[31] This image of Christ as a 'heroic lord' or a 'heroic warrior' is seen frequently in Anglo-Saxon (and Germanic) literature and follows in line with the theme of understanding Christianity through pre-Christian Germanic tradition. A part of The Dream of the Rood can be found on the eighth-century Ruthwell Cross, which is an 18 feet (5.5 m), free-standing Anglo-Saxon cross that was perhaps intended as a 'conversion tool'. Perhaps you feel that no one knows the real you or that no one has taken the time to discover all the different sides of you. (1-3) It seemed to me that I saw the greatest tree brought into the sky, bewound in light, the brightest of beams. [24] Anglo-Saxon influence can be identified by the use of a complex, echoing structure, allusions, repetition, verbal parallels, the ambiguity and wordplay of the Riddles, and the language of heroic poetry and elegy. dream of the rood symbolism Nov 3, 2020 Examining the poem as a pre-Christian (or pagan) piece is difficult, as the scribes who wrote it down were Christian monkswho lived in a time when Christianity was firmly established (at least among the aristocracy) in Anglo-Saxon England. Alexander, Michael. ‘The feminized cross of the Dream of the Rood’. "The Dream of the Rood. It is the most famous and elaborate Anglo-Saxon monumental sculpture, and possibly contains the oldest surviving text, predating any manuscripts containing Old English poetry. Centuries later 'The Dream of the Rood' was revised by Cynewulf and is to be found in a manuscript left by an English pilgrim at Italian Vercelli, along with Cynewulf's other works, such as a poem on St Helena, the British slave mother to the Emperor Constantine, who, in the legend, discovered the True Cross in Jerusalem. [6] Though the most obvious way to divide the poem, this does not take into account thematic unity or differences in tone. Similarly, the Bible shows that Christ was exhausted at the time of his crucifixion. When Beowuif prepares to go to battle against Grendel's mother, he is unanxious for his life,"(13) and says "I am eager to begin! However, it is via Anglo-Saxon tradition that Christian ideology manages to influence the definition and imagery of Anglo-Saxon heroism. In biblical accounts of the crucifixion, Jesus' burial is quiet and simple: In contrast to this humble, convenient, and time-efficient burial, "The Dream of the Rood" portrays Christ's burial as a monumental event befitting a warrior. CarragAin, Bamonn. The Tree is perhaps the most widespread of religious symbols in the spiritual history of mankind. Preserved in the 10th-century Vercelli Book, the poem may be as old as the 8th-century Ruthwell Cross, and is considered as one of the oldest works of Old English literature. For this reason, some modern historians suggest that it "was composed with a missionary purpose, using the heroic as a way of catching the imagination of the warrior, so that he could embrace willingly Christian doctrine. Work of the period is notable for its synthetic employment of 'Pagan' and 'Christian' imagery as can be seen on the Franks Casket or the Kirkby Stephen cross shaft which appears to conflate the image of Christ crucified with that of Woden/Odin bound upon the Tree of Life. Instead of depositing Christ's body in the closest available tomb, "the men then made a sepulchre for Him. the dream of the rood Here is the Old English poem interlaced with a modern English translation: The Dream of the Rood . The Ruthwell Cross is an Anglo-Saxon monument carved in the 7th century. The Cross says, Jesus is depicted as the strong conqueror and is made to appear a "heroic German lord, one who dies to save his troops". Old English poems such as Beowulf, The Dream of the Rood, and The Wife's Lament are treated, throughout, to thematic, textual, stylistic, lexical, and source analysis. They carved it of bright stone, and set therein the Lord of victories. In Heathen Gods in Old English Literature, Richard North stresses the importance of the sacrifice of the tree in accordance with pagan virtues. [10] At each side of the vine-tracery are carved runes. The Crucifixion story is told from the perspective of the Cross. Epitaphs and metaphors riddle the work in surprising frequency. The words used to describe Christ's approach to the crucifixion in "The Dream of the Rood" reveal the poet's conscious choice to portray Jesus as a purposeful courageous warrior: Instead of simply using the word "Christ," the poet calls Jesus "the young hero" and "the warrior." Dietrich made four main arguments: one, the theme of both poems is the cross, and more importantly, in both poems, the cross suffers with Christ; two, in "Elene" Cynewulf seems to make clear references to the same cross in Dream of the Rood; three, in "Elene" and his other poems Cynewulf usually speaks of himself, which makes it quite possible that the dreamer in Dream of the Rood is none other than Cynewulf himself; and finally four, "In both poems the author represents himself as old, having lost joys or friends and as ready to depart. The Dream of the Rood survives in the Vercelli