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The Christ and the beasts panel on the Ruthwell

Cross

Kristine Edmondson Haney

Anglo-Saxon England / Volume 14 / December 1985, pp 215 - 231

DOI: 10.1017/S0263675100001356, Published online: 26 September 2008

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0263675100001356

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Kristine Edmondson Haney (1985). The Christ and the beasts panel on the Ruthwell
Cross. Anglo-Saxon England, 14, pp 215-231 doi:10.1017/S0263675100001356

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 The Christ and the beasts panel
on the Ruthwell Cross
KRISTINE EDMONDSON HANEY

Although the Ruthwell Cross has universally been regarded as one of the most
outstanding achievements of early Northumbrian civilization, the meaning of
its iconographic programme remains the subject of considerable debate.
Central to most interpretations is the largest panel on the Cross, one depicting
Christ and the beasts (see pi. la). The correct identification of this scene has
long been regarded as crucial for achieving an understanding of the
iconographic programme as a whole. While this scene must be accepted as the
key to the programme, no entirely satisfactory explanation of its meaning has
hitherto been offered. This study will draw attention to textual and visual
evidence which provides a new basis for understanding this panel and its
relationship to the remaining scenes.
The central scene shows Christ standing frontally, holding a scroll in his left
hand while raising his right in a gesture of blessing. His feet rest upon two
animals who raise their crossed paws towards him. The panel bears the
inscription: 'IhS XPS IVDEX AEQVITATIS BESTIAE ET DRACONES
COGNOVERVNT IN DESERTO SALVATOREM MVNDI'. One of the
most extensive interpretations of this panel was offered by Meyer Schapiro in
1944.' He indicated that its size implied a judgement about its importance in
establishing a theme that could also be found in the smaller surrounding
panels. In 1943, Fritz Saxl also drew attention to this scene as the main panel
on the cross.2 While both scholars recognized and emphasized the ascetic
character of the programme as a whole, they were unable to relate this theme
to the main panel. Schapiro and Saxl viewed the scene in relation to ps. xc. 13:
'Super aspidem et basilicum ambulabis et conculcabis leonem et draconem.'
Saxl offered an extended series of comparisons to scenes of Christ trampling
upon the lion, serpent, asp and basilisk, a subject often used to illustrate ps.
xc. Schapiro also identified this image as the pattern for the Ruthwell scene.
While there are formal similarities in the way Christ stands frontally with his
feet placed upon the beasts, there are also some important differences which
Meyer Schapiro, 'The Religious Meaning of the Ruthwell Cross', Art Bull. 26 (1944),
232-45.
2
Fritz Saxl, 'The Ruthwell Cross', Jnl of the Warburgand Courtauld Insts. 7 (1943), 1-19.
215
 Kristine Edmondson Hanej
3
both scholars noted. The verse in ps. xc clearly describes a physical struggle
between Christ and beasts. In the scenes which illustrate the psalm, this idea is
consistently present as Christ assumes an air of supremacy after a physical
contest. In the majority of the early examples, he transfixes a snarling animal
with a spear,4 appears as Christus Miles,5 or stands triumphant as the beaten,
submissive beasts lie below him, panting and exhausted.6 None of these
characteristics, which would point unequivocally to a model illustrating ps.
xc.13, is present in the Ruthwell panel. Here Christ does not hold a spear,
wear armour or tread on the beasts. Nor do the animals on the Ruthwell panel
conform to the established types. The surrounding inscription reads
'BESTIAE ET DRACONES'. A model of Christ trampling the beasts would
have included a dragon-like basilisk, which would have suited the inscription
better than the pair of otter-like creatures present on the Ruthwell panel. In
fact, the Ruthwell animals do not resemble any of the beasts depicted in
illustrations of ps. xc. Nor does the size of the Ruthwell animals suggest a
connection. It is unlikely that a model of Christ trampling the beasts would
have included animals a third as large as Christ, facing inward with crossed
paws, since the typical illustrations include smaller animals, which are usually
relegated to the lower sixth of the illustration. Finally, the beasts do not
appear to have been beaten into submission. Instead of languishing at the
extreme lower margin of the scene, they sit upright and, without visible
coercion, raise their paws towards Christ. The unique appearance of the
Ruthwell scene does not suggest, then, a close connection with any of the
established iconographic types which accompany ps. xc.
Close inspection of this panel raises questions as to whether the scene was
based upon any single model. There is something distinctly awkward about
the arrangement of the Ruthwell panel as a whole. The animals are so large
that their muzzles overlap. They press Christ upward into an uncomfortably
confined position. This suggests that the Ruthwell panel may be explained by
the lack of a single model for Christ together with the beasts.7 It is the figure
of Christ alone that conforms to an existing type. He is the youthful,
long-haired Christ known to the early Christian world.8 He faces the beholder
3
Ibid. p. 1; Schapiro, ' T h e Religious Meaning', p. 233.
4
Saxl, 'Ruthwell', figs. 9, 10, 12, 14, 19, 20 and 24. Ibid. fig. 24.
6
Ibid. figs, i i , 13, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23 and 25.
7
Combining figures and adapting them to a new context is not unusual in this period; see
Ernst Kitzinger, The Relics of St. Cuthbert, ed. C. F. Battiscombe (Oxford, 1956), p. 275,00
the adaptation of all the angels on St Cuthbert's coffin from a single model, and R.
Bruce-Mitford, Evangeliorum Qtiattuor Codex Lindisfarnensis, 2 vols. (Olten and Lausanne,
i960) 11, 142—9, on the use of the Codex Amiatinus Ezra portrait for St Matthew in the
Lindisfarne Gospels.
8
See, in particular, Friedrich Gerke, Christus in der spdtantihen Plastik (Mainz, 1948), pp.
216
 The Ruthwell Cross
with both feet placed frontally. His head is encircled by a cross nimbus. His
right arm is contained within the silhouette of the body and raised directly
parallel to the figure in a gesture of blessing. Such an image was widely known
in the Mediterranean world from the third century. The earliest examples are
found in miracle scenes on early Christian sarcophagi.9 At first, the figure of
Christ was placed at an angle to the picture plane but gradually came to be
represented standing frontally.10 This frontal type continued to be used in
miracle scenes for centuries. It is found on ivories of the fifth century (see pi.
II) as well as Carolingian examples (see pi. III). 11 This early Christian type also
appears later in other narrative contexts, including scenes of the Transfigu-
ration and psalter illustrations.12 While the figure on the Cross may have been
lifted from one of these narrative scenes, there is another possibility. As Gerke
has demonstrated,13 a variety of examples occur where a miracle scene
including this standing figure was moved to the central position on the frieze
sarcophagi. Another major step was taken with the introduction of the
columnar sarcophagi. In many cases, a miracle scene including this figure was
placed in the central niche. These single scenes underwent a further
transformation. The figure of Christ was separated from the others and placed
in the central niche. Perhaps the finest existing example is a fourth-century
sarcophagus in Aries (see pi. IV), 14 which is strikingly similar to the Ruthwell
image in many respects. Finally, by the mid-fourth century, examples begin to
appear where the original narrative context is lost. Christ still occupies the
central niche but is associated with a new composition. Here he stands in the
compnay of his apostles. It is to this last type that Gerke and others have
referred as an early example of an Andachtsbild.15 This type persisted well

