Dream of the Rood

Ruminating on The Rood:

Anglo-Saxon Culture and the “Warrior” Christ.

Samuel Levesque Háskólí Íslands Haust 2005

Medieval Literature in Translation

Málstofuverkefni

Introduction: How I became an atheist and why there are so few Japanese Christians.

Religion has always held a certain fascination for me, which ironically led to my becoming an atheist. After studying most of the major world religions, I realized that none of them really fit my view of the world. Christianity was too passive, Judaism and Islam too dogmatic, Hinduism too complex, and Buddhism too simplistic. So I rejected them. Which is unusual I think. Most people tend to stretch and alter their religion to fit their world-view. Not only people, but whole cultures as well.

In the Americas, there are a multitude of different “Catholicisms” many that bear only superficial resemblance to the Church of Rome. In these cultural offshoots, saints stand in for pre-Christian pagan gods and goddess, offerings are made to altars, and traditions long pre-dating the Catholic Church are given a Christian veneer. Yet the people who pray to these altars and make offerings to these saints see themselves as good Catholics, despite the fact that the religion they practice is often at odds with the teachings of the church, if not with that of the Bible itself.

Other times, a religion introduced to a society from outside can fail to adapt to it, especially when the pre-existing culture has values very much at odds with it. Japan has one of the smallest Christian populations in Asia, due to, among other things, the crucifix. As theologian Jack Miles says in the introduction to his book Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God:

The Crucifixion, the primal scene of Western religion and Western art, has lost much of its power to shock. At this date, perhaps only a non-Western eye can truly see it. A Japanese artist now living in Los Angeles once recalled the horror most Japanese feel at seeing a corpse displayed as a religious icon, and of their further revulsion when icon is explained to them. They ask, she said, “If he was so good, why did he die like that?” In Japanese culture, “good people end their lives with a good death, even a beautiful death, like the Buddha. Someone dying in such a hideous way- for us, he could only be a criminal” (Pg.3)

The Anglo-Saxons shared many cultural traits with the Japanese. Their society was semi-feudal, based on a code of honor that demanded absolute loyalty to one’s leader, even unto death. “The Battle of Maldon” and “Akouroushi”[1] would be mutually acceptable. Both Anglo-Saxon England and medieval Japan shared a belief in “fate”, the idea that one cannot change the course of one’s life, and therefore to fear the future, meaning death, is foolish. In both places warfare was chiefly an economic activity, bringing tribute, vassals, slaves, and prestige to the victors. Defeat was so shameful it could only be avoided by death. Pre-Christian, and to an extent Christian Anglo-Saxon culture placed, as do the Japanese, a great deal of emphasis in dying well. Beowulf goes fearlessly and heroically to his death. Countless saints smile and recite poetry on their deathbeds.

So how is it that the Japanese reject the crucifixion, while the Anglo-Saxons not only accepted it, but also wrote moving poetry in its praise? I think this is due to the fact that the Anglo-Saxons managed to adapt some aspects of Christianity to their culture, while changing or ignoring those that were distasteful to the Anglo-Saxon mind. If ever there was an example of this, if ever there was a poem to tempt the Japanese to Christ, “The Dream of the Rood” is it.

“The Dream of the Rood” manages with great aplomb to transform the story of a pacifist political and religious dissenter being tortured and sent to the gallows into the story of a “proud warrior” boldly climbing onto the cross to win victory. It is both a quintessential Christian poem, in that it deals with the defining moment of the New Testament, and a rather un-Christian poem. For, when one looks at the highly Anglo-Saxon heroic elements in the poem from a biblical perspective, it often contradicts the very story it was inspired by.

The First Stanza: Wealth and Judgement

On beginning to read “The Dream of the Rood” one is immediately struck by the archaic nature of the imagery, even if one is reading a modern translation. There are two elements in this stanza that, on deeper reflection, rather stand out.

The first of these is the description of the cross: “that emblem was entirely cased in gold; beautiful jewels/ were strewn around its foot, just as five/ studded the cross-beam.” This is a far cry from “The Old Rugged Cross” of the Protestant hymn. While it can be argued that by the time Christianity reached the hearts of Anglo-Saxon England the Church was a wealthy emperial power, given to adornment and display, most of its holy orders still believed in a life of material poverty. Poverty as a means to salvation is a cornerstone of Christ’s teachings. Throughout the New Testament there are admonishments against wealth and ostentatious displays. As Christ said, “A camel has a better chance passing through the eye of a needle than a rich man of entering heaven.” So why this gem-studded cross?

