J.D. Head: “The Dream of the Rood: Cultural Reappropriation and the Cross”

The Dream of the Rood is an early medieval poem in Old English that extols the cross of Christ as a site of both horror and beauty, shame and glory. Written in alliterative verse in the mode of a dream vision, it narrates the appearance of the exalted “triumph-tree” of a “young hero, God almighty,” covered in gold and gems and bleeding. The bulk of the poem is the tree-turned-cross telling the story of the Crucifixion from his perspective: of how he was seized from his forest home by strong foes, hewn into shape, transplanted on a hill, and mounted by a stouthearted warrior-king, whom he was proud to bear through the battle, despite the pain.

Join literature teacher JD Head in mining the poetic and theological riches of this important work, one of the oldest surviving Christian poems in the English language. Head will show how the Rood poem’s beauty is deepened by its purpose: to encompass, refine, and redeem the best features of Anglo-Saxon poetry to reflect gospel truths.

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J.D. Head received his BA in English from Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio. In 2009, he earned his Masters in the Arts, Liberal Arts degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD. He has taught literature, Bible, and philosophy on a variety of levels from middle school to college over 23 years of teaching, 19 of which have been at Rockbridge Academy.

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