The Dream of the Rood

While the unknown author or authors of “Dream of the Rood” may not have consciously planned to unite “pagan” and Christian value systems in the poem, the coexistence of these different strands forms an important theme. In “Dream of the Rood,” it is evident that pre-Christian and Christian epistemologies not only coexisted for a while, but that Christian epistemology itself borrowed and transmuted many symbols from “pagan” culture.

The rood is a perfect symbol of the intermingling of Christian and pre-Christian value systems. It is studded with gems, bathed in light, upright, like a great warrior wearing armor of gold. It is akin to the axis mundi or the Tree of Life, with angels attending to it, like birds flocking around the tree’s branches. At the same time, the rood is also streaked in blood and sweat, wrapped in bandages. So strange is this seemingly contradictory sight to the speaker that he is “afeared for its fearful beauty” (Line 21a). Significantly, the rood shows its wounds to the speaker only when the speaker begins to unfavorably compare his own “shabby,” human state with the tree’s perfect splendor. The rood reassures the speaker that it too is wounded.

It then recounts its history and nature to the speaker, framing the story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection as a heroic triumph.