Irish High Crosses

Background

 

      Irish monasteries in the middle ages were recognized and distinguished by their brilliant high crosses, sometimes referred to as Celtic crosses. Archaeologists speculate that only half of the original number of Irish high crosses remain, and that figure still leaves plenty of them to study and make deductions about Irish monastic life during the middle ages. But what inspired the Irish to make these fabulous high crosses?

       Before Christian missionaries journeyed to Ireland, Irish culture was extremely rural and symbolic of other Celtic nations. Ireland also had the great fortune of being a solitary nation; despite the rising and falling of empires, other nations left Ireland alone, possibly because of its separation from the mainland. Irish art, like Celtic art, focused on filling spaces with patterns of simple shapes like triangles, spirals, squares, and lines. Historians believe that these patterns, like all other mysterious forms of ancient art, indicate religious cult activity. Whatever the original intent of the patterns, they found new meaning under the banner of Christianity. In the fifth century AD, Christian missionaries ventured from monasteries in Gaul to the pagans in Ireland and built monasteries there. Much of Ireland adopted the Christian religion brought by the missionaries but retained its rural communities and Celtic art styles. As a result, monasteries became the centers of communities because there were no pre-existing cities performing the same function. This increased attention toward the monasteries went hand in hand with the increase in Christian-themed art. The same Celtic patterns appear on slabs of rock dating back to fifth and sixth century Irish art, but now they adorn Christian figures and Biblical scenes. These art tendencies eventually led to the creation of the high crosses. The only difference between the Christian-themed Celtic art on the slabs of rock and on the high crosses is the added magnificence of the cross as a background.

       Monastic Christianity flourished in the Irish rural community aided by the vibrant Celtic art styles manifested through early high crosses, but all of that changed when the Vikings attacked in the seventh century. Because of the Vikings’ constant harassment over the next hundreds of years, only sturdy forms of art survived this period. While production for most forms of Celtic art dropped significantly during this period of constant attack, the Irish high crosses flourished as an art form and a reminder that despite the destruction, Christ had already prevailed. The Irish emerged from their hardships with the Vikings stronger and with vision. Leaders of small sections of the island suddenly had the audacity to try to take over all of Ireland. This same strength acquired from enduring the Viking attacks displayed itself in the new design of the high crosses. Originally, the high crosses were built with a free-armed cross head like the cross is commonly depicted today. During and after the Viking attacks, the high crosses evolved with the Irish people so that they were sturdier due to a ring which further connected the cross head to the center beam. Almost all of the surviving high crosses have this added feature most likely because the others could not withstand Viking raids and harsh weather conditions without the needed support. In this way, the Irish developed the high crosses as monuments to their strength and endurance under great oppression. But do the high crosses have any other purpose?

 

 

Background Image: John Caplis Photography: High Crosses of Clonmacnoise