- Early Christianity and its Monuments -
such as the Cathach of Columba, and on metalwork. Geometrical patterns using
compass arcs (the so-called cross-of-arcs or Maltese cross, related to marigold
patterns common on Merovingian sculpture) are common during the early period,
and it has been suggested that the ambiguity of the design (flower or cross) may
have appealed to Celtic taste. There is little direct evidence for the fusion of pagan
mythology with Christian scripture in the early period, though curvilinear designs
do re-emerge later.
New motifs were also introduced by the new religion. The Constantinian mono-
gram of Chi-Rho/Christogram, representing the first two letters of Christ's name in
Greek combined into a cross (also known as the monogrammatic chi-rho) appears in
the fourth century almost as an official Christian badge of state on various objects.
The monogrammatic chi-rho is exemplified by the African Red Slipware base from
Dinas Emrys with pendant alpha and omega letters which appear in similar positions
beneath the cross arms on some stones (Figure 37.I1, no. 6). The Carausius stone
from Penmachno bears a chi-rho monogram without a circle, while the later pillar-
stone from Kirkmadrine, Galloway, with its INITIUM I ET FINIS ('Beginning and
end') inscription (an allusion to Revelation) bears a later 'open rho' symbol within a
circle. The chi-rho forms suggest a wide range of portable sources or models while
the reversal of the imagery on some stones illustrates either the occasional misunder-
standing or in some cases the poor comprehension on the part of the executor.
The so-called 'Celtic cross' which characterizes many later large freestanding
crosses also appears on metalwork and cross-slabs from the eighth century. It has
been taken to be derived from some form of triumphal victory wreath honouring the
Cross of Redemption, but typological explanations based on the encircled chi-rho
have also been developed. The cross, as a sign of victory and symbol of protection,
became popular in western Europe in the seventh century and was important in
Insular, Anglo-Saxon and Hiberno-Norse art. Simple crosses were produced over a
long time, and the designs are difficult to date. Some cross-decorated monuments
increase in complexity and monumentality in the seventh-early eighth century,
possessing slab-like shapes in low relief ornament, and many Welsh upright monu-
ments fall into this category. Many bear similar cross designs over wide areas, but
there is the suggestion of regional variations. Some are contemporary equivalents to
freestanding crosses, such as the ninth-or tenth-century Crucifixion-inscribed slab
from Carndonagh, Co. Donegal, or the decorated slab from Llanhamlach, Powys,
and the tenth-century cross-slab from Nash Manor, South Glamorgan. An eleventh-
century cross-slab at Llowes, Powys, bears a high-relief wheel cross decorated with
triangular panels, and gives the architectural effect of a freestanding cross in the same
way as some Pictish slabs.
As with the chi-rho the impetus for many of the cross designs may have come
from several sources - from tiny initial crosses in manuscripts to cross-marked
portable objects from Britain, the Continent and the Mediterranean. The influence
of metalwork has been cited in the form and ornament of some Irish crosses from
Ahenny, Kilkieran, Killamery and Kilree which, with their chip-carving, hatched
edge mouldings and bosses in the locations of rivet heads, resemble metalwork
crosses translated into carved stone (Figures 37.12 and 37.13). Similar influences can
be seen in the Pictish cross-slab at Dunfallandy, Tayside, with full development of a