The Dream of the Rood
E21505
The Dream of the Rood is an Old English Christian poem that presents a visionary, first-person account of Christ’s crucifixion narrated by the Cross itself.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Christian poem
→
Old English poem → religious visionary poem → |
| audience | Christian Anglo-Saxon audience → |
| authorshipStatus | anonymous → |
| character |
Jesus Christ
→
surface form: "Christ"
the Dreamer → the Rood → |
| countryOfOrigin | England → |
| dateWritten | circa 8th century → |
| earliestCompositionDate | 7th or 8th century → |
| form | alliterative verse → |
| genre |
Christian devotional literature
→
dream vision → religious poetry → |
| influence | Anglo-Saxon devotional tradition → |
| inscriptionSource |
Ruthwell Cross inscriptions
→
surface form: "Ruthwell Cross"
|
| language | Old English → |
| length | approximately 156 lines in the Vercelli version → |
| literaryDevice |
alliteration
→
personification of the Cross → vivid imagery → |
| literaryPeriod | Anglo-Saxon literature → |
| literarySignificance |
major work of Old English religious poetry
→
one of the earliest Christian poems in English → |
| mainTheme |
Crucifixion of Jesus
→
surface form: "Crucifixion of Christ"
|
| manuscriptLocation |
Nowell Codex
→
surface form: "Vercelli Book"
|
| manuscriptRepository | Cathedral Library, Vercelli → |
| manuscriptWitness |
Nowell Codex
→
surface form: "Vercelli Book"
|
| meter | Old English alliterative meter → |
| motif |
dream vision
→
heroic Christ → martyrdom → speaking cross → suffering and redemption → |
| narrativePerspective | first-person account by the Cross → |
| narrator |
Christian cross
→
surface form: "the Cross of Christ"
the Rood → |
| originalScript | Insular minuscule → |
| portrayalOfChrist | heroic warrior → |
| possibleAuthor | Cynewulf → |
| religion | Christianity → |
| setting | visionary dream → |
| structure | framed dream narrative → |
| symbol |
Christ as lord and warrior
→
Cross as both tree and instrument of salvation → |
| theologicalTheme |
atonement
→
resurrection hope → salvation → |
| tone | reverent and heroic → |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.