Preaching cross

Last updated
The Ruthwell Cross Ruthwell 002.jpg
The Ruthwell Cross

A preaching cross is a Christian cross sometimes surmounting a pulpit, which is erected outdoors to designate a preaching place.

In Great Britain and Ireland, many free-standing upright crosses – or high crosses – were erected. Some of these crosses bear figurative or decorative carvings, or inscriptions in runes. There are surviving free-standing crosses in Cornwall and Wales, in the island of Iona and in the Hebrides, as well as those in Ireland. Other stone crosses are found in Lancashire, Cumbria and the Scottish Borders, some of these in the Anglo-Saxon cross making tradition, like the famous Ruthwell Cross. Whether these were especially associated with preaching is uncertain. Later market crosses were generally not, although all sorts of public announcements, no doubt sometimes including preaching, took place beside them. [ citation needed ]

See also


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crucifix</span> Symbol of Christianity

A crucifix is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the corpus. The crucifix emphasizes Jesus' sacrifice, including his death by crucifixion, which Christians believe brought about the redemption of mankind. Most crucifixes portray Jesus on a Latin cross, rather than a Tau cross or a Coptic cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altar</span> Structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes

An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, modern paganism, and in certain Islamic communities around Caucasia and Asia Minor. Many historical-medieval faiths also made use of them, including the Roman, Greek, and Norse religions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor cross</span> English stone crosses erected in 1291–95

The Eleanor crosses were a series of twelve tall and lavishly decorated stone monuments topped with crosses erected in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had them built between 1291 and about 1295 in memory of his beloved wife Eleanor of Castile. The King and Queen had been married for 36 years and she stayed by the King's side through his many travels. While on a royal progress, she died in the East Midlands in November 1290. The crosses, erected in her memory, marked the nightly resting-places along the route taken when her body was transported to Westminster Abbey near London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High cross</span> Free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated

A high cross or standing cross is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. These probably developed from earlier traditions using wood, perhaps with metalwork attachments, and earlier pagan Celtic memorial stones; the Pictish stones of Scotland may also have influenced the form. The earliest surviving examples seem to come from the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, which had been converted to Christianity by Irish missionaries; it remains unclear whether the form first developed in Ireland or Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maypole</span> Tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals

A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menhir</span> Large upright standing stone

A menhir, standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found individually as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Menhirs' size can vary considerably, but they often taper toward the top.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celtic cross</span> Christian cross superimposed on a circle

The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses erected across the islands, especially in regions evangelised by Irish missionaries, from the ninth through the 12th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megalith</span> Large stone used to build a structure or monument

A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 structures or arrangements in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vestment</span> Clothing prescribed for clergy performing specific roles

Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics, Lutherans, and Anglicans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; among the Reformed (Calvinist) Churches this was a point of controversy in the Protestant Reformation and sometimes since, in particular during the ritualist controversies in the Church of England in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stele</span> Stone or wooden slab erected as a marker

A stele, from Greek στήλη, stēlē, plural στήλαι stēlai, is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected in the ancient world as a monument. The surface of the stele often has text, ornamentation, or both. These may be inscribed, carved in relief, or painted.

<i>Khachkar</i> Carved, memorial stele bearing a cross

A khachkar or Armenian cross-stone is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, interlaces, and botanical motifs. Khachkars are characteristic of medieval Christian Armenian art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone row</span> Linear row of standing stones

A stone row or stone alignment is a linear arrangement of megalithic standing stones set at intervals along a common axis or series of axes, usually dating from the later Neolithic or Bronze Age. Rows may be individual or grouped, and three or more aligned stones can constitute a row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross of Sacrifice</span> War memorial design by Sir Reginald Blomfield

The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission. It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or more graves. Its shape is an elongated Latin cross with proportions more typical of the Celtic cross, with the shaft and crossarm octagonal in section. It ranges in height from 18 to 24 feet. A bronze longsword, blade down, is affixed to the front of the cross. It is usually mounted on an octagonal base. It may be freestanding or incorporated into other cemetery features. The Cross of Sacrifice is widely praised, widely imitated, and the archetypal British war memorial. It is the most imitated of Commonwealth war memorials, and duplicates and imitations have been used around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Doniert's Stone</span>

King Doniert's Stone consists of two pieces of a decorated 9th-century cross, near St Cleer on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall. The inscription is believed to commemorate Dungarth, King of Cornwall, who died around 875.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Paul's Cross</span> Medieval preaching cross and pulpit in London

Paul's Cross was a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in St Paul's Churchyard, the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. It was the most important public pulpit in Tudor and early Stuart England, and many of the most important statements on the political and religious changes brought by the Reformation were made public from here. The pulpit stood in 'the Cross yard', the open space on the north-east side of St Paul's Churchyard, adjacent to the row of buildings that would become the home of London's publishing and book-selling trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam</span> Church of Ireland cathedral

St Mary's Cathedral is a cathedral church of the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe in the Church of Ireland. It is located in Tuam, County Galway, in Ireland. From the 12th century until 1839, both before and after the Reformation, it was the seat of the former Archdiocese of Tuam. Most of the present structure dates from the 1870s, but parts of earlier 12th- and 14th-century structures survive within.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayside shrine</span> Religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway

A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mountain. They have been a feature of many cultures, including Chinese folk religious communities, Catholic and Orthodox Europe and some Asian regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summit cross</span> Cross on the summit of a mountain

A summit cross is a Christian cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (Gipfelbuch) at the cross, either in a container or other weatherproof case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dysart and Ruan</span> Catholic parish in County Clare, Ireland

Dysart and Ruan is a Catholic parish in County Clare, Ireland. It covers the civil parishes of Ruan and Dysert, and includes the village of Ruan, which holds the parish office. The parish contains the ruins of the 12th century St. Tola's Church, part of Dysert O'Dea Monastery.