Andreas is an Old English poem, which tells the story of St. Andrew the Apostle, while commenting on the literary role of the "hero".
It is believed to be a translation of a Latin work, which is originally derived from the Greek story The Acts of Andrew and Matthew in the City of Anthropophagi, dated around the 4th century.
[6] In this anonymously written tale, St. Andrew defies the hardships that he faces, such as turbulent sea and other types of torture and captivity, which mirror the pain and suffering that Christ experienced.
[7] The first five hundred lines of the poem tell of St. Andrew's time spent at sea rescuing Matthew, which was his mission from God.
As this is a tale of discipleship, St. Andrew, or Andreas preaches to the helmsman about the good news of the Bible and the stories of the life of Christ.
This ties into the alleged Greek influence on Andreas, as some scholars interpret this a "comitatus", which Riedinger defines as "the traditional aristocratic warrior band."
Then, in epic and heroic style, St. Andrew is made invisible by God for the close of the poem, which allows him to free the imprisoned from Mermedonia.
A somewhat different treatment of the apostle is found in the prose Life by Ælfric of Eynsham, who relates Andrew's martyrdom in Achaia.