Gosforth Cross

Date: First half of the tenth century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country): United Kingdom
Medium: Stone
Dimensions: Height of 4.42 m
Description: A freestanding stone cross at St. Mary's Church in the Village of Gosforth (Cumbria, England) offers evidence of the extensive Norse settlement in northern and eastern England from the late ninth to the mid-tenth century. Combinations of interlace, zoomorphic motifs, and religious imagery appear along the tapering shaft of this single piece of sandstone, which stands over 4 meters tall. The figural carvings draw from both Scandinavian and Christian sacred histories, among them the Christian Crucifixion and references to Ragnarök, namely a series of natural disasters and other events leading to the deaths of several gods in Norse mythology (e.g., Odin and his brother Loki). The representation of Yggsdrasil, a sacred tree from Norse cosmology that holds up the universe, may imply a deliberate parallel with the Christian cross as the Tree of Life.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s): 5
Image Credits: Adam S. Cohen; Wikimedia Commons

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Gosforth Cross, east face, ringed head Gosforth Cross, east face, crucifixion detail Gosforth Cross, east face Gosforth Cross, south face