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It was immediately recognized as a very singular piece, and one of singular importance (not merely to Anglo-Saxon studies). The unknown medieval artist who wrought the Franks Casket carved it intricately with scenes from myth and legend originating in different traditions -- Roman, Germanic, and Christian -- but perhaps quite at home in a culture as composite as that of Anglo-Saxon England. Framing these panel-pictures, or within them, are inscriptions that alternate between Latin and runic Anglo-Saxon, and it has been (rightly) taken for granted that they explain or describe the artwork in some way.

In general, however, too much has been taken for granted with respect to the casket over the past 150 years, and while scholars have made some important steps toward its understanding, ill attention has generally been paid the crucial details of the artwork, while linguistic problems with certain of the casket's captions have kept us from reading what may be among the oldest lines of English poetry.

The Franks Casket thus remains one of the oldest and greatest outstanding puzzles in Anglo-Saxon studies, indeed of medieval studies, and as it lies at the intersection of history, linguistics, poetry and art, there are many who should like to see it "deciphered."

I first learned of the casket in January 2009, published a preliminary essay in July, and gave a talk at the University of Texas in autumn that same year. The form of the essay presented here is current as it was first published and distributed in late January 2010.

I have attempted to engage the Franks Casket as a whole, every side, each inscription, presenting my own vision of the casket's meanings, while attempting to vindicate it as a nuanced, authentic work of art.]]>
The Ruthwell Cross stands in a small church in the town of Ruthwell, just south of Dumfries, in south-west Scotland. The Cross is seventeen feet four inches tall and must sit in a well four feet deep to serve as the high cross for the church. "With the comparable cross at Bewcastle it is undoubtedly the most important sculptural survival from Anglo-Saxon Britain and arguably from early medieval Europe" (Cassidy 3). What makes the Cross so valuable as an artefact is its blend of elaborate ornamentation and inscriptions in both Latin letters and Anglo-Saxon runes; as well, the Cross preserves in those runes lines from a later Anglo-Saxon poem, "The Dream of the Rood." There is much to consider about the cross, and this web site can only serve as an introduction to an object (and a poem) about which volumes have been written.

Age
Scholars, focusing on particular aspects of the Cross, have argued for a variety of dates. Looking at particular aspects of the Cross (such as the runic inscriptions and vine-scrolls), especially in comparison to the Bewcastle Cross, has led some (like Rosemary Cramp) to argue for dates from the end of the seventh century to the middle of the eighth (MacLean 49-53). The linguistic evidence of the runic inscriptions encouraged R. I. Page to place the Cross anywhere from 650 to 850. Historians point out that since southern Scotland was clearly under Celtic control until the end of the seventh century, it is "unlikely that so conspicuously Anglian a monument was erected much before 682" (Mac Lean 68). Evidence drawn from examining the designs found in the Northumbrian monasteries of Jarrow and Monkwearmouth suggests a mid-eighth-century date. MacLean concludes that the Cross probably dates from AD 750 (at about the same time of the construction of the Bewcastle Cross).

Physical State
The Ruthwell Cross has had a painful history. It is not now what it originally was. As it was originally set up outside, certainly the weather played a part in the eroding of its physical shape (before, of course, the Cross was moved into the church building), but the real damage came in the seventeenth century when "efficient and dedicated iconoclasts" pulled the Cross over (Farrell 34, 39-40). The Cross fractured at the cross-arm (transom); the cross-head and arms broke into fragments; parts of the lower body were cut away.
In the eighteenth century, pieces of the Cross were moved into the church. In the early nineteenth century the process of reconstruction began under the direction of Dr. Duncan (priest at Ruthwell 1799-1843). But in the process, some mistakes were made. Due to some injudicious placements of pieces, gaps were created and subsequently filled in with mortar. Some figures, then, were "elongated." The result is an unpolished work. Also, the original transom was never found; one was thus constructed for the Cross (pictures show how sharp and less-weathered the cross-beam appears now). Obviously, this "interpreted" cross-beam cannot have the same images the original had and thus throws off the symbolic unity of the Cross. As well, the very top piece, which was found, was put on backwards; what faces south should face north.
Actually, the whole cross has been turned in its placement (for example, the South Face probably originally faced east); based on comparisons to the Bewcastle Cross, the panel that should be presented to the congregation should be Christ in Majesty; yet this panel faces North, away from the congregation and visible only if one walks around the altar to the back of the Cross (Farrell 36-7).

