Stone, Skin, and Silver: A Translation of "The Dream of the Rood"

Description

"Listen! Let me tell you about the best of dreams..." These exhortatory words begin "The Dream of the Rood", which in the words of the late Professor C. L. Wrenn is "one of the greatest religious poems in English literature", and the work "of a nameless poet of superb genius." This new edition of the poem combines the manuscript facsimile, a conservative text with notes and glossary, and a facing-page translation that aims to be both interpretative and accurate. The book follows the historical trail and vestiges of words and phrases over a span of four hundred years that are engraved or inscribed on stone, skin, and silver, and found today in Scotland, Italy and Belgium but which all originated in England. The Ruthwell Cross is a 5.28 m high freestanding stone cross now in the parish church at Ruthwell in Dumfries, Scotland, displaying, written in runic letters, the earliest extant version of the poem which is dated to around the mid-eighth century. The Brussels Cross is a 46.5 cm high silver-and gold-plated cross, which now forms part of the antiquities of the Cathedral of SS. Michel-et-Gudule in Brussels, Belgium. It has inscribed on it about two lines of verse that are the latest known reference to the poem from the Anglo-Saxon period. This cross dates from the early part of the twelfth century. Foreword vi Acknowledgements vii List of Figures & Tables viii List of Plates ix Abbreviations x Grammatical Terms xii Introduction 1 Ruthwell Runic Poetic Text 35 The Dream of the Rood 41 Brussels Cross Inscription & Dedication 51 Contemporary Latin & Vernacular Cross Hymns & Poems 55 Representations & Forms of the Cross 63 Background to Anglo-Saxon History & Language 81 Select Bibliography 99 Glossary 116