CC 20220801
The Dream of the Rood - Old English Aerobics\nThe Dream of the Rood is a dream-vision in which the cross tells the story of the crucifixion. Here Christ appears as a young hero-king, confident of victory as he rushes to mount the cross. By contrast, the cross itself (now stained with blood, now encrusted with gems in the manner of a reliquary) feels all the agony of crucifixion, and its physical pain is more than matched by the pain of its being forced to kill its young lord.\nThe text is from the tenth-century Vercelli Book; a portion of it is also carved in runes on an eighth-century stone cross in Ruthwell, Dumfriesshire, but the inscription may be of later date than the cross itself.\nFor the poems of the Vercelli Book, see George Philip Krapp and Elliott Van Kirk Dobbie, ed., The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records (New York, 1931-1953), vol. 2. Both the Vercelli and the Ruthwell texts have been edited separately, with full notes and glossary, by Michael Swanton, The Dream of the Rood, 2nd ed. (Exeter, 1987).\n5 on lyft lǣdan, lēohte bewunden,\nbegoten mid golde; ġimmas stōdon\nfæġere æt foldan scēatum; swylċe þǣr fīfe wǣron\nuppe on þām eaxleġespanne. Behēoldon þǣr enġel Dryhtnes ealle\n10 fæġere þurh forðġesceaft. Ne wæs ðǣr hūru fracodes ġealga,\nac hine þǣr behēoldon hāliġe gāstas,\nmen ofer moldan, ond eall þēos mǣre ġesceaft.\nSylliċ wæs se siġebēam ond iċ synnum fāh,\nforwunded mid wommum. Ġeseah iċ wuldres trēow\n15 wǣdum ġeweorðode, wynnum scīnan,\nġeġyred mid golde; ġimmas hæfdon\nbewriġene weorðlīċe Wealdendes trēow.\nHwæðre iċ þurh þæt gold onġytan meahte\nearmra ǣrġewin, þæt hit ǣrest ongan\n20 swǣtan on þā swīðran healfe. Eall iċ wæs mid sorgum ġedrēfed;\nforht iċ wæs for þǣre fæġran ġesyhðe. Ġeseah iċ þæt fūse bēacen\nbeswyled mid swātes gange, hwīlum mid since ġeġyrwed.\nHwæðre iċ þǣr licgende lange hwīle\n25 behēold hrēowċeariġ Hǣlendes trēow,\noð ðæt iċ ġehȳrde þæt hit hlēoðrode.\nÞæt wæs ġeāra iū (iċ þæt ġȳta ġeman)\nþæt iċ wæs āhēawen holtes on ende,\n30 āstyred of stefne mīnum. Ġenāman mē ðǣr strange fēondas,\nġeworhton him þǣr tō wǣfersȳne, hēton mē heora wergas hebban.\nBǣron mē ðǣr beornas on eaxlum oð ðæt hīe mē on beorg āsetton;\nġefæstnodon mē þǣr fēondas ġenōge. Ġeseah iċ þā Frēan mancynnes\nefstan elne myċle þæt hē mē wolde on ġestīgan.\n35 Þǣr iċ þā ne dorste ofer Dryhtnes word\nbūgan oððe berstan, þā iċ bifian ġeseah\neorðan scēatas. Ealle iċ mihte\nfēondas ġefyllan, hwæðre iċ fæste stōd.\nOnġyrede hine þā ġeong hæleð - þæt wæs God ælmihtiġ,\n40 strang ond stīðmōd. Ġestāh hē on ġealgan hēanne,\nmōdiġ on maniġra ġesyhðe, þā hē wolde mancyn lȳsan.\nBifode iċ þā mē se beorn ymbclypte. Ne dorste iċ hwæðre būgan tō eorðan,\nfeallan tō foldan scēatum, ac iċ sceolde fæste standan.\nRōd wæs iċ ārǣred. Āhōf iċ rīċne Cyning,\nÞurhdrifan hī mē mid deorcan næġlum. On mē syndon þā dolg ġesīene\nopene inwidhlemmas. Ne dorste iċ hira nǣnigum sceððan.\nBysmeredon hīe unc būtū ætgædere. Eall iċ wæs mid blōde bestēmed,\nbegoten of þæs guman sīdan siððan hē hæfde his gāst onsended.\n50 Feala iċ on þām beorge ġebiden hæbbe\n55 wann under wolcnum. Wēop eal ġesceaft,\nSāre iċ wæs mid sorgum ġedrēfed; hnāg iċ hwæðre þām secgum tō handa,\n60 ēaðmōd, elne myċle. Ġenāmon hīe þǣr ælmihtiġne God,\nstandan stēame bedrifenne. Eall iċ wæs mid strǣlum forwundod.