridge+University+Press%2C+220%2D224%2E)
4. Fisher, John 1984: Entitling. Critical Inquiry 11.2: 286-298. 15 As Mackie suggests. See footnote 13. M. R. Rambaran-Olm University of Glasgow Is the title of OE The Descent of Hell suitable? [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Fisher%2C+John+1984%3A+Entitling%2E+Critical+Inquiry+11%2E2%3A+286%2D298%2E+15+As+Mackie+suggests%2E+See+footnote+13%2E+M%2E+R%2E+Rambaran%2DOlm+University+of+Glasgow+Is+the+title+of+OE+The+Descent+of+Hell+suitable%3F)
5. Hall, Thomas 1996: The Evangelium Nichodemi and Vindicta Saluatoris in Anglo-Saxon England. Two Old English Apocrypha and their Manuscript Sources. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Hall%2C+Thomas+1996%3A+The+Evangelium+Nichodemi+and+Vindicta+Saluatoris+in+Anglo%2DSaxon+England%2E+Two+Old+English+Apocrypha+and+their+Manuscript+Sources%2E)
6. J. E. Cross ed. 1996: 36-81. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=J%2E+E%2E+Cross+ed%2E+1996%3A+36%2D81%2E+Cambridge%3A+Cambridge+University+Press%2E)
7. Hill, Thomas D. 1972: Cosmic Stasis and the Birth of Christ: The Old English Descent into Hell, Lines 99-106. Journal of English and Germanic Philology 72: 383-9. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Hill%2C+Thomas+D%2E+1972%3A+Cosmic+Stasis+and+the+Birth+of+Christ%3A+The+Old+English+Descent+into+Hell%2C+Lines+99%2D106%2E+Journal+of+English+and+Germanic+Philology+72%3A+383%2D9%2E)
8. The Holy Bible. A Translation From the Latin Vulgate in Light of the Hebrew and Greek Originals. Authorized by the Hierarchy of England and Wales 1959. London: Burns and Oates. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=The+Holy+Bible%2E+A+Translation+From+the+Latin+Vulgate+in+Light+of+the+Hebrew+and+Greek+Originals%2E+Authorized+by+the+Hierarchy+of+England+and+Wales+1959%2E+London%3A+Burns+and+Oates%2E)
9. Hulme, W. H. 1907: The Middle English Harrowing of Hell and the Gospel of Nicodemus. London: Early English Text Society. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Hulme%2C+W%2E+H%2E+1907%3A+The+Middle+English+Harrowing+of+Hell+and+the+Gospel+of+Nicodemus%2E+London%3A+Early+English+Text+Society%2E)
10. Izydorcyzk, Zbigniew 1990: The Inversion of Paschal Events in the Old English Descent into Hell. Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 91: 439-447. Saint Justin, Martyr. Apologia prima. The First Apology of Justin Martyr, Addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius. Prefaced by Some Account of the Writings and Opinions of Justin Martyr. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Izydorcyzk%2C+Zbigniew+1990%3A+The+Inversion+of+Paschal+Events+in+the+Old+English+Descent+into+Hell%2E+Neuphilologische+Mitteilungen+91%3A+439%2D447%2E+Saint+Justin%2C+Martyr%2E+Apologia+prima%2E+The+First+Apology+of+J)
11. John Kaye ed. 1981. London: Griffith, Farran, Brown. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=John+Kaye+ed%2E+1981%2E+London%3A+Griffith%2C+Farran%2C+Brown%2E)
12. Kim, H. C. ed. 1973: The Gospel of Nicodemus. Gesta Salvatoris. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Kim%2C+H%2E+C%2E+ed%2E+1973%3A+The+Gospel+of+Nicodemus%2E+Gesta+Salvatoris%2E+Toronto%3A+Pontifical+Institute+of+Medieval+Studies%2E)
13. Krapp, George Philip & Elliott Van Kirk Dobbie eds. 1936: The Descent into Hell. The Exeter Book. New York: Columbia University Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Krapp%2C+George+Philip+%26+Elliott+Van+Kirk+Dobbie+eds%2E+1936%3A+The+Descent+into+Hell%2E+The+Exeter+Book%2E+New+York%3A+Columbia+University+Press%2E)
14. Liuzza, Roy M. 1990: The Old English Christ and Guthlac Texts, Manuscripts, and Critics. RES 41.161: 1-11. [↗](https://doi.org/10.1093/res/xli.161.1)
15. Mackie, William ed. 1934: The Exeter Book. Part II: Poems IX-XXXII. London: Oxford University Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Mackie%2C+William+ed%2E+1934%3A+The+Exeter+Book%2E+Part+II%3A+Poems+IX%2DXXXII%2E+London%3A+Oxford+University+Press%2E)
16. O’Calleaigh, G. C. 1963: Dating the Commentaries of Nicodemus. The Harvard Theological Review 56.1: 21-58. M. R. Rambaran-Olm The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 28 Sept. 2006. \<[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50253513](http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50253513)>. [↗](http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50253513)
17. Shippey, T. A. 1976: Poems of Wisdom and Learning in Old English. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Shippey%2C+T%2E+A%2E+1976%3A+Poems+of+Wisdom+and+Learning+in+Old+English%2E+Cambridge%3A+D%2E+S%2E+Brewer%2E)
18. Trask, Richard 1971: The Descent into Hell of the Exeter Book. Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 72: 419-435. * † * [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Trask%2C+Richard+1971%3A+The+Descent+into+Hell+of+the+Exeter+Book%2E+Neuphilologische+Mitteilungen+72%3A+419%2D435%2E+%2A+%E2%80%A0+%2A)

*Updated 24 October 2026*