21-47. See also Realkxikonfiir Antike und Christentum in (Stuttgart, 1957), 1-24; Lexikon der
christlichen lkonographie (Vienna, 1970), pp. 3 5 5—72, and Kitzinger, Relics, pp. 241-4. The
examples included here have been limited to those where the right arm of Christ is enclosed
within the outline of the body. However, this position may have been necessitated by the
narrow format of the Ruthwell panel. If this were the case, then another closely related
group of monuments could be considered. Here the right arm of Christ is raised and
extended beyond the body. The most important examples would be the Exuperantius
sarcophagus in Ravenna (see Giuseppe Bovini, "Corpus" della sculturapaleocristiana bi^antina
ed altomedioevale di Ravenna n (Rome, 1968), pi. 14a) and the mosaics in San Apollinare
Nuovo (see Friedrich Deichmann, Friihchristliche Batiten und Mosaiken von Ravenna
(Baden-Baden, 1958), pis. 160 and 179).
9 10
Gerke, Cbristus, p. 49. Ibid. p. 50.
11
Wolfgang Fritz Volbach, Eljenbeinarbeiten der Spatantike und des jriihen Mittelalers, 3rd ed.
(Mainz, 1976), figs. 112, 170 and 221.
1
John Beckwith, Ivory Carvings in Early MedievalEngland(London, 1972),fig.49; Peter Bloch
and Hermann Schnitzler, Die ottonische kolner Malerschule 1 (Dusseldorf, 1967), pis. 39 and
329; F. Miitherich, Der Stuttgarter Bilderpsalter 1 (Stuttgart, 1965-8), 2v and 87r.
13 14
Gerke, Cbristus, p. 50. Ibid. p. 51.
15
Fernand Benoit, Sarcophages pale'ochre'tiens d'Aries et de Marseille (Paris, 1954), p. 37-
217
 Kristine Edmondson Haney
beyond the fourth century. It is encountered repeatedly on a major group of
sarcophagi from south-west France which have generally been dated to the
sixth century. 16 It also occurs in the minor arts of the early Middle Ages.17 In
addition to these clearly defined situations, the figure may also have been used
independently of any specific context from the sixth century.18 Exactly which,
if any, of these associations may have been intended here is impossible to
ascertain. The possibility remains that the Christ figure was extracted from the
image in ps. xc. On the other hand, the standing Christ is also an ancient and
widely known type which is commonly encountered in miracle and votive
scenes. Such a model would not appear entirely inappropriate for an image
depicting the adoration of the beasts. Nor, as the textual evidence will show,
for an event interpreted as a miracle.
Since the visual evidence suggests that the panel on the Ruthwell Cross was
probably not based upon an illustration of ps. xc, a question must also be
raised about the textual basis for such a relationship. Saxl suggested that the
first part of the inscription might be related to this psalm, while Schapiro cited
parallels in other psalms, as well as in Mark i. 13, describing the Temptation.
They also attempted to extend this line of reasoning to commentaries on these
passages and on others in Matthew and Luke which drew a connection
between ps. xc and the Temptation. Both Saxl and Schapiro felt that this
second subject, the Temptation, was also related to the scene on the Cross.
Although the word dracones does appear in ps. xc, both were aware that
neither the biblical passages nor the commentaries parallel the Ruthwell
inscription as a whole. 19 The lack of similarity between the Ruthwell scene
and the visual and literary evidence offered by Schapiro and Saxl did not raise
serious objections from other scholars. Instead, it formed the basis for a more
recent study. 20
The considerable divergence between the image and the references to ps. xc
and the Temptation of Christ make it possible to suggest that the primary
16
Brigitte Briesenick, 'Typologie und Chronologie der siidwest-Gallische Sarkophage',
Jahrbuch des romisch—germanischen Zentralmuseums Main^ 9 (1962), 63—168; Edmond Le Blant,
Les Sarcophages Chretiens de la Gaul (Paris, 1886).
17
Helmut Buschhausen, Die spatromischen Metallscrinia imdfriihchristlichen Rcliquiare (Vienna,
1971), pp. 249—52, and pi. 5 5a; J. Hubert, L.'Empire carolingien (Paris, 1968),pi. i93;Joseph
Braun, Der christliche Altar (Munich, 1924), pi. 131.
18
Wilhelm Holmquist, Kunstprobleme der Merowinger^eit (Stockholm, 1939), p. 201, pi. XLII;
D. Sergejevski, 'Die Altarbruestung der Basilika von Dabravina', Actes du V congres
international a"arche'ologie chretienne (Paris, 1957), pp. 320-3; E. Temple, Anglo-Saxon
Manuscripts 900—1066 (London, 1976), no. 75.
19
Schapiro also offered visual parallels which depicted Christ tempted by the devil and dated
from the eleventh to the fourteenth century; see Schapiro, 'The Religious Meaning', p. 237.
20
Robert Farrell, ' T h e Archer and Associated Figures on the Ruthwell Cross - a Reconside-
ration', Bede and Anglo-Saxon England, ed. R. T. Farrell, BAR 46 (1978), 96-117.
218
 The Ruthwell Cross
meaning of the scene lies in an entirely different context. It is found in one of
the most widely accessible forms of early Christian literature, a saint's life. In
his Vita S. Pauli Primi Hremitae,21 Jerome describes St Antony living as a
hermit in the desert. Antony learns that another hermit, Paul, dwells in the
deeper recesses of the desert. A revelation received in his sleep prompts
Antony to search for Paul. As Antony travels across the desert, a creature
appears to him saying:
Mortalis ego sum et unus ex accolis eremi, quos vario delusa errore gentilitas faunos
satyrosque et incubos vocans colit; legatione fungor gregis mei. Precamur, ut pro
nobis communem Dominum depreceris, quem in salutem mundi venisse cogno-
vimus, et in universam terram exiit sonus eius. Talia eo loquente, longaevus viator
ubertim faciem lacrymis rigabat, quas magnitudo laetitiae indices cordis effuderat;
gaudebat quippe de Christi gloria et de interitu satanae: simulque admirans, quod eius
posset intelligere sermonem, et baculo humum percutiens, aiebat: Vae tibi Alexan-
dria, quae pro Deo portenta veneraris: Vae tibi civitas meretrix, in quam totius orbis
daemonia confluxere. Quid nunc dictura es. Bestiae Christum loquuntur, et tu pro
Deo portenta generaris.22
Although the wording of the Ruthwell inscription differs slightly from
Jerome's text, the similarites are pronounced. The inscription reads: 'Bestiae
et dracones cognoverunt salvatorem mundi in deserto.' The passage in the
Vita S. Pauli states in effect that the bestiae, who are accoli eremi, tell Antony:
'[Dominum] quem in salutem mundi venisse cognovimus'. Not only is the

