history. Its intricately engraved faces feature biblical
scenes as well as verse fragments in Latin. Most sig-
nifi cantly, 156 lines of The DREAM OF THE ROOD, a
DREAM VISION, appear on the east and west faces in the
FUTHARK ALPHABET. Though evidence is scanty, most
scholars believe the cross was constructed around
650–850 C.E.
See also BRUSSELS CROSS.
FURTHER READING
Cassidy, Brendan. The Ruthwell Cross: Papers from a Col-
loquium Sponsored by the Index of Christian Art, Princeton
University, 8 December 1989. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
University Press, 1992.
Hilmo, Maide. Medieval Images, Icons, and Illustrated English
Literary Texts: From Ruthwell Cross to the Ellesmere Chau-
cer. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2004.350 RUTHWELL CROSS