Put simply, in Anglo-Saxon culture wealth equaled virtue. If one was wealthy, it was due to one being valiant and cunning in battle, winning material gains along with military victory. A culture with values such as that would have difficulty accepting poverty as something noble. Therefore, even though it is demonstratively un-Christian, the poem contains many references to wealth as a sign of virtue. In the third stanza the voice of the Rood depicts being girded “with gold and shimmering silver.” In the final stanza, the narrator speaks of a heaven where one “feasts” and “dwells in splendor”, which sounds more like the Norse Valhalla than Augustine’s City of God.

Then comes the line “that was no cross of a criminal…” Here, as with the Japanese, we see the tendency to think of anyone put to such a shameful death as criminal. The poet obviously felt the need to make very sure that his audience would not make this mistake. At the same time, it sounds very judgmental. Which is fine if one is a proud Anglo-Saxon chieftain. Passing judgement was a large part of the role after all. But Christ tells us not to judge, “lest [we] be judged in heaven.” An oft-overlooked but very poignant moment in the story of the crucifixion is the conversion of the thief on the cross beside Jesus. Here we have an “actual” criminal, crucified beside Son of God, and yet still worthy of his forgiveness. This point seems lost on the author.

Second Stanza: Martial not martyred.

The business of any heroic poem is war, and the Anglo-Saxons loved their heroic poems, among which “The Dream of the Rood” could be counted. The problem is that in trying to turn the story of the crucifixion into a heroic praise-poem, the author had to stray a great deal from the scripture.

“The Dream of the Rood” is not the only example of this phenomenon from the early Middle Ages. The so-called Hildebrandslied takes the martialization of the Gospel to almost ridiculous lengths, resulting in a poem that Richard Fletcher in his book The Barbarian Conversion describes as “not Christian at all”:

The author of the Heliand used stock phrases drawn from secular epic to render the gospel narrative accessible to his audience. Jesus is the landes uuard, “guardian of the land”, the thiodo drohtin, “lord of the peoples”. The Virgin Mary is an adalcnosles uuif, a “woman of noble lineage”, and King Herod a boggebo, a “giver of rings”…The infant Christ is decked with jewels and the shepherds are transformed into grooms looking after horses. Jesus gathers about him “youths for disciples, young men and good, word-wise warriors”, just as a Saxon lord would seek sword-wise warriors for his retainers…At the entry to Jerusalem the ass is omitted: the Lord enters on foot rather than on an ignoble beast unfitted to his royal dignity. (Pg.266)

While not straying as far as Hildebrandslied, “The Dream of the Rood” contains many phrases that seem strange to a modern Christian, just as they would to an early believer. Early Christianity was very pacifist, so it comes as a shock when Jesus, he who counseled men to “turn the other cheek” is described as “the young warrior, God Almighty…firm and unflinching”. “The Dream of the Rood” transforms the crucifixion into a test of strength and manhood. Rather than sacrificing himself to redeem mankind, Jesus is portrayed as bravely climbing onto the cross to win victory. There is no mention of his cry “Father, why hast thou forsaken me?” Later, in the third stanza, Jesus is said to have “rested for a while/ worn-out after battle”. The fourth stanza praises his “great strength”, just as with any other Anglo-Saxon hero. Even the cross, the Rood itself speaks in a martial tone, saying that “strong enemies seized me” and that “Many enemies fastened me there”. In this stanza the “Prince of Peace”, the “Lamb of God” is portrayed as a war-leader, a lion. This emphasis on warriorism is patently un-Christian, at least according to scripture. As Owen Chadwick points out in his A History of Christianity:

Clement of Alexandria called Christians ‘the peaceful race’. They looked for an age to come when wars would be no more, and states would not make arms, and swords would be turned into ploughshares. They were sure that nothing could do more to end war than for all people to follow Christ. They seriously believed-and may be forgiven the illusion- that when the Gospel was accepted war would end. (Pg.44)

Fifth stanza: Valhalla or Heaven?

The fifth stanza contains a very telling line: “[They] live in heaven with the High Father, dwell in splendour.” The phrase “High Father” is highly reminiscent of the Norse/Germanic “All-Father”, used to describe the chief god Oðinn or Wodan. The portrayal of souls dwelling in “splendour” is telling as well. Heaven, in Christian terms, is a paradise where souls sing eternal praise to God. There is little mention of wealth, aside from the oft-quoted “streets of gold”. This sounds much more like a Valhalla, a glorious hall of warriors than a place of peace.