21
Jerome, Vita S. Pauli Primi Eremitae: Studies in the Text Tradition of St. Jerome's Vitae
Patrum, ed. William Oldfather (Urbana, 111., 1943), pp. 38—9. Another edition is found in PL
23, cols. 17-28; the work is also listed by the Bollandists, Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina,
1 vols. (Brussels, 1900- 1), no. 6596. See also Julius Plesch, Die Originalitat and literarische
Form Monchsbiographien des hi. Hieronymus (Munich, 1910); E. Coleiro, 'St Jerome's Lives of
the Hermits', Vigiliae Christianae 9(1957), 161-78, and 'Monasticism in St Jerome's Letters
and Lives of the Hermits', Melita Theologica 4 (1951), 1—13, 61—74; 5 (1952), 17—30;
Ferdinand Cavallera, 'Paulde Thebes et Paul d'Oxyrhynque', Revue d'ascetique et de mystique 7
(1926), 17—20 (with older bibliography on textual questions examined by several scholars in
the early part of the century), as well as his Saint Jerome: Sa vie et son oeuvre (Louvain, 1922).
22
'I am a mortal and one of the inhabitants of the desert whom the pagans, deluded by all
manner of error, worship under the names of fauns, satyrs, and incubi. I serve as the
ambassador of my flock. We beseech you to intercede for us with him who is Lord over all,
for we acknowledge that he came at one time for the salvation of the world and that his
sound went forth into all the earth. The aged traveller wept many tears over these words
which told of the great overflowing joy of his heart. He rejoiced over the glory of Christ and
the defeat of Satan. At the same time, he was astonished that he could understand the
creature's speech and, striking the ground with his staff, cried out: "Woe to you Alexandria,
because you worship monsters instead of God! Woe to you, meretricious city, in which all
the demons of the world find refuge. What now will you answer? Beasts speak the name of
Christ and you bring forth monsters instead of (worshipping) G o d . ' "
219
 Kristine Edmondson Haney
meaning similar, but the choice of words is much too close to be due to
chance.
Further support for this textual identification for the main panel is offered
by the scene immediately below it on the Cross. The inscription reads: 'SCS
PAVLVS ET ANTONIVS EREMETAE FREGER[VN]T PANEM IN
DESERTO' (see pi. \b). This passage and the scene it illustrates are also
drawn from the Vita S. Pauli, a fact which has long been acknowledged.23 It
describes an event after Antony discovers Paul in the desert, when a raven
brings them a double portion of bread. There is a dispute over who should
divide the loaf. Finally they decide to break the bread together. The manner in
which the inscription parallels the text follows the pattern established for the
scene above it. The inscription is not a direct quotation from the Vita S. Pauli,
but retains its sense and uses words from the text:
Igitur, Domino gratiarum actione celebrata super vitrei marginem fontis uterque
consedit. Hie vero, quis frangeret panem oborta contentio, pene diem duxit in
vesperum. Paulus more cogebat hospitii, Antonius iure refellebat aetatis. Tandem
consilium fuit, ut apprehenso e regione pane, dum ad se quisque nitetur, pars [cuique]
sua remaneret in manibus.24
Several factors point, then, towards a relationship between the Ruthwell
image and Jerome's Vita S. Pauli. The main panel and another just below it
draw on this text. In both cases, the inscriptions are based on quotations,
although not exact, of passages found in the Vita S. Pauli. This identification
can also be confirmed by comparing the text to the illustration. Unlike ps. xc,
the passage in the Vita S. Pauli reflects the worshipful attitude of the animals
on the Ruthwell panel.
According such prominence to scenes from the life of a saint is extremely
unusual in iconography at this early date. 25 The attention it received on the