Book, so called because the manuscript is now in the Italian city of Vercelli. Once, because of the law, I was a spectral terror to all slaves; but now the whole earth joyfully worships and adorns me. "(8) Later, the poet suggests that Christ actually initiates the battle to redeem mankind: This tone of action is also present when the Cross says: "the Lord of all mankind hastened with eager zeal that he might mount upon me. "An Approach to The Dream of the Rood. The attitude the poet gives Christ as he approaches the cross is similar to the daring spirit often expressed by Beowulf, a fictional Anglo-Saxon hero. "(28) Perhaps "The Dream of the Rood" poet's unwillingness to admit that Jesus was weary shows his or her desire to show that Christ embodied a level of supreme strength and heroism above Beowulf and the other great warriors of the time period. Initially when the dreamer sees the Cross, he notes how it is covered with gems. "(35) The poem certainly has an evangelist appeal in that it emphasizes the notion that humankind can obtain salvation through Christ's triumphant battle over sin. The rood symbolism dream represents a need to change your ways and attitude. ... Pay attention to the imagery of the poem. … Using these devices, “The Dream of the Rood” incorporates the ideals and entertainment value of a non- Christian oral tradition into a homiletic allegory about the Passion of Christ and the remises of Christian salvation. This is what The Dream of the Rood is written in. Berkeley:University of California. Within the poem, Hinton reads the dream as a confession of sorts, ending with the narrator invigorated, his "spirit longing to start. The addition of the sepulchre and dirge to traditional accounts of Christ's burial reflects an important tradition in medieval Europe in which "warriors honored their dead Prince before they left him in the solitude of death." Imagery in The Dream of the Rood. The Dream of the Rood is not signed by Cynewulf, but modern scholars have pointed to the similarities in the signed poems of Cynewulf. The "The Dream of the Rood's" description of Christ's burial also reflects the unique image of Christ in medieval times. Last fall, as I read and planned lessons for Beowulf, "The Wanderer," and "The Seafarer," I kept coming across "The Dream of the Rood." ‘The Dream of the Rood’ is an Old English poem that belongs to the genre of dream poetry. Dying courageously was crucial to the medieval image of Christ because as Irving writes, "for the aristocratic class of warriors, to die bravely and publicly [was] all."(19). A similar representation of the Cross is also present in Riddle 9 by the eighth-century Anglo-Saxon writer Tatwine. J.A. Michael Swanton, Professor of English Medieval Studies at the University of Exeter, suggests that "the extent of Christ's physical condition [is] carefully masked in favor of his victorious rule from the cross. Dockray-Miller, Mary. That scene is sculpted on another stone cross, at Kelloe. [25] Some scholars have argued that there is a prevalence of pagan elements within the poem, claiming that the idea of a talking tree is animistic. Interestingly, the poet's tendency to omit indications of Christ's weakness is not shared by medieval poets writing about the great secular heroes of the day. (32) The poet's description of Christ's burial echoes the burial of Beowulf: The depiction of Christ receiving a Beowulf-type burial rather than the type of burial recorded in the gospels shows how the image of Christ in the Middle Ages had been adapted from the image of Christ recorded in the gospels. The poet also presents a warrior-like image of Christ by portraying Jesus exuberantly preparing for combat rather than being lead passively to the cross. “The Dream of the Rood is best understood as an imaginative re-enactment of a private penitential experience[...] This critically acclaimed, dramatic Old English poem is the first dream-vision in English, and its most enduring features are a startling use of language, powerful prosopopoeia, and striking imagery.” (Butcher) These words evoke an image of Christ which differs strongly from the "Passover lamb that has been sacrificed"(12) described in the Bible. "(16) By emphasizing Christ's boldness and bravery over his more submissive characteristics, the poet presents an image of Christ that falls in line with the heroic ideals of the Middle Ages. However, to fulfill this grace of God, the Cross has to be a critical component in Jesus' death. Just as "The Dream of the Rood" poet omits details in the biblical accounts of the crucifixion that imply Jesus was a passive participant in his death, he or she de-emphasizes the disgrace, humiliation, and indignity of Christ's position. 