Theology in Stone - Irish High Crosses

THEOLOGY IN STONE–IRISH HIGH CROSSES
by PEADAR LAIGHLÉIS

Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra omnia traham ad me ipsum (John 12,32)

Christ mocked by Pilate’s Soldiers - Muireadach’s Cross, Monasterboice, Co Louth

THE MONASTERBOICE INN in Co Louth would not make a list of world-renowned academic centres, but when I saw Dr Peter Harbison was speaking there on the topic of Irish high crosses, I booked my place. Dr Harbison is an archaeologist working in the Royal Irish Academy with several publications on art and artifacts of early Christian Ireland. This was the Golden Age, a term that Dr Harbison is one of the few scholars to use these days.

Monasterboice is an appropriate venue for such a talk as two of the finest high crosses in Ireland are found at the monastic site there. However, there are several interesting high crosses in counties Louth and Meath alone which Dr Harbison picked for his presentation. Before he began, he dealt with the reasons behind the ring in the Celtic Cross. There are two principal reasons. The first is practical and shows the engineering skills of the Irish monks: the ring supports the arms of the cross. The second is theological.  The circle is a cosmic symbol representing the world, with Christ and His cross in the centre. Ninth century cosmology is an important consideration of the motifs on the crosses, but the model itself is based on the philosophy of history outlined in St Augustine’s De Civitate Dei.

The first local cross Dr Harbison brought us to was in Duleek. This cross is about four feet tall and is easy to miss. It is in the grounds of the former Anglican church in Duleek, which is now a restaurant. The cross itself contains scenes from the apocryphal Early Life of the Virgin which is taken from the non-canonical Gospel of James. Though we don’t take any of these as gospel, the apocrypha does leave its impact on us. It is from this that we have the names of Our Lady’s parents.

Not far from Duleek is the Co Meath village of Colpe on the outskirts of Drogheda. A Celtic cross was discovered there in 1981 and was photographed by Dr Harbison. The cross was detached and as the former Anglican church in Colpe has changed hands on a number of occasions since then, the current status of the cross is unknown. The Crucifixion is depicted on this cross.

The next venue on the tour was the former Anglican church in Termonfeckin, Co Louth. The repetition of former Anglican churches in this talk struck me. Most of these are the oldest centres of worship in Ireland and in recent decades, many have passed into profane hands. This is a tragedy. The Termonfeckin cross is unusual in that the Crucifixion is on the east face of the cross. Normally, this appears on the west face, but it seems that the cross was placed the wrong way round. The Last Judgement, another favourite motif, appears on the west face.
Noah’s Ark
One of the best known features on any high cross is the Noah’s Ark from the cross in Killary, near Kells in Co Meath. This is the trade mark of the Allied Irish Bank, trading as First Trust Bank in Northern Ireland. At this point, Dr Harbison came to the crosses at Monasterboice. There is little doubt that few crosses in Ireland rival Monasterboice, in particular Muireadach’s Cross. The monks responsible for the crosses sourced the finest sandstone available to them which was from a quarry near Kells. The crosses have been standing in the open air since the early ninth century and exposed to all the elements. The most sheltered part of the cross is the underarm, which is somehow protected from the weather and looking at this gives a better appreciation of what the cross was originally like.

Muireadach’s Cross: the west face

 

Cross underarm

One of the striking features of the crosses is the fact that the bottom panels are the clearest. The reason for this is that they were constructed to be devotional and worshipers would kneel in front of them, with their fullest attention directed at the lowest panels. The first cross one meets in Monasterboice is Muireadach’s Cross, which is almost certainly named after second Abbot Muireadach, whose term was between 887 and 924. The general rule to these crosses is to have scenes from the Old Testament on the east face and from the New on the west face. Very often, the selection was deliberately paired; the sculptors followed the Patristic approach of seeing stories from the Old Testament as prefiguration of the New. Thus the crosses had both a devotional and an instructive function. At this point, it is worth reminding readers that mass literacy is only a recent historic phenomenon. In ninth and tenth centuries Ireland few outside the monasteries could read and the purpose of the stone crosses was for preaching and teaching. As a result, a lot of thought and prayer went into the content of the panels on any of the high crosses we might admire.

