Christ as hero in The Dream of the Rood

Of the extant Old English verses, few offer greater testimony to the ability of these Anglo-Saxon poets to effect a fruitful wedding of their heroic tradition to a Christian subject than those describing the crucifixion of Christ in the anonymous dream-vision The Dream of the Rood. Utilizing his traditional heroic language to present Christ as a warrior-lord and the crucifixion as a battle from which He emerges victorious, the Rood-poet creates a singularly powerful vision of the triumph wrought by Christ in His death on the cross.