Irish High Crosses

Purpose

 

       Many historians falsely assume that Irish high crosses were made solely to be grave markers. While their specific purpose is still unknown, these crosses are all found at “places of special devotion.” [1] Several seem to have been cenotaphs, while others sit next to Irish monasteries. Irish monasteries had intricate systems of worship. The buildings were set up in a series of concentric circles with the innermost circle being the most holy surrounded by a circle of holier ground surrounded by a circle that was just holy. Despite the detailed design, the monasteries were often too small for community worship, so worship was held outside with the high crosses denoting the boundaries of the concentric circles. During the worship service, the high crosses would have also served as a pseudo Bible for the great number of congregants who could not read or understand Latin. Each high cross had several scenes from both the Old and New Testaments, so people could understand God’s words in the simplest of ways. This is why the high crosses are sometimes called “sermons in stone.” Other than scenes from the Bible, high crosses sometimes depicted scenes or people connected to the monastery that it represented. In this way, people could see what each monastery represented without having to ask anyone. For example, several high crosses depicted a monastery’s patron saint or miraculous acts by which the monastery was made. Using this advertisement system, monasteries competed for status through their high crosses. The high crosses also acted as boundary lines for pilgrims and others who came to visit the monastery. As time advanced, the attacks of the Vikings and eventual war stances of the Irish kings evolved that boundary line into Irish legislation known as the Synodus Hibernensis which marked monasteries with high crosses as places of sanctuary. Finally, Irish kings commissioned high crosses so that monks would remember to pray for them. Ultimately, despite each cross’s unique details, all the high crosses were constructed in the same style.

 

 

 

[1] Ludwig Bieler, Ireland: Harbinger of the Middle Ages (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 31.

 

 

Background Image: John Caplis Photography: High Crosses of Clonmacnoise