23
Baldwin Brown, The Arts in Early England^ (London, 1921), 134; Arthur Kingsley Porter,
The Crosses and Culture of Ireland(New Haven, Conn., 1 9 3 2 ) ^ . 8 j ; Schapiro, 'The Religious
Meaning', p. 236; Saxl, 'Ruthwell', p. 3.
24
Jerome, Vita S. Pauli, ed. Oldfather, p. 40. 'Therefore, having offered praise to God with an
act of thankfulness, each sat at the edge of the clear spring. Here arose a dispute, which
lasted almost until evening, over who should break the bread. Paul, according to custom as
host, urged Antony, while Antony felt that by right of his seniority, the privilege belonged
to Paul. Finally it was decided that each would pick up one end of the bread and pull it
towards himself; his own portion would remain in his hands.'
25
Earlier depictions of Paul and Antony appear in Egypt at Bawit (sixth century), Deir Saint
Paul (seventh century), Khirbet-el-Mard (seventh century) and Deir Abu Makar; see Porter,
Crosses, fig. 140. In these cases, the saints are shown as single, standing orant figures. See also
Charles Cuttler, 'The Temptations of Saint Antony in Art from Earliest Times to the First
Quarter of the Sixteenth Century' (unpubl. Ph.D. dissertation, New York Univ., 1952); G.
Ferrari, 'Sources for the Early Iconography of St Antony', Studia Anselmiana 38 (1956),
22O
 The Ruthwell Cross
Ruthwell Cross is paralleled by the almost singular place the Vita S. Pauli
occupied in the hagiographical literature of the early Middle Ages. It stood
together with Evagrius's translation of Athanasius's Vita S. Antonii and
Sulpicius Severus's Vita S. Martini as one of the three most popular and
widely read saints' lives in this period.26 The influence of the Vita S. Pauli in
eighth-century England can be demonstrated in a variety of ways. Aldhelm,
for example, drew directly on Jerome's work for his portrait of Paul the
Hermit in his massive prose De Virginitate.21 Similarly, the anonymous
author of the Old English Martyrology, working in the ninth century perhaps
in Mercia, made use of the Vita S. Pauli.28 Furthermore, Jerome's Vita S.
Pauli, together with the vitae of Antony and Martin, served as a model for the
earliest Anglo-Latin saints' lives, those of St Gregory the Great, 29 St
Cuthbert30 and St Guthlac of Crowland.31 It is especially significant that this
hagiographical activity dates from the first half of the eighth century and is
thus contemporary with the programme of the Ruthwell Cross.32 The
248—53; Knipping Noordeloos, 'De Ikonographie van het bezoek van Antonius den Grote
aan Paulus van Thebe', Het Gildebock 24 (1941), 33—73.
26
Bertram Colgrave, 'The Earliest Saints' Lives Written in England', PBA 44(1958), 35-60;
Charles Jones, Saints' Lives and Chronicles in Early England (Ithaca, NY, 1947), p. 57. N o
fewer than 395 Latin copies of the Vita S. Pauli have survived from the Middle Ages; in all,
523 manuscripts of Jerome's monastic vitae survive, including the 39; copies of the vita of
Paul, as well as 2 50 of the vita of Hilarion.and 302 of the vita of Malchus; see Jerome, VitaS.
Pauli, ed. Oldfather, p. 5. For the manuscripts from Anglo-Saxon England, see J. D. A.
Ogilvy, Books known to The English, J97-1066 (Cambridge, Mass., 1967), p. 180. Jerome's
W/a S. Pauli is preserved in two manuscripts of Anglo-Saxon origin: Cambridge, Corpus
Christi College 389 (St Augustine's, Canterbury, s. x 2 ), and Worcester, Cathedral Library,
F. 48 (Worcester, s. xi). Both these manuscripts are later than the period in question.
27
Aldhelmi Opera, ed. R. Ehwald, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auct. antiq. 1 j (Berlin,
1919), 265; see also Aldhelm: the Prose Works, trans. M. Lapidgeand M. Herren (Ipswich and
Totowa, N J , 1979), pp. 87-8.
28
Das altenglische Martyrologium, ed. G. Kotzor, 2 vols., Bayerische Akademie der Wissens-
chaften, phil.—hist. Klasse n.s. 88 (Munich, 1981) n, 14 and 282. See also J. E. Cross, ' O n the
Library of the Old English Martyrologist', Learning and Literature in Anglo-Saxon England:
Studies presented to Peter Clemoes, ed. M. Lapidge and H. Gneuss (Cambridge, 1985), pp.
227-49, a t 2 l 8 -
29
The Earliest Life of Gregory the Great, by an Anonymous Monk of Whitby, ed. Bertram Colgrave
(Lawrence, Kan., 1968).
30
Two Lives of Saint Cuthbert: a Life by an Anonymous Monk of Lindisfarne and Bede's Prose Life,
ed. Bertram Colgrave (Cambridge, 1940).
31
Anglo-Saxon Saints and Heroes, ed. C. Albertson (New York, 1967), pp. 165-222; Felix's JJfe
of Saint Guthlac, ed. Bertram Colgrave (Cambridge, 1956).
For arguments dating the Cross to the early eighth century, see A. Campbell, Old English
Grammar (Oxford, 1959), p. 4, n. 2; The Dream of the Rood, ed. B. Dickins and A. S. C. Ross,
4th ed. (London, 1967), p. 13; D. R. Howlett, 'Two Panels on the Ruthwell Cross', fnlofthe
WarburgandCourtauldInsts. 37 (1974), 333—6; and Rosemary Cramp, 'The Anglian Sculpted
Crosses of Dumfriesshire', Trans, of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural Hist, and
Antiquarian Soc. 37 (1959-60), 1-30, at 12.
 Kristine Hdmondson Haney
availability and importance of the Vita S. Pauli in eighth-century Northum-
bria is also demonstrated by the Martjrologium of Bede. This work, usually
dated between 725 and 731, 33 marked a significant departure from the
pre-existing tradition represented by the Hieronomian Martyrology,34 which
simply listed the feast-day of the saint in the calendar. Bede amended the list by
adding a limited number of readings,35 including one from the Vita S. Pauli
for the feast-day of Paul the Hermit (10 January).36
The prominent place which the life of St Paul the Hermit occupies on the
Cross and in contemporary Insular hagiography can readily be explained.
Jerome's Vita S. Pauli held a special appeal for the early Middle Ages. It
represented a new type of martyr, the desert hermit. Jerome describes
individuals living under the harshest conditions and thereby earning a crown
of 'white martyrdom'. 37 This model offered an alternative to the by then
virtually unattainable 'red martyrdom' of an earlier age. Jerome's Vita S.
Pauli helped to popularize this new ideal. Even more important in this context
is the added significance which the life of the first hermit had as a commentary
on the ideal ascetic existence.38 In the Vita S. Pauli, Jerome clearly sets Paul
and Antony apart as the models for this paticular type of monastic life.39 He
returns to this theme elsewhere, as in a letter to Eustochium, where he
explains that the founder of this manner of life was Paul, and the man who
made it illustrious Antony.40

33
See Colgrave, 'Earliest Saints Lives', p. 37.
34
Henri Quentin, Les Martyrologes historiques du moyen age (Paris, 1908), p. 2; J. B. De Rossi and
L. Duchesne, Martjrologium Hieronyianum, Acta Sanctorum, Januarii 1 (Brussels, 1894),
602-9; Edition pratique des martyrologes de Bide, de I' Anonym e lyonnais et de Florus, ed. J. Dubois
and G. Renaud (Paris, 1976).
35
Bede appended 114 notices to the church calendar. His sources are listed Quentin, Les
Martyrologes, p. 112. See also R. Aigrain, L'Hagiographie, ses sources, ses me'thodes, son histoire
(Paris, 1953), p. 52, and Ogilvy, Books, p. 180.
36
Quentin, Les Martyrologes, p. 99. Although there is ample documentation for the inclusion
of readings from the martyrology in the liturgy for the mid-eighth century, the situation
before this date in England has not been specifically documented. See Baudouin de Gaiffier,
'De l'Usage et de la lecture du martyrologe', A.B 79 (1961), 44—6; see also Ferdinand Piper,
Die Kalendarien und Martyrologien der Angelsachsen (Berlin, 1862), p. 63.
37
John Ryan, Irish Monasticism (Dublin, 1931), p. 3;; see also C. Stancliffe, 'Red, White and
Blue Martyrdom', Ireland in Early Mediaeval Europe, ed. D. Whitelock, R. McKitterick and
D. Dumville (Cambridge, 1982), pp. 21-46.
38
Colgrave, 'Earliest Saints' Lives', p. 42. For a recent discussion, see Herbert Kech,
Hagiographie als christliche Unterbaltungsliteratur (Gottingen, 1977), pp. 148—57.
39
Jerome, Vita S. Pauli, ed. Oldfather, p. 38.
40
The Letters of StJerome, trans. C. Mierow 1 (London, 1963), 172. The Latin text is as follows:
'Verum quia nunc de virginibus scribens paene superflue de monachis disputavi, ad tertium
genus veniam quos anachoretas vocant et qui de coenobiis exeuntes excepto pane et sale
amplius ad deserta nil perferunt. Huius vitae auctor Paulus, inlustrator Antonius . . .'
222
 The Rutfnvell Cross
Jerome also traces this development back in time, to include John the
Baptist, both in the Vita S. Pauli and in the letter to Eustochium, where he
continues: 'But to revert to earlier times, John the Baptist was the first.'41
Jerome's remarks were to have a profound effect, for, as Jean Leclercq has
observed, they were a primary source for ideas on monastic asceticism. 42 His
influence is evident in the writings of Sulpicius Severus and John Chrysos-
tom, 4 3 as well as John Cassian: 'Cuius professionis principes hos quos paulo
ante commemoravimus, sanctum scilicet Paulum et Antonium novimus
extitisse . . . ad imitationem scilicet Johannis Baptistae.' 44
The appeal that this ideal would have had in Northumbria at this time has
often been discussed. 45 There was a marked preference for the monastic and
eremitic life in England during this period. In addition to these general
considerations, there are also numerous specific references in the contempor-
ary literature to the three saints identified by Jerome. St Cuthbert, who has
been described as the most prominent of all English saints, 4 was compared
by Bede to St Antony, 4 7 a pattern which continues in the lives of Irish and
Welsh saints. 48 Bede also describes John as a model for the contemplative life:
Typice autem desertum in quo Iohannes manebat segregatam a mundi inlecebris
sanctorum vitam designat, qui sive solitarii sive turbis admixti vivant tota semper
intentione animi praesentis saeculi desideria spernunt, soli Deo in abscondito cordis
adhaerere et in illo spem suam ponere delectantur. Quam dilectissimam Deo
solitudinem mentis iuuante spiritus sancti gratia desiderabat adire propheta qui
(Jerome, Epistula xxn. 36, ed. I. Hilberg, Corpus Scriptorum Fxclesiasticorum Latinorum
4 (Vienna, 1910), 200; see also Epistula LVIII {ibid. p. 534)).
Letters, trans. Mierow 1, 172. The corresponding Latin passage reads: ' . . . ut ad superiora
conscendam, princeps Johannes baptista fuit'. (ed. Hilberg, p. 200). Jerome also states in his
seventy-fifth homily that John the Baptist set the example for monks; see The Homilies of St
Jerome, trans. Mary L. Ewald, Fathers of the Church 57 (Washington, DC, 1966), 124, and
Jerome, Opera Homiletica, ed. G. Morin, Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina (hereafter
CCSL) 78 (Turnhout, 1958), 453-4.
J. Leclercq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for Cod, trans. C. Misrahi (New York, 1962),

