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Ritual and the Rood: Liturgical Images

Carragain, Eamonn O

The Dream of the Rood, perhaps, O Carragáin argues, taken for granted today due to its appearance in every anthology, is one of the finest and most moving pieces of literature to survive from Anglo-Saxon England. Its humanised cross can also be found on an equally remarkable piece of sculpture, the Ruthwell Cross. This fascinating book examines the significance of the cross to late Anglo-Saxon liturgy and to artists and writers by examining and comparing its depiction and imagery in `four of the most important surviving artifacts from Anglo-Saxon England': the Ruthwell Cross, a related cross-shaft at Bewcastle, The Dream of the Rood, and a reliquary cross now in the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudule in Brussels. Supported by illustrations and numerous extracts from liturgical texts, the study examines the unravelling of the symbolism of these works of art by generations of scholars, and their significance for contemporary listeners, beholders and worshippers. Éamonn O Carragáin also looks beyond this to explore the relationship of the Anglo-Saxon church to Rome, Ireland and the rest of Christian Europe and how Rome's liturgical rituals were remodelled by an Anglo-Saxon England that displayed unparalleled creativity. 427p, 16 col and 60 b/w pls (The British Library 2005)

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