Left: Adam & Eve; Right: Cain & Abel

Beginning from the bottom of the east face on Muireadach’s cross is a panel depicting Adam and Eve (Gen 2,5–3,24), with Cain and Abel (Gen 4,1-16) alongside it. Above this is the story of David and Goliath (1 Sam 17, 32-55). The third panel up shows Moses striking the rock at Horeb (Ex 17,6), allowing the Israelites drink. The fourth jumps to the New Testament and shows the Adoration of the Magi (Matt 2, 1-12), except that there are four Magi rather than the three we are accustomed to seeing. St Matthew is not specific as to how many there were; he only tells us they left gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. On the east face, the head of the cross begins with St Michael the Archangel holding a weighing scales with the devil trying to upset the balance–the archangel is commonly depicted with a balance. Above him, Christ sits in judgement, with the souls of the blessed on His right and those of the damned on His left, being driven into Hell with Satan wielding his trident (Matt 25, 31-46; Apoc 20, 11-15). King David plays the lyre, flanked by the Holy Ghost as an angel notes the judgement and one of David’s musicians plays the flute. Above this, Christ is depicted in majesty. The top of the cross is shaped like a small chapel, reminiscent of the Gallerus oratory in Dingle. The figures here seem to be the Egyptian hermits Ss Paul and Anthony who were very influential in the development of monasticism.
Crowning of the Thorns
The south face has abstract features and animals.  The only human figure is on the arm where Pilate is shown to wash his hands, a scene which clearly marks out the Passion (Matt 27,24) The horseman above may represent the Apocalypse (6, 1-8). On the west face, the most striking panel is probably the bottom panel usually described as the Taking of Chris (seen above). Here Professor Harbison had two interesting observations. Firstly, Christ is carrying a staff. This is not described in the narratives of His arrest. Indeed, given Our Lord’s upbraiding of St Peter for cutting off Malchus’ ear with a sword, the impression is that He is unarmed (John 18,11). On the other hand, when Pilate’s soldiers crowned Him with thorns, they place a staff in His hand (Matt 27, 29) and clothed Him with a military cloak, described as scarlet by St Matthew (27,28) and purple by the other evangelists (Mark 15,17; John 19,2; Luke attributes the cloak to Herod: 23,11). The cloak on the cross is very elaborate and fastened with a brooch in a style one would expect of an early Irish king (the Tara brooch was reputedly found in nearby Bettystown). Further to this, Professor Harbinson believes that the cross was originally brightly coloured, which is hard to imagine right now. The dyes used were unlikely to stand a millennium of Irish weather. Above the Mocking of Christ is the Transfiguration (Matt 17, 1- 13; Mark 9, 2-13; Luke 9, 28-36) which prefigures the Crucifixion and Resurrection and above this, Christ gives the key to St Peter (Matt 16,19) and the Testament to St Paul. Above this in the head is the Crucifixion, with Longinus holding the lance (John 19,34) and Stephaton holding the sponge with the vinegar (Matt 27,48). Figures representing the ocean and the earth are seen in homage behind the cross. On the left is St Peter’s denial and on the right is the Resurrection with the Ascension above. The north face again has abstract figures, but the nature of interlacing which is difficult to appreciate in light grey, reinforces the thesis that the cross was originally brightly coloured. The arm of the cross has the Mocking of Christ by the Sanhedrin (Matt 26, 67-68), often seen as the scourging. Again Ss Paul and Anthony are seen in at the top of the north face.