M. Fuhrmann, Ada Sincera Sancti Pauli Thebaei Cognomento Primi Eremitae (Neustadt, 1760),
pp. 90-3.
44
John Cassian, Conferences XVllI-XXIV, ed. and trans. E. Pichery, Sources chretiennes 64
(Paris, 1959), 17.
45
G. H. Doble, Lives of the Welsh Saints, ed. D. S. Kvans (Cardiff, 1971), p. 45; A. H.
Thompson, 'Northumbrian Monasticism', Bede: his Life, Times, and Writings, ed. A. H.
Thompson (1935; repr. New York, 1966), p. 69; Colgrave, 'Earliest Saints' Lives', p. 40.
Two Lives, ed. Colgrave, p. 1.
47
Bede, Vita S. Cuthbertt {Two Lives, ed. Colgrave, p. 223); Anglo-Saxon Saints, ed. Albertson,
p. 62, n. 3 1.
Thus St Iltut was fed in the manner of Paul and Antony, and St Paulinus of Wales went to
live in the desert like Paul the Hermit; see Vitae Sanctorum Britanniaeet Genealogiae, ed. A. W.
Wade-Evans (Cardiff, 1944), p. 220, and Doble, Lives, pp. 113 and 150.
223
 Kristine Edmondson Haney
dicebat: 'Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae et volabo et requiescam'; eandemque
se mox domino iuuante consecutum gratulatus quasi communibus terrenorum
desideriorum inplicamentis insultans adiungit: Ecce elongavi fugiens et mansi in
solitude.49
Similarly, Aldhelm in his De Virginitate refers to John the Baptist, Paul and
Antony as the founders of the monastic life.50
The widespread acceptance and popularity in Britain of Jerome's models
for the monastic life can be related to the choice of subjects on the Ruthwell
Cross. The upper panel on the Cross depicts John the Baptist,51 followed by
two scenes involving Paul and Antony. The sequence of three scenes can be
related to John the Baptist, Paul and Antony, the earliest heroes of the ascetic
life. This interpretation can, then, bring the main panel into accordance with

