Ruthwell, Dumfries & Galloway - Ruthwell Cross in Church - RP postcard c.1950s

The Ruthwell Cross is a stone Anglo-Saxon cross probably dating from the 8th century,^[1] when Ruthwell was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria; it is now in Scotland. It is both the most famous and elaborate Anglo-Saxon monumental sculpture,^[2] and possibly the oldest surviving ""text"" of English poetry, predating any manuscripts containing Old English poetry.^[3] It has been described by Nikolaus Pevsner thus; ""The crosses of Bewcastle and Ruthwell ... are the greatest achievement of their date in the whole of Europe.""^[4]

The cross was smashed by Presbyterian iconoclasts in 1664, and the pieces left in the churchyard until they were restored in 1818 by Henry Duncan. In 1887 it was moved into its current location in Ruthwell church, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, when the apse which holds it was specially built.^[5]

Anglo-Saxon crosses are closely related to the contemporary Irish high crosses, and both are part of the Insular art tradition. The Ruthwell cross features the largest figurative reliefs found on any surviving Anglo-Saxon cross—which are virtually the largest surviving Anglo-Saxon reliefs of any sort—and has inscriptions in both Latin and, unusually for a Christian monument, the runic alphabet, the latter containing lines similar to lines 39-64 of The Dream of the Rood, an Old English poem, which were possibly added at a later date. It is 18 feet (5.5 metres) high.

Christ as judge, with two animals

The two main sides of the cross (north and south) feature figurative relief carvings, now considerably worn, that depict Christ and several other figures; their subjects and interpretation have been much discussed by art historians, and the cross continues to be ""one of the most extensive and most studied of all surviving visual programs of the early Middle Ages.""^[6] It is clear to most scholars that the images and texts each form part of a sophisticated and unified programme, ""almost an academician's monument,""^[2] though a number of different schemes have been proposed, and some suggest the runic inscription may have been added later.

The largest panel on the cross (north side) shows either Christ treading on the beasts, a subject especially popular with the Anglo-Saxons, or its rare pacific variant Christ as Judge recognised by the beasts in the desert,^[7] as suggested by the unique Latin inscription surrounding the panel: ""IHS XPS iudex aequitatis; bestiae et dracones cognoverunt in deserto salvatorem mundi"" - ""Jesus Christ: the judge of righteousness: the beasts and dragons recognised in the desert the saviour of the world."" Whatever the subject it is, it is clearly the same as the very similar relief that is the largest panel on the nearby Bewcastle Cross which, subject to dating, was probably created by the same artists. Below this is Saints Paul and Antony breaking bread in the desert, another rare scene identified by an inscription (""Sanctus Paulus et Antonius duo eremitae fregerunt panem in deserto""), then either a Flight into Egypt or perhaps a Return from Egypt, and at the bottom a scene too worn to decipher, which may have been a Nativity of Christ.^[8]

On the south side the largest scene is Mary Magdalen drying the feet of Christ, inscribed ""Attulit alabastrum unguenti et stans retro secus pedes eius lacrimis coepit rigare pedes eius et capillis capitas sui tergebat"" - see Luke 7:37-38 and John 12:3.^[9] Below this is the Healing of the man born blind from John 9:1, inscribed: ""Et praeteriens vidit hominem caecum a natibitate et sanavit eum ab infirmitate,"" the Annunciation (""Et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit ave gratia plena dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus"" - “And an angel came to her saying, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.””-- Luke 1:28) and the Crucifixion, which on stylistic grounds is considered to have been added at a considerably later period.

These scenes are on the main, lower, section of the shaft, which was broken above the largest senes, and possibly the two sections were not restored the right way round. Above the large scene on the north side is either John the Baptist holding a lamb, or possibly God the Father holding the Lamb of God, who opens a book as in Apocalypse 5:1-10.^[10] Above this (and another break) are two remaining figures of the Four Evangelists with their symbols that originally were on the four arms of the cross-head: St. Matthew on the lowest arm, and St. John the Evangelist on the top arm. The side arms and centre roundel of the cross are replacements, of purely speculative (and most improbable) design.^[10]

On the south side, Martha and Mary (with inscription) are followed by an archer, the subject of almost as much debate as the judging Christ, on the lowest arm of the Cross, and an eagle on the top arm.^[11]