At the bottom right you can see the Roseworthy Cross - a byzantine / celtic cross with Saxon inscription front and rear. It has christ with a tunic, and braid underneath, and the original is in a closed convent in Cornwall at Lanherne. Thought to be Ninth Century.
It was first mentioned in literature in 1814 'Okasha/1993, 133, notes that the first mention by Lysons and Lysons in 1814 recorded that the stone was moved to `the garden of Lord Arundell's mansion-house, at Lanherne'. The Manor of Lanherne was given to Carmelite nuns by Arundell in 1794 so the move is likely to have taken place before then.'
I found a small copy also in granite with the same inscription today in an antique shop. Nice craftsmanship if it was made yesterday, though allegedly 'found on a farm at Thorpe Salvin' in Rotherham MBC by a keen metal detector, the village is an old Roman foundation which is noted for having a church with 'a handsome Saxon doorway'
I wonder what the inscriptions mean.
Ah... thanks to scholars who recognised the following names on it:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/stone/lhern_1.html
The inscription on the front is read as:
| Macalister, R.A.S. (1949): | +BSE | IDE/TI | M{A} | H Expansion: + BEATUS EID ET IMAH Macalister/1949 178--179 reading only |
| Okasha, E. (1984): | +BRE | ID[B^E^R^E/T][I] | M{A} | H Expansion: +BREID [ET] [I]MAH Translation: +Breid(PN) and [I]mah (PN). |
- Eid (Language: Incomplete Information; Gender: incomplete)
Macalister/1949, 179, notes that the name is peculiar and may be an abbreviation. - Imah (Language: Incomplete Information; Gender: incomplete)
Macalister/1949, 179, notes that the name is peculiar and may be an abbreviation. Okasha/1993, 136: `of unknown origin, unless [I]MAH is connected with the Irish Imchadh'. Ed. : legendary kings of Ulster pre 450AD - Breid (Language: Incomplete Information; Gender: male)
Okasha/1993, 136: `of unknown origin. … The name Bredei occurs in the Pictish King-list, a name taken by Kackson to be non-Celtic'. Ed: Bruide mac Der-Ilei (died 706) was king of the Picts his death is recorded by the Annals of Ulster and the Annals of Tigernach.
The inscription on the back is read as:
| Macalister, R.A.S. (1949): | RV~ | HOL Expansion: RVNHOL Translation: Runhol (PN). Macalister/1949 179 reading only |
| Okasha, E. (1984): | RV~ | HOL Expansion: RVNHOL Translation: Runhol (PN). |
ie a Celtic name 'Runhol.'
Decription of the cross:
Langdon/1896, 357--358, notes that this `four-holed cross' is `the most beautiful specimen of an elaborately decorated cross in Cornwall'. He then describes the form as follows: `There is an entasis on the shaft, which is rather more marked on the front than on the other faces. The bead on the angles is tapered from the bottom upwards, and is carried round the outline of the head. The ring is moulded with a triple bead on the front and the back, as well as on the sides, below the arms; but on the ring above the arms there are four beads'. Langdon gives the following extra dimensions: width of (i) head 16" (ii) top of shaft 9.5" (iii) base of shaft 11.5"; thickness of (i) base of shaft 8" (ii) top of head 5.5"'.
Note:
on the back of the Roseworthy cross there is also beadwork as on the front, with the inscription panel below, on the copy the panel is at the height of the beadwork on the front.
There are also no bosses on the head of the cross - 5 on the original.
Description from the History of Cornwall: from the earliest records and traditions volume 2 - Hitchins (1824): Another remarkable curious cross... brought from a field called Chapel-close on the barton of Roseworthy, in the parish of Gwinear. It seems very ancient, but it's period must be confined within the time when Christianity was introduced and established: since it contains on one side some rude sculpture of the crucifixion, under which is a braid, and an inscription which seems of Saxon workmanship. Both this cross and that which stands in the churchyard, have suffered much from the injuries of time and a long exposure to the action of the elements.'
