The Rood in Medieval Britain and Ireland, c.800–c.1500

Abstract

This is a collection of ten essays, including an introduction by Philippa Turner, ranging from twelfth-century medieval Ireland (Maggie M. Williams) to fifteenth-century angel roofs in East Anglia (Sarah Cassell). In between, the collection covers a range of subjects covering a variety of media and periods. Ostensibly, and as the title states, this is a collection on the specific object known as the rood in medieval art. Anyone looking for the object which we generally and wrongly know as the rood—a crucifix, especially a large one, found at the entrance to a chancel or choir in a medieval church, usually supported by a rood beam or rood screen, will be disappointed! Even though we have been told on countless occasions that the rood is in fact the cross and that the terms are interchangeable, we are now so firmly entrenched in the meaning of the word that it is impossible to see it as other than the elevated cross. This is a book which will make us look with fresh eyes at the specific meaning of the word. In broadest terms the subject of this book is the cross, and, even then, it is a specific examination of the work within the confines of time and space (Western Europe). As we are told on several occasions, the crucifixion can be the result of complex iconography thanks to factors such as date, medium, and location. The term is much broader than commonly understood and includes a selection of works which forces us to look again at these objects. Essays on the rood and the cross join a selection of other works on this subject but not in a comprehensive and far-reaching manner. This book invites the reader to look anew at the cross, but, even then, it is selective in what it looks at and does not aim to be comprehensive. In other cases, it argues that the unusual was the commonplace. The range is very broad and excludes far too many exempla, nevertheless, the essays present us with an interesting perspective in themselves. The essays range geographically from Spain to Ireland to Scotland and England, as well as chronologically from the tenth to the late fifteenth century and try to include many perspectives on this motif. The collection presents a number of ideas that have not been examined in detail before, including Kate Thomas’s study on the mark of the cross in the open air, Sara Carreňos Galician crosses, Lucy Wrapson’s use of color in English rood screens, and Sarah Cassell’s study on the angel roof in East Anglia. Some of the general essays may venture a little too much in the dark and attempt to paint a broad picture with few examples, but, as a collection, the essays present us with some exploratory ideas for future thought.