the Rood

E117511

The Rood is the personified cross in the Old English poem "The Dream of the Rood," which vividly recounts Christ’s crucifixion from the cross’s own perspective.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
the Rood canonical 3
Holy Rood 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Christian symbol
literary character
narrator
personified object
religious symbol
speaker in a poem
appearsIn The Dream of the Rood
associatedWith Anglo-Saxon Christianity
medieval English literature
the Vercelli Book (as part of the poem’s transmission)
linked to: Vercelli Book
communicatesWith the dreamer in The Dream of the Rood
describedAs the personified cross of Christ
describedIn Old English alliterative verse
emotionalState exaltation
loyalty
sorrow
suffering
genreContext Old English heroic poetry tradition
Old English religious poetry
languageOfWork Old English
literaryDevice personification
prosopopoeia
narrativeRole first-person narrator of the crucifixion
perspectiveOnEvent eyewitness account of the crucifixion
relationshipToChrist Christ’s cross
linked to: the True Cross

instrument of crucifixion
religion Christianity
roleInPoem central figure
participant in the Passion
witness to Christ’s death
symbolizes Christ’s suffering
Christ’s victory
heroic courage
loyalty to one’s lord
martyrdom
redemption
salvation
the Cross of Christ
linked to: The Cross of Christ
tellsOf Christ’s crucifixion
the Passion of Christ
linked to: Passion of Christ
themeContribution fusion of heroic and Christian ideals
mediation between human and divine
union of suffering and glory
undergoes being cut down as a tree
being fashioned into a cross
being stained with Christ’s blood
subsequent glorification
voiceType visionary voice

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Holyrood Abbey dedicatedTo Holy Rood
linked to: the Rood
the Dreamer isDistinctFrom the Rood