scene suggest that some details and decorative elements may have been painted onto the carvings, creating images like those in the Book of Durrow (Fig. 25.14 and 25.15).
The lions in the Daniel scene look like they might be related to the lion symbol of St Mark in the Book of Durrow.
Prefiguration: A term used to note an image or idea that was imagined in earlier times. Scenes on high crosses from the books of the Old Testament in the Bible are understood to ‘predict’ events that came about hundreds of years later in the life of Christ in the New Testament.
believer, kneeling in prayer. Scenes on Muiredach’s Cross at Monasterboice echo the penitential litanies that the monks would have chanted.
The Crosses at Kells
There is an important group of crosses at Kells, Co. Meath, which was the senior monastery in the Colombian tradition in the years that followed the Viking raids on Iona in the early 9th century. Kells would have been a centre of power and influence in the Irish Church, active in the spread of new ideas and art forms.
The Cross of Saints Patrick and Columba
Visit www.megalithicireland.com and look for photos of the base of the Cross of Moone. Sketch the scenes from the north and west faces of the base.
The Scripture Crosses of the
Midlands Many high crosses were used to illustrate Bible stories for the illiterate public. They were also a focus for prayer and repentance; most of the crosses with Bible scenes were designed to be read from the bottom up, starting from the eye level of a penitent
Figure 25.14 The Cross of Moone, east face of the base.
Adam and Eve are in the top panel
The sacrifice of Isaac is in the middle
Daniel in the lions’ den is in the lower panel
The miracle of the loaves and fishes is in the lower panel
The three Hebrews in the fiery furnace are in the top panel
l Form: The Cross of Saints Patrick and Columba is 3.3 m tall. It is a wheel-head cross, carved from one block of sandstone set in a base.
l Function: This cross may have been erected to commemorate the founding of the monastery at
The flight into Egypt is in the middle
Figure 25.15 The Cross of Moone, south face of the base.
CHAPTER 25 THE VIKING INVASIONS (9TH AND 10TH CENTURIES) 359
