From The Dream of the Rood
Anonymous, translated By Roy M. Liuzza
 
 “It was so long ago––I remember it still––
that I was felled from the forest’s edge,
ripped up from my roots. Strong enemies seized me there,
made me their spectacle, made me bear their criminals;
they bore me on their shoulders and then set me on a hill,
enemies enough fixed me fast. Then I saw the Lord of mankind
hasten eagerly, when he wanted to ascend upon me.
I did not dare to break or bow down
against the Lord’s word, when I saw
the ends of the earth tremble. Easily I might
have felled all those enemies, and yet I stood fast.
Then the young hero made ready—that was God almighty—
strong and resolute; he ascended on the high gallows,
brave in the sight of many, when he wanted to ransom mankind.
I trembled when he embraced me, but I dared not bow to the ground,
or fall to the earth’s corners––I had to stand fast.
I was reared as a cross: I raised up the mighty King,
the Lord of heaven; I dared not lie down.
They drove dark nails through me; the scars are still visible,
open wounds of hate; I dared not harm any of them.
They mocked us both together; I was all drenched with blood
flowing from that man’s side after he had sent forth his spirit.
 
     “Much have I endured on that hill
of hostile fates: I saw the God of hosts
cruelly stretched out. Darkness had covered
with its clouds the Ruler’s corpse,
that shining radiance. Shadows spread
grey under the clouds; all creation wept,
mourned the King’s fall: Christ on the cross.”
 
From Old English Poetry: An Anthology.  Copyright © 2014 by Roy Liuzza. 
Read the whole poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/159129/dream-of-the-rood-translation
 

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The Dream of the Rood was probably composed around 800. It is one of the finest of surviving Anglo-Saxon poems. The full poem runs to 156 lines.
 
Anglo-Saxon poetry doesn’t rhyme. Instead, it is built on alliteration (the repetition of similar sounds) and stresses. So each line will have the same number of stresses, though the number of syllables can vary quite a bit.
 
The poem is called “The Dream of the Rood.”  The “dream” is that of someone who feels “stained with sin, / wounded with guilt.” In his dream, he sees the glorious “rood,” or cross of Christ, bedecked with gold and jewels—but also streaming with blood. The cross tells him his story. When the speaker wakes from this dream, he is filled with joy and hope.
 
The portion of the poem Scott read is where the cross begins to tell his story. The poem is dense and there are many layers of meaning, so I’ll just point out a few things to notice. One thing that strikes me is that the cross’s story doesn’t begin in a carpenter’s shop, but in a forest: “I was felled from the forest’s edge, / ripped up from my roots.” Centuries later, the cross still remembers itself as a tree. This image of the cross as a tree is an important one, which resonates in the Scriptures and in the liturgy. On Good Friday, we will sing from the ancient hymn “Crux fidelis”: “Faithful Cross the Saints rely on, / Noble tree beyond compare.” The cross is not just wood, but a tree that continues to bear fruit.
 
A second dimension to notice in the poem is the way the cross’s experience mirrors that of Christ. There are times when we might think we are hearing Christ’s voice, rather than the voice of the cross: “Strong enemies seized me there… They drove dark nails through me; the scars are still visible, / open wounds of hate.” The cross shares in the crucifixion: “They mocked us both together; I was all drenched with blood.” For Christians, the cross is inseparable from Christ himself. That is why the Adoration of the Holy Cross is at the center of the Good Friday liturgy: “Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world. Come, let us adore.” In adoring the Cross, we adore Christ, who hung upon the cross for us.
 
A third striking element. In “The Dream of the Rood,” Christ is no victim. Notice the language the poet uses to describe the moment of crucifixion: “I saw the Lord of mankind hasten eagerly… he wanted to ascend upon me…. The young hero made ready—that was God almighty--/ strong and resolute… brave in the sight of many.” Christ is a hero, who approaches his passion with courage, like a warrior going into battle, confident of victory. In this way, the poem reflects the serenity of many of crucifixion scenes of the same era: Christ is tranquil, strong, fully aware; he presides from the cross. By taking on the viewpoint of the cross, the poem is also able to explore the emotion, the uncertainty, the enormity of what is happening: “I trembled… I dared not bow… I had to stand fast… Much have I endured on that hill.”
 
We get a sense of how important this poem was in Anglo-Saxon times from the fact that passages of it are inscribed in runes on the Ruthwell Cross, in present-day Scotland—then part of the kingdom of Northumbria.
 
I think “The Dream of the Rood” is the perfect poem to help us prepare for Holy Week – especially the accounts of Christ’s Passion which we will hear on Palm Sunday and on Good Friday. In the liturgy, we see a similar balance between sadness and grief for the sufferings and Christ—and serene confidence that, in the words of our poet,
 
He who here on earth once suffered
on the hanging-tree for human sin;
He ransomed us and gave us life,
a heavenly home. Hope was renewed
with cheer and bliss….

Corinna Laughlin