28–121) and the third part (ll. Then, just as with Christ, the Cross is resurrected, and adorned with gold and silver. [7] Constance B. Hieatt distinguishes between portions of the Cross's speech based on speaker, subject, and verbal parallels, resulting in: Prologue (lines 1–27), Vision I (lines 28–77): history of the Rood, Vision II (lines 78–94): explanation of the Rood's glory, Vision III (lines 95–121): the Rood's message to mankind, and Epilogue (lines 122–156). [30] Thus, the crucifixion of Christ is a victory, because Christ could have fought His enemies, but chose to die. It begins with the enemy coming to cut the tree down and carrying it away. Anglo-Saxon influence can be identified by the use of a complex, echoing structure, allusions, repetition, verbal parall… Dockray-Miller, Mary. The Dream of the Rood has been heralded by scholars as the finest expression of the Crucifixion theme in Old English poetry. The vision ends, and the man is left with his thoughts. The focus of the poem is the victory won by Christ over sin. He gives praise to God for what he has seen and is filled with hope for eternal life and his desire to once again be near the glorious Cross. In the poem, a personified cross (the “rood”) speaks about the man who climbs upon him as “the young warrior, God Almighty.” It is already in position when it sees Christ advancing to it: In this way, the poet avoids mentioning Christ's inability to shoulder the weight of the cross. The main theme of the poem is religiosity and imagery has been used to show the Crucifixion of Christ as a battle. The Dream of the Rood is one of the Christian poems in the corpus of Old English literature and an example of the genre of dream poetry. She traces the establishment of the practice of Penance in England from Theodore of Tarsus, archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690, deriving from the Irish confession philosophy. It is an interesting piece for a variety of reasons, one of which is its use of word imagery to convey its subject matter. Bruce Mitchell notes that The Dream of the Rood is "the central literary document for understanding [the] resolution of competing cultures which was the presiding concern of the Christian Anglo-Saxons". John Canuteson believes that the poem "show[s] Christ's willingness, indeed His eagerness, to embrace His fate, [and] it also reveals the physical details of what happens to a man, rather than a god, on the Cross". Matthew: [26]Though "The Dream of the Rood" does mention that the cross and Christ "were reviled together,"(21) it does not detail the pain and humiliation Christ suffered. The poet develops these notions by the use of heroic diction, symbolism, and irony. photographs of each side of the cross. "(14) Just as Christ in "The Dream of the Rood" boldly rushes to mount the cross, Beowulf plunges into battle with great enthusiasm : The fact that "The Dream of the Rood" poet endows Christ with the jubilance and heroic bravado that typify great warriors of the medieval period shows that the image of Christ had changed to fit the values of the current culture. The warlike Germanic culture of the Early Middle Ages viewed the crucifixion as a victorious battle of good over evil and perceived Jesus as a hero who delivered humankind from sin. In Beowulf, Beowulf is praised as a "king," "the hero," and a "valiant warrior." Scholars like Faith H. Patten divide the poem into three parts, based on who is speaking: Introductory Section (lines 1–26), Speech of the Cross (lines 28–121), and Closing Section (lines 122–156).

“They put a purple cloak on him: ‘Hail, kind of the Jews! Burrow notes an interesting paradox within the poem in how the Cross is set up to be the way to Salvation: the Cross states that it cannot fall and it must stay strong to fulfill the will of God. Whoever enjoys my fruit will immediately be well, for I was given the power to bring health to the unhealthy. By presenting Christ as a confident hero, the "Dream of the Rood" poet emphasizes the voluntariness of Christ's undertaking the crucifixion. "(30) "The Dream of the Rood" also adds a dirge to the biblical account of Christ's burial. The Dream of the Rood. The poet develops these notions by the use of heroic diction, symbolism, and irony. [1] In section one, the narrator has a vision of the Cross. The Anglo-Saxon poem known as The Dream of the Rood brings, more than a thousand years earlier, a reverse image - that of a tree becoming the Cross. [19][20][21][22], Like many poems of the Anglo-Saxon period, The Dream of the Rood exhibits many Christian and pre-Christian images, but in the end is a Christian piece. [28], The poem may also be viewed as both Christian and pre-Christian. In “The Dream of the Rood” Christ is an Anglo-Saxon hero. “The Dream of the Rood” In “The Dream of the Rood”, the unknown poet uses lines 125-156 to develop the theme of triumph achieved by Christ as a warrior king, bringing the dreamer to realize there is hope for a better life after death. [27] Others have read the poem's blend of Christian themes with the heroic conventions as an Anglo-Saxon embrace and re-imagining, rather than conquest, of Christianity. Supposing that the only Christian poet before Bede was Cædmon, Stephens argued that Cædmon must have composed The Dream of the Rood. Likewise, some scholars have tried to attribute The Dream of the Rood to Cynewulf, a named Old English poet who lived around the ninth century. [15] These