Marilyn Dunn has written widely as a renowned mediaevalist, and opened the presentation with a talk on the background relating to the Ruthwell Cross.
We were shown a number of slides recalling the extent of the old Northumbrian kingdom, and the growth of Christianity within it. This was really informative, though the font size of the displayed text could well have been bigger, and we had been forewarned of difficulties with the sound system.
Originally situated in an outside location, the Ruthwell Cross was later incorporated into its church. Having undergone much damage at the Reformation, and subsequently buried, it was excavated and reassembled in the 19th century. Correspondingly, there is still some debate about whether it was indeed originally a cross, or actually a pillar. In any case it reaches to 18ft tall.
Marilyn came across as a slightly eccentric character – dressed entirely in black, and with a (very) large black hat – but she was clearly so immersed in her subject. We learned how the Ruthwell Cross can be seen as a witness to how the Christian religion spread throughout the nearby Anglo-Saxon population. The Cross contains different panels depicting a range of biblical scenes. There is also a poetic inscription engraved upon its sides – and so in both text and imagery the cross came to speak to those who came to behold it.
Before we heard from the artist herself, the Sacred Arts Festival Singers performed two period works – this is an impressive vocal quartet, and the singing brought another dimension to the event.
Cat Outram, who ‘reimagined’ the Cross, explained the challenges she faced. Her vision was about trying to reconstruct and tell a story – the difficulty consisted in the number of damaged or missing sections, and so the brief was to redraw and decorate the cross, while being as faithful as possible to the original design. Some obliterated panels need to be imagined from scratch (as per the introduction of a Nativity scene).
Cat found the recreating of the faces the most difficult – and moving – part of the project; yet it was in this way that she felt connected to the characters, and attached to their stories. On the display boards in the exhibition, you can see: the reimagined panel, some text about it, and the ‘original’ panel – in the worn state that has inspired Cat’s remarkable recreation.
The event finished at 3.55pm.
Reimagining the Ruthwell Cross, Monday 12th August, St Columba’s-by-the-Castle
Exhibition open: Monday 12th – Friday 16th August: 2.30pm – 5pm: admission free