The Faces of the Cross
Each face of the Ruthwell Cross is intricately designed and inscribed. There seems to be a certain unity to the South and North faces; the North Face has images of Christ in Eucharistic form, while the South side emphasizes His human form. There is a balances of male and female images on the Cross; Saints Paul and Anthony are balanced by Mary and Martha, for example. The separate panel and faces can be understood individually, but they also interact with the opposing panels and faces; in fact, the Cross has its greatest impact when viewed personally, when the "reader" can walk around it and perceive the interaction of the panels. (Perhaps the Cross was part of the liturgy, as one could read the scripture verses aloud while looking at the panels.)
The South Face has a (later?) Crucifixion at the base (which would have been visible when the Cross stood by itself rather than within a well). Above it is the Annunciation (a lesson in accepting the will of God), then the healing of a man born blind (the healing power of God), then Mary Magdalene anointing Jesus' feet (humility before God), and then, just below the head of the Cross, a panel of Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, two women who, according to Carol A. Farr, "are meritorious in a Christian sense . . . . [As such, they] would be especially relevant to the ongoing process of Christianization in Anglo-Saxon society" (49). To Farr, they are a pair comparable in their worthiness to Saints Paul and Anthony found on the North face. These scenes revolve around "Mary"--the different forms Mary can take (as the mother of God, the humble prostitute, or one of the two worthy sisters). There is a sense of Christ in His human form, from becoming man, to His acts as a person, to His physical death.
The North Face has at its base an image of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus' return from Egypt, perhaps a "reminder of [the challenges of] the monastic life" (Meyvaert 130). Above this panel is a scene of St. Paul and St. Anthony exemplifying the ideals of monastic life. Next is the large panel of Christ upon the Beasts which recalls Christ's time in the desert when both angels and beasts attended him (prior to his temptation by Satan). At the top (just below the head of the Cross) is a panel of John the Evangelist with the Agnus Dei (Christ as the Lamb of God). These panels have Christ in Eucharistic or spiritual form: He is the Eucharistic bread the saints are breaking, He is in Majesty as the ruler of creation, and He will judge all at the end (as John foretells in Revelation).
The East Face and West Face are dominated by intricate vine-scrolls inhabited by birds and other animals; these ornamentations may symbolize Christ as the True Vine, the Tree of Life, or Paradise. The inscriptions on them tell part of the story of the Crucifixion found in "The Dream of the Rood"; as such, these sides tie to the depiction of the Crucifixion on the South Face.

The Inscriptions
Certainly one of the most striking aspects of the Cross is its blend of text and image. These are the inscriptions found on the Cross in both Latin and Anglo-Saxon (the latter in runes and perhaps added in the ninth century).
The South and North Faces (Latin):
From the South Face (going down):
Mary and Martha: "M....M..I...R." Howlett (74) reconstructs this inscription to Martha Maria mr (read as merentes) dominnae ("Martha [and] Mary, meritorious ladies").
Mary Magdalene anointing Jesus's feet: "+ A[ttulit alaba]STRUM UNGUENTI & STANS RETRO SECUS PEDES EIUS LACRIMIS COEPIT RIGARE PEDES EIUS & CAPILLIS CAPITIS SUI TERGEBAT," "+ She brought an alabaster box of ointment and standing behind beside His feet she began to wash His feet with her tears, and she wiped [them] with the hairs of her head" (Howlett 73 and Dickins 4).
Jesus healing the blind man: "+ ET PRAETERIENS VIDI[t hominem caecum] A NATIBITATE ET S[anavit eum ab infirmitate], "+ And passing by He saw a man blind from birth, and He healed him from [his] infirmity" (Howlett 72-3 provides emendations based on John 9:1).
The Annunciation: "INGRESSUS ANG" ("ANG"= "Angelus"), "the angel having entered."
From the North Face (going down):
At top of Cross head: "IN . . . . . . . . . . . . . UM." The inscription is thought to have been the first line of the Gospel of John, "In principio erat verbum" (corrected by Howlett from being on the South Face).
Christ in Judgment: "ADORAMUS [from Dickins 2]," "We adore."
Christ upon the Beasts: "IHSX.S [or IHS XPS (Howlett 75)] IUDEX AEQUITATIS BESTIAE ET DRACONES COGNOUERUNT IN DESERTO SALVATOREM MUNDI," "Jesus Christ the Judge of Justice. Beasts and dragons acknowledged in the desert the Saviour of the world."
Paul and Anthony: "+SCS PAULUS ET A[ntonius duo eremitae (from Howlett 75)] FREGERUNT PANEM IN DESERTO," "Saints Paul and Anthony, two hermits, broke bread in the desert."
The Flight to (or from) Egypt: "MARIA ET IO . . .," probably "Mary and Joseph."
East and West Faces (Anglo-Saxon runic inscriptions):
From the East Face:
"+ Ondgeredæ Hinæ God Alme3ttig. Þa He walde on galgu gistiga
modig fore allæ men
buga ic ni dorstæ
ac scealde fæstæ standa."
"Ahof ic riicnæ Kyninc.
Heafunæs Hlaford hælda ic ni dorsæ.
Bismæradu unket men ba ætgadre; ic wæs miþ blodi bistemid,
bigoten of þæs Guman sida siþþan He His gastæ sendæ."
(These lines follow the emendations suggested by David Howlett.)
From the West Face:
"+ Krist wæs on rodi.
Hweþræ þer fusæ fearran kwomu
æþþilæ til anum: ic þæt al biheald.
Saræ ic wæs miþ sorgum gidrœfid; hnag ic þam secgum til handa."
"Miþ strelum giwundad
alegdun hiæ Hinæ limwœrignæ; gistoddun him æt His licæs heafdum;
bihealdun hiæ þer Heafunæs Dryctin; ond He Hinæ þer hwilæ restæ."
(These lines follow the emendations suggested by David Howlett.)
(Back to top.)
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The pictures are annotated and further reading is supplied.]]>

