The Dream of the Rood

One of my favorite Anglo-Saxon poems is "The Dream of the Rood," a poem about the crucifixion told by the cross itself. The Anglo-Saxon conception of heroism is clear, as in this poem, Christ is not nailed to the cross but as a heroic young warrior climbs up and embraces it. Jonathan Glenn's translation is a lovely (and annotated!) version.

On Holy Saturday, the Church waits in silence for the Easter Vigil Mass. This ancient poem, excerpted below, provides much fodder for meditation in Holy Week; for me, translating it, which I have done twice, has been a profoundly spiritual experience.

it is glory's beam

which Almighty God suffered upon
for all mankind's manifold sins
and for the ancient ill-deeds of Adam.
Death he tasted there, yet God rose again
by his great might, a help unto men.
He then rose to heaven. Again sets out hither
into this Middle-Earth, seeking mankind
on Doomsday, the Lord himself,
Almighty God, and with him his angels,
when he will deem--he holds power of doom--
everyone here as he will have earned
for himself earlier in this brief life.

"The Dream of the Rood," lines 97-109