“The Dream of the Cross” uses stoicism to promise a reward for suffering in which Christ and the cross are connected, but parallel to the dreamer as he joins the comitatus of Christ through the cross thus obtaining redemption, eternal life and a home in heaven. However, Christ himself does not play the same role as in the biblical texts, here he is courageous and stoic, like a great warrior. “The Dream of the Cross” introduces us to the warrior that is Jesus. This Jesus is not the most passive character embraced by modern religion, but he behaves like an Anglo-Saxon warrior as he bravely runs towards the cross for personal honor. While in the Bible his ascension is described as “sent his spirit” (49) rather than “returned his spirit,” here we see Jesus not as a passive participant, but as a warrior who fully embraces and defies death. the lines describe Christ as a warrior. Rather than an abused but unbroken martyr, condemned to suffer for the sins of humanity, Christ is a “young man” (39) “strong and courageous” (40) “courageous in the eyes of many” (41). He approaches death as if it were a glorious battle, and the Cross is at his side, resolute, even if he must kill his lord “not daring to act against the word of the Lord” (35). Christ is not initially depicted as a lord himself, but submits to the Father. The poem seems to suggest that it is only after Christ's heroic battle and death that he is rewarded by his lord, the Father, and becomes lord himself. Christ, for his faithful service to his lord father, is rewarded with a place at his father's right hand after his death. The Cross is rewarded by its lord, Christ. The Cross, for having borne the burden of his lord and allowing himself to be killed even though he could have…… middle of paper……ss. One way the characters are all parallel is through the stigmata. Christ and the cross both physically share the same stigmata, having gone through the same trial together, both with “nails driven in” (46), with “open marks of malice” (47), being moistened all over with blood” (48). The dreamer has no such stigmata, but the parallel is made when the dreamer first sees the cross adorned with gold and gems and realizes that he has “many sins” (99) and then wants to “venture behind that tree of victory." "(127). The dreamer, despite having no physical stigmata, participates in the wounds and bloodstains of the cross and of Christ by being stained with the original sin of Adam. The contrast between the shining cross and the dreamer stained with sins highlights Christ's gift to humanity: the possibility of purifying oneself from these stains caused by sin.