What fascinates me as a painter is that I use exactly the same process to refine and abstract an image. Most coins were created by bashing a metal disc with a steel mould, called a "die" and it was this that had to be engraved, not the coin. No wonder distortions occurred; those coiners were trying to copy a mysterious profile head and illegible Latin inscription onto a tiny steel disc, in reverse!

Each punched hollow in the die forms a little bead-like shape, called a "pellet". There's a chain of them forming the mouth on the right hand penny. Even though these silver pennies are cruder in execution, repeated copying has strengthened their composition. Look at the meandering, weak shape between the profile and lettering of the Antoninianus. Compare this with the integration of the profile and lettering on the two pennies. ]]>
These pamphlets formed part of the collection of Professor Arthur Napier, which was acquired by the University after his death. They are reproduced by kind permission of the Oxford University English Faculty Library. Please note that these are zipped files: in order to open a file, you will need to download it, right-click and choose 'Extract all'.]]> This was followed by the 1st Saxon Festival in the Meon Valley Since the 11th Century.
We were supported by Droxford Junior School, Saxon era historical and cultural experts and enthusiasts from Winchester City Council Museum Services, Winchester Cathedral education department, Winchester College, Hampshire Archives & Local Studies and Hampshire Wardrobe.
In addition local farmers, Gill & Bruce Horn, on whose land a Saxon cemetery and village were discovered in the 1980s shared artefacts from the excavation.
Details of the learning resources used at these events are attached to this submission.
Additional information about the two events is included in additional submissions.
Meonstoke School and Corhampton Saxon Church are 15 miles from Wintonceastre (Winchester), the capital of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex and of Saxon England. They are located on opposite banks of the River Meon which runs from East Meon on the South Downs, through the Meon Valley to the Solent at Titchfield Haven. The River Meon formed the boundary between the West Saxons (Wessex) and the South Saxons (Sussex). It gave its name, which derives from a Celtic word meaning 'swift one', to the Meonwara (or Meonsæte) the people of Jutish origin who colonised the East bank of the River in the 5th & 6th century.
The Church, which was built in 1020, when Cnute was King of Wessex and England, has been a place of Christian worship for over 1000 years.
Excavations in the 20th century led to the discovery close to the Church of Saxon/Jutish cemeteries and a Saxon village.
The Friends of Corhampton Church, again working with local schools and Saxon heritage organisations followed the school learning day with the first Saxon festival for over 1000 years, held in July 2010 (see separate submission).
Additional information about Corhampton Saxon Church and the 1000 year old Yew Tree in the graveyard can be found in a separate submission and at www.bridgechurches.org.uk. You can also sign-up at this website to become a 'Friend' to ensure the future of this Saxon icon and to support & participate in future festivals, education and exploratory activities.]]>