Interior. General view of apse and cross.
A 2064/9
Description Interior. General view of apse and cross.
Date 18/11/1966
Catalogue Number A 2064/9
Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images
Copies SC 536327
Scope and Content North side of the Ruthwell Cross, Ruthwell Church, Dumfriesshire The Angles of Northumbria had been converted to Christianity by Irish monks led by Aidan and sent from Iona to Lindisfarne in 635 AD. In 664 AD Northumbrian bishops and abbots brought over continental stonemasons who introduced Mediterranean traditions. The tall shaft is surmounted by a small cross with four equal arms expanding at the ends. In the centre of the cross-head there is a circle containing a triangle, symbol of the Trinity. The central panel of the shaft depicts Christ having his feet washed. Constructed from blocks of local sandstone, the cross is probably the most important sculptural survival of Anglo-Saxon Britain. It is believed that free-standing stone crosses were unknown in Early Christian art until they were devised in Northumbria. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
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