49
Bede, Opera Homiletica, ed. D. Hurst, CCSL 122 (Turnhout, 195;), 2—3. 'Symbolically the
desert in which John remained signifies the life of holy men who living either alone or mixed
with a crowd continually with the total intention of mind spurn the desires of the present
age and cling to God alone in the hidden region of the heart and they are delighted to place
their hope in Him. It was that most desired solitude of mind for (the sake of contemplating)
G o d that the prophet, with the aiding grace of the Holy Spirit, desired to attain when he
said: " W h o will give to me wings like those of doves and 1 will fly and rest." And the same
prophet when having himself attained that same solitude soon, with the Lord helping him,
leaping from the ordinary entanglements of earthly things, added: "Behold I fleeing have
withdrawn myself from those things and remained in solitude." '
50
Aldhelmi Opera, ed. Ehwald, pp. 253, 264-5; Aldhelm: the Prose Works, trans. Lapidge and
Herren, pp. 79, 87—8. See also Schapiro, 'RuthwelP, p. 236.
51
T h e identification of this figure as John the Baptist has recently been challenged by Paul
Meyvaert, 'An Apocalypse Panel of the Ruthwell Cross', Medieval and Renaissance Studies,
Proc. of the Southeastern Institute of Med. and Renaissance Stud., Summer, 1978, ed. F.
Tirro (Durham, NC, 1982), pp. 3—31. Meyvaert points out that the figure is not entirely
consistent with images of John the Baptist, since he stands on two globes and does not wear
a hair shirt, and since the lamb is not encircled by a medallion. Furthermore, the Quinisext
Council in Trullo (AD 692) prohibited scenes of John pointing to the Lamb. Instead, he
identifies the figure as Christ together with the apocalyptic Lamb, described in Revelation.
Although Meyvaert raises some noteworthy objections, a consideration of the correspond-
ing Bewcastle panel confirms the traditional identification as John the Baptist. Here the
bearded figure is clearly distinguished from the beardless Christ below. The globes have
been eliminated and the lamb is surrounded by a medallion. The commonly accepted dating
of this panel further suggests that the Trullo prohibition had a limited impact in the early
eighth century. The identification of the scene with apocalyptic imagery is also problematic,
since both Meyvaert's parallels and visual ones dating from the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries refer almost without exception to a single globe and seated figure. Here, he argues
that Insular artists intended figures standing before thrones to be viewed as seated ones.
While this is sometimes the case, it generally applies when the artist was not skilled enough
to depict a seated one, as in his pi. V. However, this does not apear to apply to the Ruthwell
panel. N o throne is visible behind the figure (as it is in pi. V), and the pose of Mary in the
flight scene amply demonstrates the ability of the sculptor to render a seated figure
convincingly.
224
 The Ruthwell Cross
the eremitic orientation of other aspects of the programme discussed in the
seminal studies of Saxl and Schapiro.
The impulse to the eremitic existence which emerges as a dominant feature
in the contemporary literature and on the Cross also helps to explain the
special significance underlying the choice of this particular subject for the
main panel. It can be viewed not only as a general comment on asceticism but
in relation to the goal which could be achieved only in what Bede describes as
the hermit's state of perfection.52 The singular privilege which those
embracing the contemplative life may attain is made explicit in an early letter
of Jerome. He writes to Rufinus about the hermit in the desert, saying that in
the companionship of Christ he is not alone, for he beholds the glory of God,
which even the apostles beheld only in the wilderness.53
The importance of this idea in eighth-century England is confirmed by
contemporary Insular saints' lives. Bede speaks of St Cuthbert in his
hermitage seeing and talking with angels.54 Guthlac living in his swamp tells
a certain Wilfred that only those who forsake the companionship of men can
expect the companionship of animals and the friendship of angels.55 This is
the sentiment which is reflected in the Ruthwell scene drawn from the VitaS.
Pauli. It is the hermit Antony who experiences an extraordinary meeting with
the inhabitants of the desert. Jerome describes the meeting of Antony and the
desert creatures as miraculous because the animals are able to speak and
recognize Christ as the saviour of the world. Jerome tells us that he wept and
rejoiced over this demonstration of the glory of God.
These ideas can also be associated with the second panel based on the Vita
S. Pauli, where Paul and Antony break bread in the desert. Although this
scene has often been discussed as a reference to the Eucharist,56 the primary
5
Two Lives, ed. Colgrave, p. 155. 'Principium nobis scribendi de vita et miraculis beati patris
Cuthberti Ieremias propheta consecrat, qui anachoreticae perfectionis statum glorificans ait,
"Bonum est viro cum portaverit iugum ab adolescentia sua, sedebit solitarius et tacebit, quia
levabit se super se".' Cf. ibid. pp. 214-15: 'At postquam in eodem monasterio multa
annorum curricula explevit, tandem diu concupita, quaesita, ac petita solitudinis secreta,
comitante praefati abbatis sui simul et fratrum gratia multum laetabundus adiit. Gaudebat
namque quia de longa perfectione conversationis activae, ad otium divinae speculationis
iam mereretur ascendere.'
letters, trans. Mierow 1, p. 32. 'Solus ibi, immo iam Christo comitante non solus, videt
gloriam dei, quam etiam apostoli nisi in deserto non viderant' (Jerome, Epistula, ed.
Hilberg, p. 16).
Two Lives, ed. Colgrave, p. 178.
Anglo-Saxon Saints, ed. Albertson, p. 198; Felix, Vita Sancti Cuthlaci, ed. Colgrave, p. 122.
'Nonne legisti, quia, qui Deo puro spiritu copulatur, omnia sibi in Deo coniunguntur? Et
qui ab hominibus cognosci denegat, agnosci a feris et frequentari ab angelis nequit.'
56
This view has been expressed most recently by E. O'Carrigain, 'Liturgical Innovations
Associated with Pope Sergius and the Iconography of the Ruthwell and Bewcastle Crosses',
Bede and Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Farrell, pp. 131—47.
225
 Kristine Edmondson Haney
emphasis it receives in the hagiographical literature points in another
direction. In the Vita S. Pauli, Paul tells Antony that Christ honours them by
doubling his soldiers' rations.57 The emphasis is clearly placed upon Christ's
recognition of those who serve him in the desert. This is echoed in Bede's
prose vita of St Cuthbert. Upon being given food, Cuthbert comments that
God has illumined him with tokens of his majesty.58 In the following passage
from the Vita S. Pauli, Jerome says that Paul responded to this event at once,
praising God as good and merciful. As Paul and Antony break the bread
together, Jerome describes them offering God a sacrifice of praise and
spending the rest of the night in prayerful vigils.59 Similar sentiments are
voiced in the anonymous vita of St Cuthbert, who glorifies God because he
bestowed food on him as he had upon Elijah in the desert.60 Similarly, in
Bede's vita of Cuthbert, the hermit eats the food given to him, worshipping
God and giving thanks. 61
In both panels depicting scenes from the Vita S. Pauli, two ideas are
expressed. First, that an individual living in the eremitic state enjoys a
privileged status. Having forsaken the company of men, he draws closer to
God and enjoys his special favour. The bestowal of favour happens in
miraculous ways, which is a reflection of the glory of God, who is wondrous
in his saints. 2 The message of the central panel goes a step further. Both in
the inscription and in Jerome's text Christ is recognized and extolled not only
as a worker of miracles but as the saviour of the world. So the Ruthwell Cross
does not simply elevate the status of the hermit in the desert. Instead it is
ultimately a glorification of Christ by his desert saints as salvator mundi. This is
clear not only from the hagiographical literature, but from the main scene
itself, which focuses upon the adoration of Christ.
This broader theme also encompasses the John the Baptist panel. He is
described in the gospels proclaiming in the wilderness the glory of Christ as
the saviour. 63 This is precisely the same association as is evoked by the image
of John holding the lamb on the Ruthwell Cross. He is described in the
Gospel of John as a witness for Christ and baptist. Bede goes still further in his
second homily for Advent. Here he emphasizes that John the Baptist shares
the sentiment expressed in John 1.14:
Superius namque dixit, quia 'verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis, et vidimus
57
Jerome, Vita S. Pauli, ed. Oldfather, p. 40.
58
Two Lives, ed. Colgrave, pp. 180-1.
59
Jerome, Vita S. Pauli, ed. Oldfather, p. 40.
60
Two Lives, ed. Colgrave, pp. 84-5.
61 Ibid. pp. 86-7.
62
Ibid. p. 197, referring to ps. LXVii.36.
63
Matthew 111.1-3, Mark 1.11-12, Luke m . 16-17, John 1.15-n.
226
 The Ruthwell Cross
gloriam eius gloriam quasi unigeniti a patre plenum gratia et veritate'. Quod dum
praecursoris quoque eius testimonio confirmasset dicentis: 'Hie erat quem dixi vobis:
Qui post me venturus est ante me factus est quia prior me erat', rursus ipse quae
coeperat exsequitur dicens: 'Et de plenitudine eius nos omnes accepimus gratiam pro
gratia.'64
Bede also continues in the same homily by making the Baptist's description of
Christ as grace and truth a more explicit reference to the Saviour: 'Lex per
Moysen data est cum populus aspersione sanguinis agni mundari praeceptus
est gratia et veritas quae in lege figurabatur per Iesum Christum facta est cum
ipse passus in cruce lavit nos a peccatis nostris in sanguine suo.' 65 These
passages can be related thematically to those from the Vita S. Pauli. All three
identify individuals who were not only extolled as models for the ascetic life,
but who witnessed and proclaimed the glory of Christ as salvator mundi.

