The Dream of the Rood GROUP 6 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND One of the earliest works in the corpus of English literature is ‘The Dream of the Rood.’ It is the first great example of the Christian dream poetry genre. This poem is preserved in the Vercelli Book (in north Italy) and is considered one of the earliest physical pieces of evidence of Old English Literature. The poem was first discovered on the Ruthwell Cross, a large, stone carving dating to the early eighth century. Eighteen verses of "The Dream of the Rood" were carved into the cross in runic lettering. This was all that was known of the work to scholars until the complete poem was discovered in 1822 in northern Italy in the 10thcentury "Vercelli Book.“ HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The poem has been the subject of literary and historical study for generations and has been interpreted in a variety of ways. "The Dream of the Rood" also provides a valuable window into early Christian England. The dream vision uses strong images of Christ in order to reach members of the Anglo-Saxon warrior culture, who valued strength above humility. This may have been a deliberate strategy to convert pagans to Christianity. It also reflects how the image of Jesus was adapted to suit different cultures. AUTHOR In ‘The Dream of the Rood’ poem, the narrator dreams about the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. In his dream, the poet narrates that at night, he saw the Cross was “treasure adorned” for it was covered in gems and gold, and the ‘Rood’ or the ‘cross’ was hovering in the air. SUMMARY The poet also described the Cross to have a “wretched hostility” and on the right side a little blood other than its golden beauty. Later in the poem, the poet describes that the appearance of the Cross changed with passing time. The dreamer saw the welladorned ‘Rood’ transform into one filled with blood. In the second part of the poem, the dreamer seems to be speaking himself but from the perspective of the ‘Rood’ and in relation to what the ‘cross’ had experienced prior. The poem unveils the complete story of the Cross, from how it was created and how it became a symbol of humankind’s salvation. SUMMARY The Rood was carved out from a tree and was put on a hill where Jesus was crucified and pinned to the limbs of the Rood. In the poem, the Rood also described that it fought along with Jesus for the salvation of people by not bending down and not fighting the wicked ones. After that, the Rood further narrated how Christ’s lifeless body was detached from him and later buried into the land. This event was followed by the Rood’s ascend into the heaven where he was all “treasure adorned” for to be seen by everyone. SUMMARY The poet ends the narration by describing how he is again back to the present time and relayed what he saw in his dream in detail. Lastly, he praised the Almighty and his Son, Jesus Christ, and hoped for eternal life. CHARACTERS