dream (gp), best (as), to say/tell hwæt me gemætte° to midre° nihte, to dream (impers. Many enemies held me fast there. Men bore me on their shoulders and set me on a hill. Thus the Rood is part of an eternal plan, like “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. The dream of the rood : an old English poem attributed to Cynewulf Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. favorite. The Dream of the Rood, one of the few surviving pieces of Anglo-Saxon literature, is a vital reference for the ambiguous culture of England's early ancestors. 1: Hwæt! I saw the Lord of All coming swiftly EMBED. This version was taken from the Complete Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Poetry and is freely distributable .. Verse Indeterminate Saxon. The Dream of the Rood is widely regarded as one of the finest short religious poems in the Old English period. Dream of the Rood. The Dream of the Rood Lines 1 - 28 Hwæt °, ic swefna° cyst° secgan° wylle, Lo! That beacon was entirely garnished with gold. What I wish to say of the best of dreams, what came to me in the middle of the night after the speech-bearers lie biding their rest! The Dream of the Rood also provides a valuable window into early Christian England. “The Dream of the Rood” is the most widely studied Old English poem with the exception of Beowulf (first transcribed c. 1000 c.e. But the poem which, above all others, betrays the spirit of tender yet passionate veneration, of awe and adoration for “the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died,” is The Dream of the Rood. Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! 13:8). (1-3) It seemed to me that I saw the greatest tree brought into the sky, bewound in light, the brightest of beams. EMBED (for wordpress.com hosted blogs and archive.org item tags) Want more? The Dream of the Rood Translation by Richard Hamer (1970) 1 Hear while I tell about the best of dreams Which came to me the middle of one night While humankind were sleeping in their beds. [ Return to text ] [ 4 ] old strife of wretches . The Dream of the Rood. Ic swefna cyst: secgan wylle, hwæt me gemætte: to midre nihte, Argued as one of the oldest pieces of Old English Literature, The Dream of the Rood effectively embodies the blended culture, moral code, and religious values of its unknown author. share. The poem has been the subject of literary and historical study for generations and has been interpreted in a variety of ways.