The close connection of three panels on the Ruthwell Cross raises questions
about their thematic relationship to the remaining scenes. An examination of
these scenes reveals a continuation not of a specifically ascetic content, but of
the broader statement involving the recognition and adoration of Christ as the
saviour.66 The last scene, which appears at the base of this face of the Cross, is
the Flight into Egypt (see pi. Ib). It is a subject which can be related to the
theme in a variety of ways. As Saxl observed, the desert theme in this last panel
cannot be due to chance.67 Other points of similarity can be adduced with the
apocryphal description of the flight, which afforded an opportunity to glorify
Christ. He is described making a festive progress through the desert where
dragons, lions and panthers adored and accompanied the Holy Family.68 An
apocryphal text, the Gospel of pseudo-Matthew, also describes the arrival of

Bede, Opera Homitetica, ed. Hurst, p. 8. 'For above he said that "the word was made flesh
and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory the glory as if of the only begotten of the Father
full of grace and truth". Which statement of the precursor John the Evangelist confirmed
by his testimony saying: "This was He about whom I spoke to you: who is going to come
after me is preferred before me because He was prior to me." Again John speaking tells us
that he follows those things to which He gave a beginning with the words: 'And of His
fullness we have all received, grace for grace." '
65
Ibid. p. 10. 'The law was given by Moses when the people were ordered to be cleansed by a
sprinkling of the blood of the lamb. The grace and truth symbolized in the law were
accomplished through Jesus Christ when He having suffered on the cross washes us from
our sins in His blood.'
66
Other interpretations of the programme as a whole which should also be considered include
Saxl, 'Ruthwell', and Howlett, 'Two Panels', p. }}6. In the final analysis, however,
Meyvaert ('John the Baptist') is undoubtedly correct when he says that the entire meaning is
lost to us.
Saxl, 'Ruthwell', p. 5. See also F. Mutherich, Der Stuttgarttr Bilderpsalter 11, 177-8.
68
See Evangelia Apocrypha, ed. Constantinus Tischendorf (Leipzig, 1853), pp. 81-2.

