Altsächsische Genesis

Altsächsische Genesis, title given to fragments of an epic poem of the 9th c. written in Old Saxon alliterative verse (Stabreim). The view that its author also wrote the Heliand has been discarded. Its subject is the Creation and early biblical history; the fragments deal with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Abraham, and the destruction of Sodom, and the source is the Vulgate. The author treats the story freely, inventing dialogue and inserting the story of the fall of the rebellious angels. The MS. is in the Vatican.