Hail the Morning Star

Image by Nicole Rose from Pixabay

Hail Earendel, brightest of angels,
sent unto men upon this middle-earth!
Thou art the true radiance of the sun,
bright above the stars – thou of thy very self
illuminest for ever all every season.

These lovely words are attributed to Cynewulf, an Anglo-Saxon poet of the eighth century (as far as the historians can discern, as there are various sources). The original Anglo-Saxon English is reproduced here:

Éalá Éarendel, engla beorhtast,
Ofer middengeard monnum sended,
And sôðfæsta sunnan leoma.
Torht ofer tunglas, þu tîda gehwane
of sylfum þe symle inlîhtes!

The word ‘Earendel’ can be translated ‘radiance of the dawn’. This is a reference to John the Baptist, whom Cynewulf is comparing to the morning/evening star, Venus. Of course Venus is a planet, not a star, but it’s the second brightest object to appear in the morning sky as dawn breaks and in the evening as the moon rises. You can see why this Saxon poet might have used the image of the morning star as a metaphor for John the Baptist.

Around 1913, a certain Anglo-Saxon scholar named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien read this poem as part of his studies. He was so inspired by it that he wrote his own poem, ‘The Lost Voyage of Earendel’, but in this poem he turned the word Earendel into a person, a heavenly voyager carrying the morning star on his brow across the sky. Much later on in Tolkien’s writings, Earendel transforms into Eärendil, a highly significant character in Tolkien’s universe. He's the half-Elven mariner who pleads for mercy from the heavenly powers for the Elves (who have messed things up considerably) and is granted grace to bear the light of a Silmaril (a brilliant jewel) across the sky. He’s basically become the Morning Star itself, and the divine light of Eärendil becomes a supernatural force against evil, as Frodo and Sam, the two hobbit-heroes of The Lord of the Rings, discover and use very effectively.

(He’s also the father of Elrond. It’s … complicated.)

As this new year begins, what does this image of the morning star point me to?

The wonder of the creative process. As a devout Catholic, Tolkien was moved by the beauty of Cynewulf’s poem praising John the Baptist as a bright light heralding the arrival of Christ. ‘Hail Earendel’ also helped to spark Tolkien’s own imagination. From his deep love of language, he created an entire imaginary universe full of hope and light and beauty, set against a constant battle with darkness and evil. His Christian faith and his love of language and ancient literature sparked together and created something wonderful and unique.

The wonder of the light that guides us. We are in the church season of Epiphany in which we celebrate the mysterious wise men from the East who followed a miraculous star to seek a King. The light of Christ is above us and all around us. There is always darkness and turmoil in this troubled world, yet his light still shines, and nothing will ever defeat it or put it out.

May his light guide you and create divine sparks in your own writing, in 2026.

I work for the Diocese of Rochester, where I am also a Reader. I wrote a devotional for the anthology Light for the Writer’s Soul, published by Media Associates International, and my short story ‘Magnificat’ appears in the ACW anthology Merry Christmas Everyone.