ideas are no longer accepted by scholars. [17] Thus Franz Dietrich argued that the similarities between Cynewulf's Elene and The Dream of the Rood reveal that the two must have been authored by the same individual. In a series of papers, Leonard Neidorf has adduced metrical, lexical, and syntactical evidence in support of a theory of composite authorship for The Dream of the Rood. The rood tells the poet how it had been forced to be the instrument of Christ’s death, describing how it, too, experienced the nails and spear thrusts along with the savior. Where the gospel-writer John records that Jesus "bowed his head and gave up his spirit,"(17) the poet of "The Dream of the Rood" says that Christ "sent forth his spirit. The dream is a signal for a sense of security and belonging. 705-783 CE), shows that the more traditional biblical image of Christ was retained in medieval times. In keeping with the warrior image of Christ, "The Dream of the Rood" also downplays many aspects of the crucifixion story which reveal Christ's physical pain and weakness. Dream of the Rood. The culturally interesting facet of this poem -- a very early example of the dream-vision genre popular in the later Middle Ages -- is how it tries to negotiate between Anglo-Saxon values and Christianity, the two of which are largely opposite each other. 122–156). The Vercelli Book, which can be dated to the 10th century, includes twenty-three homilies interspersed with six religious poems: The Dream of the Rood, Andreas, The Fates of the Apostles, Soul and Body, Elene and a poetic, homiletic fragment. Furthermore, he claimed that the Ruthwell Cross includes a runic inscription that can be interpreted as saying "Caedmon made me". In contrast to the rather pessimistic view of the crucifixion in "Christ III" in which humans are made to feel guilty about Christ's death, the approach [29] toward the crucifixion in "The Dream of the Rood" is hopeful and reassuring. In other translations, Christ is called the "heroic, fair, young knight,"(4) and "mankind's brave King. The Dream of the Rood, one of the few surviving pieces of Anglo-Saxon literature, is a vital reference for the ambiguous culture of England's early ancestors.Argued as one of the oldest pieces of Old English Literature, The Dream of the Rood effectively embodies the blended culture, moral code, and religious values of its unknown author. . The Dream of the Rood is an Old English religious poem by an unknown author, which dates back to at least the tenth century. The author of Beowulf makes little attempt to hide Beowulf's frailty when he falters under Grendel's mother's wrath: "The strongest of fighting-men stumbled in his weariness, the firmest of all foot-warriors fell to the earth. Another poem written in the same time period presents an image of Christ more in line with the biblical accounts: This passage, from "Christ III," a poem by Cynewulf (ca. The Lord and the Cross become one, and they stand together as victors, refusing to fall, taking on insurmountable pain for the sake of mankind. The tree learns that it is not to be the bearer of a criminal, but instead Christ crucified. 1) Old English or Anglo-Saxon (circa 450-1066 CE). Narrative structure, vivid imagery, and anthropomorphism are key poetic devices used to appeal to Christians and non-Christians alike.Using these devices, ‘The Dream of the Rood” incorporates the ideals and entertainment value of a non-Christian oral tradition into a homiletic allegory about the Passion of Christ and the promise of Christian salvation. The Dream of the Rood Context Although the author nor the date is known, the poem is said to have appeared in a late tenth-century manuscript in Northern Italy. Rather than describing the suffering that Jesus experienced, the poet chose to transfer Christ's anguish to the cross. After the warriors placed Christ's bodv in the sepulchre, they "next, wretched in the eventide, sang a dirge for Him."(31). The poem is set up with the narrator having a dream. You are reaching out in a different and profound way. Examining the poem as a pre-Christian (or pagan) piece is difficult, as the scribes who wrote it down were Christian monkswho lived in a time when Christianity was firmly established (at least among the aristocracy) in Anglo-Saxon England. Adelhied L. J. Thieme remarks, "The cross itself is portrayed as his lord's retainer whose most outstanding characteristic is that of unwavering loyalty". Narrative structure, vivid imagery, and anthropomorphism are key poetic devices used to appeal to Christians and non-Christians alike. Tatwine's riddle reads:[12]. Ritual and the Rood: Liturgical Images and the Old English Poems of the Dream of the Rood Tradition (London, 2005). How the cross felt during the crucifixion of Christ, is the theme of this verse. [30], Acevedo Butcher, Carmen, The Dream of the Rood and Its Unique, Penitential Language, Tatwine, ‘Latin Riddle 9 (early 8th century)’, in. 28 ], the tree is, who had distinct compositional styles ideas are no longer accepted scholars. 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