Sunday, September 23, 2007

The Dream of the Rood



As with Caedmon’s Hymn, the narrator is visited by the Rood in his dreams. There is on parallel between the Rood and the narrator that really seem to stand out; the narrator describes himself as “…and I stained with sins, wounded with wrongdoings,” whereas the Rood states “…I had endured the work of evildoers, grievous sorrows” (27-28). Both see themselves and stained by sin and sorrow, having no hope of salvation. The man, however, sees his salvation in the vision of the Rood:

And every day I look forward to when the Lord’s Cross that I beheld here on earth will fetch me from this short life and bring me then where joy is great, delight in the heavens… (29)

Yet the Rood sees its deliverance in the baring of Christ, almost willing itself not to bend, break – “I might have felled all foes, but I stood fast.” – and to not fail its Lord. Its salvation came in becoming the tree of glory and one of the most important religious symbols:

Now the time has come that men far and wide upon earth honor me – and all this glorious creation – and pray to this beacon. (28)

Though it may seem that this particular blog is a little quote-heavy, it is just very awe inspiring that both the man and this cross felt that they were stained by sin – whether it be through deeds or baring the blood of men – and both were able to find their salvation; they were linked in their desire to reach the delight of heaven and the warmth of their Christ.

Caedmon's Hymn

Described as an “illiterate cowherd,” Caedmon went on to create one of the greatest and well-known religious verses (24). After waking from a dream in which a man asked him to sing, Caedmon was blessed with the memory of having wrought a beautiful verse of Genesis and the glory of God. The idea of spiritual awakening – whether it be through song, scripture, or some other religious facet – through dreams is something that has come up time and again since the beginning of Christianity; the narrator of Dream of the Rood (discussed later) even claimed that particular spiritual wonder came to him in dream. Previously considered to have no vocal talents, Caedmon’s masterpieces went on to be described as thus: “It often happened that his songs kindled a contempt for this world and a longing for the life of Heaven in the hearts of many men” (25). Even Bede, after having translated the hymn, wrote “…it is impossible to make a literal translation, no matter how well-written, of poetry into another language without losing some of the beauty and dignity” (26). Such things speak of the magnitude of Caedmon’s ability for spiritual verse.

History of Bede

Thirteen hundred years have passed, yet Bede is still one of the most revered historians to date. Known primarily for “An Ecclesiastical History of the English People,” it is amazing to reflect upon the fact that Bede was known for a large number of other works: poetry, Biblical translation, and natural history are just a few. The website “The Venerable Bede” tells us that he was also quite learned in the languages Greek, Latin, and Hebrew; which is remarkable even for other monks of the time. Even looking at the achievements of his youth, one can see that Bede was destined for greatness – sent away to a monastery at age seven, Bede became a deacon at the early age of nineteen and moved on to become a priest at thirty. “Bede’s World,” another website dedicated to the importance of the Benedictine monk, even goes to show that one’s achievements cannot be damaged by time from their uncovering of some of the monk’s quotes and other miraculous finds.