PREFACE The Old English poems, Elene, the Dream of the Rood, and the Doomsday Vision in the Christ, express a remarkable spirit of veneration for the Cross. The purpose of this study is to furnish a setting for these poems with respect to this devotion to the Cross. It is to find what were the ideas of the Cross inherited with Christianity; how much these ideas entered into the life and thought of the AngloSaxons; whether, in brief, this sentiment must be regarded as peculiar to Cynewulf and the poet of the Dream of the Rood, or whether it was more or less characteristic of the civilization to which these poems belong. It is also to discover whether this spirit found expression in forms other than poetry, whether it was more predominant at one time than another, and to account, if possible, for its existence. These questions, and others suggested by them, will be taken up in the following pages; and, in attempting to provide a background for the Old English poetry of the Cross, I hope that some light may be thrown on the cultural history of this early and comparatively obscure period. The translations of Old English prose that I have used are frequently quoted direct from the versions that accompany the texts in the editions cited. In the case of the poetry I have used Garnett's translation of the Elene, Whitman's of the Christ, and the Translations from Old English Poetry, edited by Cook and Tinker, which includes a translation of the Dream of the Rood by Miss Iddings. In the references to texts and authorities, the abbreviations in the foot-notes should be recognized without special mention. Where the name of an author only is cited, the work is the only work facing his name in the bibliography, in the edition there mentioned. Some texts of the Patrologia Latina are reprints from other editions. In these the paging of the original is preserved by black-faced numerals. As the references in the indices of these volumes is to the original rather than to the actual paging, I have followed that system here. CONTENTS PAGE I. The Cross in Legend: (a) The wood of the Cross, p. 8; (b) The relics of the True Cross in England, p. II; (c) The Vision of Constantine, p. 12; (d) The Invention of the Cross, p. 14; (e) The Exaltation of the Cross, p. 14. II. The Cross in the Church: (a) The Church Edifice, p. 15; (b) The Altar-Cross, p. 16; (c) The Altar-Cross as a Cru- cifix, p. 17; (d) The Crozier as a crucifix, p. 18; (e) The Crucifix, p. 19; (f) Ceremonial Honoring of the Cross, p. 23; (g) Private Worship, p. 25; (h) The Nature of the III. The Sign of the Cross, p. 26: (a) The Sign in Ritual, p. 28; (b) As an Oath, p. 32; (c) Other Uses of the Cross-Sign in Documents, p. 34; (d) The Cross on IV. The Cross in Art: (a) The Monogram, p. 37; (b) Monu- mental Crosses, p. 39; 1. Pillar Stones, p. 40; 2. Inter- laced Crosses, p. 41; 3. Pictorial, p. 43; 4. Date of the Interlaced Crosses, p. 44; (c) The Use of the Monu- mental Cross; 1. Memorial, p. 54; 2. Mortuary, p. 56; 3. Boundary, p. 57; 4. Sanctuary, p. 58; 5. The Standard Cross, p. 58; 6. Oratory Crosses, p. 60; (d) The Cross V. Literary Aspects of the Cross: (a) Theological Mysti- |