Ongyrede

Ongyrede describes Christ's ascension of the cross as a warrior, from the point of view of the Cross. It is Jones’s only inscription entirely in Old English. Its text is from the beautiful Old English poem The Dream of the Rood. Jones loved its ‘majesty, pathos, true imagination and great marvel’.2 The original poem is carved as runes onto the eighth-century Ruthwell Cross in Scotland. The inscription is painted in black and red only. The initial O of ‘Ongyrede’ (‘stripped’) and the words ‘geong hæleð’ (‘young hero’) are in red, emphasising the red blood of the hero’s sacrifice. The dark grey stain in the centre of the inscription sharply highlights the spilt blood. The red dots between the words seem to represent the nails of the cross while the vigorous lettering mirrors the heroic nature of the story. The Old English eth (ð), with its crossed ascenders, seems to allude to the rood, or cross, itself, as does the cross in the upper right of the inscription adjacent to the word ‘god’. The Cross’s voice presents an image of devotion and sacrifice that invites the reader to contemplate both Christ’s and the Rood's roles in the salvation of mankind. The inscription was produced specifically for inclusion in Jones’s 1952 long poem The Anathemata. The imagery of the Dream of the Rood permeates the poem, emphasising the ancient spiritual roots of the Catholic faith and the mystical importance of the wood of the Cross, which is incarnated in the ancient English text.