If Muireadach’s Cross emphasises the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ, the Kingship of Christ is also stressed. The crucified Christ is worshiped by sun, moon, ocean and earth; the infant Christ by four Magi representing the four corners of the Earth (just as the three were once seen to symbolise the three known continents; often highlighted by showing a European Melchior on a horse; an Asian Balthaser on a camel; and an African Caspar on an elephant). The Transfiguration shows the elevation of Christ over the earth and the granting of the key to St Peter shows His sovereignty. That He should sit in Judgement over panels representing the sin of our first parents and the slaying of the innocent Abel, while the victory of David over Goliath shows the strength of good over evil and Moses striking the rock represents Divine Providence. All this is woven into the centrality of the Cross in human history.
Ubi Petrus...
The Tall Cross in Monasterboice, at over seven metres high, is the tallest in the country. This allows for more panels, which I will describe briefly. At the bottom of the East Face, which is predominantly Old Testament, the boy David slaying the lion in defence of his flock. Above him, Abraham sacrifices Isaac (Gen 22, 1-19). Once again, Moses is shown to strike the rock at Horeb–this is popular in Irish high crosses. Over Moses, David displays the head of Goliath, with Samuel annointing him as king on the other side (1 Sam 16, 1-13). Over these, Samson pulls down the Philistine Temple (Judges 16, 3) and then Elijah is shown. At the base of the head, we see the three children in the fiery furnace (Dan 3, 1-23), beneath the main picture of Joshua crossing the Jordan (Joshua 3). To the left, St Anthony is tempted in the desert; and on the right, we see the condemnation of Simon Magus by Ss Peter and Paul (Acts 8, 9-25); above, we see Christ saving St Peter from the waves (Matt 14, 23-33), while at the top, a curious figure from the Old Testament, king Mannaseh (2 Kings 21, 1-17) offering a bull, where he has just destroyed a pagan site.  There is an apocryphal work which suggests Mannaseh converted at the end of his life, held to be canonical by the Orthodox churches. The south face shows scenes from the childhood of St John the Baptist. The west face begins with the body of Christ in the tomb. Over this, we see the Baptism of Christ. Above, we see the women at the tomb. Over this, Christ is seen again with Ss Peter and Paul. The panel above is unclear, but over this, we see the soldiers cast lots for Christ’s seemless garment (John 19, 24). In the head, we see Christ flanked by Longinus and Stephaton and the figures of the sun and the moon.  The Denial of St Peter is split in two; on Christ’s left, we see St Peter warming himself at the fire; on the right, we see the cock and the maidservant questioning him (John 18, 16-27). On the right, we see the Scourging at the Pillar (John 19, 1); on the left we see the Arrest of Christ, specifically the kiss of Judas (Mark 14, 45). Above, we see St Peter wielding the sword in Getsemani and above him, what appears to be Pilate washing his hands again. On the north face, we see Daniel in the lions’ den (Dan 6, 2-29) and David as king. There are many legendary creatures on the crosses, including centaurs, but the griffin is taken to represent Christ, being half eagle and half lion–the eagle being the king of the skies and the lion being the king of beasts.

Monasterboice Tall Cross: Crucifixion

It is clear from the foregoing that St Peter features in several of these panels on the Tall Cross. This iconography is that of the Roman Church, seen here in Ireland in the ninth and tenth centuries. This means that the Tall Cross in Monasterboice is a standing refutation of the argument that the Irish Church was independent of Rome before the twelfth century. Yet, few places are symbolic of the distinctiveness of the Irish Church before the Hildebrandine reform reached Ireland–Monasterboice decayed as the new foundation at Mellifont flourished. Aside from this, if Muireadach’s Cross emphasises the Eucharist, the Tall Cross emphasises Baptism. If the High Crosses are unique to Ireland (aside from a few in Scotland or the Isle of Man, which were very much part of the Gaelic world at the time and for long after), many of the features are common in contemporary Carolignian art on the continent. The ideology and theology are the same. In the words of Professor Harbison, the stone crosses, of which only a small number are described above, represent Ireland’s greatest contribution to European sculpture and stonework in the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries.

There followed a discussion on the preservation of these monuments, which need not concern us here. At present, all are vulnerable to the elements and also, unfortunately, to vandalism. Professor Harbison rightly said that there was never going to be a satisfactory answer to this. However, I cannot state firmly enough how important the high crosses are to Irish and Christian heritage alike. This article, like the lecture, only touched on a few, but thworking in the Royal Irish Academy with severale hope is that any awareness of these great treasures might stimulate further investigation.

The Brandsma Review, Issue 134, September-October 2014