| Dream
of the Rood |
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| 51 |
cruelties
of fate. I saw the God of hosts |
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violently
stretched out. Darkness had |
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covered
with clouds the Ruler's corpse, |
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the
gleaming light. Shadows went forth |
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dark
under the clouds. All creation wept, |
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lamented
the King's fall. Christ was on the cross. |
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Yet
there eager ones came from afar |
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to
that noble one; I beheld all that. |
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I
was all drenched with sorrow; nevertheless I bowed down to the hands of
the men, |
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| 60 |
humble,
with great eagerness. There they took almighty God, |
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lifted
him from that oppressive torment. The warriors forsook me then |
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standing
covered with moisture; I was all wounded with arrows. |
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They
laid the weary-limbed one down there, they stood at the head of his body,
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they
beheld the Lord of heaven there, and he himself rested there a while, |
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| 65 |
weary
after the great battle. They began to fashion a tomb for him, |
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warriors
in the sight of the slayer; they carved that from bright stone, |
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they
set the Lord of victories in there. They began to sing the sorrow-song for
him, |
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wretched
in the evening-time; then they wanted to travel again, |
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weary
from the glorious Lord. He rested there with little company. |
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| 70 |
Nevertheless,
weeping, we
stood there a good while |
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in
a fixed position, after the voice departed up |
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of
the warriors. The corpse grew cold, |
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the
fair live-dwelling. Then men began to fell us |
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all
to the ground: that was a terrible fate. |
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| 75 |
Men
buried us in a deep pit; nevertheless the Lord's thanes, |
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friends,
discovered me there, |
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adorned
me with gold and silver. |
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Now
you might hear, my beloved hero, |
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that
I have experienced the work of evil-doers, |
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| 80 |
grievous
sorrows. Now the time has come |
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that
I will be honoured far and wide |
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by
men over the earth and all this glorious creation; |
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they
will pray to this beacon. On me the Son of God |
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suffered
for a while; because of that I am glorious now, |
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| 85 |
towering
under the heavens, and I am able to heal |
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each
one of those who is in awe of me. |
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Formerly
I was made the hardest of punishments, |
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most
hateful to the people, before I opened for them, |
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for
the voice-bearers, the true way of life. |
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| 90 |
Listen,
the Lord of glory, the Guardian of the kingdom of heaven, |
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then
honoured me over the forest trees, |
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just
as he, almighty God, also honoured |
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his
mother, Mary herself, for all men, |
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over
all womankind. |
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| 95 |
Now
I urge you, my beloved man, |
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that
you tell men about this vision: |
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reveal
with words that it is the tree of glory |
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on
which almighty God suffered |
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for
mankind's many sins |
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| 100 |
and
Adam's ancient deeds. |
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