The Ruthwell Cross

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 14 Aug 2021

The Ruthwell Cross is a stone Anglo-Saxon cross probably created in the early 8th century when the village of Ruthwell, now in Scotland, was part of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria. It is widely regarded as one of the most famous and elaborate Anglo-Saxon monumental sculptures and possibly (depending on the date allocated to the cross itself) contains the oldest surviving text, predating any manuscripts containing Old English poetry, surviving today as one of the most beautiful and sophisticated monuments of early medieval Christianity. Historic Environment Scotland notes that: “The monument is of national importance as the finest example in Scotland of the Anglo-Saxon Jarrow-Monkwearmouth school of sculpture. The cross is considered to be one of the outstanding monuments of the early church in western Europe, and as such has the potential to inform an understanding of social and religious structures, and of contemporary artistic expression” http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM90256. The two main sides of the cross (north and south) feature figurative relief carvings, now considerably worn. The largest panel on the south side of the cross depicts Mary Magdalene drying the feet of Christ; below this is the Healing of the man born blind from John 9:1. The cross was smashed in 1642 following the reformation; the broken fragments remained in the earthen floor of the church until sometime after 1772 when they were again removed to the churchyard. In 1823 the cross was reconstructed in its present form: the cross-head we see today is largely the work of this restoration. The cross was moved to its current location in 1887 when the apse in which it stands was specially built. The cross was designated as a scheduled monument in 1921 although this designation was removed in 2018 because it “is within a securely curated environment and scheduling is not an appropriate mechanism to manage such an artefact” (SM90256 http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM90256 Historic Environment Scotland).

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