The Rood: The Power Of The Scop In Anglo-Saxon Literature

In the Anglo-Saxon literature, the scop has a privilege of retaining history, culture and social values of that society. In many cases the scop exercises the power to create stories which reflect the values of that society. The Rood in the ¡°The Dream of the Rood¡± also tells a story of which affects its society and people. The existence of this witness that reports the suffering and the glorification of Christ proves necessary for the people to believe. The Rood becomes a hero that preserves an event that proves crucial to the society. As the Rood observes the suffering of Christ, it also shares with him the pains of crucifixion. In other words, the Rood takes part in Christ¡¯s crucifixion which pertains to the salvation of the souls.
It does not regret its pains but sympathizes with Christ as it brings unto itself the hostilities directed at Christ. Thus, it states, ¡°[how] they mocked at us both¡±(¡°The Rood¡±, 51). Suffering with the members of the community proves important to a hero in the Anglo-Saxon literature. In ¡°The Battle of Maldon,¡± a band of warriors fight to save their community, more specifically, fight to ¡°serve the Earl¡±(The Battle of Maldon, 11). Bryhtnoth is the Earl of these brave warriors who fight unto death in order to carry out their duty. This duty indicates that one does not desert a battleground and retreat in order to save one¡¯s life. Therefore, the heroes share the battlefield alongside their lord and fight until they win or die. Like these heroes of the Maldon, the Rood remains steadfast in sharing Christ¡¯s suffering. It neither decides to desert the Lord nor his suffering. In fact the Anglo-Saxon society views one¡¯s life worthless when one deserts one¡¯s duty to serve the lord. The consequence of their loyalty leads the warriors of the Maldon to death. Likewise, the Rood also follows Christ in his suffering and to his death. It states, ¡°standing in a sweat of blood/ I was all wounded with shafts¡±(The Rood, 57). Indeed, that ¡°sweat of blood¡± belongs to the Rood and its ¡°wounded¡± body identifies with that of the Christ¡¯s. In fact, while having the knowledge of the inevitable tragedy, the heroes of
The ¡°Lord¡¯s rood... shall fetch [the persons of the society] forth from this fleeting life and then shall bring [these persons] where there is great rejoicing¡±(The Rood, 140-141). The scop refers the heaven as an eternal place of ¡°great rejoicing.¡± The Rood desires to direct the people of its society to reach that eternal place and its short-lived suffering becomes a significant accomplishment that provides the only salvation. Similarly, the heroes of the Maldon through their sacrifice desire to protect their community. Bryhtnoth states in the ¡°Maldon¡±, ¡°my prayer is this, that the hates of hell may not harm her¡±(180). The heroes of the Maldon intend to protect their community through their sacrifice. As a consequence, their fearless dedication to serve their community reflects their active acceptance of their death. Although the Anglo-Saxon heroes sacrifice themselves in order to benefit the their community, they do not forsake their personal gains. In other words their actions reflect what is considered important to themselves than an act of self denial. Unlike those who decide to abandon the allegiance and save their lives, the heroes realize that neglecting the pact made with their community brings guilt and shame. In the Anglo-Saxon society, ¡°a man cannot linger when his lord lies unaligned among Vikings, cannot value breath¡±(The Maldon, 260). In this society, one¡¯s honor depends on whether or not