The Ruthwell Cross: An Anglo-Saxon Masterpiece Carved with Old English Poetry

Why it matters

In a small country church near the Solway shore stands one of the most important carved stones in Europe. The Ruthwell Cross was made in the 8th century, when this corner of Dumfriesshire belonged to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. It is about 5.5 metres tall, its carved figure panels are the largest on any surviving Anglo-Saxon cross, and along its sides runs something unique: lines of Old English verse in runes, closely matching part of The Dream of the Rood, a poem in which the cross itself tells the story of the Crucifixion. It is one of the oldest surviving texts of English poetry, and it is carved in stone in Scotland.

The carving

The two broad faces carry scenes from the Gospels and the lives of the saints, each framed by a Latin inscription: Christ standing on two beasts, the desert hermits Paul and Antony breaking bread, Mary Magdalene washing Christ’s feet, the Annunciation and more. The narrow sides are filled with inhabited vine-scroll, birds and beasts feeding on the vine, with the runic verses carved round the borders. Some scholars think the runes were added after the main carving, and some question whether the monument was first made as a cross at all rather than a tall pillar.

Destroyed and rebuilt

In 1640 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ordered “idolatrous monuments” to be destroyed, and in 1642 the cross was pulled down and broken. The pieces lay in the churchyard and the church floor for nearly two centuries. In the early 19th century the minister, the Reverend Henry Duncan, gathered the fragments and in 1823 re-erected the cross in the manse garden, carving a new cross-arm to replace a lost piece. In 1887 it was moved inside the church into an apse built specially to house it.

Henry Duncan is remembered for something else too: in 1810 he founded the world’s first savings bank for working people in Ruthwell, and the village has a small museum to it.

Visiting

Ruthwell Parish Church stands just outside the village, off the B724 between Annan and Dumfries. Access arrangements have changed over the years, so check locally or with the parish before travelling to be sure the church will be open.

Around Ruthwell

Ten minutes east, Annandale Distillery is a Victorian distillery brought back to life in 2014, with a good café. Further east along the Solway are Gretna Green, famous for runaway marriages, and the field of the Battle of Sark, a Scottish victory over the English in 1448. Towards Dumfries, the medieval Caerlaverock Castle and its wetland reserve lie on the coast road, and north of the town is the great stone circle of the Twelve Apostles. This was Douglas country for much of the Middle Ages. For whisky across the region see our southern Scotland whisky trail, and for more stones with a story see our guide to the famous stones of Scotland.

Sources

• Historic Environment Scotland — Ruthwell Cross.
• Brendan Cassidy (ed.), The Ruthwell Cross (Princeton, 1992).
• Éamonn Ó Carragáin, Ritual and the Rood (2005).
• Wikipedia — Ruthwell Cross (destruction, restoration and 1887 apse).