Page:The Dream of the Rood - ed. Cook - 1905.djvu/13

Rh Of lines 1-63, 122-56 in English verse, alternating with prose, by Brooke (1892).

Of lines 1-63, 122-41, 148b–56 in English verse, alternating with prose, by Brooke (1898).

Specimens of all the versions which include lines 1-12 are given in the Appendix, pp. 47-54.

With respect to the authorship of our poem, two chief opinions have been entertained:

A. The poem is by Cædmon.

B. It is by Cynewulf.

The theory that the Dream of the Rood is by Cædmon depends upon certain considerations relative to the Ruthwell Cross. Of this notable piece of antiquity, no doubt the finest stone cross in existence, the following account is slightly condensed from a standard writer on Scottish archaeology : 'At Ruthwell, in Annandale, within eighty miles of Dumfries, there stands a very remarkable monument. Its form is that of a tall free-standing cross. As it stands at present, the Cross is reconstructed. The whole height of the Cross is about 17½ feet, the shaft being 2 feet in breadth at the base, and 15 inches in thickness. The material is sandstone. It stood in the old church of Ruthwell till 1642, when the General Assembly which met at St. Andrews on 27th July of that year issued an order for its destruction as a monument of idolatry. The transverse arms are still wanting, Rh