The Irish High Cross

In a world that seems to bombard me with words I am grateful that I can refresh myself with images, and in particular those from the many Irish high crosses that I have seen. I shall never forget the first time that I saw the early tenth century St Muiredach's cross in Monasterboice. Standing fourteen feet high, it immediately compels attention. The sheer engineering feat of bringing a slab of stone weighing ten stone from a quarry fourteen miles away tells something of the place that such crosses must have held in the lives of contemporaries.

My eye travels slowly from the vast slabs holding the cross in place, up the heavily carved main stem to the circle held in tension by the arms, and then on up to the capstone. Every step of that journey is significant, beginning at the base traditionally known as the place of Adam's skull, so that the starting point is sin and death. But then the succession of panels tells the story of God at work rescuing his people, until, holding central place, is the scene of the crucifixion. Longinus plunges his spear into Christ's side and Stephaton offers him a drink - but this not a suffering figure but the triumphant here, the victor who has taken on and overcome the forces of evil. So how right it is that in the very top, in the capstone, we have the images of Helena's church of the resurrection. We have been taken from death to new life.

As I walk rough to the back, there on the side I see high up a panel with two figures and a bird. There are of course St Anthony of Egypt and St Paul of Thebes, with the raven bringing them a loaf of bread - two old men breaking and sharing bread in the wilderness. Here is evidence of the connection of the Celtic church with Europe. Here is evidence of the fullness of the Celtic tradition.

To speak of Celtic creation - centre spirituality does not do justice to what the Irish high crosses are showing us - the cross is always there at the heart of the Celtic experience. And it is triumphant. Christ is a hero, a warrior king who has taken on the forces of darkness and conquered them. His hands are held out wide to bless the world that he has created and redeemed. That is why there are so many blessings that follow the model of St Patrick's breastplate, invoking the protecting powers of the cross in daily life:

Christ's cross up to broad Heaven. Christ's cross down to earth. Let no evil or hurt come to my body or my soul.

Christ's cross over me as I sit. Christ's cross over me as I lie. Christ's cross be all my strength until we reach the King of Heaven.

By Esther de Waal

Esther de Waal is a writer who has published books on the Celtic and Benedictine traditions, on Cistercian spirituality and on Thomas Merton. Two years ago she left the Welsh Borders where she had lived for fifty years to come to Oxford where she now resides.