Excerpt from The Date of the Ruthwell and Bewcastle Crosses

The problem respecting the date of the Ruthwell and Bewcastle crosses is none of the easiest to solve; the only hope of a solution lies in a close and critical examination of every circumstance which might conceivably be of assistance, beginning with the appearance and characteristics of the monuments themselves.

Let us first consider in what respects the two crosses resemble each other. Each has the general form of an obelisk.ll Each, if it ever had a cross-piece, has lost it now.8 The two, if the Ruthwell Cross be considered without its unauthorized cross-piece, are not very far from the same height (144 feet: 173 feet), and taper to somewhat the same degree. Each has a vine, with animal figures among its branches, covering one or more faces of the monument - two in the case of the Ruthwell Cross, and one in the case of the Bewcastle Cross. Both have sculptured human figures, the Ruthwell Cross on two faces, the Bewcastle Cross on one; moreover, two of the figure-subjects on one of the crosses are identical with two on the other. Both have runic inscriptions, those on the Ruthwell Cross occupying the borders of the faces which are ornamented with vines, and presenting fragments of an Old English poem, The Dream of the Road, and those on the Bewcastle Cross being found, mostly in an illegible condition, on three faces - that which contains the figure-sculpture, and two adjacent sides - but not on that which is filled with the ornamental vine. Each is found in the domain of a church, the Ruthwell Cross within its walls, the Bewcastle Cross just outside. Each suffered violence in the Reformation period - the Ruthwell Cross certainly, and the Bewcastle Cross not improbably besides such defacement as they may have undergone in other ages. Both are situated within the Border, using that term in a rather large sense to denote the frontier where modern Scotland approaches England, or England approaches Scotland, and where both countries have naturally had an influence. Within this Border various races have, within historic times, as well as in the very dawn of authentic history, dwelt, and struggled, and ravaged, often in the wildest and most savage manner. Both crosses are, and always have been.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.