From wea to wela: Shipwreck as a foreshadowing of Christian salvation in the Old English Apollonius of Tyre

Abstract

By surviving the tossing-high-billows of the stormy sea, Apollonius of Tyre not only spares his life, but he also learns how to triumph over the mare mundi. Despite manifold misfortunes and trials, the character’s steadfastness and good works allow him eventually to attain utmost prosperity and regain what he had lost. Though allegedly heathen, Apollonius was a vivid exemplum of perseverance and virtue. The episode of his shipwreck is endowed with rich eschatological symbolism and it was certainly an issue of great inspiration to any monk striving for righteous Christian living. Thus, it is not surprising to find a romance with such a pagan background within a codex containing homilies and other religious material.