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Celtic Cross
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A Celtic cross is a cross and ring combined.
It is the most common symbol of Celtic Christianity, though it probably
has pre-Christian origins. Celtic crosses formed a major part
of Celtic art. This Celtic design is also referred to as the Irish
Cross, or as the Cross of Iona.
In Celtic Ireland and Britain many free-standing Celtic crosses, also
called high crosses, were created between the 8th and 12th centuries..
Some Celtic crosses include inscriptions in runes. You can still find
free-standing crosses in Cornwall, Wales, the island of Iona, in the
Hebrides and of course in Ireland.
The best known Celtic crosses are the Cross of Kells in County Meath,
the Celtic crosses at Monasterboice in County Louth, Ireland, and
the Cross of the Scriptures in Clonmacnoise, Ireland.
There are several examples of pre-Christian symbols resembling Celtic
crosses. The symbol of the Celtic cross is often referred to as a
"sun cross", found in pagan Europe.The symbol of the Norse
God, Odin looked remarkably similar to a Celtic cross. But there is
no evidence of a common origin with the Christian Celtic cross.
In Ireland, it is commonly held that the Celtic cross was brought
to the island by Saint Patrick while converting the pagan Irish. The
belief is that he fused the cross symbol of christianity with the
circular pagan sun symbol, to show the pagans how important the cross
was by linking it with the idea of a pagan sun-god.
Most of the freestanding sculptures created from the fall of the Roman
Empire to the Renaissance are Celtic crosses. Though the dates of
the Celtic crosses are contentious and hard to pin down, scholars
usually concur that they date from the late 8th century to the 12th
century.. Celtic crosses made from wood were probably the precursors
of the stone Celtic cross. Early references to the Celtic cross do
not always distinguish between wood and stone. Fashioned from local
stone, the remaining early medieval Celtic crosses generally have
one of two kinds of carving: narrative scenes that tell a story and
those with intangible adornment. Some Celtic crosses, such as the
Celtic cross at Castledermot, have both kinds of decoration.
The surviving Celtic crosses don't look like they used to.. Weathering
has degraded the surface of the stone and many believe that a Celtic
cross would have been painted to emphasize the carvings.
 Though
extremely speculative, the colors on a Celtic cross would probably
be similar to the dark red, blue, yellow and green found in metalwork
and manuscripts. The Celtic cross narrative panels include Old and
New Testament stories as well as events from the lives of saints.
The saints could be local, like St. Ciarán, or from across
European, like St. Anthony. Unfortunately, a great many Celtic cross
carvings are hard to make sense of either due to weathering of the
stone, or to our lack of information on the iconography of the time.
Celtic crosses served a array of functions. The Celtic crosses are
normally located on the grounds of a monastery. Celtic crosses often
mark borders of monastic lands, or significant crossroads. Other Celtic
crosses served purely spiritual or religious functions. Occasionally,
a Celtic cross commemorated a miraculous event, the dedication of
a church, or a holy spot associated with a saint. Inscriptions, when
discernible, ask that prayers be said for the patron. Monasteries
could possess a number of Celtic crosses that served a range of functions.
We
have several Celtic Cross Pendant designs available. Browse our Celtic
Crosses Here
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