rood

Rood is a term with several meanings in English. It most commonly refers to a cross or crucifix, especially within medieval Christian churches, where a large crucifix was placed on a beam above the rood screen that separated the nave from the chancel. The word comes from Old English rōd, meaning “pole” or “cross.” The rood figure was often the focus of devotion and was a prominent feature in church art; The Dream of the Rood is a famous Old English poem that treats the cross as a living participant in its own suffering and triumph.

In architectural context, the rood beam and the rood screen defined the boundary between the public and sacred spaces of the church. A rood loft—an upper platform—sometimes housed the cross, and processions or ceremonies would surround the rood during certain religious observances. Many roods were removed or destroyed during the English Reformation, though remnants and references survive in church architecture and literature.

As a unit of land measurement, a rood is an archaic English term equal to a quarter of an acre, or 40 square rods. Since one acre equals 160 square rods, a rood is about 1,012 square meters (approximately 10,890 square feet). The term appears in historical deeds and maps, and is encountered in discussions of medieval English land tenure. Today, the measurement sense of rood is rare, but the term survives in place names, legal records, and historical writings.