Irish High Cross Analysis

This sculpture is an Irish High Cross built in the 10th century, and serves as a prime example for early medieval Irish art production. Furthermore, this cross is of great value due to its monumentality and state of preservation (Powell 162). This fact lets us know a lot about the conditions behind its patronage, since the church would have required great prosperity to be able to afford such a feat. Additionally, the state of preservation is primarily the result of the durability of its material and of the historical circumstances of Ireland from the time of its construction to the present.
Following the Irish and British tradition early medieval tradition of massive free-standing Christian crosses. Furthermore, these are all generally richly
All panels on both faces of the cross have intricate details and portray biblical scenes from the life of Christ. The level of detail on these scenes, as well as the mastery of the decorative interlace on the sides of the cross speak highly of the skill of these artist’s skills. This cross was the result of a team of craftsman rather than a single man. Francoise Henry describes this particular group of stone workers as The School of Monasterboice (Crilly 75). The ambition and skill of the School of Monasterboice is shown in the attention to detail of every part of the cross, especially given its massive size and scale. Furthermore, this same group went on to produce other high crosses such as the Tall Cross also in Monasterboice or the Cross of the Scriptures at Clonmacnois (Crilly 81) which both show further levels of originality and craftsmanship.
The panel that we are analyzing describes the traditio clavium (Crilly 78). Accordingly, Christ is shown as the central figure, with Peter to his right and Paul to his left. To Peter, Christ hands the key to the church, and to Paul he gives the book of the new law (Crilly 78, Powell
At the time of its making, the cross would have been a symbol commissioned by Muireadach to signify his devotion to God and to the church, it also serves to establish his power and wealth. Furthermore, High Crosses such as this one are usually found on early church sites and are used for liturgical, ceremonial and symbolic purposes. Even today, visitors from around the world go to Monasterboice to visit the site and see these monumental works of art (Powell