227
 Kristine Edmondson Haney
the Holy Family at the town of Sotina near Heliopolis, where, as they entered
the heathen temple, all the idols fell from the altars and Aphrodisius the
governor arrived with a great retinue to welcome and worship him who
possessed such power over the gods. 69 The apocryphal story of the arrival in
Sotina suggests a recognition of Christ and a revelation of his divinity, themes
which link it to the main panel. Similar ideas about the significance of the
flight are expressed by Bede in a homily for the feast of the Holy Innocents.
Bede here speaks specifically of Egypt as a type for the pagans and the
necessity of the flight for their conversion, and this flight results in their faith
in Christ and salvation:
Sicque factum est ut gentilitas quae per Aegyptumfiguraturpeccatis ante tenebrosa
lumen verbi perciperet. Hoc est enim puerum Iesum et matrem eius per Ioseph in
Aegyptum transferri, fidem videlicet dominicae incarnationis et ecclesiae societatem
per doctores sanctos gentibus committi. Quod erant in Aegypto usque ad obitum
Herodis indicatfiguratefidemChristi in gentibus mansuram donee plenitudo earum
introeat et sic omnis Israhel saluus fiat.70
The glorification of Christ as the saviour of the world is a theme which can
be applied to the other side of the Cross. Here are found panels depicting the
Visitation, the woman who was a sinner and the man born blind (see pi. \b).
The visitation71 has been placed as a pendant to the John the Baptist panel
opposite. As others have noted, its placement underlies a common reference
to the precursor. It echoes the unifying theme, because it represents the
moment when Mary and Elisabeth recognize the Virgin's child to be the Lord.
Moreover, Bede responds to Elisabeth's salutation by saying: 'Et vere ac
singulariter benedictus qui non nostro more postquam natus est gratiam a
domino benedictionis percepit sed ipse ad salvandum mundum benedictus
venit in nomine domini.' 72
The second panel on the reverse side depicts a woman kneeling at the feet of
Christ and wiping them with her hair. The inscription is based on Luke
69
Ibid. pp. 86-7.
70
Bede, Opera Homiletica, ed. Hurst, p. 70. 'And thus it came to pass that the assembly of
gentiles who are symbolized by Egypt, previously darkened by sin, received the light of the
word. That is just as the boy Jesus and His mother led by Joseph into Egypt symbolizes that
faith in the Lord's incarnation and membership in the religious community of the church
was given to the Gentiles through the holy doctors. Since they were in Egypt up to the death
of Herod this indicates figuratively that the Christian faith will remain among the gentiles
until all of them have entered into it and thus all Israel will become safe.'
71
Another identification of this scene as Mary and Martha has been suggested Howlett, 'Two
Panels', pp. 333-5.
72
Bede, Opera Homiletica, ed. Hurst, pp. 23~~4- 'Truly and in a specific way is he blessed: after
he was bom he received the grace of benediction from the Lord in a way not in our manner
but (even more) is he blessed who came in the name of the Lord to save the world.'
228
 The Ruthwell Cross
VII.36-7, describing the woman who anoints the feet of Christ at the house of a
Pharisee. As Christ himself points out, this act of veneration places her in
sharp contrast to the Pharisees, who displayed no signs of reverence. Bede
carries this further, contrasting her as a conversegentilitas with the unconverted
Jews. 73 As on the main panel directly opposite, where the beasts recognize
Christ while the gentilitas turns away, believers are contrasted with non-
believers.74 Here the sense of continuity is also stressed visually. The same
standing figure of Christ dominates both panels. The woman's act of
veneration is given added significance by Bede. In his commentary on Luke,
Bede identifies this woman as Mary, sister of Lazarus, who anointed the feet of
Christ shortly before the passion. In this context, Bede continues to stress the
relationship of this event to the glorification of Christ as the saviour:
Quod et regulis allegoriae pulcherrime congruit quia et unaquaequefidelisanima
prius ad domini pedes humiliata peccatisque absoluenda curvatur dein augescentibus
per tempora meritis laetae fidei flagrantia domini quasi caput odore perfundit
aromatum et ipsa universalis ecclesia Christi in praesenti quidem incarnationis eius
quae pedum nomine designatur mysteria celebrando devota redemptori suo reddit
obsequia in futuro autem et humanitatis gloriam et divinitatis eius aeternitatem quia
'caput Christi Deus' simul intuendo perpetuis confessionum laudibus quasi pistica
nardo glorificat.75
The inscription identifies the next scene as the healing of the blind man
described in John IX.I. This text voices the idea expressed in the other panels,
for in response to the miraculous restoration of his sight, the blind man
accepts Christ 'et adoravit eum'. This image draws to mind the flight scene
opposite, where the gentilitas, ante tenebrosa, perceives the lumen verbi. The
relationship may go further, for elsewhere Bede equates blindness with a lack
of faith.76 In both cases, the intervention of Christ permits a cognizance and
acceptance of him as saviour. The scene may also be viewed in another but
73
Bede, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, ed. D. Hurst, CCSL 120 (Turnhout, i960), 169.
4
Jerome's text and the Ruthwell inscription use the verb cognosce™ to describe the response of
the beasts to Christ. It has been translated as 'to know' in the English edition of the Vita S.
Pauli, trans. M. L. Ewald, Early Christian Biographies (Washington, DC, 1952), p. 230. It can
also be translated as 'to acknowledge' or 'to grasp the religious truth'; see J. F. Niermeyer,
Mediae l.atinitalis lexicon Minus (Leiden, 1976), p. 196. This, together with the animals'
request that Antony intercede for them and the respectful attitude of the beasts on the Cross
suggests that they accept Christ as the saviour of the world.
Bede, In Lucae Evangelium, ed. Hurst, p. 167. See also Bede, Opera Homiletica, ed. Hurst, pp.
209-10.
76
Ibid. p. 162. 'Caeci erant qui necdum perfectum fidei lumen habebant, claudi qui bona quae
noverant operandi gressibus implere nequibant, aridi qui quamlibet oculum scientiae
habentes pinguedine tamen spei et dilectionis egebant. Tales in quinque porticibus iacebant,
sed nonnisi in piscina angelo veniente sanabantur, quia per legem cognitio peccati, gratia
autem remissionis nonnisi per Iesum Christum facta est.'
229
 Kristine Edmondson Haney
related way. In a homily for Lent Bede presents the act of healing itself as a
manifestation of the glory of Christ: 77
Unde iterum dicit: 'Libenter igitur gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis ut inhabitet in me
virtus Christi'. Quod ob ostendendam conditoris sanctorumque eius gloriam non
nulli saepe languescant ipse manifestat qui de caeco nato discipulis sciscitantibus ait:
'Neque hie peccavit neque parentes eius ut caecus nasceretur sed ut manifestentur
opera Dei in illo'. 78
Finally, at the Cross's base, which supports the programme thematically
and structurally, the annunciation and crucifixion (see pi. ib) appear. 79 In
them, the plan for man's redemption is manifested, which, Bede points out,
elicits from the faithful a recognition of Christ as saviour. Of the annunciation
Bede says: 'Notandus solerter ordo verborum et tanto artius est cordi
inserendus quanto manifeste patet quia in his tota redemptionis nostrae
summa consistit. Nam manifestissime dominum Iesum, id est salvatorem
nostrum, et verum Dei patris et verum hominis patris filium praedicant.' 80
In the last scene, the meaning is no longer veiled; the image of Christ as
saviour is unmistakable. Although no further explanation is necessary, Bede's
majestic description of the crucified Christ in his commentary on Luke forms a
fitting conclusion to this discussion:
'Erat autem et superscriptio scripta super ilium litteris Graecis et Latinis et Hebraicis:
Hie est rex Iudaeorum'. Pulchre titulus qui Christum regem testetur non infra sed
supra crucem ponitur quia licet in cruce pro nobis hominis infirmitate dolebat super
crucem tamen regis maiestate fulgebat. Qui apte etiam quia rex simul et sacerdos est
cum eximiam patri suae carnis hostiam in altari crucis offerret regis quoque qua
praeditus erat titulo dignitatem praetendit ut cunctis legere, hoc est audire et credere,
volentibus innotescat qui suum per crucem non perdiderit sed confirmarit potius et
corroborarit imperium.81
77
For a recent treatment of this question, see Benedicts Ward, Miracles and the Medieval Mind
(Philadelphia, Pa, 1982).
78
Bede, Opera Homiletica, ed. Hurst, p. 166. 'Wherefore again he said: "Freely therefore will 1
glory in my infirmities so that the strength of Christ might dwell in me." Because some of
them complain against the manifestation of the glory of the Creator and His holy works, He
himself shows this who says regarding the man born blind to his inquiring disciples:
"Neither had this man sinned, nor his parents so that he was born blind but that the works
of God may be manifested in him." '
79
On the pairing of these scenes, see O'Carrigain, 'Liturgical Innovations', pp. 13 1-4;.
80
Opera Homiletica, ed. Hurst, pp. 16—17. He should notice the clever order of the words and
for all the more reason should it be planted into our heart in so far as it is manifestly clear that
(in these words) consists the whole sum of our redemption. For most manifestly, they
preach that the Lord Jesus is our saviour and true son of God the Father and true Son of the
Father of mankind.'
81
Bede, In Lucat Evangelium FExpositio, ed. Hurst p. 404. 'And a superscription also was
written over Him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew: "This is the King of the Jews".
230
 The Ruthwell Cross
The identification of the main panel on the Ruthwell Cross with a passage in
the Vita S. Pauli leads to a reinterpretation of its iconographic programme. It
permits the recognition of an unbroken sequence of three scenes on the main
face of the Cross, involving the heroes of the desert life identified in Jerome
and contemporary Anglo-Latin hagiography: John the Baptist, Paul and
Antony. These scenes also address the goal of this form of monastic existence:
achieving spiritual perfection through the solitary life. This intense ex-
pression of devotion to Christ may be rewarded by signs of divine favour. The
external response to these signs of grace takes the form of praise for Christ as
the saviour, the focus of all monastic life. The choice of the remaining scenes
suggests another overlapping and interlocking theme. Many of the other
panels stress the acceptance and recognition of Christ by those formerly in
darkness. Urging society to turn to Christ as the salvator mundi was a goal
associated with contemporary monasticism, but such a theme would not be
entirely out of place on a monument which stood in a commanding position
near the Solway Firth. Its original site, dominating an open landscape, was
appropriate to an age when crosses served the mission of the church in its
work of preaching and conversion. The programme epitomizes their
aspiration that all mankind should recognize and praise Christ, rejoicing in
him as their saviour.82

The inscription which bears witness to Jesus Christ as king most beautifully is placed not
below but on the upper part of the cross, because although he suffered for us by the infirmity
that is characteristic of men, nevertheless above the cross he shone forth with the majesty of
a king. Also, this is most aptly placed because he is at once priest and king and when he
offered the most exceptional sacrifice of hisfleshto his Father on the altar of the cross he also
extended the dignity of a king with which he was endowed by title so that it may be known
by all those willing to read, that is, to hear and believe that he did not lose his power through
his cross but rather established more ably and strengthened it.'
I should like to thank Steven Brown, Hugo Buchthal and Ernst Kitzinger for making
valuable suggestions for the improvement of this paper. I should also like to offer special
thanks to Julian Brown, not only for commenting on several drafts of this paper, but also
for his support and encouragement during the course of its preparation.

231