Rood and Ruthwell

I completely forgot to post it when I got the e-mail a week or so ago, but fortunately Larry Swain reminded me.

Alexander M. Bruce has posted "Rood and Ruthwell: The Poem and the Cross," a basic introduction to the Ruthwell Cross and the "Dream of the Rood." For those who don't know, "Rood" means "Cross." The famous poem "The Dream of the Rood" is an Anglo-Saxon poem about the crucifixion of Christ told from the perspective of the Cross itself (or the "Rood"). Lines from this famous poem can be found on the Ruthwell Cross.

"The Dream of the Rood" is hauntingly beautiful. I have a (non-medievalist) colleague who wept the first time he read it. You can find Bruce's translation (only 156 lines, so a short read) here.