Another interesting line is “May the Lord be a friend to me,” which brings to mind the relationship between a warrior and his earthly lord. As in Hildebrandslied, the Germanic mind seems to have fit heaven into a pre-existing mold.

Anglo-Saxon Christianity to Protestantism.

The Anglo-Saxons adapted Christianity to their culture in more than just poetry. King Edwin is said to have promised to convert to Christianity on the condition that his campaign against his enemies was successful. This is not a terribly Christian way of thinking. It more closely resembles the sort of “bargaining with the gods” that took place in pagan Germanic rituals (Rosenberg, pg.219).

There are other interesting ways in which Anglo-Saxon culture influenced Mediaeval Christianity. “The Fortunes of Men” shows us how the Germanic idea of fate adapted itself to Christianity and vice versa. It is tempting to link this belief in unchangeable fate with the Protestant doctrine of predestination, whereby God’s elect where chosen at birth, and only those elect would enter the Kingdom on their death.

This is not the only aspect of Anglo-Saxon Christianity that seems to foretell aspects of Protestantism. After reading other poems and stories from this era one eventually gets a feeling that the Anglo-Saxon were more interested in loyalty to god, rather than the more conventional obedience. This is an important, but subtle difference. Loyalty implies a measure of reciprocation, a personal interaction with God, which is exactly the primary argument made by Luther hundreds of years later. The “militant” characteristics of Anglo-Saxon Christianity, as well as its equation of success and worldly wealth with virtue are likewise themes that become central to the Reformation. The Protestant work ethic, militant Christianity (in the form of organizations like the Salvation Army), and the personal, almost friendly relationship with God espoused by many modern Protestant churches, are all lurking between the lines of Anglo-Saxon Christian writing.

Perhaps then it should not come as a surprise that the Germanic regions of Europe were among the first to take up Protestantism, and remain so to this day. There is something very similar in “The Dream of the Rood” to later Protestant religious poetry, this time in the form of song.

Just think about the lyrics to two well-known English hymns in this context and the parallels become rather striking. First, there is the classic Anglican hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers”:

Onward Christian Soldiers

Marching as to war,

With the Cross of Jesus,

Going on before.

(Anderson. Pg.45)

Here, as in “The Dream of the Rood”, we see martial themes integrated into religious texts, with the cross playing a central role. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, an iconic American hymn from the Civil War era (which once nearly replaced “The Star Spangled Banner” as the national anthem) is even more striking:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of

The coming of the Lord,

He has trampled out the vineyards

Where the grapes of wrath are stored.

He has loosed the fateful lighting

Of his terrible swift sword.

His truth is marching on.

(Anderson. Pg.56)

I think that a medieval Anglo-Saxon audience would find both these hymns very familiar in spirit if not in language. There is something of “The Dream of the Rood” in both these, and many other, latter-day hymns.

Conclusion: Culturally Adaptive Religion

If there is any lesson to be learned from “The Dream of the Rood”, other than that one should pray to the cross as a means of salvation, I think it rests in the very elements that make this poem vaguely un-Christian. Just as the Anglo-Saxons stretched and adapted religion to suit their culture, so do we today. In some cultures the majority of churches make no judgements on homosexuals, while in others this is an issue of hot and often divisive debate. One must be careful to avoid falling into the trap of judging religious belief in a vacuum, without taking into account the culture where said belief is practiced. But the variety of religious cultural expression continues to provide us with works of fine and fascinating art like “The Dream of the Rood”, and by that standard alone, it must be judged a positive thing.

Works Cited:

“The Dream of the Rood”, The Anglo-Saxon World, An Anthology.

Crossley-Holland, Kevin. New York, Oxford University Press, 1984

Chadwick, Owen. A History of Christianity. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1995

Fletcher, Richard. The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity. Los Angeles, University of California Press. 1997

Miles, Jack. Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God. London, Arrow Books. 2002

Anderson, John G. Songs. San Anselmo, Songs & Creations, 1972

Rosenberg, Donna. World Mythology. Lincolnwood, NTC Publishing, 1993

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[1] A medieval Japanese poem recounting the story of a group of roninn, samurai whose leader, or shogun has been killed in battle. Rather than live with the shame of defeat they launch a suicide attack against the enemy who killed their leader. This poem is considered to be a masterpiece of the boshido code, which governed the actions of samurai, and is very similar to that of the Anglo-Saxons as portrayed in “The Battle of Maldon”.