<P> Knowledge about Cædmon, who flourished in the middle of the 7th century, comes from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People . According to Bede, Cædmon was an illiterate herdsman who one night dreamt how to praise God by singing beautiful Christian verses . Cædmon then became the foremost Christian poet, who led the way for others such as Bede and Cynewulf. Old English scholar and noted commentator on the Ruthwell Cross Daniel H. Haigh argues that the inscription of the Ruthwell Cross must be fragments of one of Cædmon's lost poems, stating "On this monument, erected about A.D. 665, we have fragments of a religious poem of very high character, and that there was but one man living in England at that time worthy to be named as a religious poet, and that was Caedmon". Another runic scholar, George Stephens contends that the very language and structure of the verses in Dream of the Rood could only have come from the 7th century and a time before Bede . Considering that the only Christian poet before Bede was Cædmon, Stephens makes the point that there could have been no one else during this time period or living in the same area that could have authored the poem other than Cædmon . Furthermore, Stephens claims that there is a runic inscription on the Ruthwell Cross, that, when translated, comes to mean "Caedmon made me". Despite this evidence most scholars reject the Haigh and Stephens assertion that there is in fact such an inscription . </P> <P> Cynewulf lived roughly c. 770--840 AD, yet very little is known about his life . The only information scholars have on Cynewulf's life is what they can discover from his poetry . Two of Cynewulf's signed poems were discovered in the Vercelli Book, which includes Cynewulf's holy cross poem "Elene" as well as Dream of the Rood . Where many scholars will argue that all of the poems in the Vercelli are in fact Cynewulf's, the noted German scholar Franz Dietrich demonstrates that the similarities between Cynewulf's "Elene" and The Dream of the Rood reveals that the two must have been authored by the same individual . Dietrich makes four main arguments: one, the theme of both poems is the cross, and more importantly, in both poems, the cross suffers with Christ; two, in "Elene" Cynewulf seems to make clear references to the same cross in Dream of the Rood; three, in "Elene" and his other poems Cynewulf usually speaks of himself, which makes it quite possible that the dreamer in Dream of the Rood is none other than Cynewulf himself; and finally four, "In both poems the author represents himself as old, having lost joys or friends and as ready to depart . </P> <P> The poem is set up with the narrator having a dream . In this dream or vision he is speaking to the Cross on which Jesus was crucified . The poem itself is divided up into three separate sections: the first part (ll. 1--27), the second part (ll. 28--121) and the third part (ll. 122--156). In section one, the narrator has a vision of the Cross . Initially when the dreamer sees the Cross, he notes how it is covered with gems . He is aware of how wretched he is compared to how glorious the tree is . However, he comes to see that amidst the beautiful stones it is stained with blood . In section two, the Cross shares its account of Jesus' death . The Crucifixion story is told from the perspective of the Cross . It begins with the enemy coming to cut the tree down and carrying it away . The tree learns that it is not to be the bearer of a criminal, but instead Christ crucified . The Lord and the Cross become one, and they stand together as victors, refusing to fall, taking on insurmountable pain for the sake of mankind . It is not just Christ, but the Cross as well that is pierced with nails . Adelhied L.J. Thieme remarks, "The cross itself is portrayed as his lord's retainer whose most outstanding characteristic is that of unwavering loyalty". The Rood and Christ are one in the portrayal of the Passion--they are both pierced with nails, mocked and tortured . Then, just as with Christ, the Cross is resurrected, and adorned with gold and silver . It is honoured above all trees just as Jesus is honoured above all men . The Cross then charges the visionary to share all that he has seen with others . In section three, the author gives his reflections about this vision . The vision ends, and the man is left with his thoughts . He gives praise to God for what he has seen and is filled with hope for eternal life and his desire to once again be near the glorious Cross . </P> <P> There are various, alternative readings of the structure of the poem, given the many components of the poem and the lack of clear divisions . Scholars like Faith H. Patten divide the poem into three parts, based on who is speaking: Introductory Section (lines 1--26), Speech of the Cross (lines 28--121), and Closing Section (lines 122--156). Though the most obvious way to divide the poem, this does not take into account thematic unity or differences in tone . Constance B. Hieatt distinguishes between portions of the Cross's speech based on speaker, subject, and verbal parallels, resulting in: Prologue (lines 1--27), Vision I (lines 28--77): history of the Rood, Vision II (lines 78--94): explanation of the Rood's glory, Vision III (lines 95--121): the Rood's message to mankind, and Epilogue (lines 122--156). M.I. Del Mastro suggests the image of concentric circles, similar to a chiasmus, repetitive and reflective of the increased importance in the center: the narrator - dreamer's circle (lines 1--27), the rood's circle (lines 28--38), Christ's circle (lines 39 - 73a), the rood's circle (lines 73b - 121), and the narrator - dreamer's circle (lines 122--156). </P>

In the dream of the rood what is the rood eventually drenched in