The Ruthwell Cross and its Texts : A New Reconstruction and an Edition of The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem

Kerstin Majewski

ISBN 10: 3110785390 / ISBN 13: 9783110785395

Published by De Gruyter Okt 2022, 2022

About this Item

Neuware - The Ruthwell Cross is one of the finest Anglo-Saxon high crosses that have come down to us. The longest epigraphic text in the Old English Runes Corpus is inscribed on two sides of the monument: it forms an alliterative poem, in which the Cross itself narrates the crucifixion episode. Parts of the inscription are irrevocably lost. This study establishes a historico-cultural context for the Ruthwell Cross's texts and sculptures. It shows that The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem is an integral part of a Christian artefact but also an independent text. Although its verses match closely with lines of The Dream of the Rood in the Vercelli Book, a comparative analysis gives new insight into their complex relationship. An annotated transliteration of the runes offers intriguing information for runologists. Detailed linguistic and metrical analyses finally yield a new reconstruction of the lost runes. All in all, this study takes a fresh look at the Ruthwell Cross and provides the first scholarly edition of the reconstructed Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem-one of the earliest religious poems of Anglo-Saxon England. It will be of interest to scholars and students of historical linguistics, medieval English literature and culture, art history, and archaeology.; Dissertationsschrift.

Seller Inventory # 9783110785395

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Ruthwell Cross and its Texts : A New Reconstruction and an Edition of The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem
• Publisher: De Gruyter Okt 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3110785390
• ISBN 13: 9783110785395
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 248W x 173H x 27D millimeters 248 millimeters width by 173 millimeters height by 27 millimeters depth
• Weight: 828 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The Ruthwell Cross is one of the finest Anglo-Saxon high crosses that have come down to us. The longest epigraphic text in the Old English Runes Corpus is inscribed on two sides of the monument: it forms an alliterative poem, in which the Cross itself narrates the crucifixion episode. Parts of the inscription are irrevocably lost. This study establishes a historico-cultural context for the Ruthwell Cross’s texts and sculptures. It shows that The Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem is an integral part of a Christian artefact but also an independent text. Although its verses match closely with lines of The Dream of the Rood in the Vercelli Book, a comparative analysis gives new insight into their complex relationship. An annotated transliteration of the runes offers intriguing information for runologists. Detailed linguistic and metrical analyses finally yield a new reconstruction of the lost runes. All in all, this study takes a fresh look at the Ruthwell Cross and provides the first scholarly edition of the reconstructed Ruthwell Crucifixion Poem―one of the earliest religious poems of Anglo-Saxon England. It will be of interest to scholars and students of historical linguistics, medieval English literature and culture, art history, and archaeology.

About the Authors

Kerstin Majewski, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München.

Kerstin Majewski, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.