\nĀlēdon hīe ðǣr limwēriġne, ġestōdon him æt his līċes hēafdum;\nbehēoldon hīe ðǣr heofenes Dryhten, ond hē hine ðǣr hwīle reste,\n65 mēðe æfter ðām miċlan ġewinne. Ongunnon him þā moldern wyrċan\nbeornas on banan ġesyhðe. Curfon hīe ðæt of beorhtan stāne;\nġesetton hīe ðǣron sigora Wealdend. Ongunnon him þā sorhlēoð galan\nearme on þā ǣfentīde. Þā hīe woldon eft sīðian\n70 Hwæðere wē ðǣr grēotende gōde hwīle\nstōdon on staðole syððan stefn ūp ġewāt\nhilderinca. Hrǣw cōlode\nfæġer feorgbold. Þā ūs man fyllan ongan\nealle tō eorðan. Þæt wæs eġesliċ wyrd!\n75 Bedealf ūs man on dēopan sēaþe; hwæðre mē þǣr Dryhtnes þeġnas,\nġyredon mē golde ond seolfre.\nNū ðū miht ġehȳran, hæleð mīn se lēofa,\nþæt iċ bealuwara weorc ġebiden hæbbe,\n80 sārra sorga. Is nū sǣl cumen\nþæt mē weorðiað wīde ond sīde\nmenn ofer moldan ond eall þēos mǣre ġesceaft,\nġebiddaþ him tō þyssum bēacne. On mē bearn Godes\nþrōwode hwīle; for þan iċ þrymfæst nū\n85 hlīfiġe under heofenum, ond iċ hǣlan mæġ\nǣġhwylċne ānra þāra þe him bið eġesa tō mē.\nIū iċ wæs ġeworden wīta heardost,\nlēodum lāðost, ǣr þan iċ him līfes weġ\nrihtne ġerȳmde reordberendum.\n90 Hwæt, mē þā ġeweorðode wuldres Ealdor\nofer holtwudu, heofonriċes Weard,\nswylċe swā hē his mōdor ēac, Marian sylfe,\nælmihtiġ God for ealle menn\nġeweorðode ofer eall wīfa cynn.\n95 Nū iċ þē hāte, hæleð mīn se lēofa,\nþæt ðū þās ġesyhðe secge mannum,\nonwrēoh wordum þæt hit is wuldres bēam\nse ðe ælmihtiġ God on þrōwode\n100 ond Adomes ealdġewyrhtum.\nDēað hē þǣr byriġde; hwæðere eft Dryhten ārās\nmid his miċlan mihte mannum tō helpe.\nHē ðā on heofenas āstāg, hider eft fundaþ\non þysne middanġeard mancynn sēċan\n105 on dōmdæġe Dryhten sylfa,\nælmihtiġ God ond his enġlas mid,\nþæt hē þonne wile dēman, se āh dōmes ġeweald,\nānra ġehwylcum swā hē him ǣrur hēr\non þyssum lǣnum līfe ġeearnaþ.\n110 Ne mæġ þǣr ǣniġ unforht wesan\nFrīneð hē for þǣre mæniġe hwǣr se man sīe,\nbiteres onbyriġan, swā hē ǣr on ðām bēame dyde.\n115 Ac hīe þonne forhtiað, ond fēa þenċaþ\nhwæt hīe tō Criste cweðan onġinnen.\nNe þearf ðǣr þonne ǣniġ anforht wesan\nþe him ǣr in brēostum bereð bēacna sēlest,\nac ðurh ðā rōde sceal rīċe ġesēċan\n120 of eorðweġe ǣġhwylċ sāwl\nsēo þe mid Wealdende wunian þenċeð.\nĠebæd iċ mē þā tō þan bēame blīðe mōde,\nelne myċle, þǣr iċ āna wæs\nmǣte werede. Wæs mōdsefa\n125 āfȳsed on forðweġe; feala ealra ġebād\nþæt iċ þone siġebēam sēċan mōte\n130 myċel on mōde, ond mīn mundbyrd is\nġeriht tō þǣre rōde. Nāh iċ rīċra feala\nġewiton of worulde drēamum, sōhton him wuldres Cyning,\n135 wuniaþ on wuldre, ond iċ wēne mē\ndaga ġehwylċe hwænne mē Dryhtnes rōd\nþe iċ hēr on eorðan ǣr scēawode\non þysson lǣnan līfe ġefetiġe\nond mē þonne ġebringe þǣr is blis myċel,\n140 drēam on heofonum, þǣr is Dryhtnes folc\nġeseted tō symle, þǣr is singal blis,\nond mē þonne āsette þǣr iċ syþþan mōt\n145 se ðe hēr on eorþan ǣr þrōwode\non þām ġealgtrēowe for guman synnum.\nHē ūs onlȳsde ond ūs līf forġeaf\nheofonlicne hām. Hiht wæs ġenīwad\nmid blēdum ond mid blisse þām þe þǣr bryne þolodan.\n150 Se Sunu wæs sigorfæst on þām sīðfate,\nmihtiġ ond spēdiġ þā hē mid maniġeo cōm,\ngāsta weorode, on Godes rīċe,\nAnwealda ælmihtiġ, enġlum tō blisse\nond eallum ðām hālgum þām þe on heofonum ǣr\n155 wunedon on wuldre þā heora Wealdend cwōm,\nælmihtiġ God, þǣr his ēðel wæs.