Dakota Beacon

Looking beyond Easter’s jellybeans, peeps and bunnies portends something far more profound to contemplate. One of the oldest poems in the English language brings out the overwhelming significance of Easter beyond our contemporary one day celebration. “The Dream of the Rood,” author unknown, was written sometime near the end of the 7th century. This poem pre-dates “Beowulf” by at least 100 hundred years and follows Saint Patrick’s visit to Ireland by some 200 years.

Dreaming of the rood (crucifix), the poet lyrically describes a beautiful tree, the cross of Christ, as a gold-covered, bejeweled treasure worthy of reverence. Almost ethereal in his vision, the sentiment toward the rood is something akin to worship, that is, until the rood itself begins to speak telling its story to the poet.

The rood tells how it was cut from the forest and forced to be the instrument of Jesus Christ’s torture and death. From the viewpoint of the rood, Christ is portrayed as a divine warrior-hero in the barbaric Anglo-Saxon way. Christ hastens willingly to mount the rood voluntarily accepting battle with the forces of evil.

As an instrument of torture, the rood speaks of its own wounds by nail and lance and of being covered with blood and gore. When the crucifixion is complete the rood is hewn down and buried only to be discovered and “resurrected,” restored and worshipped.

The poet intentionally weaves the experience of Christ and the rood in tandem for dramatic effect. On close reflection, the deeply held values of the Anglo-Saxon barbarian culture give way to the redemption of Jesus Christ.

A story is told of Clovis, King of the Franks who, upon hearing for the first time of the crucifixion of Christ, is said to have exclaimed that if he had been there with his Franks he would have avenged Christ’s wrongs. This emphasizes beautifully the huge gap which the Germanic tribes had to bridge to accept the Gospel. For Clovis to express the duty of revenge illustrates how completely the Germanic tribes misunderstood Christianity. Furthermore, “The Dream of the Rood” foreshadows the eventual breakdown of Anglo-Saxon culture. Although the barbarians lived among the ruins of the Roman Empire that their ancestors had brought down, they were vaguely attracted to the Christianity which they did not fully understand.

As the poem concludes, the poet himself is transformed by his dream and by the witness borne by the rood.

“The Dream of the Rood” was written as the Anglo-Saxons collided with Christianity amidst a harsh, cruel and often unforgiving environment. Indirectly, “The Dream” reflects the coming to terms by the barbarians with a spiritual reality foreign to them. They saw in Christ something inexplicable and yet were drawn to Him for that very reason. Herein was repeated the process of assimilation, a pattern continued around the world for centuries to come. This ancient Anglo-Saxon poem is a poignant retelling of the old, old story of redemption by the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Written in Old English and comprising 156 lines in alliterative verse, the poem is regarded by many as one of the finest religious poems in the English language. Until the early 19th century all that was known of “The Dream” came from a fragment of runic inscriptions on a stone cross found near Ruthwell, Scotland dating from the early 8th century. The cross now resides in the parish church of Ruthwell.

In 1822 what is known as the Vercelli Book was found in the cathedral library at Vercelli in northern Italy. The book contained the complete “The Dream of the Rood” along with other Old English religious poems and 23 homilies. The book was probably taken to Italy by an Anglo-Saxon pilgrim en route to Rome.

Contemporary translations of “The Dream of the Rood” may be found in some anthologies of English poetry and, of course, on the internet.

A few minutes reflecting on the theme of the poem and the mood it creates is sure to assuage the soul far beyond the one day celebration of Easter.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).