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The Church Fathers · c. 700–800
The Dream of the Rood
Anonymous
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What it is
A dreamer sees the cross, which then speaks: a tree cut down and made to hold its lord, forbidden to bend or fall, sharing the wounds driven through him.
Why it lasted
The finest religious poem in Old English, part of it carved in runes on a stone cross in Scotland, and a startling fusion of Germanic heroism with the passion.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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