One of my favorite periods in history is when the Germanic- and Celtic- speaking peoples were Christianizing yet kept up a lot of their indigenous religious world views and culture. The Ruthwell Cross, probably dating to the early 700s, is one of the most beautiful products of this era. Ruthwell is now in Scotland, but back in the day was part of the Kingdom of Northumbria, where Christian monasteries had gotten a strong influence, supported by the king’s protection.
The carvings on the cross are exquisite — symmetrical vines spiral up the sides, with animals inhibiting the borders. Runic inscriptions in Old English also border the various panels. There are also lifelike images of famous Biblical Christians, like Mary Magdalene washing Christ’s feet, and Jesus treading upon beasts. The Christian motifs are skewed to mesh with a warrior aristocratic culture — Jesus is a hero who faces death to serve his clan, in a way that parallels the expectation that a warlord’s duty is to put his life on the line for his men.
The runes, which might have been added a bit later, match up with an independently recorded poem called “The dream of the rood,” with “rood” meaning “cross” in Old English. The poem (much longer than the runes on the Ruthwell Cross) takes the perspective of the crucifix that bore Jesus’ dying body. It is wild, because it assumes the rood has consciousness, and is dreaming about a triumphant Christ rewarding his people with abundance (gold and jewels are frequently mentioned) and saving them from their foes. . . . Again, this is very like what the thegns or vassals of Northumbrian warriors would have expected out of a good leader.
