The Ruthwell Cross and its Texts: A New Reconstruction and an Edition of The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem

Description

The Ruthwell Cross is one of the finest Anglo-Saxon high crosses that have come down to us. The longest epigraphic text in the Old English Runes Corpus is inscribed on two sides of the monument: it forms an alliterative poem, in which the Cross itself narrates the crucifixion episode. Parts of the inscription are irrevocably lost. This study establishes a historico-cultural context for the Ruthwell Cross’s texts and sculptures. It shows that The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem is an integral part of a Christian artefact but also an independent text. Although its verses match closely with lines of The Dream of the Rood in the Vercelli Book, a comparative analysis gives new insight into their complex relationship. An annotated transliteration of the runes offers intriguing information for runologists. Detailed linguistic and metrical analyses finally yield a new reconstruction of the lost runes. All in all, this study takes a fresh look at the Ruthwell Cross and provides the first scholarly edition of the reconstructed Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem—one of the earliest religious poems of Anglo-Saxon England. It will be of interest to scholars and students of historical linguistics, medieval English literature and culture, art history, and archaeology. Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations and Symbols Acknowledgements Review of Literature Introduction Part I: The Ruthwell Cross and its Texts 1 The Ruthwell Cross: An Overview 2 The Cross in Text and Stone: Situating the Ruthwell Cross in a Particular Historical Context 3 The Challenge to Situate The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem in a Literary Context 4 Text, Material, and Memory 5 The Figure Sculpture and the Roman Inscriptions 6 The Runic Inscriptions on the Ruthwell Cross 7 A New Reconstruction of The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem Part II: An Edition of The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem Notes Glossary 8 Summary and Conclusion 9 Appendices 10 Bibliography 11 Index