General view.

Description General view.

Date 20/7/1896

Collection Papers of Erskine Beveridge, antiquarian, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 747876

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of DF 898

Scope and Content Ruthwell Cross, Ruthwell Church, Dumfries & Galloway, from the front The Ruthwell Cross, an Anglican Cross with Latin and runic inscriptions, is the most important monument of its kind in Scotland. It stands in a purpose-built apse in Ruthwell Church near Annan on the Solway Firth, and probably dates from the early 8th century when the Anglicans established a bishopric at Whithorn. This photograph of the front of the cross was taken by Erskine Beveridge in 1896. The arms of the cross, renewed in 1823, are carved with a central triangle within a circle, flanked by a whale (right) and a dragon (left). The face of the shaft bears a ladder-like grid of borders, each carved with Latin or runic inscriptions and each framing a sculptured panel. At the top of the shaft is a panel containing the figure of an archer shooting an arrow into the air, and below, a panel representing the Visitation, and shows the Virgin Mary meeting her cousin, Elizabeth. It is surrounded by a runic text, part of which can be understood to mean: 'Mary, mother of the Lord'. The large central panel shows Mary Magdalene washing the feet of Christ, and the surrounding border contains the corresponding Biblical text (Luke 7:37-8) in Latin. The panel beneath represents Jesus healing a blind man (John 9:1) with a fragment of the corresponding Biblical text, again in Latin, on the margin. The original site of the cross is uncertain, but it is possible that it was designed to stand inside an Anglican church on the present site. In 1600, when the cross was first recorded, it stood inside the church. In 1642, following a decree issued by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, it was declared 'an idolatrous monument' and pulled down and smashed. In 1802, the minister of the church, Dr Henry Duncan, re-erected the broken pieces in the manse garden, and in 1823 carried out further restoration with the 'aid of a country mason' who provided new arms with Masonic symbols and put the head on back to front. In 1887 the restored cross was moved to its present position within the church's newly constructed apse. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/747876

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap