Introduction
This post is a refresher on that published in 2022 with emphasis on the Ruthwell Cross and the English language.
Background
From very modest beginnings in the first millennium English has evolved to become the world’s lingua franca. English speakers now total about 1.5bn, a big rise on the approximate 2.0m inhabitants of what is now England in the first millennium.
The catalyst for proto-English was collapse of the western Roman Empire and the Romans abandonment of Britain (what is now England) in AD 410. The departing Roman elite consisted of military leaders, civilian administrators and business people. The remaining core, native population probably spoke a version of modern-day Welsh.
Departure of the Romans left a vacuum. This was promptly filled by migrations of peoples from northern Europe, mainly from what is now Germany and Holland. The immigrants brought their languages with them and coalesced into various independent kingdoms. England was not unified until AD929.
Whilst the newcomers shared an affinity of purpose there existed significant variations in regional dialects and low levels of literacy. One unusual literate feature imported by the Anglo-Saxons was runes.
Runes
A rune is non-roman letter of the characteristic alphabet that recorded early Germanic texts. In simplistic terms runes are characters formed by sharp lines which could be inscribed on wood with a sharp tool. From a form perspective they are similar to roman letters like M, X, and W. The vikings had a similar runic literacy system. There were 31 runes in the alphabet.
Rune carvers likely travelled from district to district lodging in locales as required.
Because of it’s perishable nature wood inscribed runes are rarely found. However, the script did successfully migrate to stone and hence a permanent legacy such as that found at Ruthwell.
It appears that roman script (mainly in Latin) and runic texts were used contemporaneously for at least 500 years.
The Ruthwell Cross
This is the most famous and elaborate Anglo-Saxon monumental sculpture. The monument possibly contains the oldest surviving text, predating any manuscripts containing Old English poetry. The Ruthwell and Bewcastle crosses have been described as the greatest achievement of their date in the whole of Europe.
The monument contains the longest runic text with over 320 runes remaining or recorded.
The cross stands within the church where it is presumed to have been since Anglo Saxon times, albeit not the same building. Damage was caused by 17th century reformers but repaired 90 years later.
The Ruthwell Cross is associated with the nearby Bewcastle Cross in both style and date (first half of 8th century). The cross is comprised of two stones: cross head and shaft. The cross base is damaged as a consequence of which inscriptions are illegible.
Video clip of Ruthwell Cross
Interpretation of the carvings
Refer this link.
More information
Why this magnificent (and expensive) carving is located in the particular, remote location is not known. There is no evidence of a wealthy or influential Anglo-Saxon community or even a literate one.
Just one mile to the west of the cross is is the mineral rich, Brow Well. This could have been revered in early Christian and pre-Christian times and attracted ‘foot fall’. Even Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns partook of the waters.
Location
Ruthwell is a small village which sits a few miles inland from the north coast of the Solway Firth in southern Scotland. The latter is a bay or estuary which now forms part of the Anglo-Scottish border. However, in the first millennium Ruthwell sat within the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria.
Ruthwell is about 11 miles south of Dumfries with access along narrow country roads.
The ‘sister’ Bewcastle Cross is situated 35 miles to the east, in England, just north of Hadrian’s Wall.
More information on Anglo-Saxon runes.
Please consider ‘An introduction to English Runes’ by R.I. Page, ISBN 978-0-85115-946-1.
More information for the visitor
Information on history, artefacts and many other aspects of Scotland can be found in the Visitors’ Guide to Scotland. This publication is available via hard copy and Kindle. The ISBN is 978-1-9161332-0-4.