- Chapter Thirty-Seven -
In Scotland, early inscribed stones bearing British names are found in Galloway,
Lothian, and the Borders.lo Similar to those from Wales and Cornwall, they bear
Latin in Roman capitals, and indicate the presence of Christian communities in the
fifth-sixth century. The Picts, living in the region north of the Forth and Clyde, may
have been a mixture of Britons and earlier non-Celtic peoples with different language
and customs. The movement of the Scotti from Ulster into Argyll and the Western
Isles led to the formation of the kingdom of Dalriada, and following the foundation
of the monastery on lona and the extension of its activities, both the Picts and the
Angles of Northumbria were converted to Christianity. There is considerable debate
about the date of the so-called Pictish symbol stones, and the degree to which they
had Christian associations (some may have originated before the adoption of
Christianity). They represent abstract symbols or identifiable animals or objects
drawn in profile, and comprise Romilly Allen's Class I stones (some of which may
have been carved as early as the sixth or seventh century: Allen and Anderson 1903;
Henderson 1967; Jackson 1984).
The second group of inscribed stones (Nash-Williams's Group II in Wales) are
decorated with incised crosses in many forms, usually without inscriptions. The
execution of the symbolic design was often very crude, and the stones are frequently
like those of the earlier period - upright pillars or slabs of natural or roughly
prepared stone, often plain slabs scratched with two lines in the sign of the cross. The
so-called 'primary cross-marked slabs' or 'primary grave-markers' are difficult to
date because of long survival, though they may include the earliest cross-marked
stones. The cross forms are thought to have regional significance, and occur widely
from the sixth century onwards, many being assigned to the seventh century.
The third group, recumbent grave slabs with crosses and inscriptions, are usually
dated from the seventh to late ninth or early tenth centuries, though their use
continues to a later date. They are often decorated with crosses which may extend
the full length of the stone, either incised or in low relief, as a simple linear form, or
with ring-and-hollow devices, or ring crosses, some embellished with interlace. The
lettering is usually in half-uncial, common on Irish examples, and the inscription
often follows a formula, requesting a prayer for 'so and so'.
Cross-slabs similar to those in Ireland and Wales also appear on the Isle of Man,
and they were divided by Kermode into Class I (pre-Scandinavian), and Class II
(Scandinavian: from second half ninth century). Recent research br R. Trench-Jellicoe
indicates that fewer of the cross-slabs pre-date the main period of Viking settlement
on the island than previously thought (Ian Fisher, in litt.). The pre-Scandinavian
crosses are skilfully executed. The series begins with five ogam-inscribed stones of
various date. I I Late seventh-century cross-slabs with cross-of-arcs hexafoils,
marigolds or maltese cross designs are particularly well represented at Maughold, the
main ecclesiastical centre on the island.
Cornwall has few cross-slabs, and there is an apparent gap between the inscribed
stones of the early period and the freestanding crosses of the ninth-tenth century.
The range of cross-carved stones and pillars from Ireland has not been published in
detail. Most occur in the west of Ireland, and it has been suggested that this absence
in the east may be because in this area they were commonly fashioned in wood. Some
may have been made over a